Holafly vs Ubigi: unlimited days or metered gigabytes

What each one costs on Japan

The two pages did not give us one clean currency view when we checked on 27 August 2026. Ubigi displayed US$16.50. Holafly’s interactive selector displayed A$6.00 for one day, while the separate duration table further down the same page still showed its three to thirty day examples in US dollars. Confirm the settlement currency at checkout before you pay, because a selector or comparison table is not always the currency your card is charged in.

Holafly, Japan unlimited plans, checked 27 August 2026:

Ubigi, Japan, checked 27 August 2026:

We have not published a break-even figure, and you should be wary of anyone who does from two numbers. Working out the point where unlimited days beat metered gigabytes needs the full duration and data ladder for both providers on your destination, and it moves every time either of them runs a sale. What we can say is the shape of it: a thirty day Holafly plan at US$73.90 against a thirty day Ubigi 10GB plan at US$16.50 is a wide gap, and closing it takes a lot of data.

Where Holafly’s shape wins: short trips and odd-length trips. The interactive selector offered one day at A$6.00, which has no natural Ubigi equivalent, and a ten day plan fits a ten day holiday better than a thirty day data bucket you will not finish.

We keep a dated multi-provider table here: travel eSIM prices in Australia.

What happens when you use a lot of data

This is where the two differ most, and both positions are published.

Ubigi puts a number on it

Ubigi’s own fair use explanation gives different thresholds for different plan types. On the examples they publish:

• Seven day country plans: speeds are reduced to 2 Mbps after around 15GB to 25GB of usage, depending on the country.
• Thirty day regional plans: speeds are reduced to 2 Mbps after 60GB of usage, depending on the country.

Those thresholds belong to those plan types, not to Ubigi as a whole. Their unlimited country, regional and world plans each have their own figure, so check the plan you are actually buying rather than assuming a number carries across. The source is Ubigi’s unlimited data plans FAQ.

The reduced speed itself is stated as up to 2 Mbps where the policy applies. Ubigi’s own description is that you stay connected for navigation, email and social apps, and that streaming and heavy browsing get slower. That reads as fair to us.

The useful thing here is not the number itself. It is that there is a number. You can decide before you pay whether 2 Mbps would ruin your trip.

Holafly describes a process rather than a threshold

Holafly’s Japan page explains that network operators apply a fair usage measure, and that where it is applied it is temporary and lasts no more than one day before resetting.

That tells you the mechanism but not the trigger, so you cannot work out in advance whether an ordinary fortnight would reach it. In fairness, an undisclosed trigger is not necessarily a low one, and most Holafly customers on a normal holiday will never think about it.

Our full sourced comparison across providers sits here: what “unlimited” actually means.

Sharing your connection

Holafly’s Japan unlimited plans publish a hotspot allowance of 1GB a day, described on their page as sharing one gigabyte per day with family, friends or fellow travellers, with the total scaling to the length of the plan.

That is a clear number and we would rather have a clear number than silence. It is also the clause most likely to catch someone out, because the traveller most drawn to an unlimited plan is often the one planning to share it. One gigabyte a day is roughly a couple of hours of ordinary laptop use.

Ubigi’s Japan 10GB plan states that data sharing is allowed, with tethering drawing on the plan’s own data rather than a separate tethering budget. On a 10GB plan, sharing simply spends the 10GB faster.

Neither approach is better in the abstract. If you are sharing lightly, Holafly’s daily gigabyte is fine. If a laptop is going to live on that connection, a metered plan you can top up is the more predictable option.

More detail: travel eSIM hotspot limits compared.

Refunds, and what each is good at

Holafly’s Japan page states you have up to six months to request a refund, covering withdrawal from the service, an incompatible device or connection problems, with full or partial outcomes depending on circumstances. Six months is a long window and it is genuinely useful if you book a long way ahead.

Ubigi’s Japan plan activates automatically when you arrive, with the validity period starting from that moment, and their page states a plan expires if it is not activated within six months of purchase. So an unused Ubigi plan is not stranded the moment you buy it either.

