Nomad eSIM alternatives
Looking past Nomad eSIM — because a destination's missing, the price stopped winning, or you want unlimited data? The travel-eSIM market is deep and nothing locks you in. Here's the honest shortlist of alternatives and when each one actually beats Nomad.
The short answer
Airalo is the best like-for-like Nomad replacement — the biggest catalogue in the category, a mature app, and competitive packages nearly everywhere. Holafly is the switch if what you actually want is unlimited data. Saily and aloSIM are credible budget challengers worth price-checking on mainstream routes. Keep two apps installed and buy whichever wins your next destination — that's the whole strategy.
1. Airalo — the default replacement
Airalo is the category's marketplace leader: the widest country coverage, local, regional, and global packages, and years of activation-flow polish. If Nomad's catalogue gap or app friction pushed you away, Airalo is the safe landing — one account that covers essentially any route. It's rarely the absolute cheapest in every country, but it's competitive enough that many nomads never price-shop again. Full verdict in our Airalo review, and the head-to-head in Airalo vs Nomad.
2. Holafly — if you want unlimited data
Holafly plays a different game: unlimited-data plans priced per day rather than sized data packages. It costs meaningfully more than buying gigabytes from Nomad or Airalo, and tethering is often restricted — but for heavy users who can't risk running dry mid-workweek, it removes the one anxiety sized packages carry. If your Nomad complaint was "I keep topping up," Holafly is the alternative that actually fixes it.
3. Saily and aloSIM — the budget challengers
Both are younger entrants competing on price. Saily (from the team behind NordVPN) leans on brand trust and simple bundles; aloSIM frequently posts aggressive per-GB rates on mainstream destinations. Catalogues are thinner than Airalo's and track records shorter, so treat them as price-check candidates rather than defaults: if one undercuts your usual app for the country you're flying to, take the discount.
How to actually choose
Ignore brand loyalty — travel eSIMs are one-off purchases with zero lock-in, and no provider wins every destination. The working method: shortlist two apps (Airalo plus one price challenger fits most people), price your actual next country and data need in both, and buy the winner. All of them are data-only, so keep your home SIM active for calls and codes; and if you're staying somewhere for months, a local SIM may beat them all — see eSIM vs local SIM vs roaming and the full best eSIM guide.
Frequently asked questions
Airalo, for most travellers. It's the biggest travel-eSIM marketplace — the widest country catalogue, a mature app, and competitive local and regional packages. Nomad's edge is price in some popular destinations, so if you're leaving it over cost, compare your actual route; but as a like-for-like replacement that works everywhere, Airalo is the safe pick.
The usual reasons: a destination missing from Nomad's catalogue, a better per-GB price elsewhere for a specific country, wanting unlimited data (where Holafly specialises), or simply app or checkout friction. None of these make Nomad a bad service — the market is competitive and no single eSIM brand wins every destination, which is exactly why it pays to compare.
Holafly is the specialist — unlimited-data plans in a long list of countries, priced per day of coverage rather than per gigabyte. It costs noticeably more than buying a sized data package from Airalo or Nomad, and tethering is often restricted, so it suits heavy users who can't risk running out, not budget travellers. Everyone else: a sized package is usually cheaper.
Almost entirely, yes. Airalo, Holafly, Saily, and aloSIM are all data-first travel eSIMs; local numbers for calls and SMS are rare exceptions rather than the norm. Whichever you pick, the standard nomad setup stays the same: home SIM in one slot for verification codes, travel eSIM in the other for data.
Yes, and frequent travellers do. There's no subscription or lock-in on any of these — each trip's package is a one-off purchase, and modern phones hold many eSIM profiles. Keeping two apps installed and buying whichever is cheaper for the next destination is a perfectly rational strategy, and the fastest way to stop overpaying for data.
Start with the biggest catalogue and price-check from there.
Browse Airalo plansPrices, catalogues, and tethering policies change constantly in this market — always check current rates in the apps for your destination. This shortlist is our honest assessment.