Saily Review: The eSIM I Use to Travel Full-Time

If you're reading a Saily review before booking a trip, you're doing exactly what I did before my first one. I use Saily to travel full-time, from Southeast Asia to the Middle East to random weekends in Norway, and this review is everything I've learned along the way.

I'm going to walk you through how Saily actually worked for me, what the app is like day to day, what the data plans and speeds are really like, and the one feature that makes Saily different from every other eSIM I've tried: built-in security tools from the people who make NordVPN.

Quick links

Here's what I cover in this Saily review, in case you want to jump ahead:

• What Saily actually is, and who's behind it
• My own experience using it to travel full-time
• How easy the app is to set up and use
• Data plans, pricing, and coverage
• Internet speed in real conditions
• Extra features (security tools and the US phone number option)
• The LEZBROZ -5% promo code
• My honest verdict, plus FAQs

What is Saily?

An eSIM from Nord Security (the NordVPN team)

Saily isn't a random startup that appeared out of nowhere. It's built by Nord Security, the same company behind NordVPN, one of the most recognised VPN brands on the planet. It's stated plainly on the site: "by the makers of NordVPN".

That matters more than it might seem. It means Saily has inherited a product culture built around privacy and security, not just a data-selling app with a nice logo slapped on it. That background shows up in real features inside the app, which I'll get into below.

A data-only eSIM built for travellers

At its core, Saily is a data eSIM for people who travel. An eSIM is a digital SIM card built into your phone, so there's no physical chip to fiddle with or lose at the airport.

You install it through the app, buy a data plan for the country you're heading to, and you're online the moment you land. The app has a proper support system too, with 24/7 chat and email, which matters when you're stuck somewhere with no signal and a flight to catch.

My experience using Saily to travel full-time

Setting it up before a trip to Southeast Asia

I first tried Saily ahead of a trip through the Philippines and Thailand, two countries where I'd previously bought physical SIMs at the airport and regretted it every single time. Queues, cash-only stalls, and SIM cards that stopped working after a week for no clear reason.

Setting Saily up took me about five minutes, done from my sofa in Vannes before I'd even packed a bag. I downloaded the app, picked a regional Southeast Asia plan, paid, and had a QR code ready to scan the second I landed.

How it worked for me on the road

Here's how it worked once I landed in Manila: I turned on data roaming, scanned the QR code from a screenshot I'd saved offline, and had a working connection before I'd even collected my bag from the belt. No SIM tray, no tiny pin to eject anything, no language barrier at an airport kiosk.

Over three weeks moving between islands, I topped up twice from the app itself, without needing to find a new plan or start from scratch. That's the bit that sold me on using Saily to travel full-time rather than juggling different providers per country. One eSIM, reused for every leg of the trip.

Ease of use

Installing and activating the eSIM

Saily is an app-first eSIM, meaning the whole experience runs through its mobile app, available on both iOS and Android. You create an account, choose your plan, and follow the in-app steps to install the eSIM profile on your phone.

Activation happens the moment you land, or any time within 30 days of purchase if you'd rather buy in advance and switch it on later. This is the part that makes eSIMs genuinely easier than physical SIMs, and Saily's version of it is about as smooth as I've used.

Topping up and switching destinations

From the same app, you can top up your data, add a new destination for your next trip, or turn the security features on and off. I didn't hit any hidden restrictions on hotspot sharing during my test, which is handy if you're travelling with someone else or want to connect a laptop or tablet.

Customer service replies around the clock through chat and email. I tested this once at 2am local time in Oman with a connectivity question, and got a useful reply within minutes, not a canned response that ignored what I'd actually asked.

Data plans

Plans from 1GB to unlimited

Saily covers more than 200 countries and destinations. Plans range from a small 1GB weekly option right up to 100GB valid for 6 months, plus unlimited plans and a newer Ultra plan aimed at heavier data users.

There are also regional and global plans, useful if you're doing a multi-country trip through Europe or Southeast Asia and don't want to buy a separate plan for every border you cross. Prices start from around 3 USD, and you can switch the currency shown in the app or on the site.

One eSIM for every trip

The bit I actually use the most: you install one Saily eSIM once, and reuse it for every trip after that. No reinstalling a new eSIM profile every time you land somewhere new, which is the annoying part of some rival eSIM apps.

You can add credit or switch to a plan for a new country straight from the app, and hotspot sharing is allowed, so I've used my Saily connection to get my laptop online more than once in a hotel with dreadful in-room WiFi.

Internet speed and coverage

Network speeds in practice

Speed depends entirely on the local network Saily connects you to, since eSIMs work by using local mobile networks in each country rather than running their own towers. In the Philippines I got speeds fine for maps, messaging, and streaming music, though video calls occasionally buffered on slower rural networks, which is a local network issue rather than anything specific to Saily.

In Norway and around bigger UK and European cities, speeds were noticeably better, closer to what I'd get on my normal home network. That's typical of eSIMs generally: the eSIM gives you access, but the local network quality sets the ceiling.

