If you're searching for an Airalo review before you book a trip, you've landed in the right place. I'm Teddy, a travel photographer, and eSIMs have been part of my kit for years now, across trips from Oman to Norway to New York.
Airalo is the name every connected traveller bumps into eventually. It's the biggest eSIM marketplace out there, and I think it's worth an honest review rather than another generic "best eSIM" list. So here's what actually happened when I used it, warts and all.
What Is an eSIM Card, and Why Airalo Matters for Travellers
The simple explanation
An eSIM is a SIM card without the plastic. It's a digital profile built into your phone, and instead of swapping a tiny physical chip at the airport, you scan a QR code or tap a button in an app.
For international travel, this changes everything. No more hunting for a local SIM shop with a queue out the door, and no more overpriced roaming charges from your home network the moment you land.
Airalo's marketplace model, explained
Airalo doesn't own its own mobile network. It works like a marketplace, partnering with real local carriers in each destination and reselling their data under one convenient app.
In Turkey, for example, your Airalo eSIM connects through Turk Telekom's 5G network. I actually like this bit of transparency: you know exactly whose network you're relying on, rather than a vague "global roaming" promise.
Is Airalo Legit? My Honest Take Before You Buy
The numbers behind the hype
Airalo claims over 30 million users and coverage across 200+ destinations. That's a genuinely huge number for an eSIM provider, and it's not just marketing spin; the app and website (airalo.com) are available in 53 languages with multiple currencies, which tells you this is built for scale, not a side project.
Before I trusted Airalo with an international trip, I did what most sensible travellers do: I went and read customer service reviews on Trustpilot and a few Reddit threads. What I found was a mixed but broadly reassuring picture.
Why I decided to test it before a big trip
I'd already been burned once by an airport SIM vendor charging triple the advertised price, so I wanted something I could set up before I even left the house. Airalo let me buy and activate a plan from my sofa in Vannes, days before flying.
That convenience alone was worth the price of admission. Whether it would actually work once I landed was the real test, so here's what happened.
My Real Experience Using Airalo Abroad
In Oman: it worked perfectly
In Oman, I installed my Airalo eSIM on my iPhone the night before flying, using the hotel Wi-Fi. The QR code scanned instantly, and the moment my plane touched down in Muscat, data kicked in automatically. No fiddling with settings, no calling customer service, nothing.
Honestly, this is the experience Airalo wants you to have every single time, and for me on this trip, it did exactly what it promised. Google Maps, WhatsApp, uploading photos on the go: all handled without a single dropped connection.
In Norway and the Philippines: a mixed bag
Norway was almost as smooth, though I noticed the connection dipped briefly in a remote fjord area, which is more about local coverage than Airalo itself. In the Philippines, activation on an older Android phone took two attempts before it stuck, which was mildly annoying but not a dealbreaker.
This is the pattern I keep coming back to: Airalo is reliable most of the time, but "most of the time" isn't "always." If you're the type who avoids Airalo purely because you read one bad story online, I'd say don't; just install it before you travel, with Wi-Fi, and give yourself a buffer in case it needs a second attempt.
Airalo as an Affiliate: A Disclosure Worth Being Honest About
Why I still recommend it
I'll be upfront: I do earn a small commission if you buy an Airalo plan through some of my links, since I run an affiliate partnership as part of my travel content work. I'm telling you this because I think transparency matters more than pretending I'm a neutral outsider.
That said, being an affiliate hasn't changed what I actually experienced using the product. I recommend Airalo because it genuinely worked for me on most trips, not because the commission is generous (it isn't, by industry standards).
What this means for you
If a review site never mentions affiliate links anywhere, that's usually a red flag, not a sign of pure honesty. I'd rather disclose it and still give you the unfiltered version, including the bits where Airalo stumbled a little.
Airalo Customer Service: What Reviews and Reddit Threads Say
Reading customer service reviews before you buy
Here's the part most glowing reviews skip. Airalo's app is rated 4.7 on the App Store and 4.6 on the Play Store, genuinely excellent scores for a service used by millions.