The practical rule for both, and for us: if something is not working, get in touch while you are still away rather than when you get home. Every refund process in this category is easier when the fault can still be seen.

We compare all the published policies here: travel eSIM refund policies compared.

Two Ubigi features that rarely make it into comparisons

You can top up without a working connection. Ubigi’s Japan plan page states you can top up anywhere via their app, even without wifi or remaining data. That solves the circular problem that catches people out across this whole category, where you need data in order to buy data. Very few providers have an answer to it, and we do not have one either.

They name the local networks on the plan. The Japan 10GB plan we checked names KDDI and NTT Docomo as the carriers behind it. That is genuinely useful if you are heading somewhere rural and want to know whose coverage map to look at. It is specific to that plan, so check the destination you are buying.

Both from Ubigi’s Japan 10GB 30 day plan page, checked 27 August 2026.

Which one, by trip

A note on where we fit

We sell fixed-data plans in Australian dollars, so we are closer to Ubigi’s model than Holafly’s. On our own Japan plan we publish the supported local networks directly on the product page, and our current Japan 10GB over 30 days is A$19.95. If you want that comparison properly, it belongs in a Japan article rather than here.

The reason this page has no pitch in it is simple: if you are choosing between Holafly and Ubigi, you have already decided what shape of plan you want, and the useful thing we can do is tell you what each one publishes.

Questions people actually ask

Is Holafly’s unlimited data really unlimited?

Their page describes a fair usage measure that operators apply temporarily, for no more than a day at a time, rather than publishing a trigger point. So there is a mechanism but no threshold you can plan around. Most people on a normal holiday will not notice.

What speed does Ubigi slow to?

Up to 2 Mbps where the fair use policy applies, on the plans it applies to. The threshold varies by plan type and destination, so read the figure for the plan you are buying rather than assuming one number covers everything.

Which is cheaper for two weeks in Japan?

On the prices we saw on 27 August 2026, fifteen days of Holafly was US$50.50 and a Ubigi 10GB plan valid thirty days was US$16.50. Holafly closes that gap only if you would comfortably exceed 10GB in a fortnight, which is around 700MB a day.

Can I use either as a hotspot?

Both allow it. Holafly’s Japan unlimited plans publish a 1GB per day sharing allowance. Ubigi’s Japan 10GB plan allows data sharing from the plan’s own data.

Do they bill in Australian dollars?

Holafly’s interactive selector showed Australian dollars and A$6.00 for one day, while its separate duration table still showed US dollars. Ubigi displayed US$16.50. Check what the checkout says before you pay, because that is where a foreign transaction fee comes from.

Which one names the network?

Ubigi does on the Japan plan we checked, naming KDDI and NTT Docomo. We did not find an equivalent statement on the Holafly Japan page.

What if I run out?

Ubigi lets you top up through their app without wifi or remaining data, which is the better answer. Holafly’s unlimited plans do not run out in that sense, though a fair usage measure may apply temporarily.

Can I keep my Australian number?

With either, yes. A travel eSIM installs as a second line, so your Australian SIM stays in the phone for calls and texts while the eSIM carries data. Turn data roaming off on your Australian line before you go.

Sources

Holafly plan prices, including the interactive one day A$6.00 selection and the separate static USD duration table, the 1GB per day sharing allowance, the fair usage description and the six month refund period from Holafly’s Japan eSIM page, checked 27 August 2026. Ubigi plan price, named carriers, data sharing, top up without wifi, activation on arrival and six month unactivated expiry from Ubigi’s Japan 10GB 30 day plan page, checked 27 August 2026. Ubigi’s fair use thresholds and 2 Mbps reduced speed from Ubigi’s unlimited data plans FAQ, checked 27 August 2026. The SIM Shop Japan price and published supported networks from our Japan eSIM page. All prices are as displayed on the dates shown and change without notice.

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