Holafly vs Airalo: Which eSIM Is Better for Travellers in 2026?

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Holafly and Airalo are the two biggest names in travel eSIMs, and they answer the same question in opposite ways. Holafly sells time: every single-trip plan is unlimited data, priced per day, with no allowance to watch. Airalo sells data: you pick a bundle from 1GB upwards, pay only for what you expect to use, and top up if you run out.

The short answer from our research is that Airalo is better value for light and moderate users, often by a factor of two or more, while Holafly remains the simpler choice for heavy users who never want to see a data counter. The gap has narrowed in 2025-26, though. Airalo, which became the first eSIM unicorn after a $220m funding round in July 2025, now sells unlimited plans of its own in many destinations, priced slightly below Holafly's. Holafly, meanwhile, launched subscription plans in December 2025 that add a real phone number for calls and SMS, something Airalo answers with its Discover+ global package.

Below we compare current prices for Spain, the USA and Japan, unpick the fair-use small print behind both companies' "unlimited" labels, and score each provider against our standard eight criteria.

At a glance

• Pricing model: Holafly is per-day unlimited (Spain, USA and Japan all cost $11.90 for 3 days to $73.90 for 30 days). Airalo is mainly per-GB (from $4.00 for 1GB) plus newer unlimited plans (from about $11.00 for 3 days).
• Coverage: Holafly states 220+ destinations; Airalo states 200+ countries and regions.
• Fair use: Airalo's unlimited plans throttle to 1 Mbps after 3GB per day, disclosed upfront. Holafly does not publish a threshold; independent reviews report carrier slowdowns typically after 3-5GB in a day.
• Hotspot: Holafly single-trip plans cap sharing at 1GB per day. Airalo places no tethering limit on its plans.
• Calls/SMS: Both are data-only by default. Holafly's Unlimited subscription includes a US, UK or Canadian number (VOIP calls and inbound SMS); Airalo's Discover+ global eSIM includes a +1 US number with calls and texts.
• Top-ups: Airalo yes, in-app. Holafly no - you buy a new plan or take a monthly subscription.
• Support and reputation: Holafly has 24/7 chat and a Trustpilot score of about 4.6-4.7; Airalo offers 24/7 in-app chat and email but scores about 3.9-4.0 on Trustpilot.

Scorecard: Holafly vs Airalo on our eight criteria

Scores are out of 10 and follow the same methodology we use across eSIMVerdict: price, coverage, network quality, plan flexibility, transparency, ease of use, hotspot support and customer service, based on provider documentation, published policies and reputable independent testing.

Airalo wins on points, but the totals hide how differently the two suit different travellers. The detail matters, so here it is.

Two pricing models: paying per day vs paying per gigabyte

Holafly's single-trip plans are all unlimited and priced purely by duration. On 18 July 2026 its Spain, USA and Japan eSIMs all cost the same: $11.90 for 3 days, $20.50 for 5 days, $27.50 for 7 days, $36.50 for 10 days, $50.50 for 15 days and $73.90 for 30 days. That works out between roughly $2.50 and $4.00 per day depending on length. You cannot buy a smaller allowance to save money; light users subsidise heavy ones.

Airalo's core catalogue is per-GB. A 1GB starter costs $4.00 in the USA and Japan, and $4.00-$5.00 in Spain depending on the plan family. Mid-size bundles are where Airalo's value peaks: in Japan, the Moshi Moshi local plan offers 10GB for 30 days at about $18.00, and in Spain the Guay Mobile plan offers 5GB for 30 days at about $9.00. Since 2025 Airalo has also sold unlimited plans in popular destinations, undercutting Holafly slightly at every duration we checked.

Like-for-like prices: Spain, USA and Japan

Prices below were taken from both providers' official destination pages and the esimdb price tracker on 18 July 2026, in USD.

Three things stand out. First, Airalo's unlimited plans are consistently $2.00-$7.00 cheaper than Holafly's at the same duration. Second, the real savings sit in Airalo's per-GB tiers: a traveller using 5GB across a month in Spain pays around $9.00 with Airalo against $73.90 with Holafly. Third, Holafly's flat pricing across destinations makes budgeting easy but means you never find a bargain either.

Cheapest headline price is not the same as best value per usable gigabyte, however, which brings us to the small print.

What "unlimited" actually means for each provider

Airalo publishes its fair-use policy in full: on unlimited plans you get full-speed data until you pass 3GB in a day, after which speed drops to 1 Mbps until midnight local time. At 1 Mbps you can message, navigate and browse simple pages, but streaming and video calls degrade badly. Over 30 days that is effectively 90GB of high-speed data with a guaranteed slow lane beyond it.

