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Browse destinationsThe price table
Ten gigabytes over thirty days from the 17 August 2026 capture. Bold is the lowest comparable Australian-dollar figure in the row. Nomad is handled immediately below because its storefront changed currency after this table was captured.
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| Destination | The SIM Shop | SimCorner | Airalo | Ubigi | Simify | Saily (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | A$19.95 | A$25.00 | A$26.00 | A$29.00 | A$49.00 | US$17.99 |
| Indonesia (Bali) | A$17.95 | A$25.00 | A$30.00 | A$28.00 | A$49.00 | US$21.99 |
| Thailand | A$16.95 | A$14.00 | A$16.00 | A$21.00 | A$49.00 | US$10.99 |
| Vietnam | A$19.95 | not sold | A$26.00 | A$22.00 | not sold | US$17.99 |
| USA | A$19.95 | A$29.00 | A$32.50 | A$24.00 | not sold | US$22.99 |
| UK | A$16.95 | not sold | A$27.50 | A$19.00 | A$49.00 | US$18.99 |
| New Zealand | A$23.95 | A$58.00 (60d) | A$35.00 | A$28.00 | A$49.00 | US$23.99 |
| Europe | A$24.95 (35 areas, no France) · A$29.95 (34 areas, with France) · A$49.95 (41 destinations) | A$30.00 | A$44.50 | A$26.00 (check their list) | A$49.00 | US$35.99 |
| Southeast Asia (7 countries) | A$34.95 | A$34.00 | A$36.50 | A$48.00 | not sold | US$35.99 |
The 35-area plan does not include France. If Paris or anywhere else in France is on your itinerary, take Europe 30+ Areas instead: it covers 34 destinations including France and Turkey, and 10GB over 30 days is A$29.95. The 35-area list also leaves out Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia, Gibraltar and the Channel Islands.
Nomad now renders Australian dollars for Australian shoppers. On 25 August 2026, its live 10GB/30-day examples included China at A$23.73 sale, Canada at A$23.73 sale and a 14-country Asia Pacific plan at A$29.31. The old US-dollar Nomad column has been removed rather than preserved after it became stale.
Saily remained US-dollar only in its currency configuration, so your bank converts and may add a foreign transaction fee. Do the sum with your own card rather than treating US and Australian dollars as interchangeable.
Holafly is not in the table because it does not sell gigabytes. Their Australian dollar ladder runs A$6 for one day, A$43 for seven and A$117 for thirty, unlimited, on most destinations.
Full ladders for every provider and every tier are in travel eSIM prices in Australia, which we re-check on the first of every month.
Where someone else may suit you better
No provider wins every trip. Here is where the others make more sense.
Ubigi
They have the best fair use terms in the category and it is not close. A brand of Transatel, part of NTT, publishing 25GB of full speed data on a seven day plan and 60GB on a thirty day plan, then a floor of 2 Mbps. Most of this category, us included, is at 1 Mbps or does not publish a figure at all.
They are also strong in Europe, sitting above our 35-area price and below our two plans that include France, allow five reinstalls of the eSIM profile, and let you check your balance and top up with no data and no wifi, which solves the circular problem that ruins this category.
The catch: they publish two contradictory refund tests at once. Their Terms say scanning the QR code ends your refund rights; their Help Centre says only using data does. If there is any chance you will cancel, do not scan the code. Full detail in Ubigi vs The SIM Shop.
Airalo
Tethering permission in writing: “There is no limit on tethering or the number of devices you connect.” Very few providers commit to that in a document.
They publish their throttle threshold and explain what 1 Mbps actually feels like, which is the most useful paragraph anyone in this category has written. Their loyalty programme is tiered from 5% to 10% by lifetime spend with the rate published, and Australians earn A$5 per referral in Australian dollars. Their app has an offline mode for retrieving installation details with no connection. Their catalogue is the deepest in the category.
The catch: card refunds can take “up to 30 business days”, and two of their four self-service refund reasons only offer store credit. Airalo vs The SIM Shop.
Holafly
Six months to refund an unactivated eSIM, which is the most generous unactivated window anyone in this category publishes. If you book early or your plans are uncertain, that is worth real money. They also have WhatsApp support, the cheapest single day of unlimited at A$6, and fixed Australian dollar pricing.
The catch: hotspot is capped at 1GB per day on trip plans, and no throttle figure is published anywhere. Holafly vs The SIM Shop.
Nomad
The best rewards for ordinary buyers. Five per cent back in points, a US$2 bonus on repeat purchases of 10GB or more up to five times a month, US$5 each way on referrals, and a free starter eSIM that nobody else offers. Their headline prices are the lowest on most destinations, their Global-EX range runs to 365 days of validity, their UK plans include minutes and texts, and their activation window is 60 days.
