Airalo Discover Global eSIM Review (Tested in 3 Countries)

Sometimes, you just want to travel the world… all of it 🌐.

Although that is often a dream for most, some can actually make it happen… like myself (but I am not bragging 😅).

And you certainly want to stay connected when doing so.

The thing is, although getting a local SIM card in each country you visit is the cheapest method to stay connected, it can be a time-consuming affair.

That is because a lot of countries have SIM card registration requirements.

Some countries only want to see your passport to confirm your identity, and you are out the door in minutes.

While other countries also demand fingerprints, proof of stay & a phone call to your place of stay.

Usually, these countries will store your information in a central database, which is a prime target to be hacked… which has happened before (such as in Australia and Indonesia in 2022).

The countries with excessive requirements also require more of your time to get a SIM card, as this process can often take up to an hour (especially in South Asia).

So what if you could just avoid all of this and keep your personal details… well… personal?

Introducing Airalo's Discover Global eSIM.

With this eSIM, you can use data in more than 85 countries worldwide across all continents.

You only have to install the eSIM once, and your data allowance (between 1 GB and 20 GB) will stay valid for 7 days up to 180 days.

And if you need more data or validity, you can easily top up on the Airalo site or its apps.

Since I am on a mission to save you as much money as possible when you are abroad (in terms of staying connected) by testing, reviewing & recommending the best SIM card and eSIM options, I thought it would be a great idea to try out the Airalo Discover Global eSIM in the countries I visit.

Not only that, but I compare the Airalo Discover Global eSIM to Airalo's country-specific eSIMs too (which cover around 190 countries) + various other eSIM providers and the SIM cards, and eSIMs of the local mobile operators.

That way, I can tell you exactly whether the Airalo Discover Global eSIM is worth it for a particular country or not instead of just pushing it to you for higher affiliate commissions (as some other bloggers do without even testing the eSIM 🗿).

This will be an ongoing review because I need time to extensively assess all SIM cards and eSIMs I test in each country, so I encourage you to come back every now and then to see if I have covered the country you are visiting soon.

Alright, let's get started, shall we?

If you wonder why I only extensively test Airalo's global eSIM and not those of other eSIM providers, it is because they are either (super) expensive, do not have proper coverage, have speed restrictions, or have not-so-clearly-disclosed fair-use policies, making them impractical for true globetrotters like myself (Airalo is not giving me its Discover Global eSIM for free, unfortunately 🫠). But once I eventually find such an eSIM, you can read about it on the site, of course!

Original publication: 30th of December 2022. Last updated: 15th of March 2023.

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Table of Contents

Which Phones are Compatible with Airalo eSIMs?

Before we talk about the Airalo Discover Global eSIM, you first need to know whether your phone can even support Airalo's eSIMs.

Sure, your phone may support eSIM, but the local mobile operator and travel eSIM provider, like Airalo, first needs to certify a phone before the users can use their products.

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

With that out of the way, let's talk more about the Airalo Discover Global eSIM!

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

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How Much Does the Airalo Discover Global eSIM Cost?

You can get the Airalo Discover Global eSIM for as little as 9 USD for 1 GB of data (7 days) up to 89 USD for 20 GB (180 days). The eSIM can be used in more than 85 countries with five options: 1 GB/7 days, 3 GB/15 days, 5 GB/30 days, 10 GB/60 days & 20 GB/180 days).

Regardless of the currency used in your country, Airalo will always charge you in USD (US Dollar).

Moreover, regardless of which Airalo Discover Global eSIM you choose, you can always top it up for the same amount of data and prices as listed above.

For example, suppose you buy the 5 GB Airalo Discover Global eSIM (30 days costing 35 USD) but realize you need more data.

You can top it up with the 3 GB top-up (15 days costing 24 USD) or the 10 GB top-up (30 days costing 59 USD).

