Is Airalo legit and safe to use?
Yes. Airalo is the world’s largest travel eSIM marketplace, operating since 2019 with plans in 200+ countries, real local-carrier partnerships, and millions of customers. Complaints exist (mostly slow support at peak times and confusion about activation timing), but the product and billing are legitimate. Install it before you fly and test it, and you are in safe hands.
Skepticism about buying connectivity from an app is healthy, so here is the corporate reality: Airalo is a Singapore-headquartered company that pioneered the consumer eSIM marketplace in 2019, has raised institutional funding rounds, partners directly with local mobile network operators in over 200 countries and regions, and serves a customer base in the millions. It is, by volume and coverage, the market leader; this is not a gray-market reseller.
What the negative reviews actually contain, when you read them: support queues that grow slow in peak season, confusion about when a plan’s validity starts (at install versus at first connection, which varies per pack and is stated on the plan page), and travelers discovering their phone was carrier-locked after landing. These are real friction points, shared across the entire industry, and almost all preventable by installing and testing the eSIM at home before departure.
The same legitimacy check applies industry-wide, and the established names all pass it: Saily is built by Nord Security of NordVPN fame, Ubigi is owned by NTT through Transatel, Holafly and Nomad are established operations with millions of customers. Where caution genuinely belongs: unknown eSIM shops with prices far below everyone else, no identifiable company behind them, and no support channel. Connectivity is a trust purchase; buy it from someone with a reputation to lose.