The short answer
I wrote this for an American with AT&T or Verizon who is flying to Manila, Cebu or Palawan. I compared what each carrier charges to roam there, read on 31 October 2026, with five rival travel eSIMs and Ringo Light, priced on 11 November 2026. For one day I would roam. For a few days in Manila I would buy Airalo's 3-day plan at $11.50, and for two weeks or a month I would buy Ringo Light, at $22.99 or $36.99.
Unlimited data at full speed, paid once: 2 weeks at $22.99 or 30 days at $36.99, where a day pass comes to $168 and $360. Airalo asks $48 for 15 days and $71 for the month.
10 GB for 30 days at $16, on Smart and DITO. Ubigi sells no unlimited plan for the Philippines.
20 GB lasts 30 days at $27, and 10 GB lasts 30 days at $17. Its unlimited stops at 10 days.
Unlimited for 3 days at $11.50 on its Alpas Mobile plan, with 3 GB a day at full speed, and small buckets too.
Prices read on 11 November 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, 11 November 2026. The rivals sell 15 days, Ringo Light 2 weeks. Nomad stops at 10 days for $33; Ubigi sells no unlimited.
The 30-day unlimited plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Nomad and Ubigi sell 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 the Philippines, from $8.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 7 days $8.99
- 2 weeks $22.99
- 30 days $36.99
- 90 days $82.99
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 the Philippines, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most first trips include, from Manila and the northern mountains to the Visayas and Palawan. The cities have good 4G and 5G, and on the boats and in the lagoons you should plan for no signal.
Roam with your carrier, or buy an eSIM
AT&T's International Day Pass is $12 a day in the Philippines, $168 for two weeks and $360 for a month, read 31 October 2026, against $22.99 and $36.99 for Ringo Light's 2 weeks and 30 days. Verizon TravelPass lists the Philippines at the same $12 a day on that date, so three days is $36 on either carrier.
The rival eSIMs also sit far under the passes. For 15 days of unlimited, Airalo asks $48, Saily $48.99 and Holafly $50.50. For a month, $71, $71.99 and $73.90. Ringo Light is $145.01 under a day pass on two weeks and $323.01 under on a month. On three days the rivals beat Ringo Light, because it sells no plan that short: Airalo asks $11.50 and Holafly $11.90.
I do not wave away what the carrier wins. Your own number keeps ringing, nothing needs installing, and a phone with no eSIM slot still works. Both carriers bill only for the days the phone is used in the Philippines, so a single day costs $12. For that one day I would roam. From the second day a travel eSIM already costs less than the pass.
AT&T adds $6 a day for each extra line used on the same day, so two phones on one account come to $18 a day, or $252 for two weeks. Two Ringo Light eSIMs for two weeks cost $45.98.
Networks in the Philippines, and what changes for a visitor from the United States
The Philippines has three networks: Globe, Smart and DITO, the newest and smallest. Globe and Smart both cover Manila, Cebu and the main tourist towns. Signal thins on the boats between islands, in the lagoons of El Nido and Coron and in the mountains around Banaue, whichever network you ride. In the table, Airalo and Ubigi use Smart, Holafly and Nomad use Globe, Ubigi lists DITO too, and Saily does not name its network. Ringo Light rides a local partner network.
For a visitor, the real 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 Unlimited Plan, and on a smaller plan the allowance of your home plan applies. The eSIMs are bought before the flight and run for a fixed number of days.
Neither carrier page shows a monthly plan for the Philippines, so I read the month as thirty days at $12. Verizon's countries list warns that some newer SIM cards and eSIMs may have limited service in certain destinations. It does not name the Philippines, but I would look in My Verizon before you fly.
If you want a data bucket: Ubigi or Nomad
- Ubigi, $16 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB for 30 days, on Smart and DITO, with 25 GB at $29. A light user pays a fraction of a day pass.
- Nomad, $17 for 10 GB. Its 20 GB at $27 is the cheapest 20 GB, valid 30 days, on Globe.
- Saily, $18.99 for 10 GB. 20 GB comes to $29.99. Its listing is dated 5 October 2026, because saily.com would not load for me.
- Airalo, $19 for 10 GB. Its Alpas Mobile plan sells 20 GB for $30, and small buckets too.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Its 2 weeks is unlimited at $22.99 and its 30 days unlimited at $36.99. For a fixed 10 GB that lasts a month, Ubigi and Nomad cost less, and Nomad's 20 GB at $27 costs less than Ringo Light's 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 the Philippines it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 7 days at $8.99, 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $36.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email and installs in one scan, no app.
It sits next to your own SIM, so your number keeps working for calls and texts if you leave roaming on for those, which both carrier pages describe as part of the pass. I would put the data on the eSIM and let the carrier handle the calls.
The card to buy it is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
I would roam. $12 for the day and nothing to set up beforehand.
Airalo unlimited for 3 days at $11.50, against $36 on a day pass. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
Ringo Light, $22.99, against $168 on either day pass and $48 to $50.50 at the rivals.
Ringo Light, $36.99, against $360 on the passes and $71 for the cheapest rival month.
Ubigi 10 GB for 30 days at $16, if you will mostly use maps and messages.
I would keep the carrier SIM in the phone with roaming on, and put the data on Ringo Light.
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 Philippines on 11 November 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/philippines-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars on the site, read live 11 November 2026; buckets and daily cap from esimdb.com/philippines/airalo, read 31 October 2026 and not readable on 11 November 2026, figures kept as dated here
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-philippines/, read live in dollars, 11 November 2026
- Saily: esimdb.com/philippines/saily, listing dated 5 October 2026; saily.com refused the fetch; not readable on 11 November 2026, figures kept as dated here
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/philippines-esim, read live in dollars on nomadesim.com, 11 November 2026; network Globe as read there on 28 September 2026
- Ubigi: cellulardata.ubigi.com/rates-and-coverage/philippines-data-plans/philippines-10gb-30-days/, prices read live on cellulardata.ubigi.com plan pages, 11 November 2026; networks Smart and DITO from the same site
- 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 the Philippines, read 31 October 2026
- Ringo Light: ringoesim.com/philippines, 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 and billing on days used, and the TravelPass countries list at verizon.com/plans/travelpass-countries/ for the Philippines at $12 per day, read 31 October 2026
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 11 November 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.
