The best eSIM for Costa Rica in 2026. Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for Costa Rica, priced on the same day: two weeks unlimited for $42.99, and which to buy.
Prices read on 28 September 2026. Six travel eSIMs sell a Costa Rica plan and get most of the traffic for this search. We priced all six on the same day, for a long weekend, two weeks between Arenal, Monteverde and the Pacific coast, and a month, and read the fine print on unlimited. Here is where each one wins, including where we lose.
Ringo Light: Cheapest unlimited for two weeks. Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $42.99, one payment, nothing renews. Ubigi asks $45 for 15 days with 30 GB at full speed, Airalo $49. For a month our $81.99 is under Airalo and Holafly, but Ubigi is $12.99 cheaper and Saily's Global plan $22 cheaper.
Ubigi: Cheapest 10 GB and a big month at full speed. 10 GB for 30 days at $19, 25 GB at $29, and 60 GB at full speed for 30 days at $69, then 2 Mbps. On Liberty.
Nomad: Kölbi coverage. The one brand here that names Kölbi, the state network, with Liberty. 5 days of unlimited at $21, 10 GB for 30 days at $25, 20 GB at $31.
Airalo: Cheapest 3 days. 3 days of unlimited at $19.50, 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps, on Liberty. Holafly asks $19.90.
Model: Airalo Buckets or unlimited days; Holafly Unlimited days only; Saily Buckets for Costa Rica; unlimited only on its Global plan; Nomad Buckets or unlimited days; Ubigi Buckets, then 2 Mbps; Ringo Light Unlimited trips: 2 weeks or 30 days.
Unlimited, 3 days: Airalo $19.50; Holafly $19.90; Saily No 3-day plan; Nomad No 3-day plan; 5 days $21; Ubigi No 3-day plan; Ringo Light No 3-day plan.
Unlimited, 7 days: Airalo $36.50; Holafly $36.50; Saily No Costa Rica unlimited; Nomad No 7-day plan; 5 days $21; Ubigi 20 GB, then 2 Mbps, $26; Ringo Light No 7-day plan; 2 weeks $42.99.
Unlimited, 2 weeks: Airalo 15 days $49; Holafly 15 days $50.50; Saily No Costa Rica unlimited; Nomad No 15-day plan; 10 days $35; Ubigi 15 days, 30 GB, then 2 Mbps, $45; Ringo Light $42.99.
Unlimited, 30 days: Airalo $89; Holafly $95.90; Saily Global plan only: 30 GB, then 1 Mbps, $59.99; Nomad No 30-day unlimited; Ubigi 60 GB, then 2 Mbps, $69; Ringo Light $81.99.
10 GB, 30 days: Airalo $34; Holafly No buckets; Saily $36.99; Nomad $25; Ubigi $19; Ringo Light No buckets; 2 weeks starts with 10 GB, $42.99.
20 GB, 30 days: Airalo $40.50; Holafly No buckets; Saily $47.99; Nomad $31; Ubigi 25 GB $29; Ringo Light No buckets; 30 days starts with 20 GB, $81.99.
Full speed on unlimited: Airalo 3 GB a day, then 1 Mbps; Holafly No daily cap stated; sharing 1 GB a day; Saily Global plan: 30 GB, then 1 Mbps; Nomad 2 GB a day, then slowed; Ubigi A fixed amount, then 2 Mbps; Ringo Light No speed cap; starts with 10 or 20 GB, adds 10 GB once at 80%, charged.
Networks: Airalo Liberty; Holafly Claro, Liberty; Saily Not named by Saily; Nomad Kölbi ICE, Liberty; Ubigi Liberty; Ringo Light Local partner network.
Renews?: Airalo No; Holafly No; Saily No; Nomad No; Ubigi No; Ringo Light No, one payment; the trip ends when it ends.
App needed: Airalo Yes; Holafly No, QR code; Saily Yes; Nomad Optional; Ubigi Optional; Ringo Light No, the eSIM arrives by email.
