The short answer
The reader here is someone in Germany with a Vodafone contract, going to the United States. I compared three things: Vodafone's EasyTravel, which is €7.99 (about $9) a day or €21.99 (about $25) a week, read on 31 October 2026; five travel eSIM brands; and Ringo Light, priced on 10 November 2026. For a day or two, I would roam on the contract. For a week, two weeks or a month, I would buy Ringo Light, $7.99, $17.99 or $22.99, unlimited data at full speed.
One payment of $17.99 buys 2 weeks and $22.99 buys 30 days, unlimited data at full speed, nothing renews. Airalo asks $46 for 15 days and $68 for the month.
10 GB for 30 days at $14, and 20 GB a month at $15 on its monthly plan, which renews. Second cheapest 10 GB in the table.
Unlimited for 3 days at $9, with 2 GB a day at full speed, 7 days at $19, and 10 GB for 30 days at $10.40. It names AT&T and Verizon, the only brand here that names Verizon.
It runs on AT&T and T-Mobile and states no daily cap for your own phone. A week costs $27.50, and sharing is limited to 1 GB a day.
Prices read on 10 November 2026: Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, Vodafone, Ringo Light, 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 Canada.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 10 November 2026; Saily's figure is from 25 October, its site not readable on 10 November. The rivals sell 15 days, Ringo Light 2 weeks. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps.
The 30-day plan at each brand, read 10 November 2026; Saily's figure is from 25 October. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Ubigi's month is 60 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad sells no unlimited past 7 days.
Read 10 November 2026; Saily's figure is from 25 October. 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 the United States, from $7.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 7 days $7.99
- 2 weeks $17.99
- 30 days $22.99
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 the United States, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most first trips include, from New York and Washington to the Grand Canyon and San Francisco, with the one thing your data does for you at each. The cities have good 4G and 5G on every network; the canyons and valleys of the West do not, so plan those days offline.
Roam with Vodafone, or buy an eSIM
I start with the contract you already pay for. Vodafone lists the United States on EasyTravel: €7.99 (about $9) for each day you use the phone there, or €21.99 (about $25) for a week. Two weeks is two Woche passes, €43.98 (about $49), and a month is €103.94 (about $116), as I read them on vodafone.de on 31 October 2026. Vodafone's two weeks in the USA is €43.98, about $49, and Ringo Light's is $17.99.
Ringo Light is paid once, with unlimited data at full speed: $17.99 for 2 weeks and $22.99 for 30 days. The rival eSIMs do not come close for unlimited. For 15 days, Ubigi asks $39 for 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps, Saily $45.99 and Airalo $46. For a month, Ubigi asks $62, Saily $67.99 and Airalo $68. Against Vodafone's €103.94 for a month, Ringo Light's $22.99 is about a fifth.
Vodafone wins the things a contract does best. Your own number keeps ringing, with up to 500 minutes and 500 texts a day included, to Germany or within the USA. Your home data volume comes along, for example 135 GB a month on Vodafone Mobil XL, and there is nothing to install. For a long weekend I would not buy Ringo Light at all. I would use one or two EasyTravel Tag days, or Nomad's unlimited for 3 days at $9 if you want data only.
One more Vodafone option deserves a line. Flat Flex is €9.99 (about $11) a month on an eligible contract, with a minimum term of 6 months. It is cheaper than Ringo Light's month, so I would take it only if you fly to the USA again and again.
Networks in the USA, and what changes for a visitor from Germany
The United States has three national networks: AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. All three cover the cities and the interstates well. Away from them, every network has gaps in the big national parks, the desert and the mountains. Most travel eSIMs ride T-Mobile; Holafly adds AT&T, and Nomad names AT&T and Verizon. For New York, Chicago or San Francisco, any of them works. For long drives in the West, I would download offline maps whatever you buy.
EasyTravel works differently from an eSIM. A Tag starts by itself the first time the phone calls, texts or uses data in the USA, and it is charged only for the calendar days you use, counted on German time. It ends at midnight German time or when you re-enter Germany. A Woche is booked a day ahead in MeinVodafone or by sending Easy7 to 70127. The pass needs a Vodafone contract but not an eSIM slot. I read no American network named for EasyTravel, so I do not say which one your phone would join.
