My boyfriend had been telling me for years that he wanted to show me around his home country, Hong Kong (and Indonesia), early on in our relationship.
And I thought that would be a great idea – being guided by a local.
That way, you can see the city-state from a different lens than as a regular tourist.
Unfortunately, the pandemic hit, and the city-state was closed off from the world.
Following its neighbor up north, it imposed a strict zero-COVID policy, so we had to postpone our plans for a while.
Until the country announced it would reopen (without quarantine requirements) in December 2022.
So in January 2023, we went to Hong Kong and stayed for two weeks.
And my boyfriend, and many repeat Phone Travel Wiz readers, know that I do not go to a country without testing its SIM cards and various travel eSIMs before I recommend them.
So I tested out eight travel eSIMs, including Nomad's Hong Kong eSIM, four Hong Kong SIM cards & one travel SIM card to be used here.
This resulted in me spending about 2560 HKD (≈ 326.15 USD) for my Hong Kong SIM card and travel eSIM review series – yeah… I went all out for you 😎.
In many countries, getting a local SIM card will be the most cost-effective way to stay connected.
But in the same countries, getting a travel eSIM will be much more convenient because you do not have to deal with SIM card registration requirements (which can be stringent).
As of March 2022, SIM card registration rules came into effect in Hong Kong after avoiding it for many years, making the country the final East Asian country to do so.
So, is the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM a good option? 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: 2nd of February 2023. Last updated: 15th of January 2024.
Table of Contents
Which Phones are Compatible with Nomad eSIMs?
Before discussing the Nomad eSIM to be used in Hong Kong 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 Hong Kong 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 Hong Kong eSIM!
How Much Does the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM Cost?
You can get the Nomad eSIM to be used in Hong Kong for as little as 4 USD for 1 GB (7 days) and up to 90 USD for 50 GB (30 days).
Note: in my final days in Hong Kong, Nomad introduced new plans for the country with up to 50 GB of data as part of its Giant Data Plans. And a month earlier, it added cheaper plans up to 20 GB through JoyTelecom (the Truphone network is generally more expensive than JoyTelecom). However, I used the 20 GB eSIM on Truphone via CSL Mobile. Update: a 100 GB data plan has been added – crazy!
Below is an overview of how much each Nomad Hong Kong eSIM costs:
- Hong Kong 1 GB eSIM for 7 days (HKT), costing 4 USD
- Hong Kong 1 GB eSIM for 7 days (CSL), costing 7 USD
- Hong Kong 3 GB eSIM for 30 days (HKT), costing 8 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- Hong Kong 3 GB eSIM for 30 days (CSL), costing 12 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- Hong Kong 5 GB eSIM for 30 days (HKT), costing 12 USD – most popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- Hong Kong 5 GB eSIM for 30 days (CSL), costing 13 USD – most popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- Hong Kong 10 GB eSIM for 30 days (CSL), costing 18 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- Hong Kong 10 GB eSIM for 30 days (HKT), costing 19 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- Hong Kong 20 GB eSIM for 30 days (CSL), costing 26 USD
Note: Phone Travel Wiz reader popularity ranking was updated in September based on data up to the 7th of September (2023 data only).
>>> Get your Nomad Hong Kong eSIM and use code “ADU123” for 3 USD/2.70 EUR/2.40 GBP/4.05 CAD off! <<<
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.
You will see that only one eSIM option uses the Truphone network.
Previously, all of Nomad's Hong Kong eSIMs were on the Truphone network (and there were four or five variants).
And they were not cheap, compared to Nomad's competition, until Q3 of 2022.
In December, the prices dropped even more with the introduction of JoyTelecom.
Now, almost all eSIMs use JoyTelecom, which is better for your pocket 😏.
Also, if you are almost out of data with your initial Nomad Hong Kong eSIM, you can purchase top-ups on the Nomad app or online.
Yes, you can top up your Nomad Hong Kong eSIM – you do not have to purchase a new eSIM.
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 Hong Kong eSIM and use code “ADU123” for 3 USD/2.70 EUR/2.40 GBP/4.05 CAD off! <<<
My Nomad eSIM in Hong Kong Experience
I used my Nomad Hong Kong eSIM in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon & New Territories.
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.
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 Hong Kong, the Nomad eSIM uses the CSL Mobile network with the help of Truphone (so your phone, some apps, or sites you visit may claim you are using a Truphone eSIM instead of a Nomad one – that is correct).
Just like how I tested the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM on my Hong Kong trip, I also tried the local Hong Kong SIM cards excluding the MVNOs (China Mobile Hong Kong Mobile, CSL Mobile, 3 Hong Kong & SmarTone Hong Kong) and various other eSIMs (Airalo Hkmobile, Airalo Asialink (in Hong Kong and various other Asian countries), Airalo Discover Global (in Hong Kong and worldwide), Holafly, Nomad APAC, Simify & Ubigi + the 3 (UK) Travel SIM Card by Holidaysimcard in Hong Kong Review (also used in Australia and Singapore)).
Yeah, I went all out 😏.