The catch: their throttle is published three different ways and their terms mention it nowhere. Their refund terms provide no cooling off after activation. Airalo vs Nomad.
Saily
They contract with an Australian company. For Australian buyers their terms name CyberQuay Pty Ltd, Sydney, with a clause acknowledging local consumer law can override their governing law. That is more than any other international provider here offers, and it is almost never mentioned.
They publish their throttle in full, use the best reset design in the category (local midnight, following your time zone), include an ad blocker and web protection free, and sell a phone number add-on for receiving verification codes.
The catch: US dollars only, no Australian dollar option at all, and their activated refund threshold requires more than 99% of the plan unused. Saily vs The SIM Shop.
SimCorner
They sell physical SIM cards and we do not. If your phone does not support eSIM, that is the difference between a plan that works and one that does not.
They have traded since 2012, hold 345 reviews on ProductReview.com.au at 4.2 stars, name the carrier on each plan, publish an ABN, put their contract under Victorian law and Victorian courts, and name the Australian Consumer Law in their refund policy to grant a right rather than limit one. They are also cheaper than us in Thailand and by A$0.95 on the checked Southeast Asia plans.
The catch: their published refund policy never uses the word eSIM and asks you to return a faulty SIM at your own cost, and their Europe Unlimited plan throttles to 128 kbps. SimCorner vs The SIM Shop.
Simify
One flat price across sixteen destinations, A$49 for 10GB over 30 days. That is poor value in Thailand and reasonable on a global or multi-region trip where everyone else’s price jumps. Their throttled speed of around 3 Mbps is the fastest in the category, and their help centre refund policy is the best-written refund document of any Australian provider here, including a clause letting you claim after you get home if you could not reach support from the road.
The catch: they publish two contradictory refund policies simultaneously, and their throttle trigger of 1 to 1.5GB a day is the lowest here. Simify vs The SIM Shop.
Where our offer fits today
We are a newer Australian eSIM-only shop. We have claimed our Trustpilot profile, but it had no reviews when we checked on 25 August 2026, and we are not currently listed on ProductReview.com.au. We are not going to pretend that is the same as an established review record. What we can give you now is our company and ABN, dated AUD prices, the supported networks on each exact plan, local refund and Credit terms, and the source links behind this page.
We make the most sense when you want an Australian checkout, local support and a well-priced single-country eSIM. We do not sell physical SIM cards. Europe comes down to which footprint suits the trip: the 35-area plan led the checked table but leaves out France, Europe 30+ Areas includes France and Turkey at A$29.95, and the 41-destination plan sat at the top of the table. Our seven-country Southeast Asia plan is now within A$0.95 of SimCorner and below Airalo and Ubigi. Hotspot and reduced-speed rules still depend on the exact plan. Compare the trip, not just the logo.
The four things that decide it more than price
1. What happens when you hit the cap
Nothing sold as unlimited is unlimited. The question is whether the ceiling is published.
| Provider | Full speed allowance | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Ubigi | 25GB to 60GB per plan | 2 Mbps |
| Simify | around 1 to 1.5GB per day | around 3 Mbps |
| Airalo | 3GB per day | 1 Mbps |
| Saily | 3GB or 5GB per day by country | 1 Mbps |
| SimCorner (Europe Unlimited) | 3GB per day | 128 kbps |
| Nomad | not clearly stated | 512 kbps or 1 Mbps, sources differ |
| Holafly | no figure published | no figure published |
| The SIM Shop | 1GB to 10GB per day, by exact plan | 1 Mbps where supplier-stated; otherwise reduced speed with no number |
Full sourced breakdown: what “unlimited” actually means.
2. Hotspot
Airalo commits in writing to no limit on tethering or device count. SimCorner lists hotspot as uncapped across its Europe range. Holafly caps it 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. Everyone else permits it without publishing a limit.
If a laptop or a partner’s phone rides on your connection, this decides your purchase before price does. Travel eSIM hotspot limits compared.
3. Refunds, and who you are actually buying from
| Provider | Unactivated window | Contracting entity for an Australian |
|---|---|---|
| Holafly | 6 months | Irish entity, Irish law |
| Saily | 30 days | CyberQuay Pty Ltd, Sydney |
| Airalo | 14 days, or activation, whichever first | AirGSM Pte Ltd, Singapore. England and Wales, US$100 liability cap |
| Ubigi | 14 business days from purchase | Transatel, French law, courts of Paris |
| Nomad | before installation and activation | No Australian entity found |
| SimCorner | not stated in the policy | Australian, Victorian law and courts |
| Simify | 30 days or 180 days, two live policies disagree | Australian, but its governing law clause names a Baltimore street address |
| The SIM Shop | 30 days uninstalled | Australian, Brisbane |
Australian consumer guarantees apply to services supplied to Australian consumers regardless of what any of those clauses say, and a term cannot exclude them. The practical difference is how hard they are to exercise: a dispute with an Australian company runs through a local tribunal; a dispute over a twenty dollar plan under exclusive Paris or English jurisdiction, realistically, does not run anywhere. Travel eSIM refunds and Australian Consumer Law.