Every eSIM in the table is data only, with no American phone number. A few services, such as some restaurant waitlists, want an American number by text. For those, I would keep your own line on for texts, or use Wi-Fi calling.
If you want a data bucket: Ubigi or Nomad
- Ubigi, $14 for 10 GB. The second cheapest 10 GB for 30 days, on T-Mobile with 5G, installed by QR code. For 20 GB it sells a monthly plan at $15 that renews, or 25 GB for 30 days at $32.
- Nomad, $10.40 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB for 30 days, and 20 GB for $16.80 while it is on sale (regular $38), on AT&T and Verizon.
- Airalo, $22.50 for 10 GB. Its Change plan gives 20 GB for $36.50, and buckets start at $4 for 1 GB.
- Saily, $22.99 for 10 GB. 20 GB costs $36.99. I read Saily on saily.com on 25 October 2026; it was not readable on 10 November 2026, so the figure is kept.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Ringo Light sells unlimited: 2 weeks at $17.99 and 30 days at $22.99. If you want 10 GB to last a month, Nomad at $10.40 and Ubigi at $14 are the better buys. Ubigi's 20 GB monthly plan at $15 is cheaper than the Ringo Light month if you remember to cancel it, and Nomad's 20 GB at $16.80 is cheaper while the sale lasts. I would rather you read that here than at checkout.
What Ringo Light is
I write for Ringo, so weigh my view with that in mind. Ringo Light is its own data eSIM, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it. For the United States it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 7 days at $7.99, 2 weeks at $17.99 and 30 days at $22.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email and installs in one scan, with no app.
The eSIM sits next to your Vodafone SIM, so your number keeps working for calls and texts if you leave roaming on for those. EasyTravel includes up to 500 minutes and 500 texts a day. A day on which you call or text counts as a Tag day at €7.99, so I would keep those for the days that need them.
For the cities, see /blog/best-esim-for-new-york, /blog/best-esim-for-los-angeles, /blog/best-esim-for-las-vegas and /blog/best-esim-for-orlando. The wider comparison is at /blog/best-esim-for-usa. The card to buy Ringo Light is further up the page, after the table.
Pick by trip
I would roam: one or two EasyTravel Tag days at €7.99 (about $9) and your own number. For data only, Nomad unlimited for 3 days at $9.
My pick is Ringo Light at $17.99, unlimited at full speed for the maps. Two Woche passes on Vodafone are €43.98, about $49.
Ringo Light at $22.99, against €103.94, about $116, on EasyTravel. Flat Flex only if you make the trip often.
Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $10.40, or Ubigi at $14.
Nomad is the one brand here that names Verizon, with AT&T. I would download offline maps on any plan.
Keep your Vodafone SIM for calls and texts and add Ringo Light for the data. 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, Vodafone, Ringo Light, European Central Bank, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for United States 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/united-states-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars on the site, read 10 November 2026; buckets and daily allowance from esimdb.com/usa/airalo, listing dated 8 November 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-usa/, in dollars on the site, read 10 November 2026
- Saily: saily.com/esim-united-states/, prices in dollars on saily.com, read 25 October 2026; not readable on 10 November 2026, figures kept from 25 October
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/united-states-esim, in dollars from the page's own data, read 10 November 2026; the 20 GB plan is on sale, regular $38
- Ubigi: esimdb.com/usa/ubigi, listing dated 4 November 2026, read 10 November 2026; cellulardata.ubigi.com showed no USA plans
- Vodafone: www.vodafone.de/de/mobilfunk/ausland-und-roaming/easytravel, EasyTravel page, read 31 October 2026: Tag €7.99, Woche €21.99, Flat Flex €9.99 a month, 500 minutes and 500 texts a day, home data volume, the USA in the country list; the WorldTravel page at vodafone.de/de/mobilfunk/ausland-und-roaming/worldtravel for €4.99 a month and the 12-month term. The addresses vodafone.de/privat/hilfe-support/roaming.html and vodafone.de/privat/mobilfunk/roaming.html returned not found on the same day
- Ringo Light: ringoesim.com/usa, the catalogue the checkout charges, read the same day
- European Central Bank: www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml, euro reference rates of 30 October 2026, the latest published on 31 October 2026, used for the dollar figures (1 euro = $1.1172)
- 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.
