The short answer
Airalo is cheaper than Holafly for Thailand at every length: $9.50 against $11.90 for 3 days, $21 against $27.50 for a week, $49 against $73.90 for 30 days. Holafly states no daily cap; Airalo slows you after 5 GB a day. Ringo Light, the third option, is unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $22.99 or 30 days at $32.99, cheaper than both for a month and cheaper than Holafly for a single week.
Unlimited data at full speed for 30 days at $32.99 or 2 weeks at $22.99, nothing renews, no app. Airalo asks $49 for a month, Holafly $73.90. For a single week, Airalo at $21 is cheaper than our 2 weeks.
$9.50 for 3 days, $21 for a week, $49 for 30 days of unlimited on AIS and True with 5G. 1 GB from $4, 10 GB for 30 days at $11, 20 GB at $18. Unlimited runs 5 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps.
Days, not gigabytes, on True and dtac. $11.90 for 3 days, $27.50 for a week, $73.90 for a month. No daily cap stated for your own phone; 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 best eSIM for Asia and the eSIM for Asia-Pacific.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 25 October 2026. Ringo Light sells 2 weeks, the nearest length it has, so its bar covers twice the days of the others. Airalo is 5 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps; Holafly states no daily cap; Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed.
The 30-day unlimited plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Airalo slows to 1 Mbps after 5 GB a day. Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone.
The bucket most people buy for a two-week holiday. Holafly sells no buckets, so it has no bar here. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days. For a fixed 10 GB, Airalo is the cheaper of the two.
Side by side
Swipe to compare →
Get Ringo Light for Thailand, from $22.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
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.
Want to keep your own number abroad?
That is the full Ringo service: one plan that works everywhere, with your own number included.
It is a separate product from Ringo Light and it is still being built, so it is not on sale yet. Join the waitlist to hear when it opens.
Airalo vs Holafly in one paragraph
Airalo is cheaper than Holafly for Thailand at every length, by $2.40 on 3 days, by $6.50 on a week and by $24.90 on a month. Holafly gives you the simpler product: unlimited days with no stated daily cap, on True and dtac. Airalo gives you more choice, buckets from 1 GB up to 20 GB as well as unlimited, on AIS and True, but its unlimited slows to 1 Mbps after 5 GB a day. Pick Airalo if you want a bucket, a short trip or the lowest price of the two. Pick Holafly if you stream all evening and never want to think about a daily cap. If the trip is a month and you want unlimited, neither is the cheapest: Ringo Light sells 30 days at $32.99, unlimited data at full speed, against $49 at Airalo and $73.90 at Holafly. For a single week, Airalo at $21 beats our 2 weeks at $22.99.
Price: the same trip at each
Priced on 25 October 2026, in US dollars. For 3 days of unlimited, Airalo asks $9.50 and Holafly $11.90. For a week, $21 at Airalo and $27.50 at Holafly. For 30 days, $49 at Airalo and $73.90 at Holafly. Airalo wins every row of the two, and the gap grows with the length of the trip.
Ringo Light sells two trips for Thailand: 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $32.99. The 30 days costs $16.01 less than Airalo's month and $40.91 less than Holafly's. The 2 weeks costs less than Holafly's single week at $27.50, with a week of days left over. Ringo Light sells no 3-day and no 7-day plan; for a week, Airalo at $21 is the cheapest of the three, and our 2 weeks at $22.99 costs $1.99 more for twice the days.
For a fixed amount of data, Airalo is the only one of the three that sells it: 1 GB from $4, 10 GB for 30 days at $11, 20 GB at $18. Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells no buckets either. If 10 GB is all you need, Airalo at $11 is cheaper than Ringo Light's $22.99, and we would rather you read that here than at checkout.
What unlimited means at each
Airalo's unlimited for Thailand, the Maew plan, gives 5 GB a day at full speed, then slows to 1 Mbps for the rest of the day. That covers maps, messages and a few hours of video; a full evening of HD streaming on the hotspot will hit it. Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone and limits hotspot sharing to 1 GB a day, so Holafly is the one to pick between the two if you never want to count, but the laptop on its hotspot stops at that 1 GB. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole 2 weeks or 30 days. Fair use policy, see Terms.
Networks and coverage in Thailand
Thailand has three networks that matter: AIS, True and dtac. All three cover Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and the islands with 4G, and 5G in the cities. Airalo rides AIS and True with 5G. Holafly rides True and dtac. Ringo Light rides a local partner network. For Bangkok, the north and the main islands, any of the three works. In the far bays of Koh Tao and on the longtail routes around Railay the signal fades for everyone; download the maps and the ferry ticket before you leave the pier.
Installation, app and support
Neither Airalo nor Holafly requires its app for Thailand; both list it as optional. Holafly sends a QR code you scan in your phone's settings, and support is by chat on its site. Airalo's support chat lives in its app. Ringo Light needs no app; the eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, and support is by email. Whichever you pick, install it at home before you fly and switch it on for data when you land at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang or Phuket.
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 Thailand it sells two trips, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $32.99. One payment, nothing renews, no app.
What it does not do: no buckets, no 3-day plan, no 7-day plan, no phone number, data only. Calls go over apps that use data. If you want 10 GB for a month, Airalo at $11 is the better buy. If you want a single week, Airalo at $21 is cheaper than our 2 weeks at $22.99. For two weeks or a month of unlimited, Ringo Light is the cheapest of the three.
The full six-brand comparison for Thailand, with Saily, Nomad and Ubigi priced the same day, is at /blog/best-esim-for-thailand. The card to buy Ringo Light is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Which to pick
- Airalo, if you want a bucket. 10 GB for 30 days at $11, 20 GB at $18, 1 GB from $4. Neither Holafly nor Ringo Light sells a bucket.
- Airalo, if the trip is a week or less. $9.50 for 3 days, $21 for 7 days of unlimited, 5 GB a day at full speed. Holafly is $11.90 and $27.50. Ringo Light sells nothing shorter than 2 weeks.
- Holafly, if you refuse a daily cap. No stated daily cap on your own phone, True and dtac. You pay $27.50 for a week against $21 at Airalo, and $73.90 for a month against $49.
- ✓Ringo Light, if the trip is 2 weeks or a month. Unlimited data at full speed at $22.99 or $32.99. The 2 weeks costs less than a single week at Holafly; the 30 days costs less than a month at either.
Pick by trip
Airalo unlimited, 3 days, $9.50, against $11.90 at Holafly. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
Airalo unlimited, 7 days, $21. Holafly is $27.50. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan; its 2 weeks is $22.99.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $22.99, less than one week at Holafly for $27.50. Airalo sells no 2-week plan; its week is $21.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $32.99, against $49 at Airalo and $73.90 at Holafly. Holafly if you must have no daily cap from a brand other than us.
Airalo 10 GB for 30 days at $11. Holafly and Ringo Light sell no buckets.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Holafly, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Holafly and Ringo Light for Thailand 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: Saily, Nomad and Ubigi. They sell Thailand too and are priced on the same day in the full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-thailand, where Nomad has the cheapest 10 GB bucket at $10. This page answers one question, Airalo or Holafly, so it keeps to those two and the cheaper third option. Left out: Maya Mobile. Its site renders prices only in the browser and its help pages refused the fetch on the day, so it stays out rather than being guessed.
- Airalo: www.airalo.com/thailand-esim, unlimited plans read on the site in dollars, 25 October 2026; buckets from the esimdb listing dated 4 October 2026 (https://esimdb.com/thailand/airalo)
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-thailand/, read on the site in dollars, 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.
