Airalo vs Nomad: Which eSIM Is The Better Choice?

Which is better, Airalo or Nomad? This short side-by-side review compares the two eSIM providers in several areas, including pricing, data volume, speeds, coverage, and additional functionality. We also assess the reliability and customer satisfaction of both services.

All things considered, Airalo and Nomad are remarkably similar. Each offers low rates, varied data packages, and a slick mobile app. However, there are a few subtleties that might sway you one way or the other, which we've summarised below. 👇

On the other hand, if you want to cut to the chase and compare Airalo and Nomad to twelve other trusted eSIM providers for your next holiday destination, then run a search using our real-time comparison engine below. 👇

Which Is More Trustworthy?

No matter which you choose, you can rest assured that Nomad and Airalo are both large and trustworthy companies that'll give you exactly what you pay for.

Both companies are registered and licensed telecom firms with an international presence: Nomad is based in Santa Clara, California, while Airalo is based in Singapore and has additional offices in Turkey and Canada. Nomad's eSIM team is smaller, with around 50 employees compared to Airalo's 200 employees. Also (and importantly, in our opinion), Airalo and Nomad both allow you to delete your account and personal information whenever you like and request a refund within 30 days of your purchase.

Which Offers The Better Plans?

When all's said and done, Nomad and Airalo both provide top-notch eSIMs that you can rely on in practically any popular holiday destination abroad. However, there are a few crucial differences between the two, which we've highlighted below:

1. Data Packages

The first major difference is that Airalo's data packages in all destinations are limited to a minimum of 1 GB and a maximum of 20 GB for a fixed contract period. In contrast, Nomad's data packages are a bit more flexible: they follow a 'mix-and-match' approach, where you choose the country, number of days you want data for, and how many gigabytes you want per day. You can also optionally choose a preset plan (e.g., 10 GB for 30 days), just like Airalo.

Airalo only allows you to buy a data package for a minimum of three days, while Nomad allows you to purchase single-day packages. Both providers offer durations of up to 30 days at maximum, but Airalo additionally lets you purchase a year-long (365-day) data package for global travel too.

If you're deciding between Airalo and Nomad, most travellers will ask themselves: 'How much data do I really need on my trip abroad?'

Let's delve into this by looking at the data consumption of an ordinary traveller. A busy day out, whether visiting a new European city for the first time, hiking through the jungle in Vietnam, or diving off the shores of Aruba, typically doesn't require as much data usage as you might think. After all, when you're travelling, you focus more on the real world than you do on the digital world. Still, your mobile phone can be useful, even crucial, for specific travel-related tasks. Below, we've summarised a few of them, plus the amount of data that each normally requires:

As you can see from the above, common travel-related tasks don't tend to be very data-heavy! Buying a large data package can be overkill, especially if you plan to use your data for navigation, social media, and the occasional WhatsApp call while using your hotel WiFi for more data-heavy activities like streaming, video calls, or downloads.

However, since both Airalo and Nomad offer small- and medium-sized data packages, this aspect isn't particularly different between the two.

2. Coverage

Airalo has a slight edge over Nomad when it comes to coverage.

To begin with, Airalo offers data plans to over 200 countries and regions, whereas Nomad offers plans to around 170 regions (which is still impressively many). This means that if you're travelling to a less-touristy country, it's possible Nomad won't offer any plans there, while Airalo will.

Both providers offer mobile data through local telecom carriers, giving you a good and reliable connection from the moment you arrive abroad. However, it's worth remembering that, depending on your destination, geographical coverage can differ a lot. Use this handy map to select your destination and the local carrier to see their geographical coverage for yourself.

3. Customer Support

If you have any questions, concerns, or issues with your eSIM before, during, or after your trip, Airalo and Nomad make it easy for you to quickly contact a customer support agent. The simplest way to do this is through their mobile apps, but you can also reach out via live chat on your desktop.

Regarding waiting times, we tested both and found that Airalo was quicker than Nomad. It took us 22 minutes to reach a human via Airalo's in-app support and 35 minutes to contact someone from Nomad on the website.

If you'd like to learn more about our global eSIM rankings, watch our YouTube video below. (Hint: Airalo specifically is one of the two top contenders!).

4. Additional Features

In this section, Airalo and Nomad are tied once again.

Both eSIM providers let you set up a mobile hotspot or tether your connection wherever you go. Both providers offer a global plan, but the difference is that Airalo's lasts up to 365 days and is valid in 124 countries while Nomad's is only valid for 30 days in 106 or 109 countries.

Both providers offer 4G and 5G speeds (although the specifics depend on the carrier and country), and both let you top up your data from the app. Finally, neither service offers texts or SMSs in their plans and both work when connecting to the internet via a VPN.

Airalo vs Nomad: Which Is Cheaper?

Pricing is often the area where eSIM providers are the most different.

However, once again, there's not too much difference in the case of Nomad and Airalo, who both offer excellent rates all around, although the winner of this category will depend on which country you're travelling to.

Airalo and Nomad are both priced 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).

So, which provider offers the better rates? Well, it depends on the country. 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):

• 10-GB package (USA): Airalo $26, Nomad $24
• 3-GB package (Vietnam): Airalo $9.50, Nomad $10
• 10-GB package (Europe): Airalo $37, Nomad $22
• 1-GB package (Australia): Airalo $4.50, Nomad $4.50
• 3-GB package (Japan): Airalo $8.50, Nomad $9

As you can see, the pricing is neck-in-neck, and it's impossible to say one provider is always cheaper. However, if we were to observe one pattern, it'd be that Nomad is generally cheaper on larger plans and Airalo on smaller plans. Still, you should always 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?

Both Airalo and Nomad are well-liked by customers, but Nomad gets a slightly better five-star rating in total, especially on Trustpilot. Customers frequently praised both providers' speeds, reliability, and customer service, while common criticisms included a weak connection in some places and difficulties installing eSIMs.