Airalo vs Saily: which travel eSIM fits your trip

Airalo and Saily side by side, using each provider's own pages: coverage, plan types, calls and texts, and the extra features each one lists.

woman holding phone
Photo by Daria Nepriakhina πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦ on Unsplash

By BoardedIn Editorial Team Β· Sources checked 2026-11-01

Verdict

Both cover 200+ destinations with data eSIMs bought in an app. Pick Airalo if you might want a package with calls and texts; pick Saily if you value the security extras it lists from the NordVPN team. Compare the price for your exact country and data amount before buying.

Key facts

Coverage
Both: 200+ destinations
Calls and texts
Airalo: some packages. Saily: data only
Extras
Saily lists ad blocking and virtual location features
Device rules
Both: eSIM-capable, unlocked phone

Good fit for

  • Travellers choosing between the two best-known eSIM apps
  • Multi-country trips where regional plans matter

Not ideal for

  • Carrier-locked phones (neither eSIM will work)
  • Anyone needing a local number on a data-only plan

Where they are the same

Both sell digital SIMs through an app, cover more than 200 countries and regions, and offer single-country, regional and global plans. Both need a phone that supports eSIM and is not locked to a carrier.

Where they differ

Airalo states that some of its packages include calls and texts. Saily presents itself as data-only and lists security features built by the team behind NordVPN, such as ad blocking and virtual location.

How to decide

Open both apps, search your destination, and compare the same data amount and validity. Prices change often, so the cheaper option for Japan may not be the cheaper one for Brazil.

Sources

Checked against official sources on 2026-11-01. This page is based on what the provider publishes, not on our own testing, and was drafted with AI assistance. Prices and terms can change.