Many eSIM providers out there do not allow you to top up or extend the validity of your eSIM, so it is cool that Airalo allows you to do so.

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

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In Which Countries Can the Airalo Discover Global eSIM Be Used?

The Airalo Discover Global eSIM can be used in 85+ other countries in all continents (so Africa, all of the Americas, Asia, Europe & Oceania).

Below is a complete overview of countries the Airalo Discover Global eSIM works in:

¹ on 3G only
² currently, newly bought Discover Global eSIMs cannot be used in Singapore. Airalo is working on re-including Singapore in its Discover Global offering
³ select the Dialog Sri Lanka network for 4G/LTE access. If you choose Hutch Sri Lanka instead, you will be restricted to 3G

In most cases, getting a regional eSIM (like the Airalo Asialink eSIM for Asia or the Airalo Eurolink eSIM for Europe) is more affordable than getting the Airalo Discover Global eSIM if you plan on visiting two or more countries in the same region.

However, if you plan on visiting two or more countries in multiple continents, then the Airalo Discover Global eSIM will be more convenient and affordable.

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

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My Airalo Discover Global eSIM Experiences

I have used, and will be using, the Airalo Discover Global eSIM worldwide, aiming to use it in all the countries it can be used in.

But as you can expect, achieving this goal will take me a while if I want to get meaningful data to analyze for you.

Luckily, it gives me (another) reason to travel the world 😎.

Before we continue, I do want to let you know how travel eSIM providers like Airalo work.

It is impossible for Airalo, or any other mobile operator, to operate in every country (and do not trust any company saying otherwise), so they set up roaming agreements.

And do not get worried by the word roaming yet – roaming can be expensive, but roaming with Airalo or many other travel eSIM providers, will not result in a 5000 USD roaming bill.

What Airalo does, and basically all (actual) mobile operators do, is partner up with a local mobile operator so that their customers can still stay connected abroad.

In the case of the Airalo Discover Global eSIM, it uses the networks of more than 85 local mobile operators.

Some of these networks are good, but some of them suck.

What is worse is that you often have a not up to par performance on their network.

That is because you are roaming on the local networks instead of being a native customer.

But that does not mean you will have (incredibly) slow speeds – just slower than native customers.

I cannot give an average percentage because it really depends on the roaming agreement Airalo has made… that is why I have to test the eSIM everywhere!

While I will extensively test the Airalo Discover Global eSIM in each city and country I visit, I will not analyze it in-depth in this review.

Not because I do not want to, but otherwise this review will be excessively long after reviewing it in more than 15 countries.

So I will give you a “brief” analysis, which is still elaborate (lol), of the eSIM's performance per country and will link to the in-depth country-specific review, like my Airalo Discover Global experience in New Zealand.

That way, this review loads fast on your end, and you can have a quick overview of which countries the eSIM works well and which ones it does not.

But you can click the links below to jump to the country you are interested in – or read about them all!

• Australia
• Canada (visiting in August)
• Hong Kong
• Japan (visiting in April-May)
• Netherlands (visiting in May-July)
• New Zealand
• Singapore (visiting in March)
• South Korea (visiting in May)
• Taiwan (visiting in August-September)
• Thailand (visiting in March-April)
• United States (visiting in July-August)

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

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Airalo Discover Global eSIM in Australia Experiences + Speed Test Results

I used the eSIM in four cities in Australia: Brisbane (Queensland), Canberra (Australia Capital Territory), Melbourne (Victoria) & Sydney (New South Wales).

In Australia, the Airalo Discover Global eSIM uses the Telstra network, which on paper had the best 4G/LTE coverage experience and 5G NR reach.

In terms of speed, Telstra had the best download speed, with a median download speed of 81.57 Mbps, ahead of Optus (75.27 Mbps) and Vodafone Australia (59.15 Mbps).

Anyway, taking all 81 speed tests I did in Australia into account, I had an average overall download speed of 17.92 Mbps and a median download speed of 12.12 Mbps with the Airalo Discover Global eSIM.

