The introduction is being written.
Original publication: 23rd of September 2023. Last updated: 15th of January 2024.
Table of Contents
Which Phones are Compatible with Nomad eSIMs?
Before discussing the Nomad APAC eSIM, you must know whether your phone can even support Nomad's eSIMs.
Unlike most travel eSIM providers, Nomad claims that every eSIM-compatible phone can use its eSIMs.
So that makes things easy 😎.
But the image will still give you an overview of the most popular phones that support eSIM.
As of August 2023, the phones shown in the infographic below are compatible with Nomad eSIMs:
>>> Get your Nomad APAC eSIM and use code “ADU123” for 3 USD/2.75 EUR/2.35 GBP/4 CAD off! <<<
With that out of the way, let's talk more about the Nomad APAC eSIM!
How Much Does the Nomad APAC eSIM Cost?
You can get the Nomad APAC eSIM for as little as 8 USD/10 USD (20/15 Countries Plan) for 1 GB (7 days) and up to 62/65 USD (15/20 Countries Plan) for 20 GB (30/60 days).
The Nomad SEA-Oceania eSIM, which can be used in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam (eight countries), is slightly cheaper than any Nomad APAC eSIM.
Below is an overview of how much each Nomad APAC eSIM costs:
- APAC (20 Countries Plan) 1 GB eSIM for 7 days, costing 8 USD
- APAC (15 Countries Plan) 1 GB eSIM for 7 days, costing 10 USD
- APAC (20 Countries Plan) 3 GB eSIM for 15 days, costing 13 USD
- APAC (15 Countries Plan) 3 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 17 USD
- APAC (15 Countries Plan) 5 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 23 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- APAC (20 Countries Plan) 5 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 12 USD (on sale) – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- APAC (20 Countries Plan) 10 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 28 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- APAC (15 Countries Plan) 10 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 37 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- APAC (20 Countries Plan) 20 GB eSIM for 45 days, costing 29 USD (on sale) – most popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- APAC (15 Countries Plan) 20 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 62 USD – most popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- APAC (20 Countries Plan) 30 GB eSIM for 60 days, costing 65 USD
Note: Phone Travel Wiz reader popularity ranking was updated in September based on data up to the 13th of September (2023 data only).
>>> Get your Nomad APAC eSIM and use code “ADU123” for 3 USD/2.75 EUR/2.35 GBP/4 CAD off! <<<
If you wonder why the 20 Countries Plan is consistently cheaper than the 15 Countries Plan, it has to do with the deal Nomad has made with the two providers.
The 15 Countries Plan is powered by eSIM Go, which is active worldwide (and thus slightly more expensive).
The 20 Countries Plan is powered by JoyTelecom, which is mostly active in the Asia-Pacific area (and North America).
As the latter concentrates on a smaller area, it does not have as many agreements to deal with, passing the savings on to you.
If your credit/debit card charges you foreign exchange fees, get yourself a Wise Borderless Account and Debit Card.
Their fees are MUCH lower than banks and credit card companies charge you (and Wise is transparent about their fees, unlike banks).
I have saved literal THOUSANDS of Australian Dollars and Euros, my main currencies, when using Wise abroad when traveling compared to my debit and credit cards.
Moreover, regardless of which Nomad APAC eSIM you choose, you can always top it up for the same data and prices listed above.
Many eSIM providers out there do not allow you to top up or extend the validity of your eSIM, so it is cool that Nomad allows you to do so.
>>> Get your Nomad APAC eSIM and use code “ADU123” for 3 USD/2.75 EUR/2.35 GBP/4 CAD off! <<<
In Which Countries Can the Nomad APAC eSIM Be Used?
The Nomad APAC eSIM can be used in up to 21 countries in Asia and Oceania, split into the 15 Countries Plan (eSIM Go) and 20 Countries Plan (JoyTelecom).
Previously, the 15 countries plan was powered by Truphone, which was slightly more expensive than the plans offered by eSIM Go.
Anyway, Nomad APAC eSIMs can be used in the following countries:
- Australia
- Bangladesh 2
- Cambodia 2
- China
- Hong Kong
- India 2
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Laos 2
- Macau
- Malaysia
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- Philippines 2
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Uzbekistan 1
- Vietnam
1 15 Countries Plan only (eSIM Go)
2 20 Countries Plan only (JoyTelecom)
If you plan to visit two or more of the following countries (Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam), getting the Nomad SEA-Oceania eSIM will be slightly cheaper than any Nomad APAC eSIMs (and they are also powered by JoyTelecom).
And, of course, I have been actively testing the Nomad SEA-Oceania eSIM too 😏.
With the Nomad APAC eSIM, you can save a lot of money by skipping the initial SIM card costs per country you visit.