4. Whether it works on your phone
Almost certainly, if it 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.
Should you just use roaming instead?
Sometimes, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
Optus Daily Roaming is $5 per 24 hours for 5GB plus unlimited standard talk and text across 153 destinations. For a short trip, or one where you need to make calls, it is genuinely competitive and it is the best-value roaming product in Australia.
Telstra International Day Pass is $5 a day for 2GB in Zone 1 (which includes New Zealand and several Pacific destinations) and $10 a day for 2GB in Zone 2.
Vodafone $5 Roaming gives you no data allowance of its own; it unlocks the data already on your plan, and speed-capped plans lose their capped data while roaming.
The maths flips at roughly a week. For a fortnight in Europe an eSIM is cheaper by a wide margin; for four days in Auckland a day pass with calls included may well win. Every destination guide on this site compares all three.
Destination guides
If you have decided where you are going, our full destination list shows the current plans available for each place.
Questions people actually ask
What is the best travel eSIM for Australians?
It depends on the destination and on what you need. We are cheapest on most single-country destinations in Australian dollars, and on the 35-area Europe plan. Ubigi has the best published fair use terms and was cheaper than our Europe plans that include France. Airalo has the best written tethering permission and the deepest catalogue. Holafly has the longest refund window. SimCorner is the only one here that will post you a physical SIM.
Which travel eSIM is cheapest for Australians?
On the checked 10GB/30-day table, ours led six single-country destinations and the 35-area Europe row, SimCorner led Thailand, and Ubigi came in below our A$29.95 and A$49.95 Europe options. SimCorner was A$0.95 below our seven-country Southeast Asia plan, while Nomad’s captured 14-country Asia Pacific example was lower again at A$29.31 on 25 August. Saily remained in US dollars.
Do travel eSIMs charge in Australian dollars?
Most providers in this comparison now show Australian-dollar pricing to Australian shoppers, including Nomad when rechecked on 25 August 2026. Saily was the exception we confirmed, with no Australian-dollar option in its currency configuration. Always confirm the checkout currency before paying.
Is unlimited data worth it?
Only if you genuinely use several gigabytes a day. Most travellers use four to eight gigabytes across a whole week, so a fixed plan of the right size is usually cheaper. If you do want unlimited, the throttle terms matter more than the price.
Which travel eSIM has the best hotspot?
Airalo, which states in a policy document that there is no limit on tethering or the number of devices. Holafly caps hotspot at 1GB per day on trip plans regardless of its unlimited headline.
Can I keep my Australian number?
Yes. A travel eSIM is data only and sits alongside your existing SIM, so your Australian number keeps receiving calls and texts, including bank verification codes. Leave that line switched on and turn its data roaming off.
What happens if my eSIM does not work overseas?
Do not delete it, because several providers treat a deleted eSIM as unrecoverable. Disable the line, check data roaming is on for the travel line, and contact support from wifi while you are still travelling. Most providers require the fault to be reported during the trip.
Is roaming ever better than a travel eSIM?
For short trips, yes. Optus Daily Roaming at $5 per 24 hours for 5GB including calls and texts is competitive for under about a week, and Telstra’s Zone 1 day pass is competitive in New Zealand. Past a week, an eSIM is almost always cheaper.
Sources
Every price came from the provider’s own live pricing, captured 17 August 2026 unless otherwise dated, with full methodology in travel eSIM prices in Australia. Our seven-country Southeast Asia price and Nomad’s Australian-dollar Asia Pacific example were rechecked 25 August 2026. Policy quotes from Airalo’s fair use policy and Terms of Use, Saily’s Terms of Service, Ubigi’s Terms and Conditions, Nomad’s terms, Holafly’s refund policy and terms, SimCorner’s refund policy, and Simify’s two live refund policies. Carrier roaming terms from Telstra, Optus and Vodafone’s own published documents. SimCorner’s review count from ProductReview.com.au, stated as observed and not characterised. Our review-footprint statement links our claimed Trustpilot profile.
Written by Lachlan, who runs The SIM Shop from Brisbane and answers the support email himself.