But Airalo.com customers found on Trustpilot tell a slightly different story, with the overall score sitting around 3.9. That gap matters, so let's look at why it exists rather than pretending it doesn't.
« My eSIM worked perfectly the moment I landed in Lisbon, dead simple to set up beforehand. Had one small activation hiccup on a previous trip to Thailand, but the support chat sorted it out incredibly fast over WhatsApp. »
Trustpilot customer, UK
Scrolling through Reddit threads, the pattern lines up with what I experienced myself: most people say it worked perfectly, a smaller group had an iPhone or Android activation glitch, and a few complained about network speed in specific countries. Very few describe it as a scam or unreliable outright.
My best advice if something goes wrong
If your Airalo eSIM isn't connecting, don't panic and don't immediately assume it's broken. Try these steps first:
- Restart your phone after installing the eSIM, not before.
- Double-check mobile data and data roaming are both switched on for the Airalo line.
- Make sure the eSIM is set as your data line, not your primary line, in your phone's settings.
- Contact support via the in-app chat rather than email; it's genuinely faster.
I found their support service incredibly responsive when I flagged the Philippines activation issue, with a real reply within minutes, not the usual automated bot loop you get elsewhere.
Alternatives to Airalo Worth Considering
Saily: the strongest Airalo competitor
Saily, backed by NordVPN, is the alternative I'd point you to if brand trust around data security matters to you. Its catalogue isn't quite as large as Airalo's, but it covers most popular destinations well.
Holafly: for unlimited data lovers
Holafly built its whole reputation around unlimited data plans, historically ahead of Airalo on that front, though pricier overall. If you genuinely can't stand the idea of a data cap, it's worth comparing.
| Criteria | Airalo | Saily | Holafly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Widest choice, low prices | Trust factor (NordVPN brand) | Premium unlimited data |
| Coverage | 200+ destinations | Large, but smaller than Airalo | More limited, fewer countries |
| Plan types | Local, regional, global, unlimited | Local, regional, global | Mostly unlimited |
| Strongest point | Value and choice | Brand trust in security | Simplicity of unlimited plans |
| Weakest point | Trustpilot lower than app rating | Slightly smaller catalogue | Higher prices overall |
I still reach for Airalo first for a standard trip because of the value, but I've used all three at different points, and none of them is objectively "wrong" depending on what you actually need.
Airalo Pros and Cons
Pros
- Huge international coverage across 200+ destinations
- Prices genuinely among the lowest I've compared, especially for local plans
- The app is simple, well designed, and translated into dozens of languages
- Plans are reusable and easy to top up without reinstalling
- Hotspot sharing is allowed, convenient if you're travelling with a laptop
- 24/7 customer service with a live WhatsApp chat option
- Airmoney credits and a referral scheme reward regular travellers
Cons
- Trustpilot score (around 3.9) is lower than the glowing app store ratings suggest
- Network quality isn't identical everywhere since it depends on the local carrier partner
- Data only, no dedicated phone number, so calls rely on internet-based apps
- Unlimited plans still have a fair-use cap, with speed reduced after a daily threshold
Would I Use Airalo Again?
Who Airalo is best for
Yes, without much hesitation, especially for straightforward trips where I just need reliable data for maps, messaging, and uploading photos. If you're after the cheapest sensible option across a wide range of countries and you're happy to set things up a day or two before flying, Airalo remains my default pick.
Who should look elsewhere
If you specifically want a rock-solid unlimited plan with zero throttling risk, or you place a lot of value on a brand already known for online privacy, I'd genuinely suggest comparing Saily or Holafly before you commit. There's no single eSIM that's perfect for every traveller, and pretending otherwise wouldn't be honest.
Overall, my verdict stays positive: Airalo earns its position as the market leader. The value, the choice, and the app experience are hard to beat, and the flaws I've flagged here (that Trustpilot gap, the variable network quality) are real but remain a minority experience given how many people use it daily.
