The short answer
You hold a Rogers plan and a flight to China, and the choice is whether to buy the Rogers Asia Travel Pass or a travel eSIM first. I read the Rogers Asia pass prices on 10 November 2026 and set them against the travel eSIMs I priced on 10 November 2026 and against Ringo Light. For two weeks or a month I would buy Ringo Light and keep my own SIM in for calls and texts. For three days I would buy Airalo.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $22.99 or 30 days at $35.99, nothing renews. Airalo asks $49 for 15 days and $69 for the month.
The Asia Travel Pass puts your own Rogers plan to work in China at C$30 for 3 days, C$70 for 14 and C$90 for 30, so nothing needs installing and a phone with no eSIM slot works. Ringo Light is cheaper at two weeks and a month.
20 GB for 30 days at $22 and 10 GB at $19, on China Unicom and China Telecom. Ubigi has the cheapest 10 GB at $17. Nomad also sells 15 days of unlimited at $39, 2 GB a day at full speed.
3 days of unlimited at $11.50 on China Unicom, 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps.
Prices read on 10 November 2026: Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, Rogers, 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 Asia and the eSIM for Asia-Pacific.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 10 November 2026. Ringo Light sells 2 weeks, the others 15 days. Nomad's 15 days is 2 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps.
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.
Side by side
Swipe to compare →
Get Ringo Light for China, 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 $35.99
- 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.
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 China, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most trips from Canada include, from Beijing to Xi'an, Shanghai, Guilin and Chengdu. Whichever plan you pick, the tip under each one is where your phone matters.
Roam with Rogers, or buy an eSIM
China is on the Rogers Asia Travel Pass list. I read the prices on 10 November 2026 on the Rogers roaming page with the Asia filter selected: C$30 for 3 days, C$55 for 7, C$70 for 14 and C$90 for 30. At the ECB reference rate of 10 November 2026, C$1 = $0.707, so the passes are about $21, about $39, about $50 and about $64. The International pass is dearer at C$45, C$75, C$100 and C$120, and International Daily is C$18 a day, about $13. A pass day runs from 12 a.m. Eastern time on the activation date to 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on the last day. China is many hours ahead of Eastern time, so I would set the start date with that in mind.
Ringo Light is one payment per trip, with three trips for China: $6.99 for 7 days, $22.99 for 2 weeks and $35.99 for 30 days, all unlimited data at full speed. Two weeks through Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai is $22.99 against about $50 on Rogers, and a month is $35.99 against about $64. Ringo Light has no 3-day plan.
Among the travel eSIMs, Ringo Light is the cheapest unlimited for a week, two weeks and a month. Nomad asks $39 for 15 days, Ubigi $45, Airalo $49, Saily $49.99 and Holafly $51.50, and for a month the rivals run $66 to $76.50. Rogers at about $50 for two weeks sits between Airalo and Holafly, and at about $64 for a month it is under every rival's unlimited month, though only Ringo Light at $35.99 is clearly cheaper. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan, but its 7 days at $6.99 costs less than Airalo's 3 days of unlimited at $11.50, Holafly's $11.90 and Nomad's $12, all of them under the Rogers 3-day pass at about $21. For a week, Ringo Light's 7 days at $6.99 is under Ubigi at $24 and Nomad at $25, which are themselves under the Rogers 7-day pass at about $39.
What Rogers wins is real. Your Canadian number keeps ringing, calls and texts use the talk and text in your own plan, nothing needs installing, a phone with no eSIM slot works, and the charge lands on a bill you already pay. The page says you can use your plan's talk, text and data only within the destination you are visiting. The pages I read do not state a data amount, a speed cap or a hotspot rule, and I read nothing about how the pass behaves behind the Chinese firewall, so I would ask Rogers before I relied on Google or WhatsApp.
Networks in China, and what changes for a visitor from Canada
China has three networks: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. China Mobile is the largest and reaches furthest into the countryside and the west. Holafly rides China Mobile, Airalo China Unicom, Ubigi China Telecom, Nomad Unicom and Telecom, and Saily lists Telecom and Unicom. Ringo Light uses a local partner network. For Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai I would not worry about which one I get.
