Holafly eSIM Review: My Hands-On Experiece in 10+ Countries

You probably already know that international roaming can be crazy expensive.

So you are looking for ways to stay connected abroad without breaking the bank.

And you may have already heard about Holafly (from another guide or review from me), which sells travel eSIMs.

But why would you consider a travel eSIM from Holafly specifically?

Mostly because its offers unlimited data plans in 46 countries in East- and Southeast Asia, Europe, Mexico & the United States.

And for countries that do not have unlimited data plans yet, Holafly still offers reasonably priced data plans.

This way, you do not have to pay for overpriced SIM cards at the airport, deal with long and sometimes complicated SIM card registration requirements & not be charged crazy roaming rates.

Holafly started as a travel (international) SIM card seller.

Honestly, I was not a fan of those SIM cards because they were crazy expensive 🗿.

Luckily, Holafly managed to drop its prices when it entered the eSIM market.

And it was one of the first eSIM stores to sell unlimited data plans.

Because Holafly did not sell eSIMs as early as some of its competitors, I did not have the opportunity to try its eSIMs in as many countries.

But I have still used Holafly eSIMs in primarily Asia, Europe, Oceania & North America over the past two years, so I will give you a general, yet in-depth, analysis of Holafly's offering.

Let's do this.

Original publication: 15^th of February 2023. Last updated: 15^th of January 2024.

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Table of Contents

Which Phones are Compatible with Holafly eSIMs?

I assume you have a faint idea of what Holafly is, what eSIMs are & how to install them.

So I will skip straight to which phones can use Holafly's eSIMs to save you some fluff and time.

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

As of August 2023, the phones shown in the infographic below are compatible with Holafly eSIMs:

You can even install Holafly eSIMs on some tablets and laptops, surprisingly.

But I know most readers are interested in using Holafly eSIMs on their phones, so I will not list the other compatible devices here.

But you can read about them on the Holafly site instead (but just remember to come back to this review to finish it!).

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Holafly APN Settings

Okay, I said I would not go over the Holafly eSIM installation steps because you will manage (even as a first-time eSIM user).

But the APN settings, standing for Access Point Name, can cause some issues with a handful of eSIMs.

In most cases, your APN will be set automatically and correctly after installing your Holafly eSIM.

This could be cmhk, cmlink, drei.at, internet, internet.proximus.be (in Serbia only), mobile.three.com.hk (in Laos and the Philippines only) & orange, depending on the eSIM and country.

And that is of your chosen installation method (copying and pasting the activation key or scanning the QR Code (recommended)).

However, depending on where you are, you have to change the APN with some eSIMs.

For example, in Morocco, New Zealand & New Zealand, you may have to change your APN from cmlink to orange or the other way around for your eSIM to work.

Or cmlink to internet.proximus.be in Serbia.

But besides these countries, you should not have to tinker with your APN settings.

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How Much do Holafly eSIMs Cost?

Depending on the country you are visiting and the data allowance you want, you can get a Holafly eSIM for as little as 19 USD with unlimited data for five days up to 99 USD with unlimited data for 90 days for select Asian, European & North American destinations.

>>> Get your Holafly eSIM and use code “PHONETRAVELWIZ” for 5% off! <<<

Yes – Holafly is currently one of the few eSIM providers offering unlimited data plans now 😳.

In the next section, you will learn how many countries Holafly is active in (spoiler: 155).

But I cannot give you an in-depth overview of each country – else, this review would be way too long.

Luckily, I have written 190+ eSIM country guides with the best travel eSIMs covering said countries (and you know Holafly is included in many of them).

Just use the search function on the left side of your screen or click on the search button top right corner of the menu.

Or click this link to see all my Holafly-related guides and reviews (from newest to oldest – not ordered on popularity).

An example of such a guide is the Mexico eSIM buying guide, covering the best Mexico eSIMs.

Where Holafly offers seven different unlimited data plans (from five days to 90 days), which are currently the second-most popular country-specific Holafly eSIMs (as per Phone Travel Wiz readers based on 2023 data).

Or the Europe eSIM, which can be used in 32 European countries (mostly in the European Union).

