Singapore was the first Asian destination I visited solo (in 2016).
I went to the Philippines a year earlier, but that was a work trip (way before Phone Travel Wiz was a thing… but I was already into researching the best local SIM cards best then!).
And… I was in awe – I truly loved Singapore!
I felt the positive feelings I had when I entered the United States again.
While Singapore is not representative of what Southeast Asia stands/is known for, it ignited my love for East- and Southeast Asia (which is still strong to this day).
Since then, I have been to Singapore four times – I still love it, but it is not special anymore.
Mostly because it is a small city-state, and I have seen and done the must-see/do attractions already 🤣.
In January and March 2023, I revisited Singapore.
I mostly spent time testing 17 (new) SIM cards and eSIMs.
This resulted in me spending about 237 SGD (≈ 175.80 USD) for my Singapore SIM card and travel eSIM review series – yeah… I went all out for you 😎.
I am excluding the cost of Airalo's Asialink 100 GB eSIM (185 USD) and its Discover Global 20 GB eSIM (89 USD) because I use both in multiple countries, not just Singapore.
In the past, I used to say that Singapore has the best tourist/airport SIM cards in the world.
Mostly because you could get 100 GB of data for as little as 12 SGD (8.90 USD).
Then I went to Taiwan, where the mobile operators offer truly unlimited data… which outdoes 100 GB 🤣.
Unlike most mobile operators, Taiwan's definition of unlimited is genuine. I used 100 GB – 200 GB of data on some SIM cards, and my speeds were never throttled. Amazing!
But when you can get so much data for such little money, is it even worth using a travel eSIM like Nomad?
It can be because you do not have to deal with SIM card registration requirements (which are stringent).
One limitation to be aware of is that you can only have three active prepaid SIM cards in your name in Singapore.
For most… this is not an issue. But for some crazy people who wish to test four SIM cards… it could be 😏.
So, is the Nomad APAC eSIM a good option for Singapore? Is it cheap compared to the local options and its travel eSIM competitors? How is its reception? And is it fast?
I will answer all those questions in this review. Let's do this.
Original publication: 9th of June 2023. Last updated: 15th of January 2024.
Table of Contents
Which Phones are Compatible with Nomad eSIMs?
Before discussing the Nomad APAC eSIM to be used in Singapore specifically, 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/2.70 EUR/2.40 GBP/4.05 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 to be used in Singapore for as little as 8 USD for 1 GB (7 days) and up to 65 USD for 30 GB (60 days).
One thing to be aware of is that the Nomad APAC (Asia-Pacific) eSIM is split into the 15 Countries Plan (Truphone eSIM Go) and 20 Countries Plan (JoyTelecom).
This used to be three (7, 12 & 15/16), but the options have been simplified recently.
Note that the Nomad SEA-Oceania eSIM can also be used in Singapore (and seven other countries in Southeast Asia (SEA) and Oceania).
The difference between the Nomad SEA-Oceania eSIM and the Nomad APAC eSIM is that the latter can be used in up to 21 countries (15 Countries and 20 Countries Plan, while the former can be used in only eight countries (and is newer).
In the past, the Nomad APAC eSIMs were significantly more expensive than the Nomad SEA-Oceania ones.
Nowadays, the price difference for the same allowances is up to 6 USD.
Anyway, you have six variants of the Nomad JoyTelecom-powered 20 Countries APAC eSIMs:
- APAC (20 Countries Plan) 1 GB eSIM for 7 days (validity extended), costing 8 USD
- APAC (20 Countries Plan) 3 GB eSIM for 15 days, costing 13 USD
- APAC (20 Countries Plan) 5 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 12 USD – 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 (20 Countries Plan) 20 GB eSIM for 45 days, costing 26 USD (validity extended) – 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/2.70 EUR/2.40 GBP/4.05 CAD off! <<<
Besides Singapore, the 16 15 Countries Plan can also be used in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan (new), the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Uzbekistan (new) & Vietnam.
You also have these two six Nomad Truphone eSIM Go-powered 15 Countries APAC eSIMs:
- APAC (15 Countries Plan) 1 GB eSIM for 7 days, costing 10 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 (15 Countries Plan) 10 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 37 USD – very 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
>>> Get your Nomad APAC eSIM and use code “ADU123” for 3 USD/2.70 EUR/2.40 GBP/4.05 CAD off! <<<
So the difference between the 15 Countries Plan and 20 Countries Plan is that the latter can be used in Hong Kong, India, Macau & Taiwan, while the former cannot.
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 amount of data and prices as 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/2.70 EUR/2.40 GBP/4.05 CAD off! <<<
My Nomad APAC eSIM in Singapore Experience
I used my Nomad APAC eSIM throughout Singapore.
As Singapore does not really have cities (in the sense of the Government of Singapore not using them for administrative purposes and only as geographical limits), I could not visit multiple ones as I tend to do.
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 when abroad.
In the case of Singapore, the Nomad APAC eSIM uses the Singtel network with the help of JoyTelecom (which is a CSL Mobile subsidiary (from Hong Kong)) – so your phone, some apps, or sites you visit may claim you are using a CSL Mobile eSIM instead of a Nomad one – that is correct).
When doing my tests in Singapore, I noticed that the Nomad Singapore and Nomad SEA-Oceania eSIMs upload speeds were throttled @ 1 Mbps.
Meaning my speeds never went above 1 Mbps.
This is outrageous, of course, so I informed Nomad about it.