Costa Rica is a loop for most people: San José, Arenal, Monteverde, then a week on the Pacific or the Caribbean coast. For about two weeks of unlimited, Airalo asks $49, Holafly $50.50 and Ubigi $45 for 30 GB at full speed. Nomad stops at 10 days for $35 and Saily lists no Costa Rica unlimited at all. Ringo Light charges $42.99 for 2 weeks, one payment, nothing renews, the lowest price here for two weeks.
For a month we do not win. Saily's Global plan gives 30 GB at full speed for 30 days at $59.99, then 1 Mbps, and Ubigi gives 60 GB at full speed at $69, then 2 Mbps. Our 30 days costs $81.99, under Airalo at $89 and Holafly at $95.90 but $22 above Saily and $12.99 above Ubigi. We would rather you read that here than at checkout.
Read what unlimited means before you pick. Airalo gives 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. Nomad gives 2 GB a day, then slows you. Ubigi and Saily's Global plan give a fixed amount, then slow you. Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone and limits sharing to 1 GB a day. Ringo Light has no speed cap: the 2 weeks starts with 10 GB and the 30 days with 20 GB, and when you have used 80% we add 10 GB once and charge the $42.99 top-up. A heavy two weeks with us costs $85.98, more than any rival's 15 days; a heavy month costs $124.98, more than any rival's month. If you stream every day, buy Ubigi's 60 GB.
For a short trip, Ringo Light sells no 3-day or 7-day plan. Airalo sells 3 days of unlimited at $19.50, Nomad 5 days at $21, and Ubigi a week with 20 GB at full speed for $26.
Costa Rica has three networks: Kölbi, run by the state utility ICE, Claro, and Liberty, which took over Movistar's network. All three cover San José, the Central Valley, La Fortuna and the big beach towns. Kölbi is the one most locals name for the countryside. Most travel eSIMs here ride Liberty; Holafly adds Claro, and Nomad is the one brand in this table that names Kölbi.
Signal thins out in the places people come for: the Osa Peninsula and Corcovado, the Tortuguero canals, and parts of the Monteverde cloud forest. Holafly says so on its own page. Download offline maps before you drive or take the boat, whichever eSIM you buy.
Ubigi, $19 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB, and 25 GB for 30 days at $29, the cheapest large bucket. On Liberty, installed by QR code.
Nomad, $25 for 10 GB. 20 GB for $31, on Kölbi ICE and Liberty.
Airalo, $34 for 10 GB. Its Hot Telecom plan, 20 GB for $40.50, buckets from $7 for 1 GB.
Saily, $36.99 for 10 GB. 20 GB at $47.99. Its listing is from June; saily.com would not load for us.
Ringo Light, no buckets. Our 2 weeks starts with 10 GB for $42.99 and our 30 days with 20 GB for $81.99. For a fixed amount of data, Ubigi, Nomad, Airalo and Saily are all cheaper in Costa Rica, Ubigi by more than half. Buy Ringo Light for two weeks of unlimited, not for a bucket.
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 Costa Rica it sells two trips, both unlimited data at full speed with no speed cap: 2 weeks at $42.99, starting with 10 GB, and 30 days at $81.99, starting with 20 GB. Each adds 10 GB once at 80%, charged at $42.99. One payment, nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, no app.
In Costa Rica it is the cheapest two weeks of unlimited in this table. It is not the cheapest month: Saily's Global plan at $59.99 and Ubigi at $69 cost less, with a fixed amount at full speed. The card to buy it is just below this article.
One more thing we would rather tell you here than let you find at checkout: our own Latin America trip covers Costa Rica as well, and on the same day it cost $29.99 for 2 weeks and $59.99 for 30 days, the same unlimited data with no speed cap on one eSIM that also works in the neighbouring countries. If you only need Costa Rica, it is still the cheaper Ringo Light to buy today; the Latin America page compares it with the same brands.
A long weekend in San José or on the beach. Airalo unlimited, 3 days, $19.50. Ringo Light sells no 3 days.
A week, light to normal use. Ubigi, 20 GB at full speed for 7 days, $26, then 2 Mbps.
Two weeks round Arenal, Monteverde and the coast. Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $42.99, under Ubigi at $45 and Airalo at $49 for 15 days.
A month, heavy use. Ubigi, 60 GB at full speed for 30 days, $69, or Saily's Global plan, 30 GB for $59.99. Ringo Light's 30 days at $81.99 costs more.
