Holafly vs The SIM Shop: what unlimited costs when you only need 8GB

The comparison, priced out

A week away. Say five to eight gigabytes, which covers most people.

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.

A fortnight.

A month. Holafly is A$117 on most destinations and A$108 in the USA. Our 20GB over 30 days ranges from A$24.95 in Indonesia to A$34.95 in the USA, and 50GB where available runs A$49.95 to A$89.95.

Europe is the row that turns on which plan you put in it. Holafly’s A$43 for a week of unlimited is lower than our 41-destination plan at A$49.95, but higher than Europe 30+ Areas with France at A$29.95 and our 35-area plan at A$24.95. The comparison is not really price against price anyway, since one is a week of unlimited and the other is ten gigabytes over thirty days. We have written the full Europe position in the best eSIM for Europe.

Holafly also makes more sense for a very short trip. A single day of unlimited data is A$6, while our range is built around longer fixed-validity plans. If you only need data for a one-night layover, buy the one-day plan.

The hotspot, which settles it for a lot of people

This is the specification most comparison articles skip and it is the one that changes the answer.

Holafly, on their own destination pages:

“Share 1 GB of data per day with family, friends, or fellow travelers. Use your smartphone to create a WiFi network and connect multiple devices. Your total sharable data depends on the length of your plan (for example, a 7-day plan includes 7 GB).”

So an unlimited Holafly plan gives you one gigabyte a day to share.

If you are travelling as a couple or working from a laptop, Holafly’s sharing cap can decide the purchase. Our Japan full-speed unlimited plan has no separate tethering allowance, while Japan Unlimited 10Mbps has a whole-plan tethering cap. We set no separate shop cap for Indonesia or Thailand unlimited, but supplier support and network limits remain unconfirmed. For fixed-data plans, read the supplier-backed note on the exact selected variation.

Worth noting for fairness: Holafly’s separate subscription product advertises unlimited hotspot. The 1GB cap applies to the trip plans, which is what a holidaymaker buys. Full category comparison in travel eSIM hotspot limits compared.

What “unlimited” means on a Holafly plan

Holafly publishes no throttle threshold and no throttled speed anywhere.

Their marketing pages say the unlimited data is not throttled. Their terms and conditions say:

“your data coverage and speed may be subject to a network service provider’s fair use policy… the network service provider reserves its right to impose restrictions or limitations on data usage or speed if your usage is deemed excessive.”

We searched their site for a number. There is not one. “Deemed excessive” is the entire published standard.

One limit applies on our side too. Our exact plans now show the daily high-speed allowance and supplier-backed reduced-speed wording. Some plans state 1 Mbps; others only say speeds may reduce, and we do not turn that into a number. Ubigi, Airalo and Saily publish clearer numbers across their ranges. If you want one published reduced-speed number across the whole range, compare those three too.

The difference between the two absences is that Holafly sells unlimited data as its entire product, and we sell fixed plans where you know exactly how many gigabytes you bought. An undisclosed ceiling matters more when the ceiling is the product. But it is a difference of degree, not a clean win, and we are not going to dress it up as one.

The whole category, sourced and dated: what “unlimited” actually means.

When Holafly is the better fit

Five things.

1. Six months to change your mind. An unactivated Holafly eSIM can be refunded up to six months after purchase. That is the most generous unactivated refund window anyone in this category publishes, ours included, and if you are booking a trip six months out it is worth real money.
2. WhatsApp support. When your data is broken and you are on hotel wifi, WhatsApp is genuinely more useful than email. We do not have it. One caveat from their own terms of use: the WhatsApp line is described as “operated 9.00 – 17.00 Central European Time”, roughly 5pm to 1am in eastern Australia, even though other pages advertise 24 hours. Their chat and email carry no such caveat.
3. Simplicity has real value and we should not sneer at it. There is a genuine cost to estimating your data, comparing tiers and worrying about running out. Holafly removes all of it for one price. Some people will happily pay a premium for that and they are not being ripped off.
4. Day-level pricing for odd trip lengths. Twelve days, nineteen days, three days. Their ladder has a price for each and ours is built around thirty day validity.
5. Fast card refunds. Holafly quotes five to ten business days. That is quicker than several of the international providers in this category.

