Quick verdict: which one is actually cheaper?
All three are solid, well-known travel eSIM brands, and on any single destination their prices overlap more than the marketing suggests. But our catalog data does separate them, and the honest one-line answer is: it depends on whether you care about the headline "from" price or the price you actually pay on a real, mid-size plan. Here is how they shake out:
- Cheapest typical price-per-GB: Saily. Its catalog is smaller, but on the popular destinations we checked, Saily's mid-size plans had the lowest price-per-GB more often than not.
- Cheapest entry price and best 5G availability: Nomad. Nomad's cheapest plan in each major country lands around $1.00 per GB, and more of its plans are tagged with 5G than either rival in our data.
- Widest coverage and most choice: Airalo. With far more plans and near-global country coverage, Airalo is the safest pick for obscure destinations, even if it rarely wins on price alone.
None of the three is a bad choice. If you are price-shopping a mainstream destination, start with Saily and Nomad; if you are going somewhere unusual, check Airalo first. The numbers below are pulled from our live plan database and explain why.
Price per GB compared (Europe, Japan, USA, Thailand)
Price-per-GB is the single most useful number for a "cheapest eSIM" decision, because a $5 plan with 1 GB is far more expensive per gigabyte than a $20 plan with 10 GB. The table below shows the lowest price-per-GB ("from") we currently list for each provider across four popular destinations.
| Destination | Airalo (from) | Nomad (from) | Saily (from) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe / France | $1.12 / GB | $1.00 / GB | $1.52 / GB |
| Japan | $1.20 / GB | $1.00 / GB | $1.09 / GB |
| USA | $1.62 / GB | $1.00 / GB | $1.76 / GB |
| Thailand | $0.88 / GB | $1.00 / GB | $0.85 / GB |
On the "from" floor, Nomad looks the cheapest because it has a roughly flat $1.00-per-GB entry plan in most major countries. But that floor is usually a small starter plan (often 1 GB). Once you size up to the 5-20 GB plans most travelers actually buy, the picture shifts: at those typical sizes, Saily's median price-per-GB came out lowest in our sample, around $1.45-$2.66 per GB depending on destination, versus roughly $2.67-$3.67 for Airalo and Nomad. In other words, Nomad wins the sticker-price race, Saily wins the real-world value race, and Airalo sits in the middle on price while leading on choice. Saily also holds the lowest absolute floor anywhere in our catalog, dipping under $0.60 per GB in the cheapest markets.
Prices change constantly and these are snapshots, so always confirm the live number. Use the eSIM data calculator to size the plan first, then compare the per-GB price at that data amount rather than the headline floor.
Coverage and country count
If your destination is mainstream, all three cover it. The difference shows up at the edges, microstates, the Caucasus, smaller island nations, where a bigger catalog means you are less likely to come up empty.
| Provider | Countries covered | Plans in our catalog |
|---|---|---|
| Airalo | 201 | 2,886 |
| Nomad | 207 | 1,195 |
| Saily | 151 | 683 |
Nomad edges out Airalo on raw country count (207 vs 201), but Airalo lists more than twice as many plans, which usually means more data sizes and validity options per country. Saily covers 151 countries, plenty for almost any normal trip, but it is the one most likely to miss an unusual destination or a niche regional bundle. If you are heading somewhere off the beaten path, the breadth of Airalo or Nomad is worth more than a small per-GB saving. For a worked example of how "coverage" can quietly exclude places, see our guide on the best eSIM for Europe, which explains why "Europe" plans often skip the Balkans and Caucasus.
5G and hotspot support
5G: in our catalog, Nomad tags the largest share of its plans as 5G-capable, followed by Airalo, which flags 5G on many (but not all) of its plans. Saily's plans are not tagged with 5G in our data; that may reflect how the data is published rather than a hard "no 5G," so if 5G speed is a priority, confirm it on the Saily provider page before buying. As a rule of thumb, 5G matters most in places with dense 5G networks, Japan, South Korea, major European and US cities, and barely matters on a beach in rural Thailand where 4G is the realistic experience anyway.
Hotspot / tethering: this is the honest gap. Our catalog does not currently flag hotspot support for Airalo, Nomad, or Saily, so we will not pretend to know. Tethering terms are also the thing most likely to surprise you, plenty of "unlimited" or large plans quietly restrict it. If you need to share your connection with a laptop or a travel companion, treat hotspot as unverified and confirm it on the specific plan's checkout page before you pay. Our realistic eSIM guide for digital nomads explains why hotspot terms, not headline data, are what actually matter when you work on the road.
When to pick each provider
Pick Saily if you are price-sensitive, heading to a single mainstream destination, and want the lowest realistic price-per-GB on a normal 5-20 GB plan. Its catalog is smaller, but for popular countries that rarely matters.
Pick Nomad if you want the cheapest entry price, value 5G availability, or are crossing into a wide range of countries (207 of them). It is the best all-round balance of low floor prices and broad coverage.
Pick Airalo if you are going somewhere unusual, want the most data-size and validity options, or simply prefer the largest, most established catalog. You will rarely pay the very lowest price, but you are the least likely to be left without a plan.
Still unsure how much data to buy? Size it first with the eSIM data calculator, then compare the three at that exact data amount. The cheapest provider genuinely changes depending on whether you need 3 GB or 20 GB.