The short answer
You have AT&T or Verizon and a loop from Colombo through the hill country to the south coast, and the question is whether to roam or buy an eSIM. I read both carriers' pages on 1 November 2026, then set them against the five travel eSIMs and Ringo Light, priced on 25 October 2026. For a single night in transit I would roam. For anything longer I would buy Ringo Light, and keep my own SIM in the phone.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $22.99 or 30 days at $42.99, paid once, nothing renews. Airalo is $49 for 15 days and $72 for the month, and a carrier day pass comes to $168 and $360.
For maps and messages: 10 GB for 30 days at $11 on Mobitel and Hutch, installed by QR code. Ubigi sells no plan without a data cap here.
20 GB for 30 days at $18. Its Ella+ plans on Hutch add a Sri Lankan +94 number with minutes and texts, from $5.50.
Days, not gigabytes, on Mobitel, Dialog and Hutch. It asks $13.50 for 3 days and $27.90 for a week, and limits sharing from the phone to 1 GB a day.
Prices read on 25 October 2026: Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, AT&T, Ringo Light, Verizon 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. The rivals sell 15 days, Ringo Light 2 weeks. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad stops at 10 days for $45.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Ubigi's month is 60 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad sells no 30-day unlimited.
Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days.
Side by side
Swipe to compare →
Get Ringo Light for Sri Lanka, from $10.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 7 days $10.99
- 2 weeks $22.99
- 30 days $42.99
- 90 days $109.99
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.
What to see in Sri Lanka, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most first trips include, from the rock fortress at Sigiriya to the south coast, with the one thing your data does for you at each. Coverage is good in the towns and thins out in the hill country valleys and the parks.
Roam with your carrier, or buy an eSIM
AT&T's International Day Pass is $12 a day in Sri Lanka, $168 for two weeks and $360 for a month, read 1 November 2026. Verizon TravelPass lists Sri Lanka at the same $12 a day on the same date. Three days is $36 on either. Ringo Light is $10.99 for 7 days, $22.99 for 2 weeks and $42.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed, paid once. It sells no 3-day plan here.
Against the cheapest rival, the gap is still wide. For about two weeks, Ubigi asks $44 for a fixed 30 GB and Airalo $49. For a month, Ubigi asks $65 and Airalo $72. For 3 days, Airalo asks $12.50 and Holafly $13.50. Ringo Light's 2 weeks is $145.01 under either day pass, and its 30 days is $317.01 under. Going from 2 weeks to 30 days adds only $20.00 at Ringo Light, while the pass adds $12 for every day of use.
Here is what the carrier wins. Your own number keeps ringing, calls and texts are included, and there is nothing to install. Both bill only for days the phone is used in Sri Lanka. One day of the pass is cheaper than Ringo Light's 2 weeks, so for a night in transit I would roam. From the second day of use, $24 against $22.99, the eSIM costs less.
AT&T adds $6 a day for each additional line used on the same day. Two phones on one account for two weeks is $252 on that pass, against $45.98 for two Ringo Light eSIMs.
Networks in Sri Lanka, and what changes for a visitor from the United States
Sri Lanka has three main networks: Dialog, the largest, Mobitel and Hutch. All three cover Colombo, Kandy, Galle and the main towns on 4G, and coverage thins out in the hill country valleys and inside the national parks. In the table, Airalo rides Mobitel, with Hutch on its Ella+ plans, Nomad and Ubigi Mobitel and Hutch, and Holafly all three. Saily does not name its network, and Ringo Light rides a local partner network.
For a visitor, the difference is how the data is billed. AT&T and Verizon charge per day of use, on the line you already pay for. Verizon says each 24-hour session carries 5 GB at high speed, then unlimited data at 3G speeds. AT&T describes unlimited high-speed data when the pass sits on an eligible unlimited plan, and says coverage and speed vary by destination. The eSIMs are bought ahead and run for a set number of days.
Neither carrier page shows a monthly plan for Sri Lanka, so I read the month as thirty days at $12. Verizon also lists some newer SIMs and eSIMs with limited service in certain destinations, so I would check My Verizon before you fly.
If you want a data bucket: Ubigi or Airalo
- Ubigi, $11 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB for 30 days, on Mobitel and Hutch, installed by QR code with no app. Its next size up is 50 GB for $39.
- Airalo, $11.50 for 10 GB. And the cheapest 20 GB at $18, or 50 GB at $36 for the month. Its Ella+ plans cost a little more, 10 GB for $13.50, and add a local +94 number with minutes and texts.
- Nomad, $15 for 10 GB. 20 GB for $21 on Mobitel and Hutch.
- Saily, $19.99 for 10 GB. 20 GB at $30.99, read on saily.com in dollars.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Ringo Light is unlimited, $22.99 for 2 weeks and $42.99 for 30 days. For 10 GB that lasts a month I would buy Ubigi or Airalo, and Airalo's 20 GB at $18 is $24.99 under the Ringo Light month. I would buy Ringo Light for unlimited, not for a bucket.
What Ringo Light is
Ringo Light is Ringo's own data eSIM, and I write for Ringo, so weigh my verdict with that in mind. It is sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it. For Sri Lanka it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 7 days at $10.99, 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $42.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email and installs in one scan, no app.
It sits next to your own SIM, so your number still rings for calls and texts if you leave roaming on for those, which both carriers say they include. Both carrier pages note that drivers and guesthouses on the island often answer on WhatsApp, which a data plan covers.
The card to buy it is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
I would roam for one day at $12, or buy Airalo unlimited 3 days at $12.50. Ringo Light sells no 3 days.
I would buy Ringo Light, $22.99, against $168 on either day pass and $44 to $50.50 at the rivals.
I would buy Ringo Light, $42.99. The carriers come to $360, and the cheapest rival month is Ubigi at $65.
My pick is Ubigi 10 GB for 30 days at $11, or Airalo at $11.50, for maps and messages.
I would pick Airalo Ella+, which adds a +94 number with minutes and texts, from $5.50.
AT&T adds $6 a day for the second line. Two Ringo Light eSIMs for two weeks are $45.98, still far under $168 for one phone.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, AT&T, Ringo Light, Verizon, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for Sri Lanka 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: 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/sri-lanka-esim?currency=USD, in dollars on the site; unlimited and Ella+ read 25 October 2026; Sri Lanka buckets from esimdb.com/sri-lanka/airalo, listing dated 5 October 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-sri-lanka/, read on its own site in dollars, 25 October 2026
- Saily: saily.com/esim-sri-lanka/, prices in dollars on saily.com, read 25 October 2026; unlimited 5 to 30 days, no 7-day plan
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/sri-lanka-esim, prices in dollars from the page's own data, read 25 October 2026; networks Mobitel and Hutch
- Ubigi: cellulardata.ubigi.com/destinations/sri-lanka/, 10 GB read on its own site in dollars 25 October 2026; other plans from esimdb.com/sri-lanka/ubigi, listing dated 5 October 2026
- AT&T: www.att.com/international/day-pass/, International Day Pass price, additional lines and what it includes, with the destination list at att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1395068/ naming Sri Lanka, read 1 November 2026
- Ringo Light: ringoesim.com/sri-lanka, the catalogue the checkout charges, read the same day
- Verizon: www.verizon.com/support/travelpass-faqs/, TravelPass FAQ for the daily price, the 5 GB a day allowance and billing on days used, and the TravelPass countries list at verizon.com/plans/travelpass-countries/ for Sri Lanka at $12 per day, read 1 November 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.
