The short answer
Nomad is cheaper than Airalo on both buckets: $21 against $24 for 10 GB and $33 against $38 for 20 GB. Its 5 days of unlimited at $18 also costs $2.50 less than Airalo's 3 days at $20.50. Airalo sells the longer unlimited plans, 15 days at $62 and 30 days at $99, where Nomad stops at 10 days for $33. Airalo gives 3 GB a day at full speed, Nomad 2 GB. Ringo Light, the third option, is unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $21.99 or 30 days at $36.99, and sells no 3-day or 7-day plan.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $21.99 or 30 days at $36.99, nothing renews, no app. Airalo asks $62 for 15 days and $99 for the month; Nomad stops at 10 days for $33. No 3-day or 7-day plan, no buckets.
10 GB for 30 days at $21 and 20 GB at $33, 5 days of unlimited at $18 and 10 days at $33, on Airtel, with 2 GB a day at full speed. No 15-day or 30-day unlimited.
$20.50 for 3 days, $39.50 for 7 days, $62 for 15 days and $99 for 30 days on its India plan, on Vi, with 3 GB a day at full speed. 10 GB at $24, 20 GB at $38. Needs its app.
Prices read on 25 October 2026: Airalo, Nomad, SIM rules for tourists 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 and Airalo 15 days. Nomad stops at 10 days, so its bar is 10 days and is not a like-for-like length. Airalo is 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps; Nomad is 2 GB a day, then 1 Mbps; Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Nomad sells no month of unlimited, so it has no bar here. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Airalo slows to 1 Mbps after 3 GB a day.
Ringo Light sells no bucket: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days. For a fixed 10 GB that lasts a month, Nomad is the cheaper of the two brands, and $0.99 under Ringo Light.
Side by side
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Airalo vs Nomad in one paragraph
Nomad is the cheaper of the two wherever you can compare them. Its 10 GB for 30 days is $21 against $24 at Airalo, and its 20 GB is $33 against $38. Its 5 days of unlimited at $18 costs $2.50 less than Airalo's 3 days at $20.50, and its 10 days at $33 costs $6.50 less than Airalo's 7 days at $39.50. Airalo wins on length: it sells unlimited for 15 days at $62 and 30 days at $99, and Nomad stops at 10 days. Airalo also gives more at full speed, 3 GB a day against Nomad's 2 GB. Pick Nomad for a bucket or a short trip. Pick Airalo if you want one plan for two weeks or a month and nothing cheaper suits. For two weeks or a month of unlimited, Ringo Light costs less than either: $21.99 for 2 weeks and $36.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed.
Price: the same trip at each
Priced on 25 October 2026, in US dollars. Airalo sells 3 days of unlimited at $20.50, 7 days at $39.50, 15 days at $62 and 30 days at $99. Nomad sells 5 days at $18 and 10 days at $33, and no month of unlimited. For fixed data, Nomad asks $21 for 10 GB and $33 for 20 GB, Airalo $24 and $38. Airalo's Asia-wide Asialink plan, which covers India, sells 3 days of unlimited at $11.50 with the same 3 GB a day, and is cheaper than anything else here for a very short trip.
Ringo Light sells two trips for India: 2 weeks at $21.99 and 30 days at $36.99. The 2 weeks costs $17.51 less than Airalo's 7 days at $39.50 and $11.01 less than Nomad's 10 days at $33, and $40.01 less than Airalo's 15 days at $62. The 30 days costs $62.01 less than Airalo's $99. Ringo Light sells no 3-day or 7-day plan: our 2 weeks costs $1.49 more than Airalo's 3 days and $3.99 more than Nomad's 5 days.
For a fixed amount of data, the two brands sell what Ringo Light does not. Nomad's 10 GB at $21 is $0.99 under our 2 weeks, and its 20 GB at $33 is $3.99 under our 30 days, though Ringo Light is unlimited and the bucket is not. Airalo's 20 GB at $38 costs $1.01 more than our 30 days. We would rather you read that here than at checkout.
What unlimited means at each
Airalo gives 3 GB a day at full speed, then slows to 1 Mbps. Nomad gives 2 GB a day at full speed, then slows to 1 Mbps. Both are enough for maps, messages and some video; a long day of streaming or a laptop on a hotspot will hit either. 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 India
India has four mobile networks: Jio, Airtel, Vi and the state-run BSNL. Jio and Airtel are the two largest and run 5G in the big cities. Nomad rides Airtel. Airalo's India plan names Vi, the smallest of the three private networks. Ringo Light rides a local partner network. For Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Mumbai and Goa, all of them work. In the hills and on the Kerala backwaters, coverage thins on every network.
A travel eSIM also skips India's SIM paperwork. A local SIM means showing your passport and visa at a counter and waiting for it to be activated. An eSIM bought before you fly is installed at home and works when you land.
Installation, app and support
Airalo needs its app: you buy, install and top up inside it. Nomad's app is optional. 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.
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 India it sells two trips, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $21.99 and 30 days at $36.99. One payment, nothing renews, no app.
What it does not do: no buckets, no 3-day or 7-day plan, no phone number, data only. Calls go over apps that use data. If you want 10 GB or 20 GB, Nomad is the better buy. If you want 3 days, Airalo's Asialink at $11.50 is cheaper than anything we sell. For two weeks or a month of unlimited, Ringo Light is the cheapest of the three.
The full six-brand comparison for India, with Holafly, Saily and Ubigi priced the same day, is at /blog/best-esim-for-india. 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 $21, 20 GB at $33. Airalo asks $24 and $38. Ringo Light sells no bucket.
- Nomad, if the trip is 5 or 10 days. Unlimited, 5 days at $18 or 10 days at $33, with 2 GB a day at full speed.
- Airalo, if you want unlimited for 15 or 30 days. $62 for 15 days and $99 for 30 days, with 3 GB a day at full speed. Nomad sells neither length.
- ✓Ringo Light, if the trip is two weeks or a month. Unlimited data at full speed at $21.99 for 2 weeks or $36.99 for 30 days, cheaper than either brand at those lengths.
Pick by trip
Airalo's Asia-wide Asialink, 3 days unlimited, $11.50, or Nomad 5 days at $18. Ringo Light sells no 3 days, but its 2 weeks costs $21.99.
Nomad unlimited, 10 days, $33, or Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $21.99, which costs $11.01 less.
Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $21, against $24 at Airalo.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $21.99, against $62 for 15 days at Airalo. Nomad does not sell two weeks.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $36.99, against $99 at Airalo. Nomad 20 GB at $33 if a fixed amount is enough.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Nomad, SIM rules for tourists, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Nomad and Ringo Light for India 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 India too and are priced on the same day in the full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-india. This page answers one question, Airalo or Nomad, so it keeps to those two and the cheaper third option.
- Airalo: www.airalo.com/india-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars on the site, 25 October 2026; Asialink unlimited in dollars on airalo.com/asia-esim the same day; buckets from esimdb.com/india/airalo, listing updated 5 October 2026
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/india-esim, in dollars from the site's own plan data, 25 October 2026; network from the same page
- SIM rules for tourists: www.indembassybern.gov.in/page/introduction-of-sim-cards-for-the-foreign-tourists/, Embassy of India, Bern
- 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.