Anyway, some countries have seven eSIM options, while others only have one.

If I were to multiply all those options by 155 countries, this review would be excessively long, and you would fall asleep before you could finish it 🗿.

But I will tell you all countries Holafly covers in the next section instead 😎.

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In Which Countries Can Holafly eSIMs Be Used?

Holafly sells data eSIMs in 155 countries worldwide in every inhabited continent.

And that is quite impressive, I have to say.

In late 2022, Holafly added eSIM for various African and Caribbean countries with reasonable prices.

And when I say reasonable, I am not talking about 24 USD for 1 GB of data… like some eSIM providers 🙄.

As a result, I recommend Holafly in those destinations instead of its competitors because you will get more bang for your buck.

At the time of writing, Holafly sells eSIMs for the following 155 countries:

>>> Get your Holafly eSIM and use code “PHONETRAVELWIZ” for 5% off! <<<

That is quite a list, is it not? 🤯

But how is it possible for Holafly to be active in so many countries?

It is impossible for Holafly, 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 Holafly or many other travel eSIM providers, will not result in a 5000 USD roaming bill.

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

For example, for most of the Caribbean, Holafly partnered with China Mobile Hong Kong (CMHK).

China Mobile Hong Kong has plenty of (favorable) roaming agreements with Caribbean mobile operators for its own customers or those buying travel SIM cards.

And yes, I saw those travel SIM cards with my own eyes when I was in Hong Kong recently.

So unless you were to go to Hong Kong, buy a China Mobile Hong Kong (travel) SIM card & buy a roaming package, you would not be able to take advantage of China Mobile Hong Kong's agreements.

But Holafly has done all this work for you, allowing you to purchase and use its eSIMs in these Caribbean countries.

Or in Europe – most European eSIMs are powered by Drei from Austria.

Somehow, Holafly convinced Drei to allow Holafly customers to use unlimited data in all countries in the European Union (+some East- and Southeast Asian countries and North America) for up to 90 days.

And based on Drei's roaming plans, I do not think even its own customers can use unlimited data abroad.

Quite a deal, right!? 🤯

And this may beg the question: will your speeds not be slower with Holafly than by going with the local mobile operator itself?

Yes, your speeds will be (significantly) slower with most Holafly eSIMs than the roaming partner itself, although they are often fast enough for general data browsing anyway.

Plus, my current top speed with a Holafly eSIM was 203.73 Mbps in Australia (at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in East Melbourne to be exact), so you should not be expecting snail speeds.

That is why I do extensive testing with Holafly eSIMs, including speed tests across cities.

>>> Get your Holafly eSIM and use code “PHONETRAVELWIZ” for 5% off! <<<

So while it indeed would be better for Holafly to have direct roaming agreements with each mobile operator out there instead of with a middleman, like China Mobile Hong Kong or Drei, most are not interested OR charge high rates.

But Holafly's current setup has been working well so far, I can tell you!

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Which Regional eSIMs Does Holafly Have?

Like many eSIM providers nowadays, Holafly sells regional eSIMs.

Wait… what do I mean by regional? Holafly sells different eSIMs for urban- and rural areas?

No, I do not mean regional in that way.

Instead, you get one eSIM to be used in multiple countries on a continent.

If I am correct, Holafly's first regional eSIM was for Europe, allowing you to use one eSIM in 32 countries.

And this Europe eSIM is Holafly's most popular regional eSIM – even with Phone Travel Wiz readers.

Mostly because it offers unlimited data plans for all those countries 🤯.

Holafly also has regional eSIMs for Asia (11 countries), the Caribbean (16 countries – the newest addition), North America (three countries) & South America (13 countries).

As you can see, coverage in Africa, most of Asia & Oceania is lacking.

Luckily, Holafly has country-specific eSIMs for most of these countries (some of them are of better value than its competitors).

However, Holafly has no global eSIM yet – one that can be used on multiple continents.

Even though many of its competitors have had such offerings for quite a while now.

Maybe that will change soon… but I know of nothing 🤫.