And that was… terribly slow 😔. The global median was 33.94 Mbps in November 2022, so the Airalo Discover Global eSIM was not even close.

When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 13.62 Mbps and a median upload speed of 12.08 Mbps with the Airalo Discover Global eSIM in Australia.

That was… decent. The global median was 9.34 Mbps.

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

One thing that was surprising is that the Airalo Discover Global eSIM was stuck at 3G was more often than I would like it to be (especially when Telstra itself was rocking it on 4G/LTE or even 5G NR).

The Airalo Yes! Go! eSIM used the Optus network instead and performed significantly better than the Airalo Discover Global eSIM (240%+ faster).

But neither could use 5G NR network on their respective networks, which you can do if you get a SIM card from them directly at (even at Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne & Sydney airports + others I have yet to visit).

In Australia, I do not recommend the Airalo Discover Global eSIM (for Australia alone) and recommend the Airalo Yes! Go! eSIM instead (if sticking with Airalo or reputable travel eSIMs only).

For a more in-depth analysis of the Airalo Discover Global eSIM in Australia, including a city-by-city breakdown, read my Airalo Discover Global eSIM in Australia review (coming soon).

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

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Airalo Discover Global eSIM in Hong Kong Experiences + Speed Test Results

As Hong Kong does not really have cities (in the sense of the Government of Hong Kong not using them for administrative purposes and only as geographical limits), I could not visit multiple ones.

For review purposes, I try to visit at least two cities when I try our local SIM cards and travel eSIMs like the Airalo Asialink eSIM.

Not because I have too… but because I want to 🗿.

Anyway, in Hong Kong, the Airalo Asialink eSIM uses the CSL Mobile network, which on paper had excellent 4G/LTE and the best 5G NR availability (together with China Mobile Hong Kong).

But the Asialink eSIM could not use CSL Mobile's 5G NR network yet (neither could prepaid customers when I was in Hong Kong), so I will not refer to that network anymore.

In terms of speed, CSL Mobile has the second-slowest download speed, with a median download speed of 45.96 Mbps, ahead of 3 Hong Kong (Three – 32.52 Mbps) but behind SmarTone Hong Kong (48.14 Mbps) and China Mobile Hong Kong (66.11 Mbps).

Anyway, taking all 56 speed tests I did in Hong Kong into account, I had an average overall download speed of 39.05 Mbps and a median download speed of 30.82 Mbps with the Airalo Discover Global eSIM.

And that was… decent. The global median was 36.74 Mbps in December 2022, so the Airalo Discover Global eSIM did alright.

When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 13.34 Mbps and a median upload speed of 10.68 Mbps with the Airalo Discover Global eSIM in Hong Kong.

That was… decent again. The global median was 9.66 Mbps.

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

One thing that was interesting and unusual is that all Airalo eSIMs covering Hong Kong (Hkmobile eSIM for Hong Kong alone, the Asialink eSIM for Hong Kong and 13 other Asian countries & the Airalo Discover Global eSIM covering 85+ countries worldwide, including Hong Kong), all of them used the CSL Mobile network.

Normally, there is some network variation between the local, regional & global eSIMs… but not in Hong Kong.

Anyway, the Airalo Discover Global eSIM was slightly faster than the Airalo Hkmobile eSIM and the Airalo Asialink eSIM (37.01 Mbps and 33.16 Mbps, respectively).

However, this difference is too insignificant to call the Airalo Discover Global eSIM a winner.

The same can be said about the average upload speeds – the local one has an average speed of 18.55 Mbps, followed by the regional one with 18.26 Mbps & the global one with 13.34 Mbps).

In Hong Kong, I do recommend the Airalo Discover Global eSIM (although not for Hong Kong alone) and recommend the Airalo Hkmobile and Airalo Asialink eSIMs as well (if sticking with Airalo, although I had a good experience with the Simify Hong Kong eSIM too).

