The short answer
I wrote this for an American with AT&T or Verizon who is flying to Thailand. I compared what each carrier charges to roam there, the five rival travel eSIMs priced on 25 October 2026, and Ringo Light. For a few days I would buy Airalo's 3-day plan at $9.50, and for two weeks or a month I would buy Ringo Light, at $22.99 or $32.99. I would roam only for a day.
Unlimited data at full speed, paid once: 7 days at $6.99, 2 weeks at $22.99 or 30 days at $32.99. Airalo and Ubigi ask $49 for the month, and Holafly and Saily ask $27.50 and $20.99 for one week.
10 GB for 30 days at $10, and 50 GB for 10 days at $15, on True, AIS and dtac. Its unlimited stops at 10 days, at $15.
1 GB from $4, 5 GB from $7 and 20 GB for 30 days at $18, on AIS and True with 5G. Unlimited is $9.50 for 3 days and $21 for a week.
Sold by the day with no daily cap stated for your own phone, on True and dtac. A week is $27.50, and sharing is limited to 1 GB a day.
Prices read on 25 October 2026: Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, AT&T, Verizon, Ringo Light 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 30-day unlimited plan at each brand. Nomad sells unlimited only up to 10 days. Ubigi states its month as 60 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed.
The bucket most people buy for a two-week holiday. 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
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Get Ringo Light for Thailand, from $6.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 7 days $6.99
- 2 weeks $22.99
- 30 days $32.99
- 90 days $71.99
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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What to see in Thailand, and what your phone needs for it
These are eight places most first trips to Thailand include, from the temples of Bangkok to the north and the islands of the south. AIS, True and dtac cover all of them with 4G, and 5G in the cities.
Roam with your carrier, or buy an eSIM
AT&T and Verizon both let you use your phone in Thailand without buying anything first. AT&T's International Day Pass costs $12 a day there, and so does Verizon's TravelPass. That makes $36 for three days, $168 for two weeks and $360 for a month, charged only on the days the phone is used. I read both pages on 31 October 2026.
Where either carrier asks $168 for two weeks and $360 for a month, Ringo Light asks $22.99 for 2 weeks and $32.99 for 30 days, which leaves it $145.01 under both for two weeks and $327.01 under both for a month. Two days on a pass, at $24, already cost more than Ringo Light's whole fortnight. Among the travel eSIMs, Saily asks $20.99 for one week and Airalo $49 for a month.
The carrier keeps the things a data plan cannot do. Your own number rings, calls and texts come with the pass, and nothing is installed. For a day in Bangkok on a layover, I would roam. For three days, I would not: Airalo sells 3 days of unlimited at $9.50, against $36 on either pass, and Ringo Light sells no plan under two weeks in Thailand.
The 30-day Ringo Light plan costs only $10 more than the 2-week one, so a long stay barely moves that total while a carrier pass rises by $12 for every day you use the phone.
Networks in Thailand, and what changes for an American visitor
Thailand has three big networks, AIS, True and dtac. Airalo, Saily and Ubigi ride AIS and True, Holafly rides True and dtac, and Nomad lists True, AIS and dtac. All of them sell 4G, and 5G where the network offers it, and I would not pick between brands on coverage. AIS, True and dtac also sell tourist SIMs at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang, often 8 to 15 days of unlimited for about $10 to $20.
The passes work differently from an eSIM. AT&T bills the days the phone is used, adds $6 a day for each extra line on the same calendar day, and describes unlimited high-speed data when the pass is added to an unlimited plan, with speeds varying by destination. Verizon gives 5 GB of high-speed data in each 24-hour session, then unlimited data at 3G speeds. That is enough for maps and ride apps, and a laptop on the hotspot is where I would worry.
AT&T's page says calls to included destinations carry no added charge and calls to destinations that are not included are billed at International Long Distance rates. If a hotel in Phuket must reach you on your own number, the pass is the better tool.
If you want a data bucket: Nomad, Saily or Airalo
- Nomad, $10 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB for 30 days. Its 50 GB for 10 days at $15 is the biggest bucket under $20 here, on True, AIS and dtac.
- Saily, $10.99 for 10 GB. 20 GB costs $19.99, on AIS and True, and it has the cleanest app of the six. A full refund inside 30 days if you never install it.
- Ubigi, $11 for 10 GB. 25 GB costs $24.90, on AIS and True with 5G, and you need the app for top-ups.
- Airalo, $11 for 10 GB. 20 GB is $18, and small buckets start at $4 for 1 GB.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Its 2 weeks is unlimited at $22.99, more than twice what Nomad charges for 10 GB over 30 days. For a bucket, I would buy Nomad, Saily or Ubigi.
What Ringo Light is
Ringo Light is the data eSIM from Ringo, the company I write for, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it. For Thailand it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed with no speed cap: 7 days at $6.99, 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $32.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, with no app.
The eSIM sits next to your own SIM, so your number stays on that SIM for calls and texts. Both carrier pages say calls and texts come with the pass, so before you leave roaming on for them I would read how your carrier bills a day of use.
The card to buy it is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
Roam on AT&T or Verizon at $12 a day, or buy Airalo's 3 days of unlimited at $9.50. Ringo Light has no plan this short.
Ringo Light unlimited, 7 days, $6.99, against Saily at $20.99 and Airalo at $21. A carrier pass would be $84 for seven days of use.
Ringo Light, 2 weeks, $22.99, against $168 on a carrier pass and $27.50 at Holafly for one week.
Ringo Light, 30 days, $32.99, against $49 at Airalo and Ubigi and $360 on a carrier pass.
Nomad, 10 GB for 30 days at $10. I would count gigabytes and leave roaming off.
Keep your own SIM in the phone beside the eSIM. The pass keeps calls on your number, and a travel eSIM carries only data.
The second line adds $6 a day, so two phones for a fortnight come to $252. Ringo Light is one eSIM per phone, $22.99 each, $45.98 for both.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, AT&T, Verizon, Ringo Light, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi 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: 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/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)
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-thailand/, read on the site in dollars, 25 October 2026
- Saily: saily.com/esim-thailand/, prices in dollars on saily.com, read 25 October 2026
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/thailand-esim, dollar prices from the page data, read 25 October 2026; unlimited up to 10 days only
- Ubigi: esimdb.com/thailand/ubigi, listing dated 4 October 2026 (still the latest on 25 October); cellulardata.ubigi.com shows euro prices and one plan only
- 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/ showing Thailand, read 31 October 2026
- Verizon: www.verizon.com/support/travelpass-faqs/, TravelPass FAQ for the daily price, the 5 GB allowance and billing on days used, and the TravelPass countries list at verizon.com/plans/travelpass-countries/ for Thailand at $12 per day, read 31 October 2026
- Ringo Light: ringoesim.com/thailand, the catalogue the checkout charges, read the same day
- 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.
