Firsty vs Airalo
Free-with-ads against the market standard: is zero euros ever good enough abroad?
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Firsty
Free global data, slow but real. Upgrade when you need speed.
Airalo
The biggest eSIM store on earth, and it acts like it.
Our verdict
They solve different problems, and the smart answer is both. Firsty’s free tier delivers slow but real data in most of the world, which makes it the perfect permanent backup: install it once and you will never land truly offline again. For actual trips, Airalo’s bundles deliver the speed that maps, photos, and calls want. Light users on short city breaks can genuinely survive on Firsty alone, upgrading to its fast day passes when needed. Everyone else: Firsty as the safety net, Airalo as the workhorse.
“The Dutch disruptor giving away free data: the ad-supported free tier delivers slow but genuinely usable connectivity in most of the world, and fast day passes cost a few euros. As a backup eSIM that lives on every phone, it is a no-brainer.”Editorial team, on Firsty
“The default choice for a reason: more countries than anyone, a mature app, and fair prices. Not always the absolute cheapest per gigabyte, but the combination of coverage, reliability, and ease keeps it on top of our shortlist.”Editorial team, on Airalo