The short answer
Nomad is cheaper than Airalo for Japan at every length it sells: $11 against $11.50 for 3 days, $25 against $26.50 for a week, $41 for 14 days against $48 for 15, and $16 against $18 for 10 GB, with the 10 GB on sale on the day. Airalo is the only one of the two with a 30-day plan, at $69, and gives 3 GB a day at full speed against Nomad's 2 GB. Ringo Light, the third option, is unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $26.99 or 30 days at $54.99, and 3 days at $9.99.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $26.99 or 30 days at $54.99, nothing renews, no app. Nomad asks $41 for 14 days and sells no 30-day plan; Airalo asks $48 for 15 days and $69 for 30.
$69 for 30 days of unlimited on SoftBank, 3 GB a day at full speed against Nomad's 2 GB. $11.50 for 3 days, $26.50 for a week, $48 for 15 days. 10 GB for 30 days at $18. Needs its app.
$11 for 3 days, $25 for a week, $41 for 14 days of unlimited, 2 GB a day at full speed, on KDDI au and SoftBank. 10 GB for 30 days at $16 and 20 GB at $23, both on sale on the day. App optional.
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.
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The prices, charted
US dollars, 25 October 2026. Ringo Light and Nomad sell 14 days, Airalo 15. Airalo is 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps; Nomad is 2 GB a day, then slower; Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Nomad sells no 30-day plan for Japan, its longest unlimited is 21 days at $49, so it has no bar here. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Airalo slows to 1 Mbps after 3 GB a day.
Nomad's 10 GB was on sale at $16 on the day. 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 cheapest of the three.
Side by side
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Airalo vs Nomad in one paragraph
Nomad is cheaper than Airalo for Japan at every length it sells: 50 cents less for 3 days, $1.50 less for a week, $7 less for two weeks, and $2 less for 10 GB, with that bucket on sale on the day. Airalo has two things Nomad does not: a 30-day unlimited plan, at $69, and a daily full-speed allowance of 3 GB against Nomad's 2 GB. Both ride SoftBank; Nomad adds KDDI au. Airalo needs its app, Nomad's is optional. Pick Nomad for a short trip, a bucket or the lowest price of the two. Pick Airalo for a month, or if 2 GB a day of full speed is too little for you. If the trip is two weeks or a month and you want unlimited, neither is the cheapest: Ringo Light sells 2 weeks at $26.99 and 30 days at $54.99, unlimited data at full speed.
Price: the same trip at each
Priced on 25 October 2026, in US dollars, from each brand's own site. For 3 days of unlimited, Nomad asks $11 and Airalo $11.50. For a week, $25 at Nomad and $26.50 at Airalo. For about two weeks, $41 at Nomad for 14 days and $48 at Airalo for 15. For a month, Airalo asks $69; Nomad sells no 30-day plan for Japan and stops at 21 days for $49. Nomad wins every row the two share.
Ringo Light sells three trips for Japan: 3 days at $9.99, 2 weeks at $26.99 and 30 days at $54.99. The 2 weeks costs $14 less than Nomad's 14 days at $41 and $21 less than Airalo's 15 days at $48. The 30 days costs $14 less than Airalo's $69; Nomad has no month to compare. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan; for a week, Nomad at $25 is the cheapest of the three, Airalo is $26.50, and Ringo Light's 2 weeks at $26.99 costs under two dollars more than Nomad, with a week of days left over.
For a fixed amount of data, Nomad is the cheaper of the two: 10 GB for 30 days at $16 and 20 GB at $23, both on sale on the day. Airalo asks $18 and $25. Ringo Light sells no buckets. If 10 GB is all you need, Nomad at $16 and Airalo at $18 are both cheaper than Ringo Light's $26.99, and we would rather you read that here than at checkout.
What unlimited means at each
Airalo's unlimited for Japan, the Moshi Moshi plan, gives 3 GB a day at full speed, then slows to 1 Mbps until midnight. Nomad's unlimited gives 2 GB a day at full speed, then slows. Both are enough for maps, messages, photos and some video; a long evening of streaming in HD will hit Nomad's cap first and Airalo's not long after. Of the two, Airalo is the one to pick if you watch a lot on your phone every day. 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 Japan
Japan has three big networks: NTT Docomo, KDDI au and SoftBank. All three cover the cities and the Shinkansen lines well; Docomo reaches furthest into the mountains and rural Hokkaido. Airalo's own page names SoftBank, with one other network. Nomad rides KDDI au and SoftBank, with 5G. Ringo Light rides a local partner network. For Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima, any of the three works; none of them is the brand to pick for Docomo coverage, which Ubigi offers in the full comparison.
Installation, app and support
Airalo needs its app: you buy, install and top up inside it, and that is also where its support chat lives. Nomad's app is optional; you can buy on its site and install from the QR code it sends, or use the 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 Narita, Haneda or Kansai.
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 Japan it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 3 days at $9.99, 2 weeks at $26.99 and 30 days at $54.99. 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 for a month, Nomad at $16 or Airalo at $18 is the better buy. If you want a week, Nomad at $25 and Airalo at $26.50 are both cheaper than our 2 weeks at $26.99. For 3 days, two weeks or a month of unlimited, Ringo Light is the cheapest of the three.
The full six-brand comparison for Japan, with Holafly, Saily and Ubigi priced the same day, is at /blog/best-esim-for-japan. 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 $16, 20 GB at $23, on sale on the day. Airalo is $18 and $25. Ringo Light sells no bucket.
- Nomad, if you want a week. $25 for 7 days of unlimited, 2 GB a day at full speed. Airalo is $26.50 and Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan.
- Airalo, if you want a month from one of the two, or more full speed each day. $69 for 30 days, 3 GB a day at full speed. Nomad stops at 21 days for $49 and gives 2 GB a day.
- ✓Ringo Light, if the trip is 3 days, 2 weeks or a month. Unlimited data at full speed at $9.99, $26.99 or $54.99, cheaper than both at each of those lengths.
Pick by trip
Ringo Light unlimited, 3 days, $9.99, against $11 at Nomad and $11.50 at Airalo.
Nomad unlimited, 7 days, $25. Airalo is $26.50. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan; its 2 weeks is $26.99.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $26.99, against $41 at Nomad for 14 days and $48 at Airalo for 15.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $54.99, against $69 at Airalo. Nomad sells no 30-day plan; its 21 days is $49.
Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $16, on sale on the day. Airalo is $18. 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 Japan 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 Japan too and are priced on the same day in the full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-japan. This page answers one question, Airalo or Nomad, so it keeps to those two and the cheaper third option. Left out: Revolut. It sells Japan data plans of 1 GB for 7 days up to 20 GB for 30 days inside its banking app, for Revolut account holders only. Its website shows the plan sizes and a starting price in pounds, but no price per plan in dollars, and no unlimited plan, so it has no bar in the charts. 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/japan-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars on the site, 25 October 2026; buckets from esimdb.com/japan/airalo, listing dated 4 October 2026
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/japan-esim, prices in dollars on the site, 25 October 2026; 10 GB and 20 GB were on sale at $16 and $23
- 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.