Holafly's position is less precise. Its product pages say a Fair Usage Policy applied by network operators may temporarily reduce speeds "for no more than one day" during peak traffic, resetting the next day, but no threshold is published. Independent testing paints a fuller picture: WeSeekTravel's May 2026 review and Ohayu's April 2026 review both report that local carriers typically slow heavy users after around 3-5GB in a day, with the limit varying by country and never disclosed at purchase. In practice most travellers never hit it, and Holafly's slowdowns appear occasional rather than automatic, whereas Airalo's 3GB cut-off is certain. Holafly earns credit for looser real-world limits and loses it for opacity; our transparency scores reflect that trade-off.

Hotspot and tethering rules

This is the starkest difference between the two. Holafly's single-trip unlimited plans limit hotspot sharing to 1GB per day. For working from a laptop that is restrictive: 1GB disappears quickly on video calls and cloud syncing. Holafly's monthly subscription plans do include unlimited hotspot, but the standard travel eSIMs do not.

Airalo places no limit on tethering or on the number of connected devices, including on its unlimited plans, provided use is personal rather than commercial. On per-GB plans your bundle is simply your bundle, shared however you like. For anyone who needs a laptop online through their phone, Airalo is the safer choice.

Coverage, networks and speed

Holafly states coverage in more than 220 destinations; Airalo states 200+ countries and regions. Both counts describe where you can buy a plan, not how good the underlying network is, and both providers ride on established local carriers with 5G where available. Holafly connects to multiple networks in its major destinations - Orange, Movistar, Vodafone and Yoigo in Spain; AT&T and T-Mobile in the USA; KDDI and Softbank in Japan. Airalo's Spain unlimited plan runs on Orange, its USA plans on T-Mobile plus one other network, and Japan on Softbank plus one other.

Independent speed tests give both respectable results: Ohayu measured Holafly at 160 Mbps in the USA and 85 Mbps in China, and Airalo at 125 Mbps in the USA and 230 Mbps in Qatar. Reliability in either case depends on the local partner network, a point we cover in more depth in our guide to eSIM reliability.

Calls, SMS and phone numbers

Both providers' standard travel eSIMs are data-only: no local number, with calls handled over WhatsApp or similar apps. That matters if you need to receive bank verification texts or book restaurants by phone.

The 2025-26 releases changed the picture at the top end. Holafly's subscription Unlimited Plan (see below) includes a functional US, UK or Canadian phone number supporting VOIP calls and inbound SMS. Airalo's Discover+ global eSIM includes a US-based +1 number with calls and texts, with combined data/call/text top-up packages. Neither gives you a local number in, say, Spain or Japan; both are workarounds rather than replacements for a local SIM.

Top-ups, long trips and subscriptions

Airalo lets you top up any eSIM in-app before or after your plan runs out, and you keep the same eSIM profile for future trips. Note one recurring complaint: if you delete the eSIM from your device, it cannot be reinstalled - you must buy a new one.

Holafly does not offer top-ups on single-trip plans. When a plan expires you buy a new eSIM and swap profiles; Holafly recommends doing this about 24 hours before expiry. Softening this, every Holafly purchase now includes "Always On", a free 1GB of backup data that renews monthly and keeps you minimally connected between plans. For stays beyond a month, Holafly Plans (launched December 2025) offers subscriptions across 160+ destinations: a Light tier at 25GB per month and an Unlimited tier with unlimited data, unlimited hotspot and the phone number mentioned above, at roughly $50-65 per month depending on billing and promotions, cancellable at any time. Travellers hopping across several countries should also weigh regional options, which we compare in our guide to the best eSIMs for multiple destinations.

Refunds, apps and support

Holafly's refund policy is unusually generous on paper: unused, unactivated eSIMs qualify for a full refund up to six months after purchase, with refunds processed to your original payment method in 5-10 business days, though a $3.50 administrative fee applies in some scenarios and refunds after activation are case-by-case. Airalo's terms give a 14-day withdrawal right that ends once you activate the eSIM, a 30-day window to raise issues, and refunds either as Airmoney credit or to your original payment method, the latter taking up to 30 business days after troubleshooting with support.

