Nomad vs The SIM Shop: stronger rewards or simpler local terms?

The price comparison

Nomad’s Australian storefront rendered AUD automatically on 25 August 2026. The earlier US-dollar table is stale, so we have replaced it with three current 10GB/30-day examples.

Nomad’s China and Canada pages showed higher regular prices alongside the sales, so check the live total. On these captures Nomad was lower. Elsewhere, compare the exact plans on the day. That is more useful than an old argument about which currency the storefront used.

Nomad also discounts constantly with seasonal and multi-plan codes, which is good for you at the checkout and makes any price table a snapshot. Ours is dated for that reason.

One structural advantage worth naming: Nomad’s Global-EX range runs to 365 days of validity, with fifty gigabytes over a year. We have nothing that shape. For a gap year or a long posting, that is decisive.

Our full ladder is in travel eSIM prices in Australia. The SIM Shop is not registered for GST, so GST is not charged. The checkout total is the amount we charge you.

When Nomad is the better fit

1. Their loyalty programme is stronger for many regular buyers. Nomad’s is fully documented:

• 25 points per US$5 spent, redeemed at 100 points to US$1, a straight five per cent back
• 200 bonus points, worth US$2, on any repeat purchase of 10GB or more, up to five times a calendar month
• Points can be taken as bonus data, extra days or extended validity instead of money off
• Points expire after six months, except points issued as a refund, which do not expire
• Referral pays US$5 to the referrer and US$5 off for the new customer, capped at five friends
• A free starter eSIM for new users, which nobody else in this category offers. Sources disagree on whether it is 1GB or 500MB, so treat the size as unconfirmed

Our SIM Shop Credit terms are public too: five per cent of eligible spend, with A$10 and A$15 order caps and a twelve-month expiry. Nomad adds a repeat-purchase bonus and free starter eSIM that we do not, so regular buyers may get more from theirs. Ours stays in Australian dollars and is easier to value at checkout.

2. A free trial. No other provider in this comparison offers one, and it removes the risk of buying before you know the product works on your phone.
3. Faster refund payouts. Three to five business days to your card, or points immediately. Our published card-refund timing is five to ten business days after submission, so Nomad is faster on paper.
4. A 60 day activation window , which is generous if you buy well ahead.
5. UK plans that include minutes and texts. Almost nothing in this category bundles real voice, and we do not.
6. Long validity. The Global-EX range to 365 days.

“Customers may request a refund or a change prior to the installation and activation of the E-sim or there is a known technical problem originating from NOMAD after activation of E-sim.”

Read that carefully. There is no cooling off period after activation unless the fault is Nomad’s, and it must be a known technical problem originating from them. That is a narrower test than any other provider in this category publishes.

3. You cannot find out what their unlimited plans throttle to. Three sources give three answers:

• Nomad’s own country pages describe the throttle as 512 kbps
• An independent plan database lists Nomad’s Japan unlimited as 2GB a day at full speed then 1 Mbps
• Nomad’s terms and conditions do not mention throttling at all

We are not accusing Nomad of concealing anything. The likeliest explanation is that it varies by plan and the generic pages have not kept pace. But the effect on a buyer is the same: you cannot find out before paying what your unlimited plan degrades to, and 512 kbps and 1 Mbps are not the same experience.

We should be straight here too: our exact daily plans publish the allowance and supplier-backed reduced-speed wording, but only some carry a numeric post-allowance speed. Nomad’s position is also inconsistent, while Ubigi, Airalo and Saily publish clearer universal numbers. Sourced comparison: what “unlimited” actually means.

4. Australian company, Australian law. Nomad has no Australian entity, office or support hours that we could find, and its terms make no reference to Australian Consumer Law. Its “no refund after activation” position sits awkwardly against Australian consumer guarantees, which apply to services supplied to Australian consumers regardless of what a contract says and which a term cannot exclude.

The practical difference is how you would exercise those rights. A dispute with an Australian company runs through a local tribunal. A dispute with a company that has no Australian presence, over a twenty dollar plan, realistically does not run anywhere.

5. Published support hours. Nomad’s homepage claims 24/7 support. At least one independent reviewer describes its live chat as business hours only. We could not resolve that from Nomad’s own material, so treat the hours as unconfirmed either way. We publish ours.

The discount code claim, and what we actually found

This is the part where a competitor comparison usually cuts a corner, so here is the full position.

