The short answer
Airalo and Holafly are the two names most people type before they buy an eSIM for Germany. We priced both on the same day, for a long weekend in Berlin, two weeks by train and a month, read what each means by unlimited, and put our own Ringo Light next to them. Here is the honest answer.
Unlimited data at full speed, 3 days at $8.99, 2 weeks at $14.99, 30 days at $26.99, nothing renews. Airalo asks $42 for 15 days, Holafly $51.50.
15 days of unlimited at $42 against Holafly's $51.50, a month at $59 against $76.50. 10 GB for 30 days at $16, 20 GB at $23. Full speed stops at 3 GB a day.
Days, not gigabytes, no daily cap stated for your own phone, on Vodafone and O2. $27.50 for a week; sharing limited to 1 GB a day.
Prices read on 25 October 2026: Airalo, Holafly on their own sites or listings, Ringo Light from its catalogue. All in US dollars unless stated. Treat every number as a snapshot.
See the full price index for every country.
Travelling further? Compare the eSIM for Europe and the best eSIM for Europe, all brands priced.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 25 October 2026. Airalo and Holafly sell 15 days, Ringo Light 2 weeks. Airalo runs at full speed for 3 GB a day, then 1 Mbps. Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone.
The 30-day plan at each brand, in US dollars on 25 October 2026. Airalo slows to 1 Mbps after 3 GB a day; Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone.
Holafly sells no buckets, so it has no bar. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days. If 10 GB has to last a whole month, Airalo's $16 is the one that does.
Side by side
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Get Ringo Light for Germany, from $8.99.
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We sell data eSIMs for now to fund the full Ringo service. Ringo is self funded. Every plan bought here pays for the build of one plan that works everywhere.
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Airalo vs Holafly in one paragraph
Airalo is cheaper than Holafly on every Germany plan the two share: $11 against $11.90 for 3 days, $24 against $27.50 for a week, $42 against $51.50 for 15 days, $59 against $76.50 for a month. Airalo also sells buckets, 10 GB for $16 and 20 GB for $23, which Holafly does not. Holafly charges more for one reason: it states no daily cap on your own phone, where Airalo drops to 1 Mbps after 3 GB a day. If you stream and tether all day, Holafly. If you use your phone like most people, Airalo. And if the question is simply the cheapest unlimited for two weeks or a month, neither: Ringo Light sells 2 weeks for $14.99 and 30 days for $26.99.
Price: the same trip at each
A long weekend in Berlin, 3 days: Airalo $11, Holafly $11.90, Ringo Light $8.99. A week: Airalo $24, Holafly $27.50; Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan, its 2 weeks at $14.99 is the nearest and still costs less than either week.
Two weeks by train: Airalo $42 for 15 days, Holafly $51.50 for 15 days, Ringo Light $14.99 for 2 weeks. A month: Airalo $59, Holafly $76.50, Ringo Light $26.99. On these two rows Ringo Light costs less than a third of Holafly and about a third of Airalo.
Buckets are where Ringo Light loses. Airalo sells 10 GB for 30 days at $16 and 20 GB for 30 days at $23. Ringo Light sells no buckets; its $14.99 is unlimited but lasts 2 weeks, and its $26.99 lasts 30 days. If you want a month of light use and 10 GB is enough, Airalo at $16 costs less than our 30 days at $26.99. If 20 GB is enough for the month, Airalo at $23 is under our $26.99 too. Holafly has no answer on these rows at all.
What unlimited means at each
Airalo: 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps until midnight. Enough for maps, messages and a few hours of video; not enough for a laptop on the hotspot all evening.
Holafly: no daily cap stated for your own phone. Sharing to another device is limited to 1 GB a day, so the laptop is the exception.
Ringo Light: unlimited data at full speed for the length of the trip, 3 days, 2 weeks or 30 days. Nothing renews when it ends.
Networks and coverage in Germany
Germany has three big networks: Telekom, Vodafone and O2, with 1&1 building a fourth. All three cover Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Cologne well. Telekom reaches furthest into the countryside; O2 is thinnest outside the cities. Coverage on trains is patchy on every network in cuttings and forests, which is why the ICE has its own Wi-Fi.
Airalo rides O2 and one other network. Holafly names Vodafone and O2. Neither names Telekom. Ringo Light connects to a local partner network. If your trip is cities and rail, any of the three works.
Installation, app and support
Airalo works from its website or its app; you can buy and install without the app. Holafly recommends its app. Ringo Light needs no app: the eSIM arrives by email and installs in one scan.
None of the three renews a Germany trip on its own. Airalo and Holafly both say no; Ringo Light ends when the trip ends.
The cheaper third option: Ringo Light
Ringo Light is our own data eSIM, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it. For Germany it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 3 days at $8.99, 2 weeks at $14.99 and 30 days at $26.99. One payment, nothing renews.
What it does not do: no buckets, no 7-day plan, data only, no phone number. If you need 10 GB or 20 GB to last a month, Airalo is the better buy and we said so above. The full six-brand comparison, with Saily, Nomad and Ubigi, is at /blog/best-esim-for-germany. If the trip crosses into Austria, France or the Netherlands, read the Europe comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-europe instead.
The card to buy it is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Which to pick
- Airalo over Holafly on price, every row. Pick it if 3 GB a day at full speed is enough, or if you want a bucket: 10 GB for $16, 20 GB for $23.
- Holafly over Airalo only if you need no stated daily cap on your own phone and will pay $51.50 instead of $42 for 15 days, or $76.50 instead of $59 for a month.
- ✓Ringo Light over both for unlimited at full speed: $8.99 for 3 days, $14.99 for 2 weeks, $26.99 for 30 days, no app. Not if you need a bucket that lasts a month.
Pick by trip
Ringo Light unlimited, 3 days, $8.99. Airalo $11, Holafly $11.90.
Ringo Light 2 weeks at $14.99, cheaper than Airalo's week at $24 or Holafly's at $27.50. Holafly if you want a stated no-cap plan on Vodafone.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $14.99. Airalo $42 for 15 days, Holafly $51.50.
Airalo 10 GB for 30 days at $16. Ringo Light has no bucket; its 30 days is $26.99.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $26.99. Holafly at $76.50 limits sharing to 1 GB a day; Airalo at $59 slows after 3 GB a day.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Holafly, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Holafly and Ringo Light for Germany on 25 October 2026, all on the same day, in US dollars. Each rival's price comes from its own website where it showed dollars, otherwise from an esimdb.com listing, and every source and its date is listed below. Ringo Light's prices come from the catalogue our checkout charges.
We compare the trips people actually book: a week, two weeks and a month of unlimited data, and a 10 GB bucket. We read each brand's fair use and speed rules and quote them as the brands state them. We did not run speed tests, so this page makes no speed claims for any brand.
Ringo Light is our own product. We put it in the table on the same terms as everyone else, and where a rival is the better buy the page says so.
Left out: Maya Mobile. We could not read its own prices for this country on the day, so it stays out rather than being guessed.
- Airalo: www.airalo.com/germany-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars on the site, 25 October 2026; fixed data from the esimdb listing dated 4 October 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-germany/, prices in dollars on the site, 25 October 2026
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 25 October 2026.
Written and priced by the Ringo team. Prices change often; if you spot one that has moved, tell us through the contact page and we will update the table.
