The short answer
Airalo is cheaper than Saily for China at 7 days ($27 against $29.99), 15 days ($49 against $49.99), 30 days ($69 against $72.99) and for 10 GB ($26.50 against $26.99). Saily is a cent cheaper for 20 GB ($39.99 against $40). Airalo is the only one of the two with a 3-day plan, at $11.50. Airalo gives 3 GB a day at full speed, Saily 5 GB. 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 and $69, Saily $49.99 and $72.99. No buckets, no 3-day or 7-day plan.
$11.50 for 3 days, $27 for a week, $49 for 15 days and $69 for 30 days of unlimited, 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. 10 GB at $26.50, 20 GB at $40. On China Unicom.
5 GB a day at full speed on unlimited: 5 days $22.99, a week $29.99, 15 days $49.99, 30 days $72.99. 10 GB at $26.99, 20 GB at $39.99. China Telecom and China Unicom.
Prices read on 25 October 2026: Airalo, Saily 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 Saily 15 days. Airalo is 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps; Saily is 5 GB a day, then slowed; Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Airalo slows you after 3 GB a day, Saily after 5 GB.
Ringo Light sells no bucket: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days. For a fixed 10 GB, Airalo is the cheaper of the two, by 49 cents.
Side by side
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- 2 weeks $22.99
- 30 days $35.99
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.
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Airalo vs Saily in one paragraph
Airalo is cheaper than Saily for China at every unlimited length both sell: $27 against $29.99 for a week, $49 against $49.99 for 15 days and $69 against $72.99 for 30 days. It is also cheaper for 10 GB, $26.50 against $26.99. Saily is cheaper by one cent for 20 GB, $39.99 against $40. Airalo is the only one of the two with a 3-day plan, at $11.50; Saily's shortest is 5 days at $22.99. Saily gives 5 GB a day at full speed, Airalo 3 GB then 1 Mbps, and Saily lists two networks, China Telecom and China Unicom, where Airalo rides 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, Airalo asks $11.50; Saily sells no 3-day plan. For a week, $27 at Airalo and $29.99 at Saily. For 15 days, $49 and $49.99. For 30 days, $69 and $72.99. So Airalo wins every unlimited length both sell, by 99 cents at 15 days and $3.99 at 30 days.
For a fixed amount of data, the two are almost level: 10 GB for 30 days at $26.50 at Airalo and $26.99 at Saily, 20 GB at $40 and $39.99.
Ringo Light sells two trips for China: 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $35.99. The 2 weeks costs $26.01 less than Airalo's 15 days and $27 less than Saily's, and less than either brand's week. The 30 days costs $33.01 less than Airalo's $69 and $37 less than Saily's $72.99. 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. Saily gives 5 GB a day at full speed, then slows you for the rest of the day. Saily has more headroom for video or sharing to a laptop; either is enough for maps and messages. 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 Saily. 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, Saily lists China Telecom and China Unicom, and Ringo Light rides a local partner network. Neither Airalo nor Saily 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. For exactly 3 days, Airalo at $11.50 is the one to buy. 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
- Airalo, if you want 3 days, or the lower price at 7, 15 and 30 days. $11.50 for 3 days, $27 for a week, $49 for 15 days and $69 for 30 days, against $29.99, $49.99 and $72.99 at Saily.
- Saily, if you want 5 GB a day at full speed. Against 3 GB at Airalo, on China Telecom and China Unicom. A 5-day plan at $22.99.
- ✓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. Saily sells no 3-day plan; Ringo Light neither.
Airalo unlimited, 7 days, $27, against $29.99 at Saily. 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 $49 at Airalo and $49.99 at Saily for 15 days.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $35.99, against $69 at Airalo and $72.99 at Saily.
Airalo 10 GB for 30 days at $26.50, or Saily at $26.99. Ringo Light sells no buckets.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Saily, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Saily 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, Nomad 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 Saily, 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
- Saily: saily.com/esim-china/, saily.com/esim-china, dollars, read 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.
