Holafly Review: Best eSIM for Travel? (Not Always)

Thinking about getting the Holafly eSim for your next trip? This guide will help you figure out if that will work for you!

Holafly offers some great eSim packages with unlimited data, but they’re not for everyone. If you need internet access on your phone to check maps and social media they’re great, but they’re not for remote workers. Keep reading to see why that is, and get all the other information you need about Holafly to see if they’re right for you.

What is Holafly and how does it work?

Holafly is an eSim provider based in Spain that operates globally. They offer eSim packages for various countries and regions in the world, and they’re one of the top choices among frequent travelers.

Holafly is popular because of its excellent network coverage, affordable prices, and good data packages. They offer an eSim in pretty much every corner of the world for a fair price, plus they’ll deliver it to you as soon as the payment clears.

They’re great because the eSim plans are very transparent and easy to set up. You just find the plan that works in the country or region you’re in, buy it, and they’ll send you a QR code for activation.

Holafly provides you with different services in different countries depending on the plan, but you can expect to have mobile data access wherever you are. They’re usually not tied to just one network provider, so you get the best coverage no matter where you are.

Networks used by Holafly for their eSim

The best thing about Holafly eSim cards is that they aren’t usually tied to just one network carrier. The eSim switches carriers based on who offers the best coverage, which you wouldn’t be able to do with a local sim card. This means that no matter where you are, you will have the best possible coverage with the Holafly eSim.

Of course, this depends on the specific country – you can switch between five different network providers in Italy, but you’re stuck with Tele2 in Croatia.

Holafly eSim Plan Offers

Holafly offers many different data plans, which usually range from a 5-day plan to a 3-month plan. This is the case with all their packages for Europe and North America (and many Asian countries), which all have unlimited data. The price depends on how long the plan is active, and it usually starts at $19 for 5 days and goes up to $99 for the three-month plan.

They also offer many packages with limited data, and in most cases, this is 6 GB valid for 15 days. The price varies from one country to another, but the numbers I’ve seen most frequently are $34 and $44. In other countries like Canada, you can choose from a couple of plans with different data limits and prices.

Holafly is also popular for its regional plans – if you’re going backpacking through Europe and you need mobile data for a month, you’ll be happy to know that the regional plan is no more expensive than the individual country plans. But this is only the case with a few regions (Europe, USA) and regional plans are generally more expensive than individual country data plans.

Advantages of Using Holafly eSim

The main advantage of using a Holafly eSim while you’re abroad is that you get easy internet access on your phone without the data roaming charges. Also, if you’re traveling in Europe or North America, you will definitely get unlimited data – the price of the eSim will depend on how long you keep the sim active.

Another big advantage is that you can easily purchase and activate the eSim online in 5-10 minutes, so there’s no need to walk around a foreign city searching for a place to buy a prepaid sim card.

On top of that, you will probably get better network coverage than buying a local sim card. With physical sim cards, you’re locked to one specific carrier that may or may not offer good coverage everywhere. Holafly eSim cards usually aren’t locked to just one carrier and they switch networks to provide you with the best coverage possible at every location.

Disadvantages of Using Holafly eSim

There are two main disadvantages of Holafly eSim on many of their plans (some don’t have these problems).

• local phone numbers
• no hotspot, data shring or tethering

Holafly Data Sharing Not Allowed? (Not Quite True)

In most cases, these days, Holafly allows up to 500 MB of data sharing on their unlimited plans. These used to be completely blocked for sharing, but they have relaxed it to this limit more recently.

If you have one of their prepaid GB packages, then usually sharing is allowed.

How to Buy a Holafly eSim at Your Travel Destination

Buying a Holafly eSim is super easy – you just need to visit their website, search for the country (or region) you’re interested in, and select a plan that works for you. If you’re staying in just one country, look for data plans just for that specific country. But if you will be traveling to more than one country, it’s best to purchase an eSim that covers that entire region (Europe, Asia, etc.).

