Best eSIMs for travellers 2026: How to beat airport Wi-Fi and extortionate roaming fees for good, tried-and-tested by our editors

Pros: Top-up possible without WiFi or data remaining, worldwide data plans, 5G available
Cons: Little pricier than some of the other services on our list for some countries
Price for a 3GB eSIM for Indonesia: £6
Price for a 3GB eSIM for USA: £6

Ubigi is a comprehensive data service for over 200 countries, with data plans from 500mb to unlimited. There are one-off, monthly and annual services, so digital nomads, business travellers and holidaymakers alike will all be covered. If you run out of data, you can top up without being connected to WiFi even without any remaining data, which is an additional safety boon that other services on this list can’t always match. 5G connectivity is also available at no extra cost where possible. You can also save 10 per cent on prices on your first order with the code CNTRAVELLER.

Editor review: I used a Ubigi eSim when I travelled to Yellowstone from London recently. I think the tell that a service like this is working well is to realise you don’t think about it at all. My internet in the States was just as speedy as when I’m in the UK, and worked as soon as I landed at Denver airport to await my transfer. I appreciate this as a lot of airports charge for WiFi or make you hunt down one of those tedious booths for a code before you’re granted the privilege to log on – if you can’t find one or it’s out of order, as happened to me in Hong Kong one time, then you’re either stuck internetless or have to suck it up and pay your network’s extortionate roaming fee. By activating my eSim immediately upon landing, I didn’t have to worry about connecting to the airport WiFi at all. But the main boon was being able to top up via the app even without being connected to WiFi. Wyoming is very large, very empty, and free fast WiFi was often in short supply. I was grateful to be able to top up without WiFi on one day trip – I didn’t realise I was running low on data before leaving and would have had a whole day without connectivity otherwise. This would have been anxiety-producing as a solo traveller very far from home! Charley Ward

Saily

Best eSIM for digital nomads

Pros: Good variety of plans, regional and global plans available
Cons: A little more expensive than some of the others listed
Price for a 3GB eSIM for Indonesia: £6.89
Price for a 3GB eSIM for USA: £6.89

If you’re looking for data abroad, you’re sorted with Saily, whether you’re going on a quick three-day hop to longer three-month treks. You can buy per country or per region – handy if you’re island hopping across Asia, for example – and there are even worldwide plans for the most intrepid travellers. We like how seamless this service is, especially. You can purchase the data in the UK and when you arrive at your destination, it’ll switch on automatically, so you’re never without data and prevents being hit by accidental roaming charges in the airport. Saily has unlimited data plans in 37 destinations including the US, Japan, France, Spain, Italy and Thailand, plus an unlimited European data plan that works in 36 European countries. The app also has various tours and experiences bookable within the Saily app dependent on where you’re headed. New users can use code CNT10 for 10 per cent off all mobile data plans worldwide.