What does a travel eSIM really cost per GB? (2026 data)

eSIM pricing is deliberately hard to compare. Every provider sells a different amount of data over a different validity period, so the sticker price tells you little. The only fair number is price per gigabyte on a like-for-like plan. We used the same benchmark for every provider, a 5 GB, 30-day, Europe-region bundle, then divided by the data. Instabridge, Ubigi and BNESIM have no comparable plan in dollars, so they are left out rather than estimated. The result is a ranking the marketing usually hides.

Price per GB on a 5 GB / 30-day Europe bundle: GigSky: about $3.40 per GB, the only one that also works on cruise ships and flights. Nomad: about $3.50 per GB. Roamless: about $3.59 per GB for its fixed Europe plan, next to a pay-as-you-go wallet. Yesim: about $3.80 per GB. Airalo: about $3.90 per GB (a small premium for the widest coverage). Saily: about $3.90 per GB (less with code SHORTLIST10). aloSIM: about $3.90 per GB.

Flexiroam: about $4.80 per GB. Free option: Firsty gives slow, ad-supported data at no cost, with unlimited data at full speed from €2 a day.

Three practical conclusions. For a normal trip with a rough idea of your usage, a fixed bundle is simplest, and GigSky, Nomad or Roamless save money over the famous names without giving up much. If you barely use mobile data because you are on Wi-Fi most of the day, pay-as-you-go like Roamless means you never pay for gigabytes you do not burn. If you stream, video-call, and tether all day, stop counting and buy unlimited, where Maya ($19.99 for seven days) usually undercuts Holafly ($20.50 for five days in Europe).

And put Firsty on your phone regardless. A free backup eSIM costs nothing and saves the day when a paid one fails to connect.