Ubigi or Airalo: which eSIM to choose for your trip in 2026?

What are the differences between Ubigi and Airalo?

The first difference between Ubigi and Airalo lies in what they are. Ubigi is a mobile virtual network operator: a single eSIM, reusable in all its destinations. Its competitor is a store that resells plans from many operators: one eSIM per destination or per region. In this comparison across twelve criteria, Ubigi wins six, the store five, and one criterion is a tie. The winning cell carries a ✅.

Collected on October 22, 2026 on cellulardata.ubigi.com, airalo.com and Trustpilot.

What is Ubigi and which eSIMs does Ubigi offer?

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 / 5

eSIMrat rating

• ✓Volume plans (500 MB to 200 GB) or unlimited
• ✓Unlimited: 25 to 60 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbit/s
• ✓More than 200 destinations with a single eSIM
• ✓Top up in the app without Wi-Fi or data
• ✓Monthly subscriptions and plans for Windows PCs

%code “ESIMRAT” (-10%)

From

3€00

1 GB, 7 days (Thailand)

See offers

Ubigi is the consumer brand of Transatel, a French mobile virtual network operator and subsidiary of the Japanese group NTT. It has its own international roaming agreements with local operators, which lets it sell a single eSIM, valid in more than 200 destinations, to which you add a plan for each trip. Ubigi offers country plans, regional plans (Europe, Asia, Americas) and world plans.

Ubigi sells three families of offers on its website and in its app. Volume plans, from 500 MB to 200 GB, valid from 1 to 360 days. Unlimited data, in tiers of 7, 15 and 30 days on major destinations (8 days in Japan), with a full-speed cap written on every plan page. And monthly or annual subscriptions, which are rare among travel eSIMs.

Ubigi also stands out on devices: in addition to iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, it sells plans for eSIM-compatible laptops running Windows 10 and 11. Your Ubigi account is used to buy, use and top up your eSIMs, on your phone as well as on your computer. Our full review of Ubigi covers the rest of its catalog.

Prices collected on October 22, 2026 on cellulardata.ubigi.com, in euros. Discounted amounts calculated from the −10% rate of the ESIMRAT code.

What is Airalo and which eSIMs does Airalo offer?

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 / 5

eSIMrat rating

• ✓Volume plans (1 to 100 GB) or unlimited
• ✓Unlimited: 3 GB per day at full speed, then 1 Mbit/s
• ✓More than 200 destinations, local, regional and global eSIMs
• ✓Plans with calls and texts in some destinations
• ✓24/7 support by chat and WhatsApp

%code “ESIMRAT” (-15%)

From

4€00

1 GB, 3 days (Japan, United States, Thailand)

See offers

Airalo is a travel eSIM store that claims more than 30 million customers and more than 200 destinations, with an app available in 53 languages. It doesn't run a network: it resells plans from partner operators under its own names (Moshi Moshi in Japan, Maew in Thailand, Eurolink for the regional Europe plan, Discover for the global plan).

Airalo offers volume plans, from 1 to 100 GB, unlimited data from 3 to 30 days, and in some destinations plans that add call minutes and texts, an option Ubigi doesn't have. In the United States, 10 GB with 100 minutes and 100 texts over 30 days costs €28. For a trip around the world, the Discover eSIM covers “168 countries and networks”: €8 per GB over 7 days, €61 for 20 GB valid 365 days, and Discover+ adds call minutes and texts.

It also rewards loyalty with Airmoney, a credit of 5% to 10% of each purchase depending on your level, to spend on later orders, but it can't be combined with a promo code. Our full review of Airalo covers its strengths and limits.

Prices collected on October 22, 2026 on airalo.com, in euros (Eurolink plans, “41 countries and networks”).

How much do Ubigi and Airalo plans cost?

On plan prices, Ubigi is cheaper in 16 head-to-heads out of 23 collected at equal length, Airalo in 5, with 2 ties. But the gap depends a lot on the destination: huge in Europe, small in Japan and the United States, and sometimes in Airalo's favor in Thailand.

Let's start with unlimited data. Ubigi wins 7 head-to-heads out of 11, its rival 3, with one tie.

