When you take a trip abroad, you've probably been frustrated buying a physical SIM card at every new country you visit. This is where eSIMs come in.

Providers like Airalo and Airhub offer money and time-saving apps that let you download eSIMs on your eSIM-compatible smartphone to access data internationally.

This begs the question: which is the better eSIM service, Airalo or Airhub? As we'll see in this side-by-side comparison, we think Airalo is the better option based on our tests of both providers.

In this side-by-side review, we research pricing, data volume, speeds, coverage, and additional functionality. We also compare Airalo and Airhub on themes like trustworthiness and customer satisfaction.

Which Is More Trustworthy?

In the important area of reliability, safety, and credibility, both Airalo and Airhub are legit eSIM providers.

They're both registered and licensed telecom companies with an international presence: Airhub is a US-based business with offices in California. On the other side of the world, Airalo is based in Singapore with additional offices in Turkey and Canada.

Both companies have similar sized teams. However, Airalo has served millions more customers, which gives it a stronger reputation and sense of reliability.

Refund Policies

One area of difference between the two is in the area of refunds. Airalo and Airhub give you the full right to request a refund or eSIM replacement if things don't work as expected.

This doesn't include accidentally installing an eSIM incompatible with your device, so even though both companies' apps detect your device and warn you beforehand, it's still always important to make sure your device is eSIM compatible (we'll discuss this more later).

Airhub advertises a 100% money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied, but as we will discover at the end of this comparison, customers have found it very difficult to get the company to recognize their policy and issue refunds.

Which Offers The Better Plans?

In this category, we present our experiences of Airalo and Airhub. We found that although Airhub offers plans with voice minutes, Airalo has the edge with regard to overall quality of service.

Our team tested Airalo in the US, UK, Switzerland, Thailand, Hong Kong, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Singapore. Based on our varied experiences, here's how we thought they compared in seven key areas:

Area 1: Plans

When it comes to volumes of eSIM data packages on offer, Airhub and Airalo are pretty similar.

Airalo's data packages in all destinations are limited to a minimum of 1 GB and a maximum of 20 GB.

Airhub offers similar sized plans as well as unlimited plans. However, many customers found that these unlimited plans were often throttled after to 20GB mark.

Airhub does stand out with its voice plans, which allows you to make local phone calls and texts. Airalo does not offer talk and text plans, except for its global eSIM plans.

For other unlimited data options, you'll want to look at Holafly or GigSky.

Area 2: Coverage

A second point of divergence between Airalo and Airhub's services is that Airalo tends to offer slightly better coverage in general.

This is primarily because Airalo is available in over 200 countries, meaning you get data via local mobile network carriers pretty much no matter where you travel in the world, minus a certain small number of territories and dangerous countries.

Airhub offers slightly fewer than Airalo. However, both providers offer a large variety of regional and global plans, which cover multiple countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, North and South America, and other regions.

Area 3: Speeds

When it comes to network speeds, both Airalo and Airhub offer 3G, 4G LTE, and 5G connections in most countries. We found that Airalo was more transparent about its network speeds: its website shows you the speeds it offers by country, which Airhub's website doesn't for some plans.

Area 4: Support

If you want a refund, installation support, or just have a general question, Airalo allows you to easily and quickly get in touch with a human customer support agent. This can be done easiest through the mobile app, but you can also reach out over desktop via a live chat feature.

It took us 22 minutes to reach a human via the in-app chat with Airalo.

Airhub also has this capacity, but many customers came across unresponsiveness when requesting refunds and other customer support issues related to connectivity.

Area 5: App Experience

Both the Airhub and Airalo app are functional and easy to use. Our testers reported no issues, with both apps offering a smooth, easy-to-use experience, fast and clear installation processes, and an easy top-up of plans if needed.

Both apps are, of course, fully iOS and Android compatible.

Airhub vs Airalo: Which Is Cheaper?

In this category, Airhub usually offers the cheaper eSIMs overall.

Across destinations, regions, and the exact destination and the amount of data you're purchasing, Airhub often sells their eSIMs at more competitive prices than Airalo.

Airalo and Airhub both price their products per gigabyte. For example, if you buy a 1 GB package, you'll pay a once-off price for that data. If you buy a larger data package, say 20 GB, you can divide the price by the number of gigs to get your per-gigabyte rate, which is always lower the more gigabytes you buy due to the economy of scale (for larger packages, it can come to less than $1 per gigabyte in some countries).

However, Airhub also partners with some telecom providers to sell rolling monthly plans. For example, you can subscribe to their global eSIM plan at $29.86 USD per month for 25 GB per month.

Here are a few examples comparing packages in various popular countries that offer the same data allowance over the same number of days (priced in US dollars):

• 1-GB package (Thailand): Airalo $4.50, Airhub $0.85
• 1-GB package (Japan): Airalo $4.50, Airhub $1.50
• 3-GB package (France): Airalo $7.50, Airhub $3.50
• 10-GB package (USA): Airalo $42, Airhub $20
• 20-GB package (New Zealand): Airalo $40, Airhub $22.50
• Unlimited package (Europe): Airalo $35, Airhub $23

Compare each plan for your specific destination before purchasing an eSIM, as you could easily save some money by choosing the cheaper option. You can do so in just a few clicks using our real time eSIM comparison:

Which Do Customers Prefer More?

Airalo is well-liked by customers for its high-quality app, wide coverage, and competitive prices. Airhub, on the other hand, has very poor ratings and harsh reviews on Google Play, the App Store, and (especially) Trustpilot.

Many Airhub customers purchased eSIM advertised as "unlimited data" later to find out that the data was capped. These people have found it difficult to communicate with customer service to request refunds.

Recap: Should I Use Airalo or Airhub?

Before your trip, we recommend reflecting on a few questions, like what you plan to use your data for, how long you will be away, and whether you need any special additional features like hot-spotting or analogue calls.

In general, we recommend going with Airalo in the following cases:

• you're looking for a reliable app and eSIM connectivity;
• you want responsive and helpful customer support.

On the other hand, we recommend Airhub in the following cases:

• you're focused on cutting costs;
• you're looking for call/text plans in specific countries.