Airalo vs Ubigi eSims: Your Best Choice Is?

If you are tossing up between Airalo and Ubigi, then you are in the right place. In this article, I will show you which one is better in different situations, and why.

each of these eSim providers has different strengths and weaknesses, and their prices vary a lot as well. So, by breaking down each of these areas, I want to make it easier for you to decide which one to use.

Airalo Pros & Cons

One of the top eSIM providers is definitely Airalo. I have used them a lot while traveling, and can only say good things about them. 

I love their low-price prepaid eSim data packages which are available for most major countries and regions around the world. Of course, there are a few limitations and downsides, which I will list with the pros below.

Pros

• Great prices per Gig, even for small data packages
• Use their App or website to buy, or renew your package
• All major countries and regions (84 countries)
• Great service and expiration reminders by email

Cons

• Some countries have more expensive packages
• 30 days is the longest data package they have
• Only 4G coverage

Ubigi Pros & Cons

Ubigi eSIMs may not be as well known as Airalo, Nomad or Holafly, but they have some great offers for prepaid eSim data packages. Their focus is on flexibility in their package structure, not just one-off eSim that needs renewing or replacing. They also offer 5G in a lot of locations, which is rare for an eSim provider in my experience.

Pros

• 5G coverage in over 31 major locations
• Flexible plan structure (one-off, monthly, annual)
• Huge list of individual plans for 153 countries
• Maximum data packages are 20-50 GB

Cons

• Some issues with customer service I found on the Ubigi App site, but overall 4.5

When Should You Use Airalo?

Airalo is one of easiest eSims to buy and use. I would recommend them to most people who just need 1-10 GB for up to 30 days.

They have a decent range of local, regional and global plans. Their service is very good. Their website and mobile App make it easy to buy, monitor and renew your plans. And, they send you emails when your plan is almost empty or expiring – very handy!

The only time I would NOT use Airalo is when you need

• lots of data (they are better for smaller packages)
• you need longer time periods (although it’s easy to renew)month
• the country you are visiting is not on their list (scroll down for that)

Airalo Prices

Airalo Europe Prices

Airalo are quite competitive, so let me give you some examples:

• Spain – 5 GB – 30 Days– $11.50 ($2.3 per GB)
• Isreal – 1 GB – 7 Days – $5.50 ($5.5 per GB)
• UK – 20 GB – 30 Days – $36 ($1.8 per GB)
• Aisa (13 countries) – 3 GB – 30 Days – $13.00 ($4.3 per GB)
• Global (84 countries) – 5 GB – 30 Days – $35 ($7 per GB)

The more data you buy, the cheaper it gets as you can see above. Also, the more popular and Western countries tend to have lower prices. Although to be honest, having reviewed most eSim providers, that is the pricing variations they all have.

So, Airalo packages cost between $7 – $2 per GB depending on which country/region and how long you want it for.

You can see all the Airalo packages here

Read my full review of Airalo here.

When Should You Use Ubigi?

In my opinion, Ubigi is great for its flexible packages with monthly subscriptions and combo packages between continents. That is where they really come into their own

In general, they are around the same price per GB of data, but you may find some slight differences if you dig deeper.

Let’s take a look at some of their prices.

Ubigi Prices

France eSIMs from Ubigi

Ubigi has some real flexibility in its packages as well as competitive prices. Above you can see some of the prices for eSIMs in France and they also show you relevant pricing in packages that cover France, like Europe, USA + Europe etc.

• France – 5 GB – monthly – $9 (Continuous Monthly package)
• France – 10 GB – 30 days –  $16
• France – 50 GB – 30 days –  $58

Compare that to Europe eSim packages that are more expensive, but covers the whole of Europe, Switzerland, UK and Eastern Europe.

• Europe – 1 GB – 30 days – $8
• Europe – 10 GB – 30 days – $59

Their combo packages are also very useful for those of you traveling between countries or continents.

Airalo Country List

In case you were wondering, Airalo has a lot of countries, but nothing very far off the beaten path:

Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong), China (Macao), Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (U.S.)

Ubigi Country List (190 Countries)

Ubigi says they cover 190+ countries. I found it hard to get an exact list, but with this map, you get a good idea of what they cover.