So if you plan on visiting multiple Asian and Oceanian countries, getting the Nomad APAC eSIM will be convenient AND will save you a lot of money too.
Unlike the European counterpart, the Nomad Europe eSIM (which I used in 13 countries), you cannot use 5G NR with the Nomad APAC eSIM… yet 😏.
>>> Get your Nomad APAC eSIM and use code “ADU123” for 3 USD/2.75 EUR/2.35 GBP/4 CAD off! <<<
My Nomad APAC eSIM Experiences
I have used, and will be using, the Nomad APAC eSIM in all 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 around Asia (my favorite continent, honestly) 😎.
Before we continue, I do want to let you know how travel eSIM providers like Nomad work.
It is impossible for Nomad, 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 Nomad or many other travel eSIM providers, will not result in a 5000 USD roaming bill.
What Nomad 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 Nomad APAC eSIM, it uses the networks of 20+ local mobile operators with the help of eSIM Go (from Austria – 15 Countries Plan) and JoyTelecom (from Hong Kong – 20 Countries Plan).
Most of the supported networks are the better ones in the country (often the best).
Still, some networks suck (Dtac in Thailand or Vietnamobile in Vietnam, for example – but you can choose an alternative network in both countries. The alternative ones are good).
But your experience will often not be as good as if you were to get a SIM card from these mobile operators directly.
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 Nomad/JoyTelecom has made… that is why I have to test the eSIM everywhere!
While I will extensively test the Nomad APAC 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 analyzing a handful of 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 Nomad APAC eSIM experience in Hong Kong.
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 (here at the moment for a few months. Not sure when I will finish the testing)
- Bangladesh (may visit in 2024, but elections are scheduled that year. They get wild)
- Cambodia (trip not scheduled yet)
- China (trip not planned yet)
- Hong Kong
- India (trip not scheduled yet)
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Laos (trip not scheduled yet)
- Macau (wanted to go in early-2023 but border entry requirements prevented me. No idea when I will go)
- Malaysia (trip not planned yet (will be in 2024))
- New Zealand (did not use it when I was there in 2022 – will do the next time)
- Pakistan (no plans to visit anytime soon)
- Philippines (trip not scheduled yet (will be in 2024))
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka (was there before I started working with Nomad – will have to revisit)
- Taiwan
- Thailand (only tested Nomad SEA-Oceania on that trip – will use Nomad APAC the next time)
- Uzbekistan (no plans to visit anytime soon)
- Vietnam
>>> Get your Nomad APAC eSIM and use code “ADU123” for 3 USD/2.75 EUR/2.35 GBP/4 CAD off! <<<
Nomad APAC eSIM in Hong Kong Experiences + Speed Test Results
I used my Nomad APAC eSIM throughout Hong Kong, where you can only be on the CSL Mobile network (the network powering JoyTelecom, as it is owned by CSL Mobile directly).
Taking all 56 speed tests I did in Hong Kong into account, I had an average overall download speed of 20.06 Mbps and a median download speed of 17.95 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM.
Compared to the global median in August 2023 (43.20 Mbps), the APAC eSIM did poorly.
Hong Kong was the first country I tried a JoyTelecom-powered eSIM (January 2023 – they were introduced in November or December 2022). Here is where I found out that JoyTelecom-powered eSIMs are throttled @ 42 Mbps (but @ 48 Mbps in Hong Kong). I did not think much of it because CSL Mobile, which owns JoyTelecom, throttles prepaid speeds with some of its plans. But I noticed it applied to other countries too…
When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 20.31 Mbps and a median upload speed of 17.59 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM in Hong Kong.
And that was… good. The global median was 10.23 Mbps.
Nomad APAC eSIM in Indonesia Experiences + Speed Test Results
I used my Nomad APAC eSIM in Bali and Jakarta, where I could access two of the four Indonesian networks (Telkomsel and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison – in most countries, you can only be on one network).
If you are concerned about coverage and plan to visit jungles and islands (like Nusa Penida), select Telkomsel (best coverage). If you are in urban areas and want fast(er) speeds, choose Indosat (Ooredoo Hutchison)).
When Nomad started working with JoyTelecom, the latter throttled speeds @ 42 Mbps. After I complained to Nomad, which directed the complaint to JoyTelecom, JoyTelecom increased the speed to 82 Mbps (March 2023), which I mentioned in my Nomad SEA-Oceania Singapore review (not the APAC one because that was still on Truphone back then. But it looks like the 42 Mbps speed limit is back (in Indonesia, at least – I hit 82 Mbps multiple times in Taiwan, which I visited immediately after Indonesia).
Taking all 53 speed tests I did in Indonesia into account, I had an average overall download speed of 21.67 Mbps and a median download speed of 21.49 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM.
Compared to the global median in August 2023 (43.20 Mbps), the APAC eSIM did terribly.