Several third-party sites report that plans bought with a Nomad discount code are non-refundable. If true, that would matter a great deal, because Nomad markets heavily with codes: seasonal offers, multi-plan codes, student discounts and third-party affiliate codes. A large share of their orders would be affected.

We could not verify it. We looked at Nomad’s terms and conditions and their help centre refund article and found no such clause. The same third-party sources also state a 30 day refund window, which likewise does not appear in Nomad’s own material.

So the honest position is:

• The exclusion may exist in campaign-specific terms we could not locate
• It may be out of date, or a misreading of another provider’s policy
• It is not in Nomad’s published terms as far as we could find

What to do about it: if you are buying from Nomad with a discount code and there is any chance you will want a refund, ask them in writing before you pay and keep the answer. That is the useful advice regardless of who is right.

We would rather publish an unresolved question than repeat a claim we could not stand behind. Full process either way: how a Nomad refund works.

Where we are the same

Neither of us has phone support. Both chat and email.

Both permit hotspot with no published device limit. Neither of us states an explicit “no limit” the way Airalo does.

Neither of us publishes one throttle number across every plan, as above. We publish an exact reduced speed wherever our supplier states one and do not invent it where they do not.

Both are data only, except that Nomad’s UK plans include minutes and texts and ours do not.

The verdict

Choose Nomad if its live AUD price is lower for your destination. Or if you buy several eSIMs a year and its repeat-purchase rewards suit you. Or if you want a free trial before committing, a plan that stays valid for up to a year, or UK calls and texts.

Consider us if you want the whole relationship to be local: an Australian company, GST-inclusive AUD checkout, published support hours, one refund policy and public SIM Shop Credit terms. We may also be lower on your exact destination, so compare the two live plans rather than relying on an older brand-wide price claim.

And if you buy Nomad with a discount code, ask them about the refund position in writing first.

We have also compared Nomad against the rest of the field, without us in the picture, in Airalo vs Nomad and Ubigi vs Nomad.

Questions people actually ask

Is Nomad cheaper than The SIM Shop?

Sometimes. Nomad now displays AUD, so compare the exact live plans. On 25 August 2026 it led the captured China, Canada and 14-country Asia Pacific examples, with the first two marked as sales. Another destination or date may produce a different answer.

Does Nomad charge in Australian dollars?

Its Australian storefront rendered Australian-dollar prices automatically when we checked on 25 August 2026. Confirm the currency and final total at checkout, especially if a card fee would change your decision.

What is Nomad’s refund policy?

Their terms allow a refund before installation and activation, or where there is a “known technical problem originating from NOMAD” after activation. There is no general cooling off period once a plan is activated, which is the narrowest position of any provider we have compared.

Are Nomad plans bought with a discount code refundable?

Several third-party sites say they are not, but we could not find such a clause in Nomad’s own terms or help centre, so we are treating it as unconfirmed. If you are using a code and might want a refund, ask Nomad in writing before you pay and keep the answer.

How good is Nomad’s rewards programme?

Genuinely good, and fully published: 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. Our public SIM Shop Credit terms also return five per cent of eligible spend, with Australian-dollar order caps and a twelve-month expiry, but we do not match Nomad’s repeat bonus or free starter eSIM.

What speed does Nomad throttle to?

It is not clearly published. Their country pages say 512 kbps, an independent plan database lists 1 Mbps for at least one Japan plan, and their terms and conditions do not mention throttling at all. Our own selected-plan wording is exact where supplier evidence exists and deliberately non-numeric where it does not.

How long does a Nomad refund take?

Three to five business days to your original card, or immediately if you take it as points, and points issued as a refund do not expire. That is the fastest payout of any provider we compared.

Does Nomad have Australian support?

We found no Australian entity, office or support hours. Their homepage claims 24/7 support while at least one independent reviewer describes their live chat as business hours only, and we could not resolve that from their own material.

Sources

Our own prices from our live product pages. Nomad’s Australian-dollar storefront and the China, Canada and Asia Pacific examples were captured from its own live pages on 25 August 2026. Nomad policy from their terms and conditions, Nomad Points help article and refunds help article. Our rewards description comes from our public SIM Shop Credit terms. The discount-code refund exclusion, the 30 day window and the support hours are reported by third parties and could not be verified against Nomad’s own material; all three are labelled unconfirmed in the text. We re-check every price in this article monthly.

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