Airalo vs Saily: Which eSIM Should You Actually Use?

I've used both of these on actual trips, and run out of data on both, so this isn't a spec-sheet comparison, it's what actually happened when I needed more data with no warning. Airalo and Saily both solve the same problem, getting mobile data the second you land without hunting for a local SIM card, but they're not the same product underneath, and the difference matters more than it looks like at first glance.

If eSIM setup is the last thing on your list before a trip, our free pre-trip guide covers the rest too, entry rules, local apps, safety notes, all built around your destination and passport.

What you're actually buying

An eSIM is a digital SIM you install through an app before you fly. No physical card, no swapping trays, no standing at an airport kiosk while everyone else heads to baggage claim. It runs alongside your regular SIM on a dual-SIM phone, so your home number keeps working for calls and texts while the eSIM quietly handles data. Both Airalo and Saily are data-only, neither gives you a local phone number, so plan on WhatsApp, FaceTime, or your carrier's WiFi calling for actual calls.

Photo by Nicolas Lobos on Unsplash

Airalo: the one with the bigger catalog

Airalo has been around since 2019 and it shows in the sheer size of the thing. It sells three shapes of plan: local eSIMs for one country, regional ones covering a continent, and global plans spanning well over a hundred destinations on a single profile. If you're headed somewhere less commonly covered, a smaller country, one specific island, a route most eSIM apps treat as an afterthought, Airalo's local-plan catalog is the one more likely to actually have it.

That size is also the tradeoff. It's a marketplace of many individual plans rather than one clean product, so pricing and data allowances vary a lot by destination. Check the specific country page for your trip on Airalo rather than assuming whatever you paid last time still applies.

If you've never used Airalo before, use code NEWTOAIRALO15 at checkout for 15% off your first eSIM.

Saily: newer, and made by people I already trust with my traffic

Saily launched in 2023 and is built by Nord Security, the same company behind NordVPN and NordPass. I already use their VPN, so that connection actually mattered to me, it's not a marketing coincidence, and it means Saily inherits a privacy-first reputation and financial backing that a brand-new eSIM startup wouldn't have on its own. Coverage runs to roughly 150+ destinations, narrower than Airalo's local-country list, but Saily leans harder into simple regional and global plans instead of a long list of single-country options to dig through.

There's also Saily Ultra, a bundled tier that pairs data with the wider Nord Security suite (NordVPN, NordPass, and others) in one subscription. Worth knowing if you already pay for NordVPN separately, since folding it into one plan might work out cheaper. If you're weighing that against a standalone VPN, our piece on hotel and airport Wi-Fi safety covers the actual case for carrying one.

The auto top-up thing (this is the part I got wrong the first time)

Here's something that happened to me: I ran out of data on Saily and was still able to pay for more right then, no Wi-Fi, no scrambling. On Airalo, I've had the opposite experience, run dry and had to find Wi-Fi just to open the app and buy a top-up. I assumed that meant Saily just handles this better. It doesn't, not exactly.

Both providers actually offer an auto-renewal feature. Airalo calls it Renewals, and it tops up your plan automatically once you drop below 10% data remaining, before you technically run out. Saily calls it Auto Top-Up, and it renews once you're fully depleted. The real story behind my experience is almost certainly that Airalo's Renewals feature isn't available on every plan, Airalo's own help center says it's offered on "many" eSIMs, not all, so if it wasn't on for the specific plan I'd bought, I'd hit a hard wall the moment data ran out, same as anyone would.

The actual lesson: check whether auto-renewal is available and turned on before you fly, regardless of which one you pick. Don't assume it's on by default, and don't assume the brand matters more than the specific plan you bought.

Airalo vs Saily at a glance

	Airalo	Saily
Launched	2019	2023
Behind it	Independent eSIM marketplace	Nord Security (NordVPN, NordPass)
Coverage style	Widest local, single-country catalog	Simpler regional and global plans
Auto-renewal	Renewals, triggers under 10% remaining, not on every plan	Auto Top-Up, triggers at full depletion
Best for	Specific or less-common destinations	Broad trips, or already using NordVPN

Pricing on both changes often enough by destination and promotion that I'd rather point you to check the current rate on Airalo or Saily directly than quote a number here that's gone stale by the time you read this.

Which one I'd actually tell you to buy

Go with Airalo if your destination is less common, you want a plan scoped tightly to one country instead of a whole region, or you're comparing several specific countries for a multi-stop trip. Just check that Renewals is available on the plan you're buying before you rely on it. First time buying? Code NEWTOAIRALO15 gets you 15% off.

Go with Saily if you want a straightforward global or regional plan without digging through a long country list, or you already use NordVPN and the bundle math works in your favor.

Neither is a bad pick. If you already have a favorite, that's a perfectly good reason to stick with it. The real mistake is landing with no eSIM installed at all and paying airport-kiosk prices for a physical SIM instead.

Quick answers

Do I need to unlock my phone for an eSIM? Your phone needs to be eSIM-capable (most phones from the last several years are) and unlocked from your original carrier. That's different from jailbreaking, which you don't need to do.

Can I make calls or send texts with these? No. Both are data-only. Keep your regular SIM active for calls and texts, or route calls through an app like WhatsApp or FaceTime over the eSIM's data.

Should I install it before I fly or wait until I land? Install and activate before you fly if the plan allows it, most do, so you land already connected instead of hunting for the airport's Wi-Fi just to get set up.

Connectivity is one piece of arriving prepared. Start your free guide for the rest, entry rules, local apps and safety notes built around your destination and passport.