The short answer
You are flying from Australia to the USA with a Telstra plan, and the question is whether to roam or buy an eSIM. I compared the Day Pass at A$10 a day, read on 31 October 2026, with the six brands and Ringo Light priced on 10 November 2026. For two weeks or a month I would buy Ringo Light, $17.99 or $22.99. For a short work trip I would keep Telstra on.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $17.99 or 30 days at $22.99, nothing renews. Telstra's Day Pass is A$140 (about $98) for a fortnight. Airalo asks $46 for 15 days and $68 for the month.
If you want a smaller plan: 10 GB for 30 days at $14 on T-Mobile, and 20 GB a month at $15 if you take its monthly plan, which renews.
3 days of unlimited at $9, 2 GB a day at full speed, 7 days at $19, and 10 GB for 30 days at $10.40. The only brand here that names Verizon, with AT&T.
You buy days, not gigabytes, on AT&T and T-Mobile, with no daily cap stated for your own phone. $27.50 for a week; sharing limited to 1 GB a day.
Prices read on 10 November 2026: Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, Telstra, Ringo Light, European Central Bank 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 Canada.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 10 November 2026; Saily's figure is from 25 October, its site not readable on 10 November. The rivals sell 15 days, Ringo Light 2 weeks. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps.
The 30-day plan at each brand, read 10 November 2026; Saily's figure is from 25 October. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Ubigi's month is 60 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad sells no unlimited past 7 days.
Read 10 November 2026; Saily's figure is from 25 October. 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 the United States, from $7.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 7 days $7.99
- 2 weeks $17.99
- 30 days $22.99
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 USA, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most trips to the USA include, from New York and Washington to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and the Golden Gate. Each one shows what a phone does for you there, and one eSIM works at every stop.
Roam with Telstra, or buy an eSIM
Telstra's roaming page, which I read on 31 October 2026, lists the United States of America at A$10 a day on the International Day Pass. A day is charged when the phone makes a call, sends a text or uses data. Two weeks of use is A$140 (about $98) and 30 days is A$300 (about $211), because the page shows no monthly pass. I took the dollar figures from the ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026, A$1 = $0.70.
In the USA, Telstra's Day Pass is A$140 (about $98) for two weeks against $17.99 for Ringo Light, and A$300 (about $211) for a month against $22.99. The nearest rival for 15 days is Ubigi at $39 with 30 GB at full speed, then Saily at $45.99 and Airalo at $46. A month at the brands runs $62 to $73.90.
Telstra still wins some things outright. Your Australian number keeps ringing, calls and texts are included, nothing needs installing, and a phone with no eSIM slot works. For a short work trip of a day or two I would stay on the pass, or buy Nomad's 3 days of unlimited at $9, since Ringo Light sells no 3 days for the USA.
Networks in the USA, and what changes for a visitor from Australia
The USA has three national networks: AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. All three cover the cities and the interstates well, and every network has gaps in the big national parks, in the desert and in the mountains. Most travel eSIMs ride T-Mobile. Holafly names AT&T as well, and Nomad names AT&T and Verizon. For long drives in the West I would download offline maps whatever you buy.
The Day Pass is billed per day used on your own Telstra plan, with 2 GB of data a day and unlimited standard calls and SMS, and unused data expires at the end of each day. A 2 GB top up is A$10 (about $7), valid for 31 days. Telstra states no roaming speed. The travel eSIMs give no American number, so a few services that text a code to an American number need your own line on, or Wi-Fi calling.
If you want a data bucket: Ubigi or Nomad
- Nomad, $10.40 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB for 30 days, and 20 GB for $16.80 while it is on sale (regular $38), on AT&T and Verizon.
- Ubigi, $14 for 10 GB. On T-Mobile with 5G, installed by QR code. Its 20 GB monthly plan at $15 renews, and 25 GB for 30 days is $32.
- Airalo, $22.50 for 10 GB. Its Change plan gives 20 GB for $36.50, with buckets from $4 for 1 GB.
- Saily, $22.99 for 10 GB. 20 GB at $36.99, read on saily.com on 25 October 2026; not readable on 10 November 2026, figure kept.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. The Ringo Light 2 weeks is unlimited for $17.99 and the 30 days unlimited for $22.99. For 10 GB that lasts a month, Nomad at $10.40 and Ubigi at $14 are the better buys. Against the other 20 GB buckets for 30 days, I would still buy the Ringo Light month, which has no cap. Telstra sells no bucket, only the 2 GB a day.
What Ringo Light is
Ringo Light is the data eSIM I write for, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere. For the USA it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 7 days at $7.99, 2 weeks at $17.99 and 30 days at $22.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, no app.
It sits next to your own SIM, so your Australian number keeps working for calls and texts if you leave Telstra roaming on for those. A day with a call or text still counts as a Day Pass day at A$10, so I would use that sparingly. The longer Telstra comparison is at /blog/telstra-vs-ringo-for-usa, and a trip into Canada or Mexico is at /blog/best-esim-for-north-america.
The card to buy it is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
I would stay on the Telstra Day Pass at A$10 a day, or buy Nomad unlimited for 3 days at $9.
I would buy Ringo Light, 2 weeks, $17.99. Fourteen days of the Day Pass is A$140 (about $98).
I would buy Ringo Light, 30 days, $22.99. A month of the Day Pass would be A$300 (about $211).
I would buy Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $10.40.
Keep your own SIM in the phone for calls and texts, and add Ringo Light for data. Wi-Fi calling helps for texts.
The Day Pass works on the plan already in the phone. Ringo Light needs an eSIM.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, Telstra, Ringo Light, European Central Bank, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for United States 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-states-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars on the site, read 10 November 2026; buckets and daily allowance from esimdb.com/usa/airalo, listing dated 8 November 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-usa/, in dollars on the site, read 10 November 2026
- Saily: saily.com/esim-united-states/, prices in dollars on saily.com, read 25 October 2026; not readable on 10 November 2026, figures kept from 25 October
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/united-states-esim, in dollars from the page's own data, read 10 November 2026; the 20 GB plan is on sale, regular $38
- Ubigi: esimdb.com/usa/ubigi, listing dated 4 November 2026, read 10 November 2026; cellulardata.ubigi.com showed no USA plans
- Telstra: www.telstra.com.au/international-roaming, International Roaming Day Pass zones, A$10 a day for Zone 2 with the United States of America listed, the 2 GB a day allowance, billing on days used and the A$10 2 GB top up, read 31 October 2026
- Ringo Light: ringoesim.com/usa, the catalogue the checkout charges, read the same day
- European Central Bank: www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml, euro reference rates of 30 October 2026, the latest published on 31 October 2026, used for the dollar figures (A$1 = $0.70)
- 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.
