The short answer
Nomad is $1 cheaper than Airalo for 10 GB over 30 days, $10 against $11, and sells a 50 GB bucket for 10 days at $15. Airalo is the only one of the two with a 3-day plan, at $9.50, a 7-day plan at $21 and a 30-day unlimited at $49; Nomad sells unlimited only up to 10 days, at $15. Airalo gives 5 GB a day at full speed, Nomad 2 GB. Ringo Light, the third option, is unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $22.99 or 30 days at $32.99.
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; Nomad sells no 30-day unlimited. Nomad's 10 days of unlimited at $15 costs less than our 2 weeks.
$9.50 for 3 days, $21 for a week, $49 for 30 days of unlimited on AIS and True, 5 GB a day at full speed. 20 GB for 30 days at $18, small buckets from $4 for 1 GB. App optional.
10 GB for 30 days at $10 and 50 GB for 10 days at $15, on True, AIS and dtac. Unlimited stops at 10 days, at $15, with 2 GB a day at full speed. 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, the nearest length it has, so its bar covers twice the days of Airalo's. Nomad sells no 7-day plan; its unlimited is 10 days at $15, which the full comparison lists in its table and not as a bar, so it has no bar here. Airalo is 5 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps.
The 30-day unlimited plan. Nomad sells no unlimited past 10 days, so it has no bar here. Airalo slows to 1 Mbps after 5 GB a day. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed.
The bucket most people buy for a two-week holiday. Nomad is $1 under Airalo. Ringo Light sells no bucket: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days, so for a fixed 10 GB either of the other two is the cheaper buy.
Side by side
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Airalo vs Nomad in one paragraph
Nomad is the cheaper of the two for a bucket: 10 GB for 30 days at $10 against $11 at Airalo, and a 50 GB bucket for 10 days at $15 where Airalo's largest in the full comparison is 20 GB at $18. Airalo is the one to pick for unlimited: it sells 3 days at $9.50, a week at $21 and a month at $49, while Nomad sells unlimited only up to 10 days, at $15, and gives 2 GB a day at full speed against Airalo's 5 GB. Nomad rides True, AIS and dtac; Airalo rides AIS and True. Airalo's app is optional, Nomad needs its app. Pick Nomad for a bucket or for dtac coverage. Pick Airalo for a 3-day plan, a week or a month of unlimited. 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 $32.99, 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 asks $9.50 and Nomad sells no 3-day plan. For a week, Airalo asks $21 and Nomad sells no 7-day plan; its unlimited is 10 days at $15, which is $6 less than Airalo's week but with a 2 GB a day cap against 5 GB. For 30 days of unlimited, Airalo asks $49 and Nomad sells none. For 10 GB over 30 days, $11 at Airalo and $10 at Nomad.
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 $49. Nomad has no 30-day unlimited to compare it with. Ringo Light sells no 3-day or 7-day plan; for a long weekend Airalo at $9.50 is the only short plan of the three, and Nomad's 10 days of unlimited at $15 costs less than our 2 weeks at $22.99, by $7.99, though ours lasts 4 days longer and runs at full speed all day.
For a fixed amount of data, Airalo and Nomad both sell it and Ringo Light does not. 10 GB for 30 days is $10 at Nomad and $11 at Airalo. Airalo also sells 20 GB at $18, 5 GB from $7 and 1 GB from $4; Nomad sells 50 GB for 10 days at $15. If 10 GB is all you need, either of them 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 gives 5 GB a day at full speed, then slows to 1 Mbps for the rest of the day. Nomad's unlimited gives 2 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps, and stops at 10 days. Two gigabytes covers maps, messages and social feeds; an evening of video or a laptop on the hotspot will hit it early. Five covers a couple of hours of video as well. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole 2 weeks or 30 days, with no daily figure. 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 ferry ports well. Airalo rides AIS and True, with 5G. Nomad lists True, AIS and dtac, so it is the one of the two that names dtac. Ringo Light rides a local partner network. For Bangkok, the north and the main islands, any of the three works.
Installation, app and support
Airalo's app is optional: you can buy on its site and install from the details it sends, or do it all inside the app, where its support chat also lives. Nomad needs its app to buy, install and top up. 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 or 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 $10 or Airalo at $11 is the better buy. If you want a long weekend, Airalo at $9.50 is the only short plan here. If you want 10 days of unlimited, Nomad at $15 costs less than our 2 weeks. For a month of unlimited, Ringo Light is the cheapest of the three, and the only one of the three besides Airalo that sells it.
The full six-brand comparison for Thailand, with Holafly, Saily 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 3 days of unlimited. $9.50 for 3 days, 5 GB a day at full speed. Nomad sells no 3-day plan; Ringo Light does not either.
- Airalo, if you want a week or a month of unlimited. $21 for 7 days and $49 for 30 days. Nomad stops its unlimited at 10 days.
- Nomad, if you want 10 GB or a big short-trip bucket. 10 GB for 30 days at $10, a dollar under Airalo, and 50 GB for 10 days at $15. It also names dtac.
- Airalo, if you want 20 GB for a month. $18 for 20 GB over 30 days, with small buckets from $4 for 1 GB. Ringo Light sells no buckets.
- ✓Ringo Light, if the trip is a month. Unlimited data at full speed at $32.99 for 30 days, $16.01 under Airalo's $49. For 10 days or less, Nomad and Airalo cost less.
Pick by trip
Airalo unlimited, 3 days, $9.50. Nomad sells no 3-day plan and Ringo Light no longer sells 3 days.
Nomad unlimited, 10 days, $15, with 2 GB a day at full speed. Ringo Light's 2 weeks at $22.99 has no daily cap.
Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $10, or Airalo at $11.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $32.99, against $49 at Airalo. Nomad sells no 30-day unlimited.
Nomad 50 GB for 10 days at $15. Airalo's 20 GB for 30 days is $18.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Nomad, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Nomad 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: Holafly, Saily and Ubigi. They sell Thailand too and are priced on the same day in the full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-thailand. This page answers one question, Airalo or Nomad, so it keeps to those two and the cheaper third option. Left out: Airalo at 10 days. The full comparison does not price an Airalo 10-day unlimited plan, so this page does not compare it with Nomad's 10 days at $15, and no bar below pretends to.
- 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)
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/thailand-esim, dollar prices from the page data, read 25 October 2026; unlimited up to 10 days only
- 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.
