1 · The short answer
Every travel eSIM sells Beijing as part of its China plan. In Beijing your phone does more work than in most capitals: tickets for the Forbidden City are booked online in advance, payments run through Alipay and WeChat, and Google is blocked on local SIMs. We priced the six eSIMs that get most of the traffic on the same day and looked at what each trip length costs.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $22.99, less than any rival here charges for 7 days. 30 days at $35.99. Nothing renews.
3 days of unlimited at $11.50 on China Unicom, 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
15 days at $45 on China Telecom: 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. 10 GB for 30 days at $17.
Its China page states WhatsApp, Google and Instagram work without a VPN. $27.50 for a week.
Prices read on 28 September 2026: Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi 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.
2 · The prices, charted
US dollars, 28 September 2026. Ringo Light sells 2 weeks, the others 15 days. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad sells no unlimited plan longer than 10 days for China.
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.
Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days.
3 · Side by side
Swipe to compare →
Get Ringo Light for Beijing, from $22.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
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.
4 · What to do in Beijing, and what your phone does for you there
Six places for a first trip to Beijing, from the palace to the Wall. The city has strong 4G and 5G; book the palace before you arrive.
5 · Getting online at Capital or Daxing
Beijing has two international airports: Capital, northeast of the centre, and Daxing, far to the south. Both have 4G and 5G at the gate, so install your eSIM at home, leave it switched off, and turn it on for data when you land.
An airport express train runs from each into the city and connects to the subway. Didi and taxis wait outside; from Daxing the ride is long, so check the train first.
6 · Booking Beijing on your phone
The Forbidden City sells a fixed number of tickets a day, only online, in advance, in your name and passport number, and they sell out in busy weeks. The National Museum and some other sights work the same way. Book as soon as your dates are firm and keep the confirmation on your phone; you enter with your passport.
Trains to the Great Wall at Badaling, to Xi'an or to Shanghai are booked in the 12306 app or through a booking site, also in your passport name. Having data at the station matters when a platform changes.
7 · Google, WhatsApp and Alipay in Beijing
A Chinese SIM bought at the airport sits behind the Great Firewall: Google, Gmail, Google Maps, WhatsApp and Instagram do not open on it. A travel eSIM usually routes its data through the provider's gateway abroad, so these apps usually open without a VPN. That is the usual case for roaming eSIMs, not a promise from any brand here except Holafly, whose China page states it outright. We have not tested Ringo Light from inside mainland China ourselves, so we promise no more than the usual case. If one app matters for your work, install a VPN as a fallback before you fly; app stores in China will not offer one.
The Chinese apps work on every plan, and you will use them more than the Western ones: Alipay and WeChat Pay, both of which take foreign cards now, Amap or Apple Maps for directions, Didi for rides, and the 12306 app for train tickets. Set up Alipay and link your card at home, while you can still receive its verification texts.
8 · Which plan fits a Beijing trip
A long weekend: Airalo sells 3 days of unlimited at $11.50 and Holafly at $11.90. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
A week: Ubigi 8 days at $24, Nomad 7 days at $25, Airalo $27, Holafly $27.50. Ringo Light 2 weeks of unlimited data at full speed costs $22.99, less than any of them.
Two weeks with Xi'an and Shanghai: Ubigi $45 for 15 days, Saily $48.99, Airalo $49, Holafly $50.50, against Ringo Light 2 weeks at $22.99. A month: $35.99.
9 · What Ringo Light is
Ringo Light is our own data eSIM, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it. For China, Beijing included, it sells two trips, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $35.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, no app.
For a fixed amount of data, Nomad and Ubigi sell 10 GB for 30 days at $17. The card to buy Ringo Light is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
10 · Pick by trip
Airalo unlimited, 3 days, $11.50. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $22.99, less than any rival's week.
Ringo Light 2 weeks at $22.99 covers the route on one eSIM.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $35.99.
Nomad or Ubigi 10 GB for 30 days at $17.
11 · Frequently asked questions
12 · How we compared, and our sources
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for Beijing on 28 September 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/china-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars and network on the site; buckets from esimdb.com/china/airalo, 23 September 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-china/, prices, network and the statement on WhatsApp, Google and Instagram from its own page
- Saily: esimdb.com/china/saily, listing dated 14 July 2026; saily.com refused the fetch
- Nomad: esimdb.com/china/nomad, listing dated 20 September 2026; networks from nomadesim.com/china-esim
- Ubigi: esimdb.com/china/ubigi, listing dated 16 September 2026; network from cellulardata.ubigi.com; Best Asia 15 day plan rechecked on esimdb.com/china/ubigi on 12 October 2026 (listing dated 4 October), unchanged at $45
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 28 September 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.
