Holafly review: Worth the price for unlimited data?

Quick verdict

For short holidays of two-weeks or less, Holafly might not be the best choice as it tends to work out a bit pricey for these kind of trips compared with leading rivals.

But, if you’re a bit of a globetrotter or spend big chunks of time living or working abroad, I think its rolling monthly global data plans and reliable connectivity make it well worth adding to your shortlist. 

Pros:

• Unlimited data plans available in 200+ destinations
• Fast, simple setup with QR code activation, often working within minutes
• Automatic network switching for stronger, more consistent coverage
• 24/7 customer support with real human agents
• Flexible plan lengths
• 1GB of free backup data when a plan expires

Cons:

• More expensive than competitors like Airalo and Saily for light data users
• No local phone number on most plans
• Some users report slow refunds and inconsistent coverage in rural areas

Discount Code: EXPATICA

Why you should trust our review

We’ve independently researched and analysed Holafly’s key features and pricing structure using Holafly’s website and other reliable sources – including Trustpilot. We compare the prices of each eSIM provider with leading rivals on a like-for-like basis, and we’re not afraid to highlight an eSIM’s downsides as well as its plus points. 

What is Holafly?

Holafly is one of the biggest eSIM providers globally. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Dublin, its digital SIM cards offer unlimited data in 200+ destinations. 

While most of its rivals offer a range of capped and unlimited data plans, Holafly’s e-SIMs have unlimited data as standard.

Holafly charges by the day for its destination-specific plans, meaning you can choose the exact number of days you need the eSIM for. Many other eSIM providers offer fixed-term packages (for example 3, 15  or 30 days), so if the period of cover doesn’t match how long you’re away for, you’ll have to pay for more than you need or live without data for a few days. 

For frequent travellers, digital nomads and expats who want to avoid roaming charges and physical SIM swaps, Holafly also offers global data plans starting from £38.95 a month for 25GB of data, or £50.95 for unlimited data. This is charged on a rolling monthly basis until you cancel, and includes all of the 200+ countries that Holafly operates in. 

How does Holafly work?

Historically, if you’d wanted to access affordable data overseas, you’d have had to buy a physical SIM for the country you were travelling to and swap it out with your UK SIM. As well as being a bit of a faff, this would have meant swapping your phone number while you were away. 

With eSIMs like Holafly, there’s no physical chip. Instead, the eSIM profile is downloaded to your existing SIM card. No fiddly SIM swaps, and you can have two active numbers on the same phone. 

Setting Up Your Holafly eSIM

Once you’ve bought your Holafly eSIM, you’ll receive an email from Holafly giving instructions about how to set things up on your phone or tablet. You’ll need to follow these 5 basic steps:

1. But your eSIM. Choose your eSIM for the destination or a global plan, and purchase.
2. Install your eSIM. Once purchased, you’ll be sent a QR code by email. You’ll need to print it out or open the QR code on your computer to scan from your device. If that’s not an option you can also enter the numeric code manually. 
3. Rename eSIM. Use your phone or tablet settings to assign a specific name to the data plan. This isn’t essential, but can help you keep track of which plan is which, especially if you purchase multiple eSIMs. 
4. Enable roaming. Once you’re ready to start using your Holafly eSIM, enable data roaming on your phone or tablet and set the eSIM as the primary line for mobile data.

The Holafly data plan will become operational when you get to your destination. It’s best to complete installation before departure, while connected to wifi.  

Holafly says that setting up your eSIM should only take 5 minutes or so, and activation when you reach your destination is even quicker. 

Device compatibility

For any eSIM to work (not just Holafly), you’ll need to have a compatible device. Most iPhones from the XR onwards (released in October 2018) and recent Android flagships support eSIMs. Your main mobile plan provider doesn’t matter, but importantly your device must be unlocked. 

If in doubt, check Holafly’s list of compatible phones before buying.

Holafly plans and pricing

Country-specific eSIMs

Holafly’s daily prices for its destination-specific plans start from £4 to £8 for the countries on its ‘popular’ list, but costs per day gradually decrease the more days you book for. We’ve rounded up the cost per day for Holafly eSIMS for some of the most popular countries for Brits to travel to. All of Holafly’s destination-specific eSIMs come with unlimited data. 

* Prices collected from Holafly website and correct as of 26 August 2026. Prices can change and should be verified on Holafly’s site. 

Regional/global eSIMS

If you plan to spread your time abroad across multiple countries, it could be worth taking a look at Holafly’s regional eSIMs. These could make it more convenient than buying and installing separate eSIMs for every country you plan to travel to. We’ve rounded up a selection of Holafly’s regional eSIM costs in our table.