For a more in-depth analysis of the Airalo Discover Global eSIM in Hong Kong, including a neighborhood-by-neighborhood breakdown, read my Airalo Discover Global eSIM in Hong Kong review (coming soon).

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Airalo Discover Global eSIM in New Zealand Experiences + Speed Test Results

I used the eSIM in three cities in New Zealand: Auckland, Lower Hutt/Hutt City & Wellington.

In New Zealand, the Airalo Discover Global eSIM uses the One NZ (formerly Vodafone) network, which on paper had the worst 4G/LTE availability (an availability score of 98.2%. Behind 2degrees (98.7%) and Spark (99.2%)).

In terms of speed, One NZ had the second-best download speed, with a median download speed of 62.97 Mbps, ahead of Spark (59.51 Mbps) but behind 2degrees (63.81 Mbps).

As you can see, the margin between those numbers is minimal, so you cannot make a solid conclusion based on them.

But there is one more note… for some reason, the Airalo Discover Global eSIM would randomly disconnect from the network at times.

And I am talking about disconnecting while in Auckland and Wellington CBD – not in some remote area.

And I found this odd because it only happened with the Airalo eSIMs (even the Nzcom one) – not with the One NZ SIM card itself, the Holafly New Zealand eSIM, or the Orange Holiday World travel SIM card.

And before going to New Zealand, I used the Airalo Discover Global eSIM extensively in Australia (literally the same eSIM because I still had plenty of data left, which I used in New Zealand and will use in Hong Kong, Singapore & Thailand too).

Luckily, turning on airplane mode and off again re-established the connection… but this should not have been needed anyway.

But I wanted you to be aware of this… perhaps I was unlucky in New Zealand?

Anyway, taking all 37 speed tests I did in New Zealand into account, I had an average overall download speed of 35.35 Mbps and a median download speed of 26.37 Mbps with the Airalo Discover Global eSIM.

And that was… decent. The global median was 36.74 Mbps in December 2022, so the Airalo Discover Global eSIM did alright.

When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 4.37 Mbps and a median upload speed of 4.34 Mbps with the Airalo Discover Global eSIM in New Zealand.

That… was slow 😔. The global median was 9.66 Mbps.

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

The Airalo Nzcom eSIM also used the One NZ network and performed slightly better than the Airalo Discover Global eSIM.

But neither could use One NZ's 5G NR network, which you can do if you get a SIM card (no eSIM yet) from it directly (or you can even pre-order a One NZ SIM card and get it delivered to your home before going to New Zealand from SimCorner!).

In New Zealand, I do recommend the Airalo Discover Global eSIM (although not for New Zealand alone) and recommend the Airalo Nzcom eSIM as well (if sticking with Airalo, although I had a good experience with the Nomad New Zealand eSIM too).

For a more in-depth analysis of the Airalo Discover Global eSIM in New Zealand, including a city-by-city breakdown, read my Airalo Discover Global eSIM in New Zealand review.

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

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My Overall Experience with the Airalo Discover Global eSIM – Is It Any Good?

I would recommend the Airalo Discover Global eSIM, and it would be one of my top recommendations for anyone wanting to buy a global travel eSIM. But only if you are visiting more than two countries in more than two continents. Otherwise, you will be better off with country-specific or regional Airalo eSIMs.

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

A handful of country-specific Airalo eSIMs are restricted to 3G while the Airalo Discover Global eSIM can use 4G/LTE.

Like in Belarus, where the Airalo Norach Telecom eSIM uses 3G on the A1 Belarus network, while the Airalo Discover Global eSIM uses 4G/LTE on the same network.

Not only that, but the data allowance of some country-specific Airalo eSIMs is meager.

For Iraq, you have the Airalo Babel Mobile eSIM, with 1 GB for 7 days, costing 9.50 USD.

