The short answer
Airalo and Nomad ask the same $11 for 3 days of unlimited in Italy. Airalo is cheaper for a week, $23 against $25, and sells 15 and 30 days of unlimited at $44 and $64, which Nomad does not sell. Nomad is cheaper for buckets: $18.50 against $19 for 10 GB and $25 against $26 for 20 GB. Ringo Light, the third option, is unlimited data at full speed for 3 days at $8.99, 2 weeks at $14.99 or 30 days at $26.99.
Unlimited data at full speed for 3 days at $8.99, 2 weeks at $14.99 or 30 days at $26.99, nothing renews, no app. Airalo and Nomad ask $11 for 3 days, Airalo $44 for 15 days and $64 for 30. No buckets and no 7-day plan.
$11 for 3 days, $23 for a week, $44 for 15 days, $64 for 30 days of unlimited on WindTre, 5 GB a day at full speed. Buckets from $4 for 1 GB. Buy on the web or in its app.
10 GB for 30 days at $18.50, 20 GB at $25, and 3 days of unlimited at $11, on Iliad and Vodafone. Unlimited is 2 GB a day, then slower. Needs its app. No 15-day or 30-day unlimited.
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 eSIM for Europe and the best eSIM for Europe, all brands priced.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 25 October 2026. Airalo sells 15 days, Ringo Light 2 weeks, so those are the nearest lengths. Nomad sells no 15-day unlimited, so it has no bar here. Airalo is 5 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps; Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed.
The 30-day unlimited plan. Nomad sells no 30-day unlimited, so it has no bar here. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed; Airalo slows to 1 Mbps after 5 GB a day.
The bucket most people buy for a two-week holiday. Ringo Light sells no bucket: its 2 weeks is unlimited, and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days. For a fixed 10 GB that must last a month, Nomad is the cheaper of the two.
Side by side
Swipe to compare →
Get Ringo Light for Italy, from $8.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 3 days $8.99
- 2 weeks $14.99
- 30 days $26.99
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 Nomad in one paragraph
Airalo and Nomad are priced almost the same for a short trip to Italy: both ask $11 for 3 days of unlimited. For a week Airalo is cheaper, $23 against $25, and only Airalo sells unlimited for 15 days at $44 and 30 days at $64; Nomad sells no unlimited at those lengths. For a bucket Nomad is cheaper, $18.50 against $19 for 10 GB and $25 against $26 for 20 GB, both for 30 days. Airalo gives you the wider range and 5 GB a day at full speed on WindTre. Nomad gives you the cheaper buckets on Iliad and Vodafone, but its unlimited is 2 GB a day, then slower, and you need its app. If you want unlimited for two weeks or a month, neither is the cheapest: Ringo Light sells 2 weeks at $14.99 and 30 days at $26.99, unlimited data at full speed.
Price: the same trip at each
Priced on 25 October 2026, in US dollars. For 3 days of unlimited, Airalo and Nomad both ask $11. For a week, $23 at Airalo and $25 at Nomad. For 15 days, Airalo asks $44 and Nomad sells no plan. For 30 days, Airalo asks $64 and Nomad sells no unlimited. For 10 GB, $19 at Airalo and $18.50 at Nomad. For 20 GB, $26 at Airalo and $25 at Nomad. So Airalo wins the week, Nomad wins both buckets, and the 3 days is a tie.
Ringo Light sells three trips for Italy: 3 days at $8.99, 2 weeks at $14.99 and 30 days at $26.99. The 3 days costs less than the $11 at either brand. The 2 weeks costs about a third of Airalo's 15 days at $44 and less than either brand charges for a single week, $23 and $25. The 30 days costs less than half of Airalo's $64. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan; for exactly a week, you buy its 2 weeks at $14.99 and have a week of days left over.
For a fixed amount of data, Nomad and Airalo both sell it and Ringo Light does not: 10 GB for 30 days at $18.50 or $19, 20 GB at $25 or $26. If you need 10 GB to last a whole month, Nomad at $18.50 is the better buy than our 30 days at $26.99, and we would rather you read that here than at checkout. If the trip is two weeks, Ringo Light unlimited at $14.99 costs less than either 10 GB bucket.
What unlimited means at each
Airalo's unlimited for Italy gives 5 GB a day at full speed, then slows to 1 Mbps until the next day. That is enough for maps, messages and a few hours of video; a long evening of streaming in HD can hit it. Nomad's unlimited gives 2 GB a day at full speed, then slower, so it runs out sooner: fine for maps and messages, tight for video or a hotspot. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole 3 days, 2 weeks or 30 days. Fair use policy, see Terms.
Networks and coverage in Italy
Airalo rides WindTre. Nomad rides Iliad and Vodafone, so it has two networks. Ringo Light rides a local partner network. The cities and the fast rail lines between Rome, Florence, Milan and Venice have good 4G and 5G on every Italian network; the Amalfi coast, the Cinque Terre paths and the high valleys of the Dolomites are patchier whichever brand you pick.
Installation, app and support
Airalo sells on the web or in its app; either way you install the eSIM yourself and its support chat lives in the app. Airalo's refunds end once the eSIM is installed. Nomad needs its app to install and manage the plan. 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.
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 Italy 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, no app.
What it does not do: no buckets, no 7-day plan, no phone number, data only. Calls go over apps that use data. If you want 10 GB or 20 GB that lasts a full month, Nomad at $18.50 or $25 is the better buy than our 30 days at $26.99. For 3 days, two weeks or a month of unlimited, Ringo Light is the cheapest of the three.
The full comparison for Italy, with every brand priced the same day, is at /blog/best-esim-for-italy. 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 $18.50, 20 GB at $25, against $19 and $26 at Airalo. Ringo Light sells no bucket.
- Airalo, if you want a week, 15 days or 30 days of unlimited from one of these two. $23 for a week against $25 at Nomad, and $44 for 15 days and $64 for 30 days, which Nomad does not sell.
- ✓Either, for 3 days. Both ask $11 for 3 days of unlimited. Airalo gives 5 GB a day at full speed, Nomad 2 GB.
- ✓Ringo Light, if you want unlimited at 3 days, two weeks or a month. Unlimited data at full speed at $8.99, $14.99 or $26.99, cheaper than both at every length.
Pick by trip
Ringo Light unlimited, 3 days, $8.99, against $11 at Airalo and Nomad.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $14.99, less than Airalo's $23 or Nomad's $25 for 7 days, with a week of days to spare.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $14.99, against $44 at Airalo for 15 days. Nomad sells no 15-day unlimited.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $26.99, against $64 at Airalo. Nomad sells no 30-day unlimited.
Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $18.50, or Airalo at $19. Ringo Light sells no buckets; our 30 days is $26.99.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Nomad, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Nomad and Ringo Light for Italy 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 and Saily. They sell Italy too and are priced the same day in the full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-italy. This page answers one question, Airalo or Nomad, so it keeps to those two and the cheaper third option. Left out: Ubigi. It is the cheapest 10 GB bucket for Italy at $12 and the value unlimited at $25 for 15 days, both in the full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-italy. It is not part of this pair, so it stays there. Left out: Maya Mobile. It lists only a Global plan for Italy, so it stays out rather than being guessed.
- Airalo: esimdb.com/italy/airalo, listing dated 4 October 2026; unlimited read on airalo.com/italy-esim in dollars, 25 October 2026
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/italy-esim, dollar prices from its own plan data, 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.