Because of this, I could also assess how CSL Mobile performed compared to its competitors.
Well, not entirely. CSL Mobile did not allow prepaid customers to use its 5G NR network (but that may have changed now).
The same applies to 3 Hong Kong. However, China Mobile Hong Kong and SmarTone Hong Kong were not that stingy (anymore).
So in reality, I could only compare CSL Mobile with 3 Hong Kong… and it was more than twice as fast!
When looking at 4G/LTE availability in Hong Kong, the four mobile operators cover practically all of the country (mostly because it is a small city-state), with an availability of more than 98.6%.
4G/LTE reception is so good in Hong Kong that I thought 3G did not exist anymore (until 3 Hong Kong was stuck at 3G a handful of times 😩).
In terms of speed, CSL Mobile has the second-worst download speed, with a median download speed of 45.95 Mbps, ahead of 3 Hong Kong (32.52 Mbps) but behind SmarTone Hong Kong (48.14 Mbps) and China Mobile Hong Kong (66.11 Mbps).
Okay, that is enough background information – let's compare the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM to CSL Mobile in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon & New Territories.
Nomad Hong Kong eSIM Speed Test Results in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon & New Territories
Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated countries, or Special Administrative Region (SAR) if we want to be correct, worldwide behind Macau (also a SAR), Monaco & Singapore.
There are not many countries where you struggle to walk on the pavement because there are so many people around as Hong Kong without getting constantly pushed.
And I was there during the winter and when the China-Hong Kong border just opened – imagine how crazy it is during summer 😳.
But the country has a lot to offer: fantastic food, Ocean Park (attraction park) & even Disneyland for those who want it.
And of course smaller attractions, such as the Central–Mid-Levels escalator – the longest outdoor covered escalator in the world, The Peak (with the peak tram) & the Big Buddha (Ngong Ping) cable car.
The latter is 5.7 kilometers long and takes 25 minutes – and you even have a clear (called crystal) car option if you dare.
I am not fond of heights… but I actually enjoyed being in the crystal car… so I bet you will too!
Anyway, let's finally talk about my Nomad Hong Kong speed test results, right?
Poor speeds with the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM.
Because most travel eSIMs I used in Hong Kong used the CSL Mobile network too, I shared the results of the relevant eSIMs in the image above.
But… how is an average and median download speed of around 24 Mbps poor?
I compare the median download speed of a local SIM card or travel eSIM with the global median download speed of the month.
I consider the speeds poor if it is slower by more than 10 Mbps than the global median.
Yes, I have strict requirements over here 😤.
The global median was 36.74 Mbps in December 2022 as per the Speedtest Global Index, so the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM was slower by more than 10 Mbps.
I told you earlier that I care about speeds a lot 🐆!
But not only me… most Phone Travel Wiz readers think the same, which is why I focus on it so much.
Anyway, it was fascinating that the Nomad eSIMs were the slowest on the CSL Mobile network.
Especially when the Airalo eSIMs and Holafly eSIM used the same network and were about twice as fast as the Nomad Hong Kong and Nomad APAC eSIMs.
I had an average download speed of 23.29 Mbps and a median download speed of 23.89 Mbps with the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM: it barely passed the 4K video streaming test in Hong Kong (minimum of 25 Mbps).
But I am feeling generous today because I already called its speeds poor… so it passed 🤪.
The same cannot be said for the HD live streaming test in Hong Kong – the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM had an average and median upload speed of 4.51 Mbps and a median upload speed of 4.89 Mbps, making it fail the HD live streaming test (minimum of 10 Mbps).
No other Hong Kong SIM card or travel eSIM had such a slow average upload speed.
Heck, even 3 Hong Kong, which is trash, was almost thrice as fast as the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM in terms of uploading (13.69 Mbps).
And here is where things get interesting.
Remember when I said I got the remaining Nomad Hong Kong eSIM on the Truphone network (20 GB/30 days)?
The Nomad APAC eSIM that I also used in Hong Kong, which goes through the JoyTelecom network, is about four times as fast as the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM on the Truphone network (20.31 Mbps).
In fact, it was the eSIM with the second-fastest average upload speed (behind the Simify Hong Kong eSIM (20.87 Mbps)).
And I am certain that its upload speeds are throttled because the upload speed would start off high before going back below 5 Mbps.
This is why I do so many speed tests (56 in this case). I would not be able to detect this if I were to only do one or three speed tests. See, I do go all out for you!
And yes, I did get an upload speed of 8.86 Mbps, its fastest, in Yuet Hin in Tai Wai, but that seemed to have been an accident.
So what about its download speeds then?
Well, I assume the speeds are throttled @ 42 Mbps download because I rarely got results faster than that (the fastest was 44.22 Mbps at Lai Chi Kok Park Chinese Garden).
Why is this the case with Nomad eSIMs while the Airalo eSIMs and Holafly eSIMs were significantly faster?
It must be the roaming agreement between Nomad/JoyTelecom and CSL Mobile.
Because the Airalo Hkmobile and Airalo Asialink eSIMs are powered by Singtel from Singapore, and the Airalo Discover Global eSIM is powered by Mobilkom Liechtenstein.