When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 117.81 Mbps and a median upload speed of 13.06 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM in Indonesia.
And that was… decent. The global median was 10.23 Mbps.
Nomad APAC eSIM in Japan Experiences + Speed Test Results
I used my Nomad APAC eSIM in Hiroshima, the Kansai region (Osaka) & Tokyo Metropolis, where I could access two of the four Japanese networks (SoftBank and AU by KDDI) – in most countries, you can only be on one network).
In my case, I kept manually selecting the SoftBank network as it is slightly better than AU by KDDI (but not by much nowadays).
Taking all 91 speed tests I did in Japan into account, I had an average overall download speed of 38.91 Mbps and a median download speed of 36 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM.
Compared to the global median in August 2023 (43.20 Mbps), the APAC eSIM did alright.
When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 12.76 Mbps and a median upload speed of 10.53 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM in Japan.
And that was… decent. The global median was 10.23 Mbps.
Nomad APAC eSIM in Singapore Experiences + Speed Test Results
I used my Nomad APAC eSIM throughout Singapore, where you can only be on the Singtel network (different from most countries where you can pick and choose a local network).
Taking all 14 speed tests I did in Singapore into account, I had an average overall download speed of 63.09 Mbps and a median download speed of 75.11 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM.
Compared to the global median in August 2023 (43.20 Mbps), the APAC did incredibly well.
When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 7.60 Mbps and a median upload speed of 5.86 Mbps with the Nomad APAC in Singapore.
And that was… decent. The global median was 10.23 Mbps.
Nomad APAC eSIM in South Korea Experiences + Speed Test Results
I used my Nomad APAC eSIM in Busan and Seoul, where I could access two of the three South Korea networks (SK Telecom and KT South Korea) – in most countries, you can only be on one network).
Nowadays, you will only be on the SK Telecom network (worry not, it is a good network).
Taking all 43 speed tests I did in South Korea into account, I had an average overall download speed of 3.98 Mbps and a median download speed of 2.71 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM.
Compared to the global median in August 2023 (43.20 Mbps), the APAC eSIM had an embarrassing performance.
But… why?
Then I contacted Nomad; it contacted JoyTelecom. Nomad was informed it was facing issues (which were resolved after I left South Korea).
It is just a bit suspicious that JoyTelecom was experiencing issues again after I faced problems in Singapore (March 2023 – I was in South Korea in May 2023).
Ah well, it happens 🤷🏿♂️.
When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 10.53 Mbps and a median upload speed of 8.43 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM in South Korea.
And that was… decent. The global median was 10.23 Mbps.
Nomad APAC eSIM in Taiwan Experiences + 5G Speed Test Results
I used my Nomad APAC eSIM in Tainan, Taipei & Taoyuan, where I could access two of the four/five Taiwanese networks (Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile) – in most countries, you can only be on one network).
Well… not really. For some reason, most travel eSIMs could not connect to Chunghwa Telecom (even though they should).
This applied to the Nomad APAC eSIM too – so I was in Taiwan Mobile instead (even though Chunghwa Telecom has better coverage and faster speeds).
Surprisingly, I had 5G NR access in Taiwan – something Nomad was unaware of at the time (and still has not been processed on its site at the time of writing).
Taking all 28 speed tests I did in Taiwan into account, I had an average overall download speed of 70.81 Mbps and a median download speed of 81.07 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM.
Compared to the global median in August 2023 (43.20 Mbps), the APAC eSIM did amazingly.
As I mentioned in the Hong Kong and Indonesia sections, JoyTelecom seems to actively throttle speeds @ 82 Mbps in Taiwan. I could see the speed test go as high as 150 Mbps before dropping back to 82 Mbps or getting “stuck” at 82 Mbps.
When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 54.09 Mbps and a median upload speed of 71.51 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM in Taiwan.
And that was… fantastic! The global median was 10.23 Mbps.
This is also the best upload speed performance I have ever gotten with a Nomad eSIM.
Nomad APAC eSIM in Vietnam Experiences + Speed Test Results
I used my Nomad APAC eSIM in Ho Chi Minh City, where I could access two of the four Vietnamese networks (Mobifone and Vietnamobile) – in most countries, you can only be on one network).
I highly recommend manually selecting Mobifone over Vietnamobile… your network experience in Vietnam will not be frustrating, unlike being on the Vietnamobile network.
In my case, my phone defaulted to Mobifone.
Taking all seven speed tests I did in Vietnam into account, I had an average overall download speed of 11.08 Mbps and a median download speed of 7.23 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM.
Compared to the global median in August 2023 (43.20 Mbps), the APAC eSIM did poorly.
When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 11.20 Mbps and a median upload speed of 7.56 Mbps with the Nomad APAC eSIM in Vietnam.
And that was… decent. The global median was 10.23 Mbps.