* Check Holafly website for details of which countries are included in each region. ** Prices collected from Holafly website and correct as of 26 August 2026. Prices can change and should be verified on Holafly’s site

Before you hit the buy button, it’s worth comparing the total cost of regional SIMs vs several country-specific SIMs. Depending on exactly which countries you’re visiting and how long you’ll spend in each one, a regional eSIM could work out more expensive. 

For example, Holafly’s North America eSIM covers Canada, Mexico and the USA. Let’s say you were to spend 12 days in the USA, then head across the border to Mexico for 2 days. You’d pay a total of £49 with a regional eSIM – £7 more than the £42 you’d pay if you bought two separate eSIMS for the USA (£35) and Mexico (£7).   

Global eSIM plans

Holafly’s global eSIM plans are aimed at frequent travellers, and could also offer better value for those who live or work abroad for extended periods. 

They cover every country that Holafly operates in, and cost:

• £38.95 per month for 25GB of data
• £50.95 per month for unlimited data

The plan auto-renews each month, but you can cancel any time. 

If you plan to spend a month in Canada, for example, opting for an unlimited monthly plan would work out just over £27 cheaper than paying for 30 days at its daily rate. Just don’t forget to cancel when you no longer need the plan. 

Holafly vs Airalo vs Saily

To give you an idea of how Holafly compares with key competitors, we’ve shown the eSIM costs for Holafly, Airalo and Saily for 7 days in Spain and 30 days in Canada, based on each company’s pay-per-trip rates. 

*Prices collected from provider websites and correct as of 26 August 2026. Prices are for unlimited data (cellular calls and texts not included). Prices can change and should be verified on provider’s site

Based on pay-per-trip rates, Holafly works out more expensive than Airalo and Saily for the destinations and trip lengths above. But with Holafly you have the option of a pay-monthly global eSIM plan, costing £50.95 a month, which would work out cheaper for 30 days in Canada than any of the day rates in our table. This could make Holafly a good choice for longer trips or frequent travellers. 

Network coverage and speed

The majority of Holafly users on Trustpilot rate Holafly’s connection speed and reliability highly – though as with any mobile data provider, there are exceptions to this rule. Many customers said they got at least 4G most of the time, with 5G being more common in major international cities. Some users note that signal can be more patchy in rural or remote areas. 

Unlike some eSIM providers that rely on a single local network to provide coverage in a given country, Holafly automatically switches between local networks, selecting the best one for your location. This is likely to improve the coverage you’ll get. 

In order to deliver coverage in different parts of the world, Holafly eSIMs sometimes pass internet traffic through “trusted international partners”. This means that your device might sometimes display a foreign IP address. Holafly is at pains to reassure customers that this does not compromise your privacy or security. Find out more in Holafly’s traffic routing guide. 

There is one Hola”fly” in the ointment that’s worth a mention. One of Holafly’s major selling points is its near-universal unlimited data plans. However, its plans are subject to “fair-use” speed throttling by some local network operators after a certain amount of high-speed data usage. This means you could find speeds dropping to a crawl if you’ve been caning it for most of the day – though this restriction should be temporary. 

Some Trustpilot reviewers feel that this throttling policy contradicts Holafly’s claim of unlimited data, and are frustrated that Holafly isn’t transparent about the fair usage thresholds. Find out more about throttling on Holafly’s network. 

Is Holafly legit and safe?

Yes, Holafly is a legit company that has been around since 2018 and has a registered headquarters in Dublin. Holafly customers typically have good things to say about it on Trustpilot, giving it an average star rating of 4.7 out of 5 (based on more than 100,000 reviews as of 26 August 2026).

It does get a relatively small percentage of negative (one-star) reviews, often about eSIMs not working (properly, or at all). To its credit Trustpilot says it responds to 99% of negative reviews – and usually within 24 hours. 

You can find out how Holafly protects your personal data in its published privacy policy. 

Holafly customer service and refunds

Holafly says its support team is available 24/7. Its main customer service channel is online chat, though you can also send an email to [email protected] or message it via WhatsApp.

Holafly offers a 6-month full refund policy for unused eSIMs – if you cancel your trip or your phone turns out to be incompatible, for example. You can also get a refund if your eSIM doesn’t work due to an issue with Holafly or problems with the network infrastructure of your destination, though in some cases you may only get a partial refund. 

Most Holafly users on Trustpilot report fast, helpful and human customer support, though a meaningful minority recount a frustrating experience. Some said they had to spend hours on chat or send multiple emails to get a satisfactory outcome, and a number cited problems getting a timely refund when eSIMs didn’t work properly.

Our final verdict

For budget-conscious holiday-makers or light data users, Holafly may not be the best bet, as competitors such as Airalo and Saily typically offer cheaper day rates for shorter trips. And Holafly doesn’t offer a local phone number in most countries. 

But if you value convenience, reliability and unlimited data over rock-bottom prices it’s worth a look, and its rolling global data plans could prove good value for digital nomads and those who live or work abroad for longer periods.