In the case of Holafly, it is powered by Drei Austria – all different from the Nomad eSIMs.
Even with all these low numbers, your speeds should still be fast enough in most cases.
Sure, it may take ages to download a 20 GB file, let alone upload it… but why would you?🤨
Yes, 100 GB data plans are available… but it still seems to be a waste of data to me 🗿.
Enough playing around, but this is my interpretation of my results.
Truphone, and most mobile operators, would never share the details of its roaming agreements, which is why I test out SIM cards and travel eSIMs so that they will not disappoint you.
So yes, I am crazy… in a good way 😏.
My Overall Experience with the Nomad eSIM in Hong Kong – Is It Any Good?
I would recommend the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM, and it would be one of my top recommendations (in terms of data allowances, not for speed) for anyone wanting to buy a Hong Kong travel eSIM.
>>> Get your Nomad Hong Kong eSIM and use code “ADU123” for 3 USD/2.70 EUR/2.40 GBP/4.05 CAD off! <<<
The Nomad Hong Kong eSIM uses the CSL Mobile network, which has, together with its competitors, practically perfect 4G/LTE availability.
And I can tell you that you will not have any reception issues with the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM – even on the MTR.
Previously, Airalo's Hkmobile eSIMs were the most affordable eSIMs for Hong Kong.
But now Nomad, with the introduction of JoyTelecom Hong Kong eSIMs, is the most affordable AND has the most generous data allowance (100 GB for 60 days… if we ignore Holafly's unlimited data plans).
And you can even save money if you use code ADU123 😏.
Moreover, while your speeds will often be fast enough for general data browsing and video streaming, you should not expect too much.
Taking all 56 speed tests into account, I had an average overall download speed of 23.29 Mbps and a median download speed of 23.89 Mbps with the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM.
When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 4.51 Mbps and a median upload speed of 4.89 Mbps with the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM.
What I find interesting is that all the Airalo Hong Kong eSIMs (Hkmobile, Asialink & Discover Global) and the Holafly Hong Kong eSIM were also on the CSL network and were significantly faster than the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM.
The Holafly eSIM was almost twice as fast as Nomad in terms of download speeds and more than three times in upload speeds.
And based on all my numbers, it seems like the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM is actively throttled @ 42 Mbps download and @ 5 Mbps upload.
In comparison, the fastest download speed I managed to get with the Airalo Hkmobile eSIM was 243.60 Mbps and 61.58 Mbps upload.
So I assume Nomad/JoyTelecom has a different roaming agreement where their eSIMs experience throttled speeds.
As I said before, 42 Mbps is fast enough for general data browsing… if you achieve to that speed (rarely).
But an upload speed of 5 Mbps is on the slower end if you like to upload videos on social media or even lie stream.
But in return, you can use an eSIM with the most generous data allowances (50 GB 100 GB) for a travel eSIM in Hong Kong at one of the, if not the, lowest prices.
Is that the price you are willing to pay? That is a question you have to ask yourself.
By using an extensive 4G/LTE network, offering the most affordable data plans & offering slow(er) download speeds, you should have a (relatively) smooth browsing experience with the Nomad Hong Kong eSIM.
>>> Get your Nomad Hong Kong eSIM and use code “ADU123” for 3 USD/2.70 EUR/2.40 GBP/4.05 CAD off! <<<
- Interested in using a Nomad eSIM in another country or countries? Check out my Nomad eSIM reviews from across the world!
Other Hong Kong eSIM Reviews (Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Simify & Ubigi)
As mentioned earlier, I also tried out (other) eSIMs from Nomad (APAC), Airalo (Hkmobile, Asialink & Discover Global), Holafly, Simify & Ubigi + 3 (UK) travel SIM card by Holidaysimcard.
You should read those reviews too.
>>> Airalo Hkmobile eSIM in Hong Kong Review | Airalo Asialink eSIM in Hong Kong Review | Airalo Discover Global eSIM in Hong Kong eSIM Review | Holafly Hong Kong eSIM Review | Nomad APAC eSIM in Hong Kong Review | Simify Hong Kong eSIM Review | Ubigi Hong Kong eSIM Review | 3 (UK) Travel SIM Card by Holidaysimcard in Hong Kong Review (also used in Australia and Singapore) <<<
- Check out my eSIM reviews page if you want to read all the other eSIM reviews I have written, including other eSIM providers in Asia.
I also tried out various local Hong Kong cards: China Mobile Hong Kong, CSL Mobile, 3 Hong Kong & SmarTone Hong Kong.
If your phone does not support eSIM (but felt like reading this Airalo review in full anyway – awesome) or want to have the best network experience possible, you want to go directly with the local mobile operators instead of roaming on their networks (as you do with travel eSIMs).
So I encourage you to read the Hong Kong SIM card reviews too.
>>> China Mobile Hong Kong Review | CSL Mobile Review | 3 Hong Kong Review | SmarTone Hong Kong Review <<<
Check out my reviews page if you want to read all the other reviews I have written, including other Asian SIM cards.
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