Click the region and eSIM name to jump to the regional eSIM you are interested in:

• Asia
• Caribbean
• Europe
• North America
• South America

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Which Countries Does Holafly's Asia eSIMs Cover?

The Asia eSIMs can be used in 11 Asian countries with two options: 6 GB/15 days & 10 GB/30 days.

Be aware that you can use up to 500 MB per day with the Holafly Asia eSIM, even though your total data allowance is 6 GB or 10 GB.

I am not a huge fan of such limits because I know I use much more data on a daily basis, but Holafly may change this for the better in the (near) future.

The Asia eSIM can be used in the following 11 Asian countries:

Below is an overview of how much each Holafly Asia eSIM costs:

1. Asia unlimited data eSIM for 5 days, costing 27 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
2. Asia unlimited data eSIM for 7 days, costing 34 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
3. Asia unlimited data eSIM for 10 days, costing 37 USD – most popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
4. Asia unlimited data eSIM for 15 days, costing 47 USD
5. Asia unlimited data eSIM for 20 days, costing 54 USD
6. Asia unlimited data eSIM for 30 days, costing 64 USD

Note: Phone Travel Wiz reader popularity ranking was updated in September based on data up to the 7^th of September (2023 data only).

And remember to use code PHONETRAVELWIZ for 5% off!

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Which Countries Does Holafly's Caribbean eSIMs Cover?

The Caribbean eSIMs can be used in 16 Caribbean countries with only one option: 6 GB/15 days.

Holafly's Caribbean eSIM is one of its newest additions.

Previously, I used to recommend a Caribbean regional eSIM from a competitor.

But I never believed it was of good value because it charged you 15 USD for 1 GB of data in 24 countries.

Now, you can get a Holafly Caribbean eSIM with 6 GB of data to be used in 16 countries.

Fewer countries than its competitor, but it is of better value (price/data).

However, be aware that you can use up to 500 MB per day with the Holafly Caribbean eSIM.

Once again, not a fan – and hopefully, this limitation gets lifted soon.

The Caribbean eSIM can be used in the following 16 Caribbean countries:

The Holafly Caribbean eSIM gives you 500 MB per day with a total data allowance of 6 GB for 15 days, costing 54 USD/57 EUR/49 GBP/84 AUD/74 CAD.

And remember to use code PHONETRAVELWIZ for 5% off!

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Which Countries Does Holafly's Europe eSIMs Cover?

The Europe eSIMs can be used in 32 European countries with seven options: unlimited/5 days, unlimited/10 days, unlimited/15 days, unlimited/20 days, unlimited/30 days, unlimited/60 days & unlimited/90 days.

Holafly's Europe eSIM is the only regional eSIM giving you unlimited data plans.

And all countries covered by the Europe eSIM also have unlimited data plans for the respective countries.

So if you plan to visit two or more European countries on your trip, it will be significantly cheaper to get the Europe eSIM instead of multiple country-specific ones.

So it should not come to a surprise that the most popular regional Holafly eSIM is the Europe one, as per Phone Travel Wiz readers based on 2023 data.

In fact, it is the third-most popular eSIM based on Phone Travel Wiz readers' purchase data, behind Japan and Mexico.

The Europe eSIM can be used in the following 32 European countries:

Below is an overview of how much each Holafly Europe eSIM costs:

1. Europe unlimited data (with 60 incoming minutes and 60 outgoing minutes) eSIM for 5 days, costing 19 USD – most popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
2. Europe unlimited data (with 60 incoming minutes and 60 outgoing minutes) eSIM for 7 days, costing 27 USD
3. Europe unlimited data (with 60 incoming minutes and 60 outgoing minutes) eSIM for 10 days, costing 34 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
4. Europe unlimited data (with 60 incoming minutes and 60 outgoing minutes) eSIM for 15 days, costing 47 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
5. Europe unlimited data (with 60 incoming minutes and 60 outgoing minutes) eSIM for 20 days, costing 57 USD
6. Europe unlimited data (with 60 incoming minutes and 60 outgoing minutes) eSIM for 30 days, costing 69 USD
7. Europe unlimited data (with 60 incoming minutes and 60 outgoing minutes) eSIM for 60 days, costing 87 USD
8. Europe unlimited data (with 60 incoming minutes and 60 outgoing minutes) eSIM for 90 days, costing 99 USD

Note: Phone Travel Wiz reader popularity ranking was updated in September based on data up to the 7^th of September (2023 data only).

