The best eSIM for Vietnam, and what a travel eSIM does not do there

What a travel eSIM does not do in Vietnam

We are putting this before the price table because it is the thing people most often misunderstand.

A travel eSIM gives you a data connection on a Vietnamese mobile network. That is the entire product. It is the same kind of connection a local SIM gives you, delivered without the airport queue and the passport registration.

It does not change what is accessible on that connection. Whatever conditions apply to the internet on a Vietnamese network apply to your travel eSIM in exactly the same way, because it is the same network. An eSIM is not a VPN, it does not route your traffic through another country, and any page suggesting otherwise is selling you something it cannot deliver.

We are saying this plainly because this category has a habit of implying otherwise, and because we would rather you bought the right product than bought ours on a misunderstanding.

If access to specific services matters to you, that is a separate question with separate tools, and it is not what any travel eSIM on this page is for. Sort it out before you fly rather than assuming a data plan will handle it.

What the eSIM does do well, and this is not a small thing: it works the moment you land, it keeps your Australian number live for bank codes and calls, and it costs about twenty dollars for a fortnight.

Dated comparison examples

Our fuller Vietnam ladder: A$4.95 for 1GB over 7 days, A$11.95 for 3GB over 30 days, A$14.95 for 5GB over 30 days, A$34.95 for 20GB over 30 days, and A$149.95 for 50GB over 180 days.

On the two US dollar providers. Nomad and Saily publish only in US dollars and neither offers an Australian dollar option. We are not going to convert and print the result as a price, because the rate moves daily and your card’s fee is your card’s business. Nomad’s US$17 is low enough to stay competitive after conversion; Saily’s US$17.99 is close to ours before conversion and behind after it.

Holafly is A$43 for a week of unlimited on a destination where ten gigabytes costs about twenty dollars. That only makes sense for a genuine heavy user.

The SIM Shop is not registered for GST, so GST is not charged. The checkout total is the amount we charge you. Full ladders for every provider: travel eSIM prices in Australia.

How much data do you actually need?

Vietnam is wifi-rich in the places tourists stay. Hotels, hostels, cafés and most restaurants have it, and Vietnamese café culture means you will be sitting on wifi more than you plan to.

Most travellers use four to seven gigabytes across a week.

The heavy items are specific to how people travel here:

Grab. Motorbike and car bookings run maps continuously while you wait and while you ride. If you are using Grab several times a day in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, that adds up faster than anything else on the list.

Camera translation for menus and signs, which is bandwidth-hungry in short bursts.

Long bus and train legs, where you are off wifi for eight or twelve hours and will fill the time with something.

Ten gigabytes over thirty days covers the large majority of two week trips with room spare. Given the price, the step from 5GB to 10GB is five dollars, which is cheap insurance.

Full guide: how much data you need for Vietnam.

What to compare before choosing

If you are comparing Ubigi for Vietnam, check the exact plan’s high-speed allowance, reduced speed and allowance period. Check its current reload and reinstallation rules too. Compare those terms with the other plan you are considering, rather than treating one policy as a category-wide winner.

Airalo commits to tethering in writing: “There is no limit on tethering or the number of devices you connect.” They publish their throttle threshold and explain what 1 Mbps actually feels like, run a tiered loyalty programme paying 5% up to 10% by lifetime spend, pay Australian referrers A$5 in Australian dollars, and have an offline mode in their app for retrieving installation details with no connection.

For Nomad, compare the current Vietnam offer in the currency you will pay. Check the country list, validity, start window and any voice or SMS requirement. Read reward eligibility separately from the upfront price.

Saily contracts through an Australian company, CyberQuay Pty Ltd in Sydney, with a clause acknowledging local consumer law can override their governing law. They publish their throttle in full and include an ad blocker and web protection free.

For Holafly, compare the current total price for your Vietnam dates, then check speed, hotspot and refund conditions. A plan sold by the day should be compared with enough fixed data for the same trip, not with a different-duration headline price.

For our Vietnam plans, check the exact option’s coverage, allowance, validity, speed and hotspot terms before buying. You can also read our public refund policy and company details. If reviews matter to your decision, open the current independent profile and read the recent feedback rather than relying on an old count here.

On a destination where 10GB costs about twenty dollars, unlimited is hard to justify unless you genuinely use several gigabytes a day. Holafly’s A$43 week is more than double the fixed-plan price.

Our daily plans publish their exact allowance and supplier-backed reduced-speed wording, with a numeric figure only where the supplier states one. Full sourced comparison of all nine providers: what “unlimited” actually means.

Hotspot

For Airalo, check the exact Vietnam plan’s network, data structure, hotspot terms and total price. Read any rewards or refund conditions separately. Compare those stated terms with the alternative you would actually buy.

Holafly caps hotspot at 1GB per day on trip plans regardless of the unlimited headline.

Saily’s terms prohibit tethering “beyond occasional personal use” without defining it, while their country pages advertise unlimited sharing. Where marketing and contract disagree, the contract governs.

Ubigi, Nomad and ourselves permit hotspot with no published device limit.

