The short answer
You hold an AT&T or Verizon plan and you are flying to Dubai or Abu Dhabi. I read both carriers' day-pass pages on 31 October 2026 and set them against the five travel eSIMs and Ringo Light, priced on 10 November 2026. For a stopover I would roam or buy Nomad. For two weeks I would buy Ringo Light, and for a month I would take Ringo Light or Saily, which tie.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $39.99, $9 under Saily's 15 days at $48.99. 30 days at $71.99, the same as Saily and one cent under Airalo. Nothing renews. A carrier day pass asks $168 and $360.
3 days of unlimited at $12, a week at $27, 10 GB for 30 days at $18.50 and 20 GB at $29, on du. The cheapest way to cover a 3-day stopover.
30 days of unlimited at $71.99 with 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. Also 7 days at $28.99.
Days, not gigabytes, from 3 to 15 days on its page, with no daily cap stated for your own phone. $27.90 for a week. Sharing from the phone is limited to 1 GB a day.
Prices read on 10 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.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 10 November 2026 (Saily as read on 25 October). Ringo Light sells 2 weeks, the others 15 days. Nomad stops at 10 days ($34) and Ubigi sells no UAE unlimited longer than 7 days.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Saily and Airalo give 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. Holafly's page lists nothing beyond 15 days; Nomad and Ubigi sell no 30-day UAE unlimited.
Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days, and costs about twice as much.
Side by side
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Get Ringo Light for the UAE, from $17.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 7 days $17.99
- 2 weeks $39.99
- 30 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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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 UAE, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most UAE trips include, from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to the Liwa dunes and Jebel Jais. Under each is the one thing your phone does for you there.
Roam with your carrier, or buy an eSIM
AT&T's International Day Pass is $12 a day in the UAE, $168 for two weeks and $360 for a month, read 31 October 2026. Verizon TravelPass lists the United Arab Emirates at the same $12 a day on the same date. Ringo Light is $17.99 for 7 days, $39.99 for 2 weeks and $71.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed, paid once. It sells no 3-day plan for the UAE.
Against the rivals the gap narrows, and I will say so. For about two weeks, Saily asks $48.99, Airalo $49 and Holafly $50.50 for 15 days, and Nomad $34 for 10 days. For a month, Saily asks $71.99, level with Ringo Light, and Airalo $72. For a week, Nomad asks $27, against $17.99 at Ringo Light, and for 3 days $12. On two weeks Ringo Light is $128.01 under either day pass, and on a month $288.01 under.
Here is what the carrier wins, and on a short stay it wins a lot. Your own number keeps ringing, calls and texts are included, and nothing needs installing. Both bill only for the days the phone is used in the UAE, so a three day stopover is $36 on the pass, and AT&T adds $6 a day for each extra line. Nomad sells 3 days of unlimited at $12 and a week at $27. For a stopover I would roam if I needed calls, and buy Nomad if data was enough. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan and starts at 7 days, $17.99, under Nomad's week.
Networks in the UAE, and what changes for a visitor from the United States
The UAE has two networks, e& (which most people still call Etisalat) and du, and Virgin Mobile UAE runs on du. Both have 5G across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In the table Airalo names e&, Nomad and Ubigi name du, and Holafly and Saily name neither. Ringo Light rides a local partner network. In the Liwa dunes and the Hajar Mountain wadis the signal thins on both, so I would save offline maps before those drives.
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 speed varies by destination. Neither page shows a monthly plan for the UAE, so I read the month as thirty days at $12.
Calls need a second look here. Every eSIM in the table is data only, so calls go through apps, and the UAE restricts internet calls to apps its regulator allows. WhatsApp voice and video calls are restricted, while messages and voice notes go through. Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet and Botim place calls normally. Both carriers include calls and texts on your own number. I would plan calls on an allowed app, or keep the carrier line for them.
If you want a data bucket: Nomad
- Nomad, $18.50 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB and the cheapest 20 GB at $29, on du. For a light user I would take it over a day pass.
- Saily, $19.99 for 10 GB. 20 GB is $33.99, both read on saily.com on 25 October.
- Airalo, $20 for 10 GB. Its Burj Mobile plan on e&, with buckets from $4 for 1 GB and 20 GB at $34. Those two come from its esimdb listing of 9 November, because Airalo's own page shows only the unlimited plans.
- Ubigi, $20 for 10 GB. On du with 5G. 25 GB for 30 days is $46, or 20 GB a month at $34 on a plan that renews.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Its 2 weeks is unlimited for $39.99 and its 30 days unlimited for $71.99. For a fixed amount of data every rival here is much cheaper, about half the price for 10 GB. I would buy Ringo Light for two weeks of unlimited, and skip it for a bucket.
What Ringo Light is
I write for Ringo, so weigh my verdict with that in mind. Ringo Light is its own data eSIM, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it. For the UAE it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 7 days at $17.99, 2 weeks at $39.99 and 30 days at $71.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email and installs in one scan, no app.
One thing I would rather you hear from me than find at checkout: the Ringo Middle East trip covers the UAE too. It costs $45.99 for 2 weeks and $62.99 for 30 days, on one eSIM that also works in the neighbouring countries. For two weeks the UAE trip is $6.00 cheaper. For a month the Middle East trip is $9.00 cheaper.
The eSIM sits next to your own SIM, so your number is still there for calls and texts, which both carriers include on the day pass. The card to buy Ringo Light is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
I would roam if calls matter, $36 for 3 days on the pass. If data is enough, Nomad sells 3 days of unlimited at $12. Ringo Light sells no 3 days.
I would buy Ringo Light, 7 days, $17.99, against Nomad at $27, Airalo at $27.50 and Holafly at $27.90, and a week on the pass comes to $84.
I would buy Ringo Light, $39.99, against $168 on either day pass and $48.99 to $50.50 at the rivals.
Ringo Light and Saily tie at $71.99, with Airalo at $72. I would take Ringo Light if you want no app. The day passes come to $360.
My pick is Nomad, 10 GB for 30 days at $18.50, if you will mostly use maps and messages.
I would keep the carrier line for them, since every eSIM here is data only and WhatsApp voice calls are restricted in the UAE. 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 UAE on 10 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/united-arab-emirates-esim?currency=USD, Burj Mobile unlimited read on the site in dollars, 10 November 2026; network e& from the same page; 10 GB ($20) and 20 GB ($34) buckets from the esimdb.com/uae/airalo listing dated 9 November 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-dubai/, read on the site in dollars, 10 November 2026; its UAE plan is sold as Dubai and its dollar table stops at 15 days
- Saily: saily.com/esim-united-arab-emirates/, prices in dollars on saily.com, read 25 October 2026; not readable on 10 November 2026, figures kept from 25 October; 7-day unlimited $28.99, no 3-day plan
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/united-arab-emirates-esim, dollar prices from the page's own data, read 10 November 2026; network du
- Ubigi: cellulardata.ubigi.com/rates-and-coverage/uae-data-plans/uae-unlimited-7-days/, 7-day unlimited ($32, du) on cellulardata.ubigi.com in dollars, 10 November 2026; 10 GB ($20), 20 GB and 25 GB from the esimdb.com/uae/ubigi listing dated 5 November 2026, before its 10% promo code
- 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 United Arab Emirates, read 31 October 2026
- Ringo Light: ringoesim.com/uae, 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 United Arab Emirates at $12 per day, read 31 October 2026
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 10 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.
