The short answer
You have AT&T or Verizon and a trip to Taipei, 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 29 October 2026. For a stopover of a day or two I would roam. For two weeks or a month I would buy Ringo Light, and keep my own SIM in the phone.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $31.99, nothing renews. Ubigi asks $39 for 15 days and Airalo $49, and a carrier day pass comes to $168. For a month Ringo Light's $48.99 is unlimited, one cent under Ubigi's $49 for 60 GB at full speed.
10 GB for 30 days at $14, and 60 GB at full speed for 30 days at $49, then 2 Mbps, on Far EasTone and Taiwan Mobile.
3 days of unlimited at $12 on Chunghwa Telecom, and 20 GB for 30 days at $26.
Days, not gigabytes, with no daily cap stated for your own phone. A week is $27.90, and sharing from the phone is limited to 1 GB a day.
Prices read on 29 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, 29 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 $33.
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 Taiwan, from $31.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 2 weeks $31.99
- 30 days $48.99
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 Taiwan, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most first trips include, from Taipei 101 to Kenting, with the one thing your data does for you at each. The cities and the rail line have good coverage, and the mountains are weaker.
Roam with your carrier, or buy an eSIM
AT&T's International Day Pass is $12 a day in Taiwan, $168 for two weeks and $360 for a month, read 1 November 2026. Verizon TravelPass lists Taiwan at the same $12 a day on the same date. Three days is $36 on either. Ringo Light is $31.99 for 2 weeks and $48.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed, paid once. It sells no plan under 2 weeks here.
Against the cheapest rival, the carrier gap stays wide. For about two weeks, Ubigi asks $39 for a fixed 30 GB and Airalo $49. For a month, Ubigi asks $49 and Airalo $69. For 3 days, Nomad asks $12. Ringo Light's 2 weeks is $136.01 under either day pass, and its 30 days is $311.01 under. The extra fortnight inside the 30 days costs $17.00, while the pass keeps adding $12 a day.
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 Taiwan. Two days of the pass is $24, under Ringo Light's 2 weeks, so for a day or two I would roam. From the third day, $36 against $31.99, 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 $63.98 for two Ringo Light eSIMs.
Networks in Taiwan, and what changes for a visitor from the United States
Taiwan has three networks since the 2023 mergers: Chunghwa Telecom, the largest, Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone. All three cover Taipei, the west coast cities and the high speed rail line well, with 5G in the cities, and signal is weaker in Taroko Gorge, at Alishan and on the high roads of the Central Range. In the table, Airalo rides Taiwan Mobile, Nomad Chunghwa Telecom for its unlimited plans, and Ubigi Far EasTone and Taiwan Mobile. Holafly and Saily do not name theirs, 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, and that a session starts when the phone calls, texts or uses data, including background refreshes. 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 Taiwan, so I read the month as thirty days at $12. AT&T bills calls to destinations outside the pass at International Long Distance rates, and Verizon says Wi-Fi calling sits outside its pass, so I would read both before relying on voice.
If you want a data bucket: Ubigi or Nomad
- Ubigi, $14 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB for 30 days, on Far EasTone and Taiwan Mobile. Its 20 GB at $16 is a monthly plan that renews until you stop it, and the one-off 25 GB is $28.
- Nomad, $16 for 10 GB. And the cheapest one-off 20 GB at $26, on Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile.
- Airalo, $19 for 10 GB. Its Xie Xie plan on Taiwan Mobile, 20 GB for $29.
- Saily, $19.99 for 10 GB. 20 GB at $30.99. Its listing is dated 5 October 2026, because saily.com would not load when I tried it.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Ringo Light is unlimited, $31.99 for 2 weeks and $48.99 for 30 days. For a fixed amount of data, Ubigi, Nomad, Airalo and Saily are all cheaper in Taiwan. 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 Taiwan it sells two trips, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $31.99 and 30 days at $48.99. 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 guesthouses and tour guides in Taiwan generally answer on LINE or 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, $12 or $24, or buy Nomad unlimited 3 days at $12. Ringo Light sells no 3 days.
I would buy Ringo Light, $31.99, against $168 on either day pass and $39 to $50.50 at the rivals.
I would buy Ringo Light, $48.99, or Ubigi at $49 if you prefer 60 GB at full speed. The carriers come to $360.
My pick is Ubigi 10 GB for 30 days at $14, for maps and ride bookings.
I would keep the carrier SIM in the phone with roaming on for calls, and put the data on Ringo Light.
AT&T adds $6 a day for the second line. Two Ringo Light eSIMs for two weeks are $63.98, still well 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 Taiwan on 29 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/taiwan-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars on the site, 29 October 2026; buckets and daily cap from esimdb.com/taiwan/airalo, listing dated 27 October 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-taiwan/, prices in dollars on the site, 29 October 2026
- Saily: esimdb.com/taiwan/saily, listing dated 5 October 2026; saily.com refused the fetch on 29 October 2026
- Nomad: esimdb.com/taiwan/nomad, prices in dollars as read on the esimdb listing dated 21 September 2026; on 29 October 2026 nomadesim.com did not show dollar prices to a normal request, so they were not re-read; the daily cap is from the esimdb listing dated 27 October 2026
- Ubigi: esimdb.com/taiwan/ubigi, listing dated 27 October 2026; network on cellulardata.ubigi.com/destinations/taiwan/, 29 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 Taiwan, read 1 November 2026
- Ringo Light: ringoesim.com/taiwan, 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 allowance, sessions and billing on days used, and the TravelPass countries list at verizon.com/plans/travelpass-countries/ for Taiwan at $12 per day, read 1 November 2026
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 29 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.