In Japan, Ubigi has no 7-day tier: its short unlimited plan lasts 8 days for €25, versus €24.50 for 7 days at Airalo. The store, on the other hand, sells 3, 5 and 10-day tiers that Ubigi doesn't have: for a 10-day stay, you pay €32 in Japan with the store, versus €39 for the 15-day tier at Ubigi.

Now for the volume plan. Ubigi wins 9 head-to-heads out of 12, and the biggest gaps are in Europe and the United States.

eSIMrat codes don't change the ranking. ESIMRAT gives −10% on all Ubigi orders, and −15% on your first Airalo order, with the discount capped at $10. On a single purchase, the gap narrows; on later trips, only the Ubigi discount keeps working.

Prices collected on October 22, 2026 on cellulardata.ubigi.com and airalo.com, in euros, without a promo code. Gaps: Ubigi price compared with the Airalo price, rounded to the nearest whole number.

What is the best eSIM plan for travel with Ubigi or Airalo?

The best eSIM plan for travel, or the best data plan, depends first on your usage. If you stay under 1 GB per day, a volume plan costs two to four times less than an unlimited plan, at both: in Europe, 10 GB over 30 days costs €15 at Ubigi, versus €62 for 30 days of unlimited data.

For reference, typical travel use (maps, messaging apps like WhatsApp, social media, a bit of browsing) often comes to around 500 MB to 1 GB per day. Over two weeks, 10 to 15 GB is therefore enough for most travelers, provided you use the hotel Wi-Fi for big updates. Our data usage calculator helps you estimate your needs before you buy.

Unlimited data only pays off if you use a lot every day: video streaming, video calls, remote work. And in that case, the choice is no longer just about price, but about how each one throttles its data, as you'll see below.

The rat's advice: before you buy, open your phone's settings and look at your mobile data usage over the last month. If you're under 1 GB per day, go for volume and keep the difference for your trip: in Europe, a week costs €12 for 10 GB at Ubigi, versus €25 for unlimited data at Airalo.

Is unlimited data from Ubigi and Airalo really unlimited?

No. The total volume isn't limited, but the speed drops after a threshold, at both. What changes is how it's counted: Ubigi caps unlimited data over the whole length of the plan, Airalo per day.

Ubigi writes its threshold on every plan page, in a “Fair Use Policy” block: 25 GB at full speed on the 7-day unlimited plan, 30 GB over 15 days, 60 GB over 30 days. Once the threshold is reached, the speed drops to 2 Mbit/s until the end of the plan: the connection still works, but a video takes longer to load. Only the 8-day unlimited plan in Japan counts per day: 5 GB at full speed every day.

Airalo's fair usage policy sets the threshold at 3 GB per day by default. Beyond that, the speed drops to 1 Mbit/s for the rest of the day, and the counter resets every 24 hours after activation. Some plans have a different threshold, shown in their details. Here too, the eSIM keeps working after the threshold, just more slowly.

In practice, Ubigi unlimited suits people who will use a lot of data irregularly: you can burn through 8 GB the day you download series and almost nothing the next day. The store's unlimited plan suits heavy, steady usage on a long stay, since it leaves up to 90 GB at full speed over a month, but it throttles you as soon as a day goes over 3 GB.

Trustpilot reviews show both pitfalls. On October 6, 2026, an Airalo customer complains about a 15-day unlimited plan in South Korea slowed to 1 Mbit/s after 3 GB in a day. On October 16, 2026, an Ubigi customer describes a 15-day unlimited plan in Japan throttled for usage deemed excessive. Our page on fair usage policy explains how to read these thresholds.

Airalo or Ubigi: which one is faster?

On speed, both eSIMs reach several hundred Mbit/s download, on 4G as on 5G, and the gap depends mainly on the local network used in each country. Neither builds antennas: the performance you get is that of the partner operator, and it drops in rural areas just as it does for any local subscriber.

The site Travel eSIM Expert, which publishes speed tests measured on location with Ookla's Speedtest app, names Ubigi the winner. These measurements were taken in cities, not in rural areas, where speed depends above all on the nearest antenna. Its best published results are in the table below, for download and upload.

Above all, these figures show that a travel eSIM works as fast as a local SIM card: 20 Mbit/s is enough for an HD video call. The same site also measures support response time: about 9 minutes on WhatsApp at Airalo, about 1 minute by email at Ubigi.