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Which Countries Does Holafly's North America eSIMs Cover?

The North America eSIMs can be used in three North American countries with only one option: 6 GB/15 days.

The issue I have with this eSIM is that in two out of the three countries, Mexico and the United States, Holafly offers unlimited data plans for them.

This does not apply to Canada, but I have been told this will change soon.

So better options are available if you only stay in Mexico or the United States.

However, the cheapest unlimited data plan will cost you 19 USD and will be valid for five days.

So it can be more economical if you get the North America eSIM if you plan on visiting all these countries during your trip.

The main downside is the eSIM's short validity: 15 days.

You can barely explore a state or province in any of these countries within 15 days, let alone one of these countries or all of them.

So I hope more options will be added soon or the validity will be prolonged.

The North America eSIM can be used in the following three North American countries:

• Canada
• Mexico
• United States

The Holafly North America eSIM gives you 6 GB of data for 15 days, costing 54 USD/57 EUR/49 GBP/84 AUD/74 CAD.

And remember to use code PHONETRAVELWIZ for 5% off!

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Which Countries Does Holafly's South America eSIMs Cover?

The South America eSIMs can be used in 13 South American countries with only one option: 6 GB/15 days.

Holafly's South America eSIM used to be my top recommendation for those wanting to stay connected in this region.

Until a competitor launched its own Latin America eSIM with more options (1 GB/7 days, 2 GB/15 days, 3 GB/30 days & 5 GB/30 days) covering 19 countries instead.

While the competitor is not inherently cheaper, its eSIMs can be preferred to those who do not need that much data (6 GB with Holafly) or want a longer validity (up to 30 days instead of 15).

So I recommend both depending on your needs – and I give clear examples in my country-specific eSIM buying guides.

The South America eSIM can be used in the following 13 South American countries:

The Holafly South America eSIM gives you 6 GB of data for 15 days, costing 44 USD

And remember to use code PHONETRAVELWIZ for 5% off!

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Holafly vs. Airalo & Nomad – Which One Is Better?

Holafly offers eSIMs with unlimited data for various popular travel destinations in East- and Southeast Asia, Europe & North America, being one of the few eSIM providers to do so. However, these plans are not cheap, making Airalo and Nomad more economical options for said countries.

As I mentioned earlier, I also extensively test the eSIMs of Airalo and Nomad (and some other (new) eSIM providers at times) as well to see which one is better for select countries.

Because there is no point in recommending a particular eSIM if I did not compare it with others.

In some regions, like Africa and the Caribbean, Holafly has the cheapest eSIMs or the ones with the most generous data allowances.

In most East- and Southeast Asian, almost all European & North American (Mexico and the United States) countries, Holafly offers unlimited data plans.

And such plans are not offered by many of its competitors, including Airalo and Nomad (although the latter may do soon), and certainly not for up to 90 days.

The main issue, however, is that Holafly got rid of its data-limited plans for these destinations as soon as unlimited data plans were sold from since 2022.

As a result, you have to spend at least 19 USD for a Holafly eSIM.

But a bit less if you were to use code PHONETRAVELWIZ 😏.

In comparison, Nomad‘s and Airalo‘s cheapest eSIMs will cost 4 USD or 4.50 USD for these destinations, respectively.

And this can be an issue for someone who knows who does not need unlimited data or only plans to stay in a country for less than five days.

For example, I planned on going to Macau as a day trip in January 2023 (taking a ferry from Hong Kong, but I eventually decided against it).

Even though I would have been in the country for less than 24 hours, I would still have been changed 19 USD because the minimum validity is five days.

Unlimited data plans are currently available in 46 countries, so the remaining 109 countries have standard data plans.

In some of those countries, Holafly has the most options.

Such an example is Morocco, where Holafly has four options (2.5 GB, 3.5 GB, 5 GB & 7.5 GB).

