Airalo or Ubigi? This is a question that many travelers who are looking for a good eSIM ask. Our team at Travlists has tested both Airalo and Ubigi in countries like Japan, South Korea, Turkey, and Australia, and we can say that neither has disappointed us in terms of internet experience. However, beyond connectivity, one may find that Airalo or Ubigi’s eSIM is better than the other in terms of price and core features. Below we provide a comparison.
In a nutshell
- What is Ubigi? A subsidiary of NTT Docomo, one of the leading telcos in Japan, Ubigi delights with their innovative digital SIM cards that can be used on mobile devices and luxury vehicles. Pronounced as you-bee-gee, Ubigi has been featured on CNN Underscored and has earned the Consumer Champion Award at Mobile Europe in 2023. Their data plans in Japan and other countries go as low as $2.5, which you can book at a lower price here with our 10% coupon code TRAVLISTS.
- What is Airalo? Airalo is the world’s first eSIM marketplace with more than 10 million users as of the first half of 2024. As the pioneer in prepaid embedded SIM technology, many tourists trust Airalo for its local, regional, and global data plans. Rates for their eSIM start at $4.5, but you can get a 15% discount by using our promo code TRAVLISTS15 here.
- What are other options aside from Airalo and Ubigi? As of writing time, BNESIM is the most booked eSIM provider on Travlists. They have been awarded the World’s Best Travel Communications Provider title four times and offer data plans for 200+ destinations. Browse their data plans for as low as $1 on their official website — get 30% off with our promo code TRAVLISTS.
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Airalo or Ubigi: Which eSIM should you pick?
Whether you’re traveling to Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, or other destinations, you can rely on either Airalo or Ubigi to get you connected online. Yes, we can say this with confidence after testing both providers in various countries like Japan, Korea, and Australia. Both eSIM providers work excellently.
However, as shown in many Reddit threads, Facebook discussions, and Trustpilot recommendations, there are certain features that are unique to one provider. Looking at these core feature differences is where the dilemma usually stems from. Let’s compare them below:
1. Internet speeds
Both Airalo and Ubigi eSIMs gather signals from the telcos available in the destination. If you are traveling to the US, you can expect to get connected to networks like AT&T and Verizon once you activate your eSIM. If you will have a holiday in Asia, you can get signals from Globe or Smart in the Philippines, Singtel in Singapore, NTT Docomo and KDDI in Japan, and LG U+ and SKT in South Korea. The list goes on.
What this means is that wherever you go, Ubigi and Airalo eSIMs will let you experience internet browsing the way locals do. You can get the fastest and most reliable signals wherever you go. In this aspect, both providers perform well.
2. Pricing
This is where we will start to see some differences. With data plans starting at $2.5, Ubigi seems to have more affordable data plans than Airalo. While Ubigi does not offer this baseline rate in all of their plans, it shows that they have flexibility in terms of pricing. See their plans for your travel destination here.
Airalo’s eSIM data plans, on the other hand, typically start from $4.5. This is their standard entry-level data pricing, which you can view here.
3. Coverage
Both Airalo and Ubigi have single-country, regional, and global eSIM plans. However, compared to Airalo, Ubigi has more sub-categories for their multi-country plans. For example, they offer Japan + US eSIMs and Japan + South Korea eSIMs. They also have sub-plans for Asia, like Best Asia and Asia, which vary in terms of how many countries are covered.
But that is not to say that Ubigi wins this round. Airalo’s Global eSIM plans are also quite competitive since they give you the option to get this all-in-one travel eSIM with data, calls, and texts for 130+ countries. And it starts for as low as $15.
4. Data Packs
Ubigi and Airalo both have small and large-sized data pack offers for their prepaid eSIMs. Airalo’s plans are quite straightforward: they offer 1-20GB for 7-30 days in most countries. Ubigi, however, has more options with some countries having 500MB plans and 50GB plans.
Ubigi also has recurring plans, which Airalo currently does not have. If you will be traveling long-term for business or pleasure, you can subscribe to Ubigi’s monthly or annual plans.
5. Referral Program
Both Airalo and Ubigi run referral programs where their users can receive benefits for inviting friends and family. If you eventually choose to get an Airalo eSIM and like your experience, you can share your referral code and earn $3 worth of AirMoney that you can use towards your future data plan purchase. Ubigi, on the other hand, offers 50% discount vouchers for each successful referral. (Note that there is a limit of 20 referrals for each Ubigi user, while you can invite as many friends and earn as much as possible by promoting or sharing Airalo.)
Learn about Airalo’s referral program here or Ubigi’s referral scheme here.
6. Coupon Codes
Our team at Travlists works with both Airalo and Ubigi to give our readers like you promotional codes. For Airalo, you can use TRAVLISTS15 to get a 15% discount (or TRAVLISTS to get 10% off). You can also take advantage of our Ubigi discount code TRAVLISTS, which will give you a 10% off on your first eSIM purchase.
- BNESIM (30% off with code TRAVLISTS)
- Yesim (€3 off with code TRAVLISTS)
- Nomad (5% off with code TRAVLISTS)
- World eSIM (Instant 5% off with our partner link)
Using an eSIM from Airalo or Ubigi in China and Japan
Now that we have established some slight differences between the two providers, let’s take a look at how Airalo and Ubigi fared when we used their eSIMs in China and Japan.
If you are traveling to China, we recommend getting Airalo for one reason: their eSIM will let you bypass internet restrictions in the Mainland (except for TikTok). This is particularly useful if you need to get access to Google Suite (Gmail, YouTube, Google Meet, etc.), Meta (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp), and other platforms. See their data packs for China here.
If you are traveling to Japan, Ubigi might be the better choice for you as they are powered (and affiliated with) by the NTT Docomo. Plus, they have cheaper data options starting at $2.5. Compare all of Ubigi’s Japan eSIM plans here.
Japan eSIM Reviews: Airalo vs. Ubigi
What do travelers say about Airalo’s eSIM for Japan? Here’s a helpful review that we found on Reddit:
Great value and reliable service in my experience. Only issue I had was installing the app and installing the esim locally because I didn’t have a stable internet connection. I recommend installing the app and [eSIM] before arriving in Japan if you plan to use it... Main pro is not needing to carry an extra [WiFi] device that you need [to charge], decent price to data value (pay as you go), and straightforward to use when you’re set up.
Review for Airalo’s eSIM on Reddit
A review for Ubigi’s Japan eSIM reads on TrustPilot: “It was very easy to connect…my [eSIM] after restarting my phone… The internet connection was [fast and consistent], and I easily navigated and accessed social media throughout my trip. My only complaint is that I did have to top up, but I wish there could have been an in between option instead of just 1 GB or 3 GB.”