Rogers does not say on the pages I read which Chinese network its pass uses. A Chinese SIM bought at the airport sits behind the Great Firewall, and Google, WhatsApp and Instagram usually do not open on it. Travel eSIMs usually route data out of the country, but I cannot promise it for any plan here, Ringo Light included. If one app matters for my work, I would keep a VPN installed before I fly, because the app stores in China will not offer one.
The travel eSIMs here are data only, with no Chinese number. WeChat, Alipay, Didi and the 12306 rail app work on every plan, and I would link a foreign card to Alipay or WeChat Pay before landing. Your Rogers number stays on your own SIM.
If you want a data bucket: Ubigi or Nomad
- Ubigi, $17 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB, on China Telecom. 25 GB for $33.
- Nomad, $19 for 10 GB. The cheapest 20 GB at $22, on China Unicom and China Telecom.
- Airalo, $26.50 for 10 GB. Its Chinacom plan, 20 GB for $40.
- Saily, $26.99 for 10 GB. 20 GB at $39.99.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Its 2 weeks is unlimited for $22.99 and its 30 days unlimited for $35.99. For exactly 10 GB, Ubigi and Nomad are cheaper and last 30 days, and for 20 GB Nomad at $22 is under Ringo Light's 30 days. 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 that. It is sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it. For China it sells three trips, 7 days at $6.99, 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $35.99, all unlimited data at full speed. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds, installs in one scan with a QR code, and needs no app. I would install it before I fly: Gmail may not open on hotel Wi-Fi in China.
It is data only: no number, no calls, no texts. It sits next to your own SIM, so your Canadian number stays on the Rogers SIM in the phone for calls and texts. I would pay once, before the flight, and switch the eSIM on for data when I land.
The card to buy it is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
Airalo unlimited, 3 days, $11.50, against C$30 (about $21) on the Rogers Asia pass. Ringo Light sells no 3 days.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $22.99, against C$70 (about $50) on Rogers.
Ubigi 10 GB for 30 days at $17, or Nomad at $19.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $35.99, against C$90 (about $64) on Rogers. Holafly at $76.50 only if you want China Mobile and a written promise on WhatsApp and Google.
Keep your own SIM in beside the eSIM. Rogers carries calls and texts on your number and the travel eSIMs do not; the full Ringo, which Ringo Light funds, ports the number you have.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, Rogers, European Central Bank, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for China 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: Bell and Telus. I did not read their own roaming pages for China on the day, so they stay out rather than being guessed. This page prices Rogers only.
- Airalo: www.airalo.com/china-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars on the site, read 10 November 2026; fixed-data plans from the esimdb.com/china/airalo listing dated 4 October 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-china/, prices in dollars, network and the statement on WhatsApp, Google and Instagram from its own page, read 10 November 2026
- Saily: saily.com/esim-china/, saily.com/esim-china, dollars, read 25 October 2026; not readable on 10 November 2026, figures kept from 25 October
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/china-esim, nomadesim.com/china-esim, dollars, read 10 November 2026; 10 GB and 20 GB at sale prices
- Ubigi: cellulardata.ubigi.com/data-plans-and-coverage/ubigi-esim-data-plans/?destination=CHN&one-off=on, one-off plan list in dollars, read 22 October 2026; the esimdb.com/china/ubigi listing dated 4 October 2026 shows the same prices
- Rogers: www.rogers.com/mobility/roaming, Travel Pass prices on rogers.com/mobility/roaming, which show when the Asia filter is selected, C$30, C$55, C$70 and C$90 for 3, 7, 14 and 30 days, the International pass at C$45, C$75, C$100 and C$120 and International Daily at C$18 a day, and the pass FAQ at rogers.com/mobility/roaming/faqs-about-travel-pass naming China on the Asia Travel Pass list, the day running from 12 a.m. ET on the activation date to 11:59 p.m. ET on the last day, and the line that you can use your plan's talk, text and data only within the destination you are visiting, read 10 November 2026
- European Central Bank: www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml, euro reference rates of 10 November 2026, the latest published that day, used for the dollar figures (C$1 = $0.707)
- 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.
