Ubigi eSIM Review 2026: Is It Good? Prices and Networks
By Sergey ShesternevUpdated November 6, 2026Published October 6, 202614 min read
Ubigi eSIM review: is Ubigi legit and who owns it? Data plans and prices, 5G networks, unlimited data, hotspot, top-ups, refunds and what buyers say.
You land, switch your phone on, and the first thing you want, before you even reach the gate, is data without a roaming bill from your home carrier. Ubigi has local, regional and world plans for 209 countries, from Japan to Greenland and Bhutan. One eSIM carries every plan you buy after the first. My verdict in this Ubigi eSIM review: it's worth it if you fly more than once a year. A 10 GB plan for 30 days costs from $10.00. It starts only when you land. You lose no days before the trip.
Ubigi review summary
Ubigi is a prepaid travel eSIM you install once and keep for every trip, with plans from 500 MB to unlimited that start when you arrive. Each trip, you just add a plan. It runs on big local networks, with 5G and hotspot included. It's data only, no phone number. Good if you fly several times a year.
Pros
- Starts on landing, buy six months ahead
- 10 GB for 30 days from $10.00
- Later plans and app top-ups on one eSIM
- Hotspot on every plan
- 5G at no extra cost
- Home-country IP address, no VPN, ten countries
Cons
- No calls or SMS, data only
- Blocked inside the UAE and Turkey
In this article
- Ubigi review summary
- Pros
- Cons
- Ubigi eSIM review: the key facts
- What is Ubigi, and who owns it?
- Buying a Ubigi eSIM: website without an account, or the app
- How much does a Ubigi eSIM cost?
- Is Ubigi cheaper than other travel eSIMs?
- What are people saying about Ubigi eSIM?
- Ubigi plan details: Smartstart, networks and unlimited data
- Is Ubigi good? My verdict for 2026
Ubigi eSIM review: the key facts
| Key fact | Ubigi |
|---|---|
| Where to buy | Ubigi's website. The Ubigi app manages the eSIM and top-ups |
| Plans | Local, regional and world. One-time, monthly or annual. From 500 MB to unlimited (full speed up to a set amount, then 2 Mbps) |
| Countries | 209, including rare destinations such as Greenland, Bhutan, Belize, Namibia, Ethiopia and Djibouti |
| Price | From $2.00 (1 GB for a day on the Best Asia plan). 10 GB for 30 days costs $10.00 in France, $12.00 in Italy and $16.50 in Japan |
| Networks | Local partner networks, with 5G in many countries (Japan: KDDI and NTT Docomo. South Korea: SK Telecom and LGU+) |
| Hotspot | Yes, on every plan |
| Top-ups | Yes, in the app (even with no data left) or in your Ubigi account online |
| Phone number, calls, SMS | No, data only |
| Validity starts | When you arrive in a covered country (Smartstart), or at once if you're already there |
| Activate within | 6 months of purchase |
| Payment | Visa, Mastercard, American Express, UnionPay, Apple Pay, Google Pay. PayPal in the app only |
| Support | Contact form to the support team. Site chat, automated first. WhatsApp assistant for general questions |
What is Ubigi, and who owns it?
Ubigi is the travel eSIM brand of Transatel, a mobile operator based in Paris and a member of the NTT Group. It has offered eSIMs since 2017. Are Transatel and Ubigi the same? One is the company and the other its brand for international travel, so you buy from Ubigi and your card statement shows Transatel S.A.
You install one Ubigi eSIM card once. Then you add a plan for each trip on the website or in your Ubigi account, and it starts when you arrive in a country it covers, not at purchase. Next spring you add another plan to the same eSIM. No new install.
Ubigi local, regional and world plans: Europe, Asia and Best Asia
Ubigi data plans come in three kinds of coverage. A local plan covers one country. Regional plans cover a group, such as Europe (38 destinations), Europe Extended (55), Asia (26), Best Asia (17) and Americas (25), while Best World covers 178 and World 201. On a trip from Paris to Rome and on to Barcelona, one Ubigi Europe plan replaces three local ones. The rest are in best eSIM for Europe.
Asia or Best Asia is the question for an Asia trip. Best Asia's 17 include Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand and Vietnam, and Asia adds nine more, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. For 10 GB over 30 days you pay $28.00 on Best Asia and $42.00 on Asia, so Asia suits a route that takes in one of the nine, and Best Asia covers the rest for less.
Besides one-time plans, Ubigi sells monthly plans that renew on your card, such as 5 GB a month on Best Asia for $7.00. An annual plan is paid once, and the Best Asia one gives 2 GB a month for 12 months, 24 GB in all, for $29.00. If you hold a local plan and a regional one at the same time, the local plan is used first and a world plan always last. Two identical plans are used oldest first.
