The short answer
The usual route runs from San Jose or the Arenal volcano south by the Pacific side to the border at Paso Canoas, or by boat from Bocas del Toro, then down to Panama City. I priced the Latin America regional plans of six brands on the same day and checked which ones leave a country out. For two weeks or a month across both I would buy Ringo Light. For three days or a bucket, a rival is cheaper.
One eSIM for Costa Rica and Panama, unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $47.99 or 30 days at $65.99, nothing renews. Airalo asks $60 for 15 days and $97 for the month.
For a stopover in San Jose or Panama City: 3 days of unlimited at $19.50 with 3 GB a day at full speed, 5 GB for 30 days at $22 and 20 GB at $49.
Days, not gigabytes, so nothing to count on the islands. $40.90 for a week; sharing limited to 1 GB a day.
20 GB a month for $26 on a monthly plan that renews and can be cancelled after 3 months. Its Best LATAM plan leaves out Peru and Costa Rica, so I would skip it here.
Prices read on 25 October 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.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 25 October 2026. Ringo Light sells 14 days, Airalo and Holafly 15. Ubigi sells unlimited for 7 or 30 days only. Nomad and Saily sell no unlimited plan for the region.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Airalo slows you after 3 GB a day. Ubigi's month is 60 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps.
Holafly sells no buckets and Saily's regional plan stops at 10 GB, $44.99. Ubigi also sells 20 GB a month for $26 on a plan that renews, with a 3-month minimum. Ringo Light sells no bucket: its 30 days is unlimited.
Side by side
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Get Ringo Light for Costa Rica and Panama, from $47.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 2 weeks $47.99
- 30 days $65.99
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 do in Costa Rica and Panama, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places that first trips to Costa Rica and Panama often include, from Arenal and Monteverde to Bocas del Toro and Panama City, with the one thing your phone does for you at each. The towns have good signal. The cloud forest and the islands do not always, so I would save tickets and maps offline.
One plan for both countries: Ringo Light
I would buy one regional eSIM for this trip, not two country ones. The border at Paso Canoas is a queue and a walk across a bridge, and I would rather not stand in it pulling up a QR code for a second plan. Ringo Light's Latin America eSIM costs $47.99 for 2 weeks and $65.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed, nothing renews. Airalo asks $60 for 15 days and $97 for the month. Holafly asks $62.90 and $99.90.
I added up Ringo Light's country plans from their own pages. Costa Rica's 2 weeks is $44.99 and Panama's $48.99, $93.98 together, against $47.99 for the Latin America trip that covers both. For a month, Costa Rica is $56.99 and Panama $74.99, $131.98 together, against $65.99.
One thing runs the other way. A month in Costa Rica alone is $56.99 on its page, under the regional $65.99. Panama is different, because its own month at $74.99 is dearer than the regional plan, so for a month the regional eSIM wins even if you never leave Panama.
Which plans cover both countries
Ringo Light covers Costa Rica and Panama on its 18-country eSIM, with Nicaragua, Colombia and the rest of the list in the Latin America post. Airalo, Holafly, Saily and Nomad list Costa Rica. The post does not list Panama for each rival, so I could not confirm that on the day, and I would check before buying.
Two plans fall short on this route. Ubigi's Best LATAM plan leaves out Costa Rica, so it is out. Saily's plan covers 12 countries and skips four in Central America, Panama among them. Coverage is good along the main roads and in the cities. It fades in the cloud forest, in the San Blas islands and on the Caribbean coast away from the towns, whichever eSIM you carry, so I would keep a map offline.
If you want a data bucket: Airalo or Nomad
- Airalo, $36 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB on the list, and the cheapest 20 GB at $49. Latamlink also sells 5 GB for 30 days at $22.
- Ubigi, $39 for 10 GB. 25 GB for 30 days at $58, but the plan leaves out Costa Rica, so it only suits a trip that skips it.
- Nomad, $39 for 10 GB. 20 GB at $65, on Claro, Tigo, Telcel and other local networks.
- Saily, up to 10 GB. 10 GB for 30 days at $44.99, with 5 GB at $31.99 and 3 GB at $20.99. Its plan skips Panama. No 20 GB and no unlimited plan for the region.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. For 10 GB, Airalo at $36, Nomad at $39 and Ubigi at $39 all cost less than Ringo Light's 2 weeks at $47.99. For 20 GB across a month, Airalo at $49 is under its $65.99. Buy Ringo Light for unlimited, not for a bucket. I would rather say that now than have you find out at checkout.
What Ringo Light is
Ringo Light is the data eSIM Ringo sells to fund the full Ringo, a plan with your own number ported onto it. I write for Ringo, so weigh that. For Costa Rica and Panama it sells two trips on one eSIM that works across 18 countries, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $47.99 and 30 days at $65.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM lands by email and installs with one scan, no app.
The card to buy it is higher up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
Airalo Latamlink unlimited, 3 days, $19.50, with 3 GB a day at full speed. Ringo Light sells no 3 days.
Airalo, 7 days of unlimited at $39, or Holafly at $40.90. Both are under Ringo Light's 2 weeks.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $47.99, against $60 for 15 days at Airalo.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $65.99, against $97 at Airalo.
Airalo 5 GB for 30 days at $22, or 20 GB at $49. Ubigi and Saily each leave one of the two countries out.
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 Costa Rica and Panama on 25 October 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/latin-america-esim?currency=USD, Latamlink unlimited in dollars on the site, 25 October 2026; buckets from esimdb.com/region/latin-america/airalo, listing dated 6 October 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-latin-america/, prices in dollars and the 18 countries on its own page, 25 October 2026
- Saily: saily.com/esim-latin-america/, prices in dollars on saily.com, read 25 October 2026; no unlimited plan for the region
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/latin-america-esim, prices in dollars, plans, countries and networks on its own page, 25 October 2026
- Ubigi: cellulardata.ubigi.com/data-plans-and-coverage/ubigi-esim-data-plans/, Best LATAM prices and countries on its own site, 25 October 2026; full-speed amounts from esimdb.com/region/latin-america/ubigi, listing dated 6 October 2026
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 25 October 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.