If you want more data, let's say 5 GB, you need to buy the Airalo Babel Mobile eSIM and buy four 1 GB top-ups, costing 47.50 USD in total (5 * 9.50 USD).

If you get the Airalo Discover Global eSIM instead, you will only spend 35 EUR for the same data allowance (and it would be valid for 30 days instead of (multiple) 7 days).

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

However, this is (luckily) not always the case because Airalo's country-specific eSIMs are often the cheapest in the industry.

Let's say you are visiting Italy, Portugal, Spain & the United Kingdom and will use 5 GB of data in each country.

Airalo has the Mamma Mia, Fofo Mobil/MEO Ready to Enjoy Portugal, Guay Mobile & Uki Mobile eSIMs for those countries, respectively.

A 5 GB eSIM for each country would cost 14.50 USD, 17 USD, 11.50 USD & 15 USD, totalling 58 USD, while the Airalo Discover Global eSIM would cost 59 USD.

But if you plan on visiting multiple European countries, you would be better off with the Airalo Eurolink eSIM that can be used in 35+ European countries, including the ones for this example.

And Airalo has various regional eSIMs that are relatively affordable, which are:

• Asialink for Asia (10+ countries) – check my Asialink review (ongoing)
• Eurolink for Europe (35+ countries) – check my Eurolink review (11 countries)
• Latamlink for Latin America (15+ countries)
• Menalink for the Middle East and North Africa (15 countries)

Airalo also has the Hello Africa eSIM for Africa (20+ countries) and the Island Hopper eSIM for the Caribbean (20+ countries).

But they are not of good value right now.

Moreover, the Airalo Discover Global eSIM barely covers Africa and the Caribbean, so it would not be a good alternative either.

Anyway, the Airalo Discover Global eSIM is a relatively affordable and convenient international travel eSIM for those visiting multiple countries on various continents in a 180-day timespan.

>>> Get your Airalo Discover Global eSIM now! <<<

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Other Travel eSIM Reviews

As mentioned earlier, I also test out various other country-specific or regional travel eSIMs, but only a handful.

And that is because there are so many eSIM resellers out there that prioritize profits over service.

There is no point in my trying or recommending (read: selling) those eSIM providers if they offer the same service at a 50% markup because they can.

I want you to save money on data costs while having a great network experience, not just fill my and their pockets.

In most cases, I pay out of pocket for the eSIMs I test (especially Airalo's), let alone the local SIM cards.

And trust me, I get many requests and offers to recommend and sell eSIMs from rather suspicious companies.

One such company offered me a commission rate of 50%… but then I realized they copied and pasted Airalo's privacy policy without changing “Airalo” throughout the text 🗿.

And they also claimed that they had more than one million happy customers, even though they launched in September of 2022 (and they emailed me in November 2022).

So yeah, I am picky with my recommendations, but that does not mean the companies I do not write about are bad.

I mainly focus on Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, SimCorner, Simify, SimOptions & Ubigi because I am in close contact with them, and they take my suggestions for improvement seriously.

For example, Airalo added the Menalink eSIM for the Middle East and North Africa, Latamlink eSIM for Latin America & and improved the Asia regional eSIM upon (my) request (although I am sure I was not the only one who suggested these eSIMs).

Nomad added the Nordics eSIM and dropped the prices for many of its Asia eSIMs as suggested.

Holafly started covering way more Caribbean and Oceanian countries than before at reasonable prices.

And that is not just good for me, but also for you (especially when I can drop discount codes 😏).

However, eSIMs offered by BNESIM, Flexiroam, Keepgo, KnowRoaming & Truphone are supposedly good too.

Nevertheless, I am already spending a lot of time and money testing the selection I am working with right now + the SIM cards and eSIMs of the local mobile operators in each country – I am already walking around with four phones when testing, which is more than enough 😜.

But be sure to check out my eSIM review page to read reviews of other eSIMs I have tested in the countries I visit.