Buying a Ubigi eSIM: website without an account, or the app
On Ubigi's website you buy without an account. You pick the destination and the plan, type your name and email, pay, and the QR code arrives by email at once. The Ubigi app for iOS and Android sells plans too, with an account, and installs the eSIM without a QR code. Here is the website checkout, with Italy as the example.
Step 1: search for your destination. The search box on Ubigi's home page takes a country name, so type Italy, and the list shows Italy under Local, Europe under Regional and World under Global.
Step 2: open the plan and tap "BUY a new eSIM". The Italy list shows every plan with its price. Filters sort one-time, monthly and annual plans. Tap a plan, such as 10 GB for 30 days at $12.00, and its page opens with the "BUY a new eSIM" button.
Step 3: fill in the checkout form. The page shows your order and a promo-code field. Below it you enter your first and last name, your email twice and your country of residence. No account is needed.
Step 4: confirm your device and pay. Turn on "My device is compatible" once you know your phone supports eSIM and is unlocked. Then pay by Google Pay, Apple Pay or a credit or debit card, accept the terms and tap Checkout.
Two checks tell you whether your phone is compatible. Dial *#06#. An EID number on the screen means eSIM support. On an unlocked iPhone, Settings, General, About shows "No SIM restrictions" under Carrier Lock, while a phone bought from a carrier may be locked. An iPhone sold in mainland China with two physical SIM slots has no eSIM.
Scan the QR code from another screen. Or press and hold the code in the email on your phone, and the steps for each phone are in install an eSIM on iPhone and on Android. A "Sign up" link in the same email opens your Ubigi account, where you watch usage, top up and add plans for later trips.
Is the Ubigi app good? For managing the eSIM, yes, and it shows your balance and expiry dates. You can top up your Ubigi account at any time, even without Wi-Fi or a valid data plan.
Proof: Ubigi confirms you can top up your Ubigi account at any time, even without Wi-Fi or a valid data plan
So at 11 pm, with the data gone and no hotel Wi-Fi, you buy the next plan from the app. By default, websites see a regional address. In the app, "Select your IP" switches it to your home country with no VPN, for residents of ten countries, the US, the UK and France among them. PayPal works in the app only. UbiClub gives UbiCoins back on in-app purchases, 3%, 6% or 8% of the order by its size, valid for 365 days and usable on one-time and annual plans.
Ubigi's site and app are blocked inside the UAE and Turkey, so install the eSIM and buy enough data before you arrive, because you can't top up from there. An eSIM with data left keeps working.
How much does a Ubigi eSIM cost?
A Ubigi eSIM with 10 GB for 30 days costs from $10.00 in France to $16.50 in Japan on the country plans in the table. Ubigi pricing starts at $2.00 for the smallest plans. Every plan in the table runs 30 days.
| Country | 10 GB | 25 GB | 50 GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubigi eSIM for Japan | $16.50 | $32.00 | $55.00 |
| Ubigi eSIM for South Korea | $14.00 | $25.00 | not offered |
| Ubigi eSIM for the USA | $14.00 | $32.00 | $40.00 |
| Ubigi eSIM for Italy | $12.00 | $19.00 | $29.00 |
| Ubigi eSIM for France | $10.00 | $19.00 | $29.00 |
| Ubigi eSIM for the UK | $11.00 | $22.00 | $32.00 |
| Europe (38 countries) | $15.00 | $29.00 | $54.00 |
| Best Asia (17 countries) | $28.00 | $44.00 | not offered |
Prices checked on October 5, 2026. Every plan, the short ones and unlimited included, is on Ubigi eSIM data plans. Compare today's Ubigi prices and plans for every country here on eSIM Spotter.
The 10 GB plan that costs the least in the table is France at $10.00, and the Europe plan at $15.00 covers 38 destinations. In Italy the 25 GB plan costs $19.00 against $24.00 for two 10 GB plans, and France is close to that. The USA goes the other way, $32.00 against $28.00. Check your row before you size up.
Ten days in Rome with a video call home every evening is the trip for 25 GB.
For a stopover, the smallest plans are 500 MB for a day on Asia, 1 GB for a day on Best Asia and 500 MB for two days on Europe. Each costs $2.00. The USA plan also covers Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Hawaii, but not Alaska. For Japan, compare them in best eSIM for Japan.
Is Ubigi cheaper than other travel eSIMs?
