The short answer
Nomad is cheaper than Airalo for China at 7 days ($25 against $27), 15 days ($39 against $49) and in both buckets ($19 against $26.50 for 10 GB, $22 against $40 for 20 GB). Airalo is cheaper for 3 days ($11.50 against $12) and is the only one of the two with a 30-day unlimited, at $69. Ringo Light, the third option, is unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $22.99 or 30 days at $35.99.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $22.99 or 30 days at $35.99, nothing renews, no app. Airalo asks $49 for 15 days and $69 for the month, Nomad $39 for 15 days. No buckets, no 3-day or 7-day plan.
$25 for a week and $39 for 15 days of unlimited, 2 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. 10 GB for 30 days at $19, 20 GB at $22 (sale prices). No 30-day unlimited. China Unicom and China Telecom.
3 days of unlimited at $11.50, a week at $27, 15 days at $49 and 30 days at $69, 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. On China Unicom. Needs its app.
Prices read on 25 October 2026: Airalo, Nomad 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, Airalo and Nomad 15 days. Nomad's 15 days is 2 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps; Airalo's is 3 GB a day, then 1 Mbps. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Nomad sells no 30-day unlimited, so it has no bar here. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed; Airalo slows you after 3 GB a day.
Nomad's 10 GB is its sale price (regular $22). Ringo Light sells no bucket: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days. For a fixed 10 GB, Nomad is the cheaper of the two.
Side by side
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Airalo vs Nomad in one paragraph
Nomad is cheaper than Airalo for China at most lengths: $25 against $27 for a week, $39 against $49 for 15 days, $19 against $26.50 for 10 GB and $22 against $40 for 20 GB. Airalo is cheaper for 3 days, $11.50 against $12, and it is the only one of the two with a 30-day unlimited, at $69. Airalo gives 3 GB a day at full speed on unlimited, Nomad 2 GB, and both then slow you to 1 Mbps. Nomad lets you switch between China Unicom and China Telecom; Airalo uses China Unicom. Both need their app. If the trip is two weeks or a month and you want unlimited, neither is the cheapest: Ringo Light sells 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $35.99, unlimited data at full speed.
Price: the same trip at each
Priced on 25 October 2026, in US dollars. For 3 days of unlimited, $11.50 at Airalo and $12 at Nomad. For a week, $27 and $25. For 15 days, $49 and $39, so Nomad is $10 less. For 30 days Airalo asks $69 and Nomad sells no 30-day unlimited; its longest unlimited plan is the 15 days at $39.
For a fixed amount of data, Nomad is cheaper again: 10 GB for 30 days at $19 against $26.50, and 20 GB at $22 against $40. Nomad's two bucket prices are sale prices; its regular prices are $22 and $30.
Ringo Light sells two trips for China: 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $35.99. The 2 weeks costs $16.01 less than Nomad's 15 days and $26.01 less than Airalo's, and less than either brand's week. The 30 days costs $33.01 less than Airalo's $69. Ringo Light sells no 3-day or 7-day plan.
What unlimited means at each
Airalo's unlimited for China gives 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. Nomad's gives 2 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. Maps, messages and a little video fit inside either; a day of streaming or a big download will not. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole 2 weeks or 30 days. Fair use policy, see Terms.
Google, WhatsApp and Instagram in China
A Chinese SIM bought at the airport sits behind the Great Firewall: Google, WhatsApp, Instagram and most Western news sites do not open on it. A travel eSIM is different in one way that matters. Its data usually leaves the country through the provider's own gateway abroad, so these apps usually open without a VPN. That is the usual case for roaming eSIMs, not a promise from Airalo or Nomad. We have not tested Ringo Light from inside mainland China ourselves, so we say no more than that. If one app matters for your work, keep a VPN installed as a fallback before you fly.
The Chinese apps work on every plan: WeChat, Alipay, Didi, Amap and the 12306 rail app. Link a foreign card to Alipay or WeChat Pay before you land.
Networks and coverage in China
China has three networks: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. All three cover the cities and the high-speed rail lines. Airalo rides China Unicom. Nomad lets you switch between China Unicom and China Telecom. Ringo Light rides a local partner network. Neither Airalo nor Nomad uses China Mobile, the largest network; Holafly does, and it is in the full comparison. For Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai, any of them works.
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 China it sells two trips, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $35.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, no app. Install it before you fly.
What it does not do: no buckets, no 3-day or 7-day plan, no phone number. If you want 10 GB for a month, Nomad at $19 costs $3.99 less than our 2 weeks, and for 20 GB, Nomad at $22 costs $13.99 less than our 30 days. We would rather you read that here than at checkout. For two weeks or a month of unlimited, Ringo Light is the cheapest of the three.
The full six-brand comparison for China is at /blog/best-esim-for-china. The card to buy Ringo Light is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Which to pick
- Nomad, if you want a bucket. 10 GB for 30 days at $19, 20 GB at $22 (sale prices), against $26.50 and $40 at Airalo.
- Nomad, for a week or 15 days from one of these two. $25 for a week and $39 for 15 days, against $27 and $49 at Airalo, with 2 GB a day at full speed.
- Airalo, for 3 days or a 30-day unlimited. $11.50 for 3 days, $69 for 30 days. Nomad sells no 30-day unlimited.
- ✓Ringo Light, if the trip is two weeks or a month. Unlimited data at full speed at $22.99 or $35.99, cheaper than both at each of those lengths.
Pick by trip
Airalo unlimited, 3 days, $11.50, against $12 at Nomad. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
Nomad unlimited, 7 days, $25, or Airalo at $27. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan; its 2 weeks at $22.99 costs less than either week.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $22.99, against $39 at Nomad and $49 at Airalo for 15 days.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $35.99, against $69 at Airalo. Nomad sells no 30-day unlimited.
Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $19. Ringo Light sells no buckets.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Nomad, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Nomad and Ringo Light for China 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: Holafly, Saily and Ubigi. They sell China too and are priced on the same day in the full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-china. This page answers one question, Airalo or Nomad, so it keeps to those two and the cheaper third option.
- Airalo: www.airalo.com/china-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars on the site, read 25 October 2026; fixed-data plans from the esimdb.com/china/airalo listing dated 4 October 2026
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/china-esim, nomadesim.com/china-esim, dollars, read 25 October 2026; 10 GB and 20 GB at sale prices
- 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.