If it stops working

Holafly contradicts itself on whether you can reinstall. Their newer help material describes a limited number of reinstalls on the same handset. Their main installation page says “Do not remove the eSIM from your device as you will not be able to use it again.” When a company’s own pages disagree, plan for the harsher one.

On either provider, the right move is the same: disable the line rather than deleting it while you troubleshoot, and contact support while you are still travelling rather than after you get home. Our sequence for their product is in Holafly eSIM not working.

The verdict

Choose Holafly if you genuinely use several gigabytes a day, your trip is one to four days, your trip is an odd length like twelve or nineteen days, you are going to Europe and the checked plans above match your needs, you want six months to change your mind before activating, you want WhatsApp support, or you simply do not want to think about data at all.

Consider us if you use a normal amount of data, which most people do. Or if you need to share your connection with a partner or a laptop. Or if you would rather know exactly what you bought than buy an unlimited plan with an unpublished ceiling. Or if you want an Australian company under Australian law with someone answering the email in your own time zone.

Compare more options if you want one published fair-use number across the whole range. Ubigi, Airalo and Saily are clearer on that point. The full comparison is in the best travel eSIM for Australians.

Still weighing it up? We have written a longer, less comparative answer in is Holafly worth it.

Questions people actually ask

Is Holafly cheaper than The SIM Shop?

Only if you use a lot of data, a Europe unlimited plan suits you better than our fixed options, or your trip is very short. A week of Holafly unlimited is A$43 on most destinations against A$19.95 for our 10GB plan in Japan. Most travellers use four to eight gigabytes a week, so the fixed plan is usually about half the price.

How much hotspot do I get on Holafly?

One gigabyte per day on trip plans, stated on their own destination pages, regardless of the unlimited headline. If you are sharing a connection with a partner or a laptop, that is the deciding factor.

Does Holafly throttle you?

Holafly’s marketing says its unlimited data is not throttled, while its terms reserve the right to restrict usage “deemed excessive”. No numeric threshold and no throttled speed is published anywhere on their site. Our position is plan-specific, while three competitors publish consistent numeric terms.

Is Holafly’s unlimited data really unlimited?

Many unlimited travel eSIMs reduce speed after a high-speed threshold. Holafly’s reviewed terms do not state a numeric general-use threshold or reduced speed. Our new Indonesia and Japan plans have a written supplier no-threshold position, while Thailand states 100GB across the plan then 384kbps.

How long do I have to get a Holafly refund?

Six months on an unactivated eSIM, which is the most generous unactivated window in this category. After activation, their connection-failure route carries a US$3.50 administrative fee and asks you to report the problem before your trip ends.

Does Holafly have Australian support?

No. Holafly contracts through an Irish entity under Irish law. They do offer WhatsApp, which we do not, though their terms describe that line as running 9am to 5pm Central European Time.

Which is better for a month-long trip?

Almost certainly a fixed plan. Holafly’s 30 day unlimited is A$117 on most destinations, against A$24.95 to A$34.95 for 20GB with us, or A$49.95 to A$89.95 for 50GB where we offer it.

Which is better for one or two days?

Holafly. A single day of unlimited data is A$6 and we do not sell anything that small and cheap.

We now sell a separate unlimited range for Indonesia, Japan and Thailand. Japan full-speed has no separate tethering allowance; Japan 10Mbps has a whole-plan hotspot cap. We set no separate shop cap for Indonesia and Thailand; supplier hotspot support remains unconfirmed. Compare the exact terms in what unlimited means on a travel eSIM.

Sources

Our own prices from our live product pages. Holafly prices from their own destination pages, which use fixed Australian dollar price points rather than conversions. Holafly policy quotes from their refund policy, terms and conditions and terms of use, plus their destination pages for the hotspot allowance. All retrieved 17 to 20 August 2026. We re-check every price in this article monthly, and the maintained table is at travel eSIM prices in Australia.

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