Coverage matters more than peak speed. Ubigi claims more than 200 destinations, Airalo more than 200 locations, and both sell country, regional and world plans. The differences show up country by country: in Japan, Ubigi uses three networks (KDDI, NTT Docomo, SoftBank), Airalo two (SoftBank and KDDI, on 5G). In the United States, Ubigi uses T-Mobile; in Thailand, AIS and True Move.

Source: speed tests published by travelesimexpert.com (page viewed on October 22, 2026). Networks read on Ubigi plan pages and Airalo pages.

Which eSIM is best for Japan: Ubigi or Airalo?

For an eSIM for Japan, Ubigi is cheaper on volume and on 15-day unlimited, Airalo on 30-day unlimited. On the network side, Ubigi has access to the three major Japanese operators, including NTT Docomo, Transatel's sister company within the NTT group; its competitor uses SoftBank and KDDI.

The 20 GB tier makes the difference for a stay of two to four weeks: the store sells it for €23 over 30 days, while Ubigi jumps from 10 GB to 25 GB. For a week between Tokyo and Kyoto where you plan to watch a lot of video, Ubigi's 8-day unlimited plan, at 5 GB per day, gives more headroom than the competing 7-day unlimited plan, at 3 GB per day.

The blog Where and Wander, which compared the two in Japan, found Airalo faster in big cities like Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, and Ubigi more reliable in rural areas, in Hokkaido and the Japanese Alps, thanks to the Docomo network. Our Japan eSIM page compares every provider, from the smallest plan to unlimited data.

Ubigi or Airalo on a laptop, and for sharing your connection?

If you work while traveling, Ubigi has a clear advantage: it sells plans for eSIM-compatible laptops running Windows 10 and 11, with an installation guide by QR code or through its app. Airalo's FAQ says that some laptops support eSIM, but its help center only offers installation guides for iOS and Android.

On hotspot, the two are tied: tethering works with either one, to connect a computer or a friend's tablet. Every Ubigi plan page says “Hotspot allowed”, with no separate quota: sharing draws on the plan's data. Its unlimited usage policy allows sharing with no limit on the number of devices, and only forbids resale.

On an unlimited plan, sharing counts toward the full-speed threshold. With the reseller, a 4 GB system update on your computer is enough to throttle your day to 1 Mbit/s; at Ubigi, it eats into the 30 GB for your stay. Our page on hotspot explains how to turn it on on iPhone and Android.

Installation, top-ups and app: Ubigi or Airalo, which is easier?

For a first trip, installation is about the same: the eSIM is ready in a few minutes before you leave, by QR code or directly from the app, over a Wi-Fi connection, and quick activation happens on arrival. You just need to take the time to follow the steps carefully. The difference shows up on the next trip.

With Ubigi, you keep the same eSIM for all your destinations, and you use it from one trip to the next. You add a plan from the app, without Wi-Fi or any data left, and the plan activates when you arrive in the country. Your account lets you track your usage in real time, and the QR code received by email stays valid for 6 months.

With Airalo, each country or region has its own eSIM, tied to a partner operator. You can top up a plan on the same eSIM when its data runs out or its validity expires, but a trip to another zone means a new eSIM to install. Validity starts when the eSIM connects to the network in the covered zone. In return, its app is the better rated of the two: 4.7 on the App Store and 4.6 on Google Play, according to its page, and it's available in 53 languages.

In both cases, you need an eSIM-compatible phone that's unlocked, such as an iPhone XR or newer. Your main SIM card stays active alongside to receive your calls and texts, like your bank codes, and WhatsApp keeps your usual number. If the eSIM doesn't work on arrival, the problem most often comes from data roaming being turned off in the settings: turn it on, then give the phone time to connect to the local network.

Customer service and refunds: Ubigi or Airalo, which is more reliable?

On customer support, Airalo wins, and that's the top criterion when an eSIM doesn't work on the day you arrive. Its country page shows 24/7 assistance in several languages, by chat and WhatsApp. Ubigi offers a help center (FAQ, self-help, video tutorials), but its contact page goes through an online form, with no live chat shown. Response time therefore varies, even though Travel eSIM Expert measured about 1 minute by email.

