The Travel eSIM Value Index 2026 compared three leading travel eSIM providers – Holafly, Saily and Airalo – to determine which offers the best value for money. Rather than relying on advertised headline prices, the index calculated real trip costs across various trip lengths, since providers offering only fixed-duration plans can force travellers to pay for unused days, particularly on longer trips. Holafly came out on top with an overall score of 91.1 out of 100, ahead of Saily on 86.7 and Airalo on 78.6, with the analysis suggesting that as network quality has become broadly similar across providers, cost efficiency, included features and flexibility are now the key differentiators.

Providers were scored across five weighted categories: Pricing Efficiency (35%), Included Benefits (25%), Customer Experience (15%), Travel Flexibility (15%) and Connection Readiness (10%). Holafly scored 100/100 on pricing by letting customers buy exactly the number of days needed, whereas Airalo and Saily require an 11-day traveller to purchase a 15-day plan, incurring costs for four unused days. Airalo's median costs came in 8.4% higher than the cheapest baseline. On included benefits, both Holafly and Saily scored the maximum 100 points, with Holafly uniquely offering "Always On" complimentary backup data and Saily including a built-in VPN, while Airalo trailed on 83.3 due to fewer standard features.