Once you’ve found an eSim plan that works for you, just add it to your cart and go to checkout. Pay for the plan, and as soon as the payment clears, you will be sent a QR code along with instructions on how to activate the eSim.

Is Holafly Legit?

Honestly, yes, Holafly is definitely a legitimate company. I have had direct contact with their team and founder.

They work very hard to create a great product and constantly improve it. Their team just contacted me recently to update me on improvements in their hotspot availability, their new App and also the access to a phone number in some European eSim plans.

They have a 4.7 on TrustPilot which I believe is a great rating for such a small company. Their eSims are very competitive and if you want unlimited data you can’t go wrong.

Holafly Discount Code

Holafly has been nice enough to give readers of our blog a 5% discount code on your first purchase.

Just use this link to their website and you will be automatically given 5%.

How to Setup & Activate Your Holafly eSim

All you need to do to activate a Holafly eSim is scan a QR code and tap a few buttons. First, open the settings on your phone and find the Add a Cellular Plan/eSim option. On iPhones, go to Settings – Cellular – Add Cellular/Mobile Plan.

On my Samsung, I can find it in Connections – Sim Manager – Add eSim. If your phone’s settings have a search function, you can just type in “esim” and it should pop up.

When you select this setting you’ll be prompted to scan a QR code or input the details manually. Holafly will send you a QR code in an email, so you can scan it from there – open the email on your laptop, or a different phone, or print it out if you’re old school. My advice is to screenshot the QR code, either way, just to have access to an offline copy on your phone.

Keep in mind that your Holafly eSim plan is activated as soon as you scan the QR code they send you, so it’s best to wait and scan the code when you arrive at your destination.

What is an eSim?

eSim stands for Embedded Subscriber Identity Module and it is pretty much a chip in your phone that functions as a regular sim card. However, the chip alone cannot replace a physical sim – you must purchase some sort of eSim plan, in order to reap the benefits of having a virtual sim card.

It’s assumed that this technology will eventually make physical sim cards obsolete, but we’re still years away from that scenario. In any case, an eSim can be just as functional as a physical sim card, but the functionality ultimately depends on the type of cellular plan you purchase.

In other words, there’s a big difference between the eSim you can purchase from your local network carrier and the one you buy online just to have internet access in a foreign country.

Some eSim plans function just as regular postpaid plans, while others only provide you with data and not a phone number, so they’re not equally functional. eSim plans from your local providers should be able to replace your physical sim, but international eSim plans like Holafly don’t work like that.

What devices support eSim?

A mobile device supports an eSim if it has a specific chip installed for this technology. I’m writing this in 2023, and at this time, this technology is still being reserved for the best and priciest phones out there – flagships.

eSim technology was first introduced with the Google Pixel 2 phone back in 2017, so the technology has existed for quite a while. Apple and Samsung were the first to incorporate this technology into their devices after Google; the main difference between the brands is that Apple has put eSim chips into all the iPhones they released since, but Samsung has only put the technology into its flagship phones.

That makes sense since Apple doesn’t really do budget phones, whereas Samsung offers a smartphone in pretty much every price range, from $150 to $1500+. Google, Oppo, Motorola, Xiaomi, and many other brands have since included this technology in some of their devices.

I’m not going to give you a list of every single device out there that supports an eSim because that’s already easily accessible online. Instead, I will tell you the quickest way of checking if your smartphone supports an eSim – just call *#06# and if there’s an EID number, your phone supports the technology. No EID number means your phone doesn’t support an eSim.

On top of that, I have to point out that most iPhones produced in 2018 and later support an eSim, except for those manufactured in China. Flagships from other brands produced in this period also support eSims, but most budget and mid-range phones don’t.

Also, your phone needs to have dual sim capabilities, otherwise, you won’t be able to set up an international eSim if you already have a physical sim card installed.

Holafly eSim Review - Frequently Asked Questions