On reputation the providers diverge. Holafly's app scores 4.8 on the App Store (31,000 ratings) and its Trustpilot rating sits at about 4.6-4.7 from over 100,000 reviews, with 24/7 chat and email support in multiple languages. Airalo's apps rate 4.7 (iOS) and 4.6 (Android), but its Trustpilot score is markedly lower at about 3.9-4.0, and Ohayu's 2026 review noted chatbot queues of several minutes before reaching a human. Recurring complaints centre on non-reinstallable eSIMs and fair-use surprises for Airalo, and on activation hiccups and post-activation refund friction for Holafly.

Advantages and disadvantages

Holafly

Advantages: genuinely simple unlimited plans with no data anxiety; 220+ destinations; multiple partner networks in key countries; strong support reputation and 24/7 chat; six-month refund window on unused eSIMs; subscriptions with unlimited hotspot and a phone number for long-stay travellers.

Disadvantages: expensive for light users; undisclosed fair-use thresholds; 1GB per day hotspot cap on single-trip plans; no top-ups; data-only unless you subscribe.

Airalo

Advantages: excellent value per gigabyte from $4.00; unlimited plans cheaper than Holafly's; unrestricted tethering; top-ups and a clearly published fair-use policy; calls and texts available via Discover+; mature, highly rated apps.

Disadvantages: unlimited plans hard-throttle to 1 Mbps after 3GB per day; weaker Trustpilot reputation and slower support; deleted eSIMs cannot be reinstalled; per-GB model punishes anyone who underestimates their usage.

Who should choose what

• Heavy streamers and social uploaders: Holafly. Its slowdowns are occasional and reset daily, whereas Airalo's unlimited plans guarantee a 1 Mbps crawl after 3GB each day, which is hopeless for video.
• Light users (maps, messages, email): Airalo. A $4.00-$4.50 1GB plan or a $9.00 5GB monthly bundle in Spain costs a fraction of Holafly's day rate.
• Budget travellers: Airalo, provided you estimate usage honestly and keep the top-up option in reserve. See our wider round-up of the best budget eSIMs for how it compares beyond this pair.
• Remote workers: it depends on the trip. For laptop tethering on a short trip, Airalo's big per-GB bundles (10-20GB) beat Holafly's 1GB per day hotspot cap. For a month or more abroad, Holafly's Unlimited subscription, with unlimited hotspot and a working phone number, is the stronger package.

The verdict

Airalo wins this head-to-head on our scorecard, 66.5 to 59, because it wins the categories most travellers feel first: price, flexibility, hotspot freedom and transparency. Most people use far less data abroad than they fear, and for them Holafly's flat day rate is paying for insurance they do not need.

But the totals should not obscure Holafly's case. If you stream, upload and navigate all day, refuse to watch a data counter, or value responsive support, Holafly's unlimited model and stronger service reputation justify its premium, and its new subscriptions are arguably the better long-stay product. Choose Airalo to spend less; choose Holafly to think less. For the full picture on Airalo's catalogue see our Airalo review, for how Holafly stacks up against a marketplace rival see Holafly vs MobiMatter, and if you are still weighing an eSIM against your home network's day passes, start with eSIM vs roaming.

Frequently asked questions

Is Holafly really unlimited?

Yes, with caveats. Holafly does not cap your total data, but partner networks apply fair-use measures during peak traffic, and independent reviews report temporary slowdowns typically after 3-5GB in a single day. Holafly says any reduction lasts no more than one day.

Is Airalo cheaper than Holafly?

Almost always. Airalo's unlimited plans were $2.00-$7.00 cheaper than Holafly's at every duration we checked for Spain, the USA and Japan, and its per-GB bundles cost far less again for light users - about $9.00 for 5GB over 30 days in Spain versus $73.90 for Holafly's 30-day plan.

Can I use my phone as a hotspot with both providers?

With Airalo, yes, without limits on personal tethering. With Holafly's single-trip plans, hotspot sharing is capped at 1GB per day; only its monthly subscription plans include unlimited hotspot.

Do Holafly or Airalo include calls and texts?

Standard plans from both are data-only. Holafly's subscription Unlimited Plan includes a US, UK or Canadian number with VOIP calls and inbound SMS, and Airalo's Discover+ global eSIM includes a +1 US number with calls and texts. Neither provides a local number in your destination country.

Which has better customer support?

Holafly, on the evidence available. Both offer 24/7 chat and email, but Holafly's Trustpilot score of about 4.6-4.7 clearly beats Airalo's 3.9-4.0, and 2026 reviews describe longer chatbot queues before reaching a human at Airalo.