Airalo only sells one of its Choukran eSIMs, whereas Nomad has no eSIM for Morocco at all.

In the case of Airalo, top-ups are available.

Sure, buying a big data plan outright would be more convenient, but at least you can top-up (which you cannot do with Holafly eSIMs).

So you would be better off buying a Holafly eSIM instead, right? Well… not so quick.

If you were to get the Airalo Morocco Choukran eSIM (9.50 USD) and two top-ups (2 * 9.50 USD), you would spend 28.50 USD for 3 GB of data.

For 1.50 USD less (27 USD), you can get 2.5 GB of data with the Holafly Morocco eSIM.

For 5.50 USD more, Holafly would give you 3.5 GB of data.

Oh, and you can only use 500 MB per day with the Holafly eSIM.

In this case, you would be better off with Airalo's Morocco eSIM.

But as soon as you want more data (5 GB or 7.5 GB), Holafly's eSIMs would be cheaper (47.50 USD for 5 GB of data with Airalo and only 37 USD with Holafly – for 7.5 GB, the prices would be 76 USD vs. 47 USD).

So you may have to do some napkin calculations at times if you want the eSIM with the price:data ratio.

And I often will have done that for you in my eSIM buying guides.

But let's go back to those unlimited data plans real quickly.

While unlimited often means “unlimited”, Holafly told me that its plans were truly limitless when it introduced its new plans.

A few weeks later, though, this paragraph was added to its “Can my connection speed be reduced?” FAQ:

[…] if the mobile operator estimates the usage of more than 90 GB of data in a month, it may temporarily reduce the speed to 256 Kbps – 1 Mbps to avoid affecting other users. This limitation is intended to prevent network saturation and will be removed within 24 hours.

One of Holafly's competitors (an eSIM reseller – not me, lol) tried to hit a daily fair-use limit, realizing that speeds get throttled after using more than 2.5 GB to 3 GB daily.

Do with this information as you wish 😏.

But I can explicitly recommend Holafly for East- and Southeast Asia (where it has unlimited data plans), the Caribbean, Europe, North America & some Oceanian countries (Australia and New Zealand).

For the best value for money in Asia, consider Nomad's eSIMs (although your speeds will often be (significantly) slower than Holafly eSIMs).

For 5G NR access in Europe, data-limited plans with low prices worldwide & eSIMs for countries barely covered by other eSIM providers, consider Airalo's eSIMs.

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My Overall Thoughts About Holafly

Overall, I have had pleasant experiences with Holafly. It offers many eSIMs with numerous variants at competitive prices, including unlimited data plans, often has great reception in urban and regional areas (depending on the roaming partners) & reasonable/blazing-fast speeds.

In popular travel destinations, you probably do not have to worry about your service with Holafly.

You will have fast speeds and be on a good network.

But that has not always been the case.

For example, the Holafly Australia eSIM used the Vodafone Australia network in July/August of 2022.

And Vodafone Australia is trash.

Only a few weeks earlier, before I started testing it, it used the Optus network, which has the second-best network.

Well… my speeds were slow, and reception was lackluster, to say it kindly.

So I asked Holafly why it thought it was a good idea to switch from good to bad out of nowhere 🗿.

In November, I tried its Australia eSIM again (as part two of my Australia SIM card and travel eSIM series).

Lo and behold, Holafly switched back to Optus, and its service was significantly better.

So I love that Holafly listens to our feedback (because I am sure other customers complained about bad service in Australia).

I would still love to see it expand its unlimited data plans to more countries.

Because the number of eligible countries (46) has not changed since it started with its unlimited data plans.

And offering 5G NR access in North America and Europe, like many eSIM providers have started doing (even resellers that started a week ago… which is kind of impressive, lol).

Moreover, it would be fantastic if you could finally top up your eSIM instead of having a new one if you are out of data or the validity hasexpired.

As I said, even brand-new eSIM providers have such a feature, while Holafly has promised this for probably a year.

But even with these shortcomings, I do recommend Holafly in the countries I have tried its eSIMs in because they are on a good network, have fast speeds & have reasonable prices.