First, the thirty-second version: an eSIM is a data plan you install on your phone before you fly — no shop queues on arrival, no swapping tiny plastic cards, no roaming bill. Any recent iPhone (XS onwards) and most recent Androids support them. All five services below work the same basic way; where they differ is price, coverage, and the small print.
Saily — the best value all-rounder
Saily is the eSIM service from Nord Security, the company behind NordVPN, and it shows: the app is polished, support answers around the clock, and the pricing is the most aggressive of the five, with plans starting at $1.99. Coverage spans 200+ countries and regions, and topping up mid-trip takes seconds without reinstalling anything.
The honest catch: it's data-only (no calls or SMS, like most eSIMs here), and it's the youngest brand on this list — you're trading a long track record for a better price, backed by a company that knows security.
Airalo — the one everyone knows
Airalo is the biggest name in travel eSIMs, and being big has real advantages: coverage in 200+ countries and regions, local, regional and global packages for every kind of trip, and years of traveller reviews to reassure you. If you just want the household name and zero surprises, this is it.
The honest catch: it's rarely the cheapest option for any given country — you pay a little extra for the brand — and its prices per GB are usually beaten by Saily or Yesim. Compare before you buy.
Yesim — the flexible one, with a discount
Swiss-based Yesim covers 150+ countries and does two things the others mostly don't: a genuine pay-as-you-go mode where you only pay for the data you actually use, and virtual phone numbers for regions like the EU and North America if you need to receive calls or SMS abroad. Unlimited plans are available too.
The honest catch: coverage is 150+ countries rather than 200+ — check yours is on the list before committing to it for an unusual destination.
GigSky — the only one that works on cruises and flights
GigSky is an actual mobile network operator, and it covers places no one else on this list touches: plans on 220+ cruise ships and 22+ airlines, on top of 200+ countries on land. Installation skips the QR-code dance entirely, one eSIM carries all your plans, and eligible Visa cardholders get free data perks. Heavy travellers can look at GigSky One, a subscription covering 120+ countries.
The honest catch: on ordinary land-only trips it's often not the cheapest — its killer use case is the cruise or the long-haul flight where it's essentially the only game in town.
Drimsim — for older phones and tiny data needs
Drimsim is the odd one out, usefully so. It's a universal SIM that also exists as a physical plastic card — the only option here if your phone, tablet or travel router doesn't support eSIM — and it bills per megabyte and per second rather than in packages. Land in any country and it just works, and the card never expires between trips.
The honest catch: per-MB billing is brilliant for checking maps and messages, but it gets expensive fast if you stream or hotspot. Heavy data users should pick a package from the others.
So which one should you get?
For most trips: Saily — best prices, solid coverage, serious company behind it.
First eSIM ever: Airalo if you want the best-known name, or GigSky's free trial to test the waters without paying.
Long or open-ended travel: Yesim's pay-as-you-go (with the €3 code above) or GigSky One.
Cruise or lots of flights: GigSky, full stop.
No eSIM support on your device: Drimsim's physical card.
Transparency: if you buy through the links on this page, Destio earns a commission at no extra cost to you — it's how the site stays free. That never changes the order or the verdicts above: the catches are listed right next to the praise.