Our Review Process for 2026.

We score every provider in four dimensions on a 1.0 to 5.0 scale: Network Access, Setup, Support, and Price. The composite score applies fixed weights: Network Access 30%, Setup 30%, Support 20%, and Price 20%. Every input is a figure the provider publishes.

Network Access reads the carrier tier, the network types on offer, and whether hotspot and 5G are included. Setup reads how the profile is delivered and installed. Support reads the channels, hours, and languages on offer. Price reads the per-GB and daily rates from the plan feed. A score is a judgment about published terms, not a measurement.

We do not run network speed tests. No page on this site carries a Mbps figure for any provider, because we have no way to measure another company's throughput on your device in your city. Where you see 5G or 4G LTE, that is the network technology the host carrier offers, read from the plan feed.

We do not time support desks, so no page claims a reply window in minutes or hours for any provider. We list the channels each provider publishes and the hours it says they run.

We do not publish star ratings collected from other people's review platforms as if they were ours. The score on each provider page is our own rubric score and nothing else.

Coverage scores come from two published figures: how many destinations a provider sells, and which carrier hosts the plan in each market. A provider that routes through a Tier-1 carrier scores higher than one that resells through an aggregator, because the traveler reaches the carrier's own network.

The carrier list and network types for each destination come from the HelloRoam plan API, pulled fresh on every build. That feed names each operator and the technology it runs, such as 5G, 4G, or 3G. We publish those labels exactly as the feed reports them.

Regional and multi-country bundles are scored on the destination list the provider publishes for each bundle. Where a provider does not publish a destination list for a bundle, we leave that bundle out rather than estimate it.

We review five eSIM providers: HelloRoam, Airalo, Holafly, Saily, and Nomad. These five were selected after screening more than twenty providers against four criteria. Each selected provider must operate in at least 80 countries, offer plans purchasable entirely within a smartphone app, maintain a publicly visible support channel, and have been in continuous operation for at least 18 months.

Providers that rely exclusively on reseller networks without disclosed carrier partnerships are excluded. Providers whose plan pricing changes more than twice per week — a pattern associated with unstable inventory — are placed on a watch list and re-evaluated before inclusion.

We review the provider shortlist every six months. A provider can be added if it meets all four criteria. A provider can be removed if it falls below a 3.0 overall score for two consecutive review cycles, if it changes its terms of service in ways that materially harm travelers, or if it becomes unavailable in more than 20 countries without explanation.

Our editorial team identifies candidates based on traveler reports, industry tracking, and app-store monitoring.

Destination prices come from the HelloRoam plan API on every build. Competitor prices are read from each provider's own pricing pages. We publish the rate the provider advertises.

Pricing is re-verified every Monday at 14:00 UTC against the provider's official website. Discrepancies are flagged within 24 hours and resolved before publication. Historical pricing is archived for trend analysis.

All prices on country and comparison pages reflect the cheapest available plan at the specified data volume. We do not feature promotional prices or limited-time discount codes unless they are publicly available without a referral requirement.

Full provider re-scoring happens quarterly. Pricing verification happens weekly every Monday at 14:00 UTC. Country-specific data, including the carrier list and network technology labels, refreshes from the plan feed on every build.

Support scores are re-checked every quarter against each provider's own support page. We record which channels are offered, the hours published for each one, and how many languages the provider says it covers. We do not publish reply times, because we do not measure them.

The “Updated” date on each page reflects the most recent verification of that specific content, not the most recent site-wide update. A country page updated in April will show April even if other pages were refreshed in May.

Some links on this site are affiliate links. When you purchase a plan through one of these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That commission funds the site.

Ranking follows the rubric weights published above, applied to figures each provider publishes. Every score on this site can be checked against the plan terms shown on the same page.

All affiliate links are marked with rel="sponsored" in accordance with search engine guidelines.

Read the rubric above and the plan data on each page, then check the prices yourself before you buy.

Rankings follow the published rubric applied to published figures. When a provider disputes a score, we respond by naming the figure the score came from. If the provider can show a factual error, we correct it and note the correction on the relevant page. Score disputes based on subjective disagreement are declined.

If you believe any information on this site is inaccurate, please contact us. We correct errors within 24 hours of verification.

Every figure on this site traces back to a named source. We use no estimates and no interpolated values. If a number has no source, it does not go on the page.

Each data category carries its own verification date. These dates reflect when the underlying data was last confirmed, not when the page was last built.

HelloRoam ranks #1 at 8.9/10 on the rubric above. The best eSIM guides apply these scores across 115 destinations, 48 cities, 10 regions, and 13 use cases so you can compare providers for any trip. Each guide lists the same four-dimension breakdown described above, filtered to the destination or scenario you select.