Airalo eSIM
Ranked 4 of 9 mobile phone plans by recommenders
Recommended for fast mobile data when travelling, since an eSIM can be set up on arrival. Critics most often cite high prices and customer service.
Recommended for fast mobile data when travelling, since an eSIM can be set up on arrival. Critics most often cite high prices and customer service.
25 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 16
- criticize it
- 9
- approval share
- 64%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 16 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fast data on arrival
“Airalo lets me buy an eSim at the departing airport, which means I've got cell data from the instant I arrive.”
Comment from 1 Nov 2025 on Hacker News “I think this is where Airalo shines. I've used it while travelling”
Comment from 9 Jun 2026 in “FCC Wants to Kill Burner Phones by Forcing Telecoms to Get All Customers' IDs” “I downloaded an eSim via Airalo in just 90 seconds”
Comment from 29 Dec 2025 in “I switched to eSIM in 2025, and I am full of regret” Strong pricing and plan choice
“I've never seen anyone beat Airalo's pricing.”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “eSIM was supposed to replace SIM cards, but carriers turned it into a trap” “A great marketplace. Great choices.”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “I switched to eSIM in 2025, and I am full of regret” Works well on iPhones
“It works well but I have only tried it on iPhones.”
Comment from 29 Dec 2025 in “I switched to eSIM in 2025, and I am full of regret” “I just tried it, and it seems useful.”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Abralo – Manage several Claude Code agents in one window”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Plans seen as pricey
“$19/month is steep for remote connections when I can just use Claude Code”
Comment from 11 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Abralo – Manage several Claude Code agents in one window” “these "travel sims" are pricey !”
Comment from 9 Jun 2026 in “FCC Wants to Kill Burner Phones by Forcing Telecoms to Get All Customers' IDs” Endpoints vary by country
“Airalo definitely does not always have endpoints in the country they're selling the esim for”
Comment from 30 Dec 2025 in “I switched to eSIM in 2025, and I am full of regret” “I offer network on Viettel while Airalo does on VTC.”
Comment from 13 Jul 2026 in “Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (July 2026)” Login and loading problems
“it ALWAYS makes you sign in with an emailed code, and sometimes it has issues delivering this code”
Comment from 23 Jul 2026 in “eSIM was supposed to replace SIM cards, but carriers turned it into a trap” “Airalo, an esim provider I use when traveling wouldn't load.”
Comment from 26 Jan 2026 in “Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android”
Other mobile phone plans people recommend
The four most recommended other mobile phone plans, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Mobile | 31 | 2 | 94% | 9 | 1 yr6 owners | Approved |
| Google Fi | 26 | 20 | 57% | 9 | 9 yrs3 owners | — |
| Cape mobile cell service | 19 | 10 | 66% | 7 | — | — |
| Airalo eSIMThis page | 16 | 9 | 64% | 5 | — | — |
| Mint Mobile | 15 | 3 | 83% | 4 | 7 yrs3 owners | Approved |
What people said
23 of the 26 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“A lot of customers have also come over from Airalo due to customer service.”
“it ALWAYS makes you sign in with an emailed code, and sometimes it has issues delivering this code”
“I've never seen anyone beat Airalo's pricing.”
“I offer network on Viettel while Airalo does on VTC.”
“$19/month is steep for remote connections when I can just use Claude Code”
“Abralo has a Rust backend (0% CPU) and has one shared webview”
“At present, you can use it directly for me, which is quite awesome.”
“it is getting stuck and i have to quit and restart it to see the updates.”
“4 agent limit is a no for me”
“actually kinda like he look of this”
“I just tried it, and it seems useful.”
“easy-to-use, but also lightweight and fast (so you can manage multiple agents without your PC crashing)”
“these "travel sims" are pricey !”
“I think this is where Airalo shines. I've used it while travelling”
“just buy an eSIM from one of many online services like AloSIM or Airalo”
“Airalo, an esim provider I use when traveling wouldn't load.”
“A great marketplace. Great choices.”
“Airalo definitely does not always have endpoints in the country they're selling the esim for”
“It's more expensive, but there's also no monkey business like this.”
“I downloaded an eSim via Airalo in just 90 seconds”
“It works well but I have only tried it on iPhones.”
“apparently it's not possible to transfer it to my new phone”
“Airalo lets me buy an eSim at the departing airport, which means I've got cell data from the instant I arrive.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.