The short answer
Six travel eSIMs sell a China plan and get most of the traffic for this search. I priced all six on the same day, for a few days in Beijing, two weeks from Beijing to Xi'an and Shanghai by high-speed train, and a month, and I read the fine print on unlimited. Here is where each one wins, and what to expect from Google and WhatsApp once you land.
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.
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.
Days, not gigabytes, on China Mobile, the largest network. Its page states WhatsApp, Google and Instagram work without a VPN. $27.50 for a week.
Prices read on 10 November 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.
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
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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.
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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 do in China, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most first trips include, from Beijing to Xi'an, Shanghai, Guilin and Chengdu, with the one thing your data does for you at each. The high-speed trains join most of them, and all have good 4G and 5G.
If you want unlimited for two weeks or a month: Ringo Light
A first trip to China is usually two weeks: Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai, often with Guilin or Chengdu, all joined by high-speed train. For about two weeks of unlimited, I read Airalo at $49, Saily at $49.99, Holafly at $51.50, Nomad at $39 for 2 GB a day, and Ubigi at $45 for a fixed amount at full speed. For a month, the rivals run $66 to $76.50. Ringo Light charges $22.99 for 2 weeks and $35.99 for 30 days, nothing renews.
Read what unlimited means before you pick, as I did for each brand. Airalo gives 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. Saily gives 5 GB a day, Nomad 2 GB, then 1 Mbps. Ubigi gives 30 GB for 15 days or 60 GB for the month, then 2 Mbps. Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone and limits sharing to 1 GB a day. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole 7 days, 2 weeks or 30 days.
For a short trip, 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. Nomad sells a week at $25 and Ubigi 7 days with 5 GB a day at $24. I count Ringo Light's 7 days at $6.99 as cheaper than any rival's week.
Google, WhatsApp and Instagram in China
A Chinese SIM bought at the airport sits behind the Great Firewall: Google, Gmail, Google Maps, WhatsApp, Instagram and most Western news sites do not open on it. A travel eSIM is different in one way that matters. Its data usually leaves the country through the provider's own 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. I checked that page myself.
Ringo Light's China plan is a travel eSIM on a local partner network, like the others in this table. I have not tested it from inside mainland China, so I will not promise more than the usual case. If one app matters for your work, I would keep a VPN installed as a fallback before you fly; the app stores in China will not offer one.
The Chinese apps work on every plan: WeChat, Alipay, Didi, Amap and the 12306 rail app. Link a foreign card to Alipay or WeChat Pay before you land. Most shops, taxis and stalls expect a QR code, not cash.
Which network works best in China
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. All three cover the cities, the high-speed rail lines and the places in the guide below. Holafly rides China Mobile, Airalo China Unicom, Ubigi China Telecom, and Nomad lets you switch between Unicom and Telecom, and Saily lists Telecom and Unicom. For Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai, I would not worry about which one you get.
If you want a data bucket: Ubigi or Nomad
- Ubigi, $17 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB, on China Telecom, installed by QR code, no app needed. 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. Read from saily.com on 10 November 2026.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Ringo Light's 2 weeks is unlimited for $22.99 and its 30 days unlimited for $35.99. For exactly 10 GB, Ubigi costs $5.99 less than Ringo Light's 2 weeks and Nomad $3.99 less, and both last 30 days; for 20 GB, Nomad costs $13.99 less than Ringo Light's 30 days. I would buy Ringo Light for unlimited, not for a bucket. I would rather you read that here than at checkout.
What Ringo Light is
Ringo Light is Ringo's own data eSIM, and I write this guide 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, all unlimited data at full speed with no speed cap: 7 days at $6.99, 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. Install it before you fly: Gmail may not open on hotel Wi-Fi in China.
The card to buy it is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
I would buy Airalo unlimited, 3 days, $11.50. Ringo Light sells no 3 days.
I would buy Ringo Light unlimited, 7 days at $6.99 or 2 weeks at $22.99, either less than any rival charges for a week.
I would buy Ubigi, 10 GB for 30 days at $17, or Nomad at $19.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $35.99. I would pick Holafly at $76.50 only if you want China Mobile and a written promise on WhatsApp and Google.
None of these travel plans does that. 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, 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: 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 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
- 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.