Mostly yes. For 10 GB over 30 days, Ubigi costs less than Saily, Roamless, Airalo and eSIMo in five of the six countries in the table. Japan is the exception. There Roamless costs $14.95 against Ubigi's $16.50.
| Country | Ubigi | Saily | Roamless | Airalo | eSIMo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan eSIM plans | $16.50 | $17.99 | $14.95 | $18.00 | $19.90 |
| South Korea eSIM plans | $14.00 | $18.99 | $18.95 | $19.00 | $19.90 |
| USA eSIM plans | $14.00 | $22.99 | $22.45 | $22.50 | $21.90 |
| Italy eSIM plans | $12.00 | $20.99 | $18.95 | $19.00 | $14.90 |
| Spain eSIM plans | $12.00 | $15.99 | $13.95 | $14.00 | $16.90 |
| China eSIM plans | $17.00 | $26.99 | $26.45 | $26.50 | $19.90 |
Prices checked on October 5, 2026.
The gap is widest in the USA. A month in New York on 10 GB costs you $14.00 with Ubigi and at least $21.90 with the other four. In Italy the gap is $2.90. Spain, $1.95. Saily's own plans are in the Saily eSIM review.
Ubigi adds things the price doesn't show. The plan starts only when you land, one eSIM carries every later plan, and its unlimited plans keep 2 Mbps after the full-speed data runs out. Where the price is close, as in Japan, Ubigi still suits frequent travelers, because the eSIM you install now takes the next plan as a top-up. For one trip there, Roamless costs $1.55 less.
What are people saying about Ubigi eSIM?
Buyers on Trustpilot praise how the Ubigi eSIM connects on arrival. Two of them plan to use it again. A traveler from Germany had "no problems with ubigi in thailand" and found that "activating the e-sim on arrival worked fine", which is the Smartstart promise kept. From Greece, a buyer writes: "Loved the ease to connect and use data in all the European countries we have visited in the last 10 days". Another sums up Cyprus as "Total coverage, starting 5 miles out to the sea and all around eastern Cyprus".
Hotspot use gets good marks too. A US customer bought 50 GB for Canada and used it "to hotspot my laptops for the 6 days I worked: 6-8 hours each day". There was never an "issue with coverage or speed". A Serbian buyer likes the "no limitation for using it on mobile hotspot", and a second US customer keeps it short: "Reliable connections all over the Baltics & Asia".
Ubigi plan details: Smartstart, networks and unlimited data
Can I buy a Ubigi eSIM in advance?
Yes. A Ubigi eSIM plan starts on arrival in a country it covers, not at purchase or install, and Ubigi calls this Smartstart.
Proof: Ubigi confirms the plan activates automatically on arrival in a covered area and its validity starts then
The plan's days count from that moment, so you can buy up to six months in advance, and a plan bought in April for an August trip loses no days. A plan not activated within six months expires. One bought while you're already in the country starts right away. Install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi a few days before the flight, then switch the Ubigi line on when you land. A plan you add in the app goes onto your account at once, and its days start on arrival in a covered country, the same as on the website.
What network does Ubigi use? 5G and coverage
Ubigi uses local partner networks in each country, and the full list with its 4G and 5G marks sits on Ubigi's partner page and on every plan page. In Japan that's KDDI and NTT Docomo, in South Korea SK Telecom and LGU+, in Italy Iliad and WindTre, and in the USA T-Mobile. All of them carry 5G. Ubigi 5G costs nothing extra.
Proof: Ubigi confirms 5G is included in standard Ubigi data plans at no additional cost
On an iPhone it needs iOS 16 or later, and a Google Pixel may stay on 4G because of its own settings. If 5G doesn't show up, turn 5G on. Then pick the network by hand in the phone's settings. Where 5G ends, the phone switches to 4G by itself, so on the train out of Seoul to Busan your maps keep loading when the 5G icon disappears.
Is Ubigi Unlimited really unlimited?
Ubigi unlimited data keeps you connected for the whole plan, but full speed stops after a set amount, for example 30 GB on a 15-day country plan, then 2 Mbps.
Proof: Ubigi confirms an unlimited plan includes a set amount of full speed data, 30 GB on the Japan 15-day plan, then 2 Mbps
Ubigi sends a notification at that point. On 7-day country plans it's around 15 to 25 GB, for example 25 GB on South Korea Unlimited 7 days at $25.00, and regional 30-day plans give 60 GB. WhatsApp and maps still work at 2 Mbps. Ubigi's terms also allow it to stop a plan over "abnormally high usage patterns". No figure is attached.
Treat the full-speed data as the plan's real size.
Unlimited suits a trip where you stream every evening or run a laptop on the hotspot, because three hours of Netflix a night is about 17 GB a week. A 10 GB plan doesn't hold that.
Ubigi refunds and cancellations: ask before you scan the QR code
Say the trip is canceled a week after you buy. A Ubigi refund is possible for a plan bought on the website only if you haven't used it, and to be safe, ask before you scan the QR code.