A month, light use. Ubigi 10 GB for 30 days at $19, or 25 GB at $29.
You need your own number to keep ringing. None of these travel plans does that. The full Ringo, which Ringo Light funds, ports the number you have.
What to do in Costa Rica, and what your phone needs for it. Eight places most first trips include, from San José and the volcanoes to the cloud forest, the Caribbean canals and the Pacific beaches, with the one thing your data does for you at each. The towns have good 4G; the parks and canals often do not.
Teatro Nacional, San José. The national theatre, opened in 1897, with a marble foyer and a café inside. Most trips start and end in San José, so give it a morning. Uber works in San José and is the easy way from the airport or between neighbourhoods.
Poás Volcano, Alajuela, an hour from San José. An active crater with an acid lake, seen from a viewpoint at the rim. Go early: the clouds usually roll in by late morning. Entry is by timed ticket bought online from the national parks service. Keep it on your phone for the gate.
Arenal Volcano, La Fortuna. A near perfect cone above the town of La Fortuna, with hot springs, trails over old lava flows and a waterfall nearby. Waze is what Costa Ricans use to drive. It knows the road works and the one-lane bridges.
Río Celeste, Tenorio Volcano National Park. A river that turns sky blue where two streams meet, reached on a forest trail past a waterfall. The colour is strongest after a few dry days. Signal is weak in the park. Save the trail map offline at the entrance.
Monteverde Cloud Forest, Monteverde. A reserve of mossy forest wrapped in mist, walked on trails and hanging bridges. Quetzals are easiest to spot in the early morning. Coverage drops under the canopy. Save the trail map and your booking offline before you walk in.
Manuel Antonio National Park, Quepos, Pacific coast. White sand coves backed by rainforest, with sloths and monkeys in the trees above the beach. The park closes on Mondays. Tickets are sold online only, by date. Buy them on your phone before you walk to the entrance.
The Tortuguero canals, Caribbean coast. A village with no road in, reached by boat through the canals. Green turtles nest on the beach from about July to October. Save the boat times and your lodge details offline: signal on the canals comes and goes.
Tamarindo, Guanacaste. A surf town on a long sand beach in the dry northwest, with lessons for beginners and sunsets over the Pacific. The dry season runs from December to April. Check a surf and tide app before you paddle out: the river mouth at the south end has crocodiles.
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for Costa Rica 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.
Source for Airalo: https://www.airalo.com/costa-rica-esim?currency=USD (unlimited in dollars on the site; buckets from esimdb.com/costa-rica/airalo, 28 September 2026).
Source for Holafly: https://esim.holafly.com/esim-costa-rica/.
Source for Saily: https://esimdb.com/costa-rica/saily (listing dated 18 June 2026; saily.com refused the fetch).
Source for Nomad: https://esimdb.com/costa-rica/nomad (listing dated 21 September 2026; networks from nomadesim.com/costa-rica-esim, which served euro prices).
Source for Ubigi: https://esimdb.com/costa-rica/ubigi (listing dated 17 September 2026; network from cellulardata.ubigi.com).
For two weeks of unlimited data, Ringo Light at $42.99 on 28 September 2026, against $45 at Ubigi and $49 at Airalo for 15 days. For a month, Saily's Global plan at $59.99 and Ubigi at $69, both with a fixed amount at full speed; our 30 days is $81.99. For 3 days, Airalo at $19.50. For 10 GB, Ubigi at $19.
Airalo and Ubigi ride Liberty, Holafly Claro and Liberty, and Nomad Kölbi ICE and Liberty. Saily does not name its network on its listing. All three networks cover San José, La Fortuna and the main beach towns.
Every brand has a limit somewhere. Airalo slows you after 3 GB a day, Nomad after 2 GB, Ubigi and Saily's Global plan after a fixed amount. Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone. Ringo Light has no speed cap: it starts with 10 or 20 GB and adds 10 GB once at 80%, charged.
Only in patches. The Osa Peninsula, the Tortuguero canals and parts of Monteverde have weak or no signal on every network, and no eSIM changes that. Download offline maps and your tickets before you go, and expect signal back in the villages.
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