Relevant in Vietnam because people often travel in pairs with one phone doing the Grab bookings. Setup, including the iPhone trap where you must set the Personal Hotspot APN separately: using a hotspot with a travel eSIM.

Coverage, honestly

Cities and tourist routes are well covered on every network. Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue, Nha Trang, Da Lat and the main highways between them are fine.

Where it gets patchy is the far north around Ha Giang and Sapa, parts of the central highlands, some of the Mekong Delta backwaters, and boat trips in Ha Long Bay and Lan Ha Bay. That is geography and network build-out rather than a provider failing, and no eSIM changes it.

Practical advice: download offline maps for the Ha Giang loop before you start it. That is the single most useful thing on this page for anyone doing the north.

What about a local Vietnamese SIM?

Worth considering, because Vietnamese tourist SIMs are cheap and widely sold.

The case for one: headline prices are low and allowances are generous.

The case against: registration requires your passport, you physically swap out your Australian SIM and risk losing it, and your Australian number stops receiving calls and texts for the trip. Bank verification codes go to that number, which is the part people regret.

For most travellers a travel eSIM is worth the small premium purely for keeping your own number live alongside the data. Full three-way comparison: Vietnam eSIM vs roaming vs a local SIM.

Will it work on your phone, and can you keep your number?

Almost certainly, if the phone was bought in Australia in the last five or six years and is not carrier locked. A locked handset is the most common reason a travel eSIM fails, and several providers exclude locked phones from refunds by name. Check your phone before buying an eSIM.

Your Australian number keeps working for calls and texts on your existing SIM as long as you leave that line switched on with data roaming off. Keeping your Australian number.

So which one

Consider our Vietnam plan if its coverage, allowance and validity fit your trip and you want to deal with The SIM Shop. Read the exact plan terms and our refund policy before choosing.

If you are comparing Ubigi for Vietnam, check the exact plan’s high-speed allowance, reduced speed and allowance period. Check its current reload and reinstallation rules too. Compare those terms with the other plan you are considering, rather than treating one policy as a category-wide winner.

Buy Airalo if you need tethering permission in writing, or you want the offline app, or you are a repeat buyer heading for their higher loyalty tiers.

For Nomad, compare the current Vietnam offer in the currency you will pay. Check the country list, validity, start window and any voice or SMS requirement. Read reward eligibility separately from the upfront price.

Buy Holafly if you might cancel and want six months to do it, or your trip is one to three days.

If you have decided what you need, our Vietnam eSIM plans list the current sizes and validity periods.

Questions people actually ask

What is the cheapest eSIM for Vietnam from Australia?

Ours, at A$19.95 for 10GB over 30 days, of the providers billing in Australian dollars. Ubigi is A$22.00 and Airalo A$26.00. Nomad’s US$17 headline is lower but converts, and your card may add a fee.

Does a travel eSIM change what I can access online in Vietnam?

No. A travel eSIM gives you a data connection on a Vietnamese mobile network, and whatever conditions apply to the internet on that network apply to your eSIM in the same way. It is not a VPN and it does not route your traffic through another country.

How much data do I need for two weeks in Vietnam?

Most travellers use four to seven gigabytes a week. The heavy items are Grab, which runs maps continuously while you wait and ride, camera translation for menus, and long bus or train legs off wifi. A 10GB plan over 30 days covers most two week trips.

Do travel eSIMs work in Ha Giang and Sapa?

Partially. Coverage in the far north, parts of the central highlands and some Mekong backwaters is patchy on every network, which is geography rather than a provider issue. Download offline maps before starting the Ha Giang loop.

Should I buy a local Vietnamese SIM instead?

The headline price can be lower, but it means registering with your passport, physically swapping out your Australian SIM, and losing your Australian number for the trip. Bank verification codes go to that number, which is what people regret.

Can I use a hotspot on a Vietnam eSIM?

On most providers, yes. Airalo states in writing that there is no limit on tethering or the number of devices. Holafly caps hotspot at 1GB per day on trip plans. Useful in Vietnam if you are travelling in a pair with one phone doing the Grab bookings.

Is unlimited data worth it in Vietnam?

Compare fixed data with unlimited for the same trip length and total price. Read the high-speed allowance, speed ceiling, reset period and hotspot rules. Heavy use on one day and light use across several days can favour different plan structures.

Can I keep my Australian number in Vietnam?

Yes. The travel eSIM is data only and sits alongside your existing SIM, so your Australian number keeps receiving calls and texts including bank codes. Leave that line on and turn its data roaming off.

Sources

Our own prices from our live Vietnam product page. Competitor prices from each company’s own Australian store or published rate card, and from published US dollar pricing for Nomad and Saily. SimCorner and Simify did not list a Vietnam plan at the time of checking. Policy quotes from Airalo’s Unlimited Data Plans Fair Use Policy and Terms of Use, Saily’s Terms of Service, Ubigi’s Terms and Conditions, Nomad’s terms and conditions, and Holafly’s refund policy and destination pages. All retrieved 17 to 20 August 2026.

Written by Lachlan, who runs The SIM Shop from Brisbane and answers the support email himself.