If you’re heading to Europe and don’t want to pay your carrier’s daily roaming fee, a travel eSIM is usually the cheaper move. The three names you’ll see most often are Airalo, Holafly and Saily, and all three now sell unlimited-data Europe plans. They look almost identical at first glance. They aren’t, and the differences are in the fine print: how much full-speed data you really get each day, whether you can share it with a laptop, and what happens if your trip gets canceled.
We pulled the numbers straight from each company’s own Europe page and help center. Prices are in US dollars, as of October 2026, and they change often, so check before you buy.
The side-by-side
| Airalo (Europe) | Holafly (Europe) | Saily (Europe) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited, 7 days | $27.00 | $27.50 | Not offered (1 GB for 7 days is $4.99) |
| Unlimited, 15 days | $49.00 | $51.50 | $49.99 |
| Unlimited, 30 days | $71.00 | $76.50 | Not offered (10 GB for 30 days is $35.99) |
| Countries listed | 41 | 33 | 35 |
| Full-speed data per day | 3 GB, then 1 Mbps for the rest of the day | Unlimited; the network may slow you down for up to one day under its fair-use policy | 5 GB, then up to 1 Mbps |
| Hotspot sharing | No tethering limit | 1 GB of shareable data per day | Unlimited hotspot |
| Refund if your plans change | Airalo credit (Airmoney) only; no refund once expired or fully used | Up to 6 months to request; full refund for a change of plans, conditions apply | Full refund within 30 days if the eSIM isn’t installed or activated |
What those numbers actually mean
“Unlimited” means different things. Airalo gives you 3 GB a day at full speed, then drops you to 1 Mbps until your daily allowance resets 24 hours after activation. Saily’s cap is higher at 5 GB a day, then up to 1 Mbps. Holafly doesn’t publish a daily gigabyte number. Its page says a network can temporarily slow your speed for no more than one day, and your normal speed comes back the next day. For maps, messaging, email and social media, 1 Mbps is slow but usable. For streaming or big uploads, you’ll feel it.
Hotspot is where Holafly falls behind. If you plan to tether a laptop for work, Holafly limits shareable data to 1 GB a day. Airalo says there’s no limit on tethering or the number of devices, and Saily includes unlimited hotspot. That one detail matters more than a dollar or two of price difference if you work from the road.
Refunds favor Holafly and Saily. Airalo’s help center says a wrong purchase or change of plans gets you Airmoney, its in-app credit, not cash back. Holafly says you have up to six months to ask and lists a full refund for a change of plans, though “conditions may apply.” Saily gives a full refund within 30 days of purchase as long as you haven’t installed the eSIM or activated the plan. Once it’s active, Saily treats the plan as used.
Coverage counts aren’t apples to apples. Airalo lists 41 countries, Saily 35 and Holafly 33. All three cover the big ones like France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. If your trip includes a smaller country or a non-EU stop, check the exact list on the provider’s page before you pay.
Before you buy any of them
- Make sure your phone is unlocked and supports eSIM. A carrier-locked phone won’t take a third-party eSIM.
- Install the eSIM on Wi-Fi before you need it (at home, or even on the plane’s Wi-Fi, as we did), but don’t turn on the line until you land, since some plans start their clock on first connection.
- Keep your home line on for texts like bank verification codes, but turn off data roaming on it so you don’t trigger your carrier’s daily pass by accident.
- Read the refund rules before you install. Installing can be the step that ends your refund eligibility.
How we actually use Airalo: setting it up at 40,000 feet
Airalo is what we use ourselves. On our last flight to Japan, somewhere over the Pacific at about 40,000 feet, we connected to the plane’s Wi-Fi, opened the Airalo app and bought Japan eSIMs for both of our phones. A few taps later they were installed. By the time we landed, we had data before the seatbelt sign went off. There was no SIM kiosk line, no pocket Wi-Fi pickup counter and no daily roaming charge from our U.S. carrier. It was easy and cheap.
Installing mid-flight didn’t cost us any plan days. Airalo says its Japan plans start their validity period when the eSIM first connects to a supported network in Japan, not when you install it. Here’s the exact routine we followed:
- Connect to the in-flight Wi-Fi. Installation needs a stable connection, and the plane’s Wi-Fi was enough.
- Buy the plan in the Airalo app. Pick the country, then choose the amount of data and the number of days.
- Install it with the app’s direct install option, and label the line something obvious like “Japan.”
- After landing, go to Settings, then Cellular, turn on the Airalo line, set it as your data line, and turn on Data Roaming for the Airalo line only.
- Leave data roaming off on your home line so your carrier doesn’t charge you.
A few Japan-specific notes: Airalo’s Japan plans run on SoftBank and KDDI, and city coverage was solid for maps, LINE, rideshares and train apps. Like the Europe plans above, they’re data-only, so there’s no Japanese +81 number. Keep your hotel’s number handy if a car rental or restaurant asks for a local contact. Don’t delete the eSIM after installing it; if you run low, you can top up in the app.
Our take
For a typical one- to two-week Europe trip, we’d lean toward Airalo or Saily over Holafly. Prices are close enough that they shouldn’t decide it. Airalo has the lowest unlimited prices in our table and lists the most countries. Saily gives you more full-speed data per day and a cleaner cash refund if your trip falls through, but it only sells unlimited in a 15-day size for Europe.
Here’s the catch with Holafly: the 1 GB daily hotspot limit. If you just use your phone, that won’t bother you, and its long refund window is friendly. But if you tether a laptop, look elsewhere. And Airalo’s credit-only refund for changed plans is a real downside if your trip dates are shaky.
Who doesn’t need any of this? If your carrier plan already includes free international data at speeds you’re happy with, or you’re only in Europe for a day or two, a paid eSIM may not save you much. Check what you already have first.
Sources: Airalo Europe eSIM, Airalo unlimited fair use policy, Airalo refund help article, Airalo Japan eSIM guide, Holafly Europe eSIM, Saily Europe eSIM, Saily refund policy.
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