When Nomad just partnered with JoyTelecom in December 2022, the latter somehow throttled download speeds @ 42 Mbps (which I noticed when using my first JoyTelecom-powered Nomad eSIM – in Hong Kong January 2023)).
So why did it severely throttle upload speed after fixing its upload speed?
Well… it was not JoyTelecom's fault this time.
Apparently, Singtel had been, and may still be, facing some issues, which resulted in some partners (like JoyTelecom) experiencing degraded services.
As Singtel has no ETA on when the issue would be resolved (at the time of writing at least), Nomad and JoyTelecom quickly approached StarHub, Singapore's second-largest mobile operator, asking if it would partner with them.
Surprisingly… StarHub said yes, which is why you can be on the Singtel and StarHub networks with the Nomad Singapore eSIM.
This way, you do not have to deal with incredibly slow upload speeds (which you will see later) – you are welcome 😜.
Note: Nomad does not always use multiple networks.
Because this deal was signed after I left Singapore, I cannot tell you if you should stick to the Singtel network or choose StarHub.
Singtel has the fastest network in Singapore.
If fast download speeds are your priority, stick to Singtel.
A few of the travel eSIMs I used were on the StarHub network, and they were all (a bit) slower than the eSIMs using the Singtel network.
But at least you know you will have proper upload speeds with StarHub.
So manually select StarHub if you live stream a lot or upload many videos to your story.
But… what about the Nomad APAC eSIM? Was it affected too?
I am unsure – I used the other two in March 2023, while I used the Nomad APAC eSIM in January 2023.
While the upload speeds were not stellar for Singaporean standards (which you will find about later), they were at least faster than 1 Mbps 🤣.
Anyway, just like how I tested the Nomad APAC eSIM on my Singapore trip, I also tried all the local Singaporean SIM cards excluding the MVNOs (Singtel, StarHub, M1 Singapore & SIMBA Singapore (formerly TPG Telecom)) and various other eSIMs (Airalo Connect Lah!, Airalo Asialink (in Singapore and various other Asian countries & Airalo Discover Global (in Singapore and worldwide), Alosim, eSIM2FLY sold by SimOptions, Holafly, Mogo, Nomad, Nomad SEA-Oceania (in Singapore and various other Asian countries), Simify & Ubigi + the 3 (UK) Travel SIM Card by Holidaysimcard in Singapore Review (also used in Australia and Hong Kong)).
Yeah, I went all out 😏.
Because of this, I could also assess how Singtel performed compared to its competitors.
Well, not entirely. Singtel was the only mobile operator allowing prepaid customers to use its 5G NR network (if you get its 30 SGD or 50 SGD SIM cards).
When looking at 4G/LTE availability in Singapore, the four mobile operators cover practically all of the country (mostly because it is a small city-state), with an availability of more than 99.2%.
4G/LTE reception is so good in Singapore that I thought 3G did not exist anymore (until the Airalo Discover Global and Alosim eSIMs were stuck at 3G a few times 😩).
Surprisingly, Singtel is lacking in terms of 5G NR availability with an availability percentage of 29.1%, behind M1 Singapore (29.4%) and StarHub (32.2%).
In terms of speed, Singtel has the fastest download speed, with a median download speed of 119.66 Mbps, ahead of StarHub (85.88 Mbps), M1 Singapore (51.69 Mbps) & SIMBA Singapore (formerly TPG Telecom – 23.37 Mbps).
The same can be said about upload speeds, where Singtel is leading the pack (20.91 Mbps), followed by StarHub (16.34 Mbps), M1 Singapore (15.41 Mbps) & Simba Singapore (3.57 Mbps).
I did speed tests with the Speedtest app throughout Singapore.
For reference, I consider an average download speed of 25 Mbps and an average of 10 Mbps upload speed fast enough.
Preferably, download speeds should be 100 Mbps+ on 4G/LTE… but we are not there yet 🗿.
But why these averages?
A download speed of more than 25 Mbps is enough to video stream content @ 4k resolution.
Social media sites that allow for live streaming, like Facebook Live, recommend an upload speed of at least 10 Mbps.
So, that is why – but that does not mean that a download speed of less than 100 Mbps excited me 😏.
But Australia spoiled… everything slower than 300 Mbps is slow now 🤣.
The Nomad APAC eSIM test was the lite version of my Singaporean SIM card and travel eSIM series.
Meaning I only tested a handful of eSIMs in January 2023, while the extended tests happened in March 2023.
And because I did my tests at different locations in January compared to March, I will compare the results only with the Simba Singapore (formerly TPG Telecom) and other travel eSIMs I tested in January.
Okay, that is enough background information – let's get started.
Nomad APAC eSIM in Singapore Speed Test Results
Singapore is one most densely populated countries, behind Macau and Monaco.
But I never found Singapore as crowded as Hong Kong for some reason (you struggle to walk on the pavement because there are so many people around – you will be pushed a few times (unintentionally) 😵💫).
Besides having the world's best airport, in my opinion, Singapore has a lot to offer.
Fantastic food, unique attractions (Cloud Forest, Gardens by the Bay & Supertree Grove) & even Universal Studios for those who are into that.
And there are many other things to do in the country.
But this is not a travel blog… I review SIM cards and eSIMs instead – you will have to find another blog for travel recommendations 😜.
Let's see how the Nomad APAC eSIM performed throughout the country:
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My Overall Experience with the Nomad APAC eSIM in Singapore – Is It Any Good?
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Other Singaporean eSIM Reviews (Airalo, aloSIM, eSIM2FLY (SimOptions), Nomad, Simify & Ubigi)
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