Airalo's terms of use provide a 14-day right of withdrawal, which closes as soon as the eSIM is activated. If the service doesn't work, you have 30 days to file a request, and the store refunds or replaces if it doesn't restore access within 10 days, in proportion to what hasn't been used. The refund is made in Airmoney or to your payment method, within 30 business days at most.

Ubigi's terms and conditions are stricter: a plan can only be refunded if you haven't scanned the QR code, on request through a form within 14 business days of purchase. A phone locked by its carrier gives no right to a refund.

The rat's advice: at both, installing closes the door to an easy refund. Your checklist before scanning: compatible phone, unlocked, eSIM bought for the right country or the right regional plan, and an order number kept handy. Check that your phone is compatible and unlocked before scanning the QR code, and install the eSIM the day before you leave, not three weeks before. Buy early if you like, but only install at the last moment.

Ubigi subscription or Airalo plans: which one if you travel often?

If you travel every month to the same zone, the Ubigi subscription has no equivalent at its rival, which only sells one-off plans. Ubigi offers monthly plans by zone, cancelable after 3 months, and annual plans.

For comparison, if you use 20 GB per month, 20 GB over 30 days costs €44.50 in Europe and €34 in the United States at Airalo, as a one-off plan. For a business traveler who goes through Europe every month, the €18 Ubigi subscription therefore costs less than half as much, and the same eSIM also works outside the zone, with an international plan added when needed. The store makes up for it a little with Airmoney, which gives back 5% to 10% of each purchase, and with its referral reward.

Prices collected on October 22, 2026 on cellulardata.ubigi.com and airalo.com, in euros.

What do reviews say about Ubigi and Airalo?

The reviews are almost tied, and both brands have been rated in nearly 50,000 reviews each. On October 22, 2026, Airalo shows 4.2 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 48,158 reviews, 16% of them one-star. Ubigi shows 4.1 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 49,257 reviews, 12% of them one-star.

User reviews, feedback and satisfaction rates paint two profiles. At Airalo, recent positive reviews almost all praise customer service, which guides a failed installation step by step. At Ubigi, they praise the connection and the price. Negative reviews, at both, focus on throttling of unlimited data and on coverage in specific countries.

Source: reviews published on fr.trustpilot.com (Ubigi and Airalo), summarized and not quoted word for word.

On their eSIMrat reviews, where each provider was rated on the same grid, our score gives Airalo 4.4 out of 5 and Ubigi 4.2 out of 5. Be wary of comparisons that name a clear winner: for this search, several well-ranked pages are published by Ubigi itself or by competing eSIM sellers, like Holafly, which ends its own comparison by recommending itself.

How do you choose between Ubigi and Airalo?

To choose between Ubigi and Airalo, ask yourself three questions: where you're going, how much data you use per day, and whether you need a human you can reach at any hour.

Our verdict: Ubigi is the best option for most travelers who know how much data they use, especially in Europe, and for those who travel often. Airalo is the best choice for a first trip, for a heavy user on a long stay, and for anyone who needs calls or support reachable at any hour.

Once you've made your choice, go through our Ubigi promo code or Airalo promo code pages to use the ESIMRAT code. The code applies at checkout, on the website or in the app.

Cheaper alternatives to Ubigi and Airalo

If your main criterion is budget, Ubigi and Airalo aren't the only options: there are cheaper alternatives on volume plans. For 10 GB valid 30 days, voilà eSIM costs less than both in all four zones checked.

voilà eSIM belongs to the same group as this comparison site, and we treat it like the others. What sets it apart, in addition to its value for money (€8.70 for 10 GB over 30 days in Japan, on the NTT Docomo network): an eSIM that's simple to install, an app that's easy to use, and human customer support, available 24/7. Its limit: it doesn't sell unlimited data, so it doesn't meet the needs of very heavy users, where Ubigi and Airalo remain the right options.

If you're also hesitating between other brands, our Saily vs Airalo and Ubigi vs Holafly head-to-heads compare these two brands with Saily and Holafly, and our destination pages rank more than 25 providers by price per GB.

Prices collected on October 22, 2026 on voilacreators.com, cellulardata.ubigi.com and airalo.com, in euros.