Coverage across 200+ destinations

With 200+ destinations covered, I haven't found a country on my usual routes where Saily didn't have a plan available, including some less common stops in Southeast Asia and the Gulf. That breadth is one of the reasons I keep using it rather than switching providers per region.

Coverage quality itself is generally solid in cities and along main travel routes. Remote areas, as with any eSIM, can be patchier, so I wouldn't rely on it as your only connection if you're heading somewhere genuinely off-grid.

Extra features

Ad blocker and Web Protection

This is the part of my Saily review that genuinely surprised me. Three security features come included, switched on with one tap in the eSIM settings, at no extra cost.

The ad blocker stops intrusive ads loading in the first place, which makes browsing smoother and, more usefully, saves data. An independent audit cited by Nord Security put the saving at around 28.6% of data use, which is a real difference on a smaller plan. Web Protection works like a DNS filter, blocking known malicious sites and cutting down on trackers, built on the same Threat Protection technology NordVPN uses.

Virtual location: what it does and doesn't do

The third feature, virtual location, lets you choose from more than 115 locations for a bit more privacy while browsing, or to access content you'd normally see at home.

I want to be straight with you here: this is not a full encrypted VPN like NordVPN itself. It's DNS filtering combined with a virtual location switch, not an end-to-end encrypted tunnel. It's still genuinely useful and unusual for an eSIM to include, but I won't pretend it's "NordVPN built in", because that's not quite accurate.

The optional US phone number

Worth flagging clearly: Saily is data only by default. That means you get data, not a traditional phone number, which isn't really a downside since most people use WhatsApp or similar over data for calls and messages anyway.

If you do need to receive texts or make real calls, Saily offers an optional US phone number through the app, from 0.99 USD a month. It requires an identity check after purchase, so it's not a one-tap add, more of a proper setup step for anyone who genuinely needs a reachable number while travelling.

Pricing

How much Saily actually costs

Plans start from around 3 USD and go up depending on data amount, region, and duration. Saily sits in the middle of the market on price: not the cheapest per GB I've seen (Airalo is often more aggressive, especially on less common destinations), but not overpriced either.

What you're paying a bit extra for, in my experience, is the polish: an app that doesn't crash, quick top-ups, and those security features bundled in for free rather than sold separately.

The LEZBROZ -5% promo code

To knock a bit off the price, I use the promo code LEZBROZ -5%. You enter it at checkout when you're buying a plan, or it applies automatically if you go through our partner link.

It's not a massive saving, but on an unlimited plan or a bigger data pack it adds up to a few pounds off for zero drop in service. Saily also runs a referral scheme called the "Rewards Race", where you can earn up to 100 USD in gift cards and Saily credit by sharing your own referral link with other travellers.

Is Saily reliable?

Saily reviews: what other customers say

Before buying any eSIM, I always check what other people actually experienced, not just the marketing page. If you go and read customer service reviews of Saily on Trustpilot, the tone is largely positive: a modern app, easy setup, and decent value compared with other eSIMs on the market.

Saily's Trustpilot score sits at 4.7 out of 5, rated "Excellent" by the platform. The app itself is rated around 4.7/5 on both the App Store and Google Play, with a large number of ratings behind that score, which is more reassuring than a handful of five-star reviews from day one.

If you want to check for yourself before buying, go and read the Saily reviews directly on Trustpilot or the app stores. The brand actively encourages customers to leave their own review once they've used it, which keeps the feedback reasonably current rather than stale.

Customer service: what happened when I needed help

I've contacted Saily's customer service twice, once with a billing question and once when I wasn't sure which regional plan covered a specific country. Both times I got a reply through the in-app chat within a few minutes, in plain English, not a scripted answer that dodged the actual question.

That responsiveness matters more than it sounds. When you're relying on data to navigate a new city or book a last-minute hostel, a customer service team that actually answers quickly is worth more than a slightly cheaper plan elsewhere.

Extra: what to know before you buy

I wouldn't be giving you an honest Saily review if I only listed the good bits. Here's what to keep in mind:

• The security features are a genuine bonus, but they're not a full encrypted VPN, just DNS filtering and a virtual location switch.
• The US phone number is a paid add-on, with an identity check to complete after purchase.
• Pricing is fair but not always the cheapest, Airalo can undercut it on some less common destinations.
• The eSIM is data only by default, which suits most travellers fine but is worth knowing before you buy if you specifically need calls or texts.

Saily review verdict

Who Saily is best for

I'd recommend Saily if you want a reliable eSIM with a genuinely well-built app, and you like the idea of getting real security features included without paying extra for them. If you already use NordVPN, or you just care about privacy while browsing on public networks abroad, Saily fits that mindset better than any other eSIM I've tested.

It's also a strong pick if you want one eSIM you can reuse for every trip, with the option to bolt on a US phone number later if you need one, all inside the same app.

Who should look elsewhere

If your only priority is the lowest price per GB, especially in less common destinations, check Airalo first, since it's often more competitive on raw price. If you want a premium unlimited plan with no usage cap for a single destination, Holafly is worth a look too.

But if you want the best balance of fair pricing, built-in security, and an app that actually works properly, Saily has been, in my experience travelling full-time, one of the strongest eSIMs I've used through 2026.