Proof: Ubigi confirms a refund of a preloaded eSIM bought on its website is possible only if none of the data has been used
Send the contact form with the receipt within 14 business days of the purchase, and if approved, the money returns to the original payment method within 10 business days. The same goes for a top-up in the app or your Ubigi account, as long as you haven't started using it. After that, the bar is higher. A refund may come only for a proven technical issue due to Ubigi. If your phone turns out to be carrier-locked, there's no promise of money, so check the lock before you buy. Plans can't be swapped or moved to another account.
Buy months ahead and that 14-business-day window closes long before you fly.
Monthly plans renew on your card until you cancel, and you cancel in your Ubigi account under My data plans, with "Cancel my subscription" and then Confirm. Your remaining data stays usable until the renewal date. The contact form is the channel that reaches Ubigi customer service, the site chat answers automatically first, and the WhatsApp assistant can't see your account.
Is Ubigi good? My verdict for 2026
Ubigi is at its best as an eSIM you keep, so people who travel often get the most from it. Plans can be bought well ahead and count only from your arrival. On price, its country plans come out ahead in most places. Hotspot comes with every plan. For a route across Europe or Asia with several borders, one regional plan carries you the whole way.
The plans are data only, so a traveler who needs to call or text from a local number has to look elsewhere. Unlimited plans run at a reduced speed after a set amount. In a few countries the site and app are blocked, so data for those trips has to be bought at home.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ubigi legit and safe?+
Yes, Ubigi is legit: it's the eSIM brand of Transatel, a Paris-based mobile operator in the NTT Group. Paying is safe too. You pay at checkout by Google Pay, Apple Pay or a credit or debit card, and the charge shows on your card statement as Transatel S.A. Nothing is charged after a one-time plan ends. Your data just stops. Only a monthly plan renews on your card, until you cancel it.
Does Ubigi give you a phone number?+
No. Ubigi plans are data only, with no phone number, so calls and SMS go through your home line, billed by your home carrier. Calls over data work as usual, on WhatsApp, FaceTime or Messenger, and messages, maps and ride-hailing apps run over data in the same way. On a dual-SIM phone your home number stays active next to the Ubigi line, and WhatsApp keeps your usual number. For a trip under a month, two lines on one phone is the simpler setup.
Do I need data roaming on for Ubigi?+
Yes for the Ubigi line, no for your home line. On landing, switch the Ubigi line on, turn its data roaming on and set it as your line for mobile data. Your home line keeps data roaming off, which stops your home carrier from billing you for data. On Android, make sure mobile data and data roaming are both on and airplane mode is off.
Can I use Ubigi as a hotspot?+
Yes, on every plan. Your laptop or a travel partner's phone can share the Ubigi data between cities on the train. Ubigi has step-by-step hotspot guides for iPhone, Samsung, Pixel, Motorola and Huawei. On an unlimited plan, keep in mind that a laptop streaming video uses up the full-speed data much faster than a phone does. For a week of laptop work, look at the 50 GB country plans or the 60 GB of a 30-day regional unlimited plan.
Proof: Ubigi confirms any Ubigi data plan can turn your smartphone into a hotspot
Is Ubigi good for Japan?+
Yes, the Ubigi eSIM for Japan runs on KDDI and NTT Docomo, and both networks carry 5G. Ubigi charges $16.50 for 10 GB over 30 days, and Roamless is cheaper at $14.95, which matters if Japan is your only trip this year. If you stream every evening in Tokyo, the 15-day Japan Unlimited plan at $39.00 gives you 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps.
Can I top up a Ubigi eSIM and use it on the next trip?+
Yes. Top-ups are bought in the Ubigi app, even with no data left, or in your Ubigi account online, and a top-up is a new plan added to the same eSIM. The same eSIM works in every country Ubigi covers. Turn the line off when you get home, on again when you land somewhere new, and add a plan for that country. An unused eSIM is removed after 18 months by the FAQ and 24 by the terms, so add a plan at least once in 18 months.
Why is my Ubigi eSIM not working?+
First check that the Ubigi line is on, chosen for mobile data, with data roaming on and airplane mode off. Then check in the app that the plan is valid and covers the country you're in. Restart the phone. If you picked a network by hand, choose a Ubigi partner network instead. In rare cases you type "mbb" as the APN, the access point name in the mobile data settings. Don't delete the eSIM. If nothing helps, send the contact form with your eSIM number.
How much data do I need for a week on Ubigi?+
Between 3 and 7 GB, depending on video. WhatsApp and maps each use about 0.1 GB an hour and browsing about 0.2 GB. An hour a day of all three is about 3 GB a week. Video is the big one. One hour of TikTok costs about 0.4 GB, YouTube about 0.6 GB and Netflix about 0.8 GB. An hour of YouTube a day brings the week to about 7 GB, so a 10 GB Ubigi plan covers it. Three hours of video a day needs 25 GB.
Set hours per day for each app
Daily usage
0.00 GB/day
Total for trip
0.00 GB
Recommended plan
3 GB
