The short answer
Hong Kong first, then the train over the border to Shenzhen and on to Beijing, Xi'an or Shanghai, is a common way into mainland China. I priced the six regional plans on 25 October 2026 for a week, two weeks and a month, and added up what Ringo Light charges for Hong Kong and China as two country plans. For two weeks or a month across the border, I would buy the Ringo Light Asia plan.
One eSIM that crosses the border, with unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $34.99 or 30 days at $59.99, and nothing renews. Airalo asks $49 for 15 days and $73.50 for the month.
For a short stay in Hong Kong with a day or two over the border: 3 days of unlimited at $11.50, with 3 GB a day at full speed and then 1 Mbps.
For light use only: 10 GB for 30 days at $21, and 20 GB for 45 days at $35 on sale (regular $40).
A week with 25 GB at full speed is $25, then 2 Mbps. A monthly plan with 20 GB is $19 and renews until you stop it.
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
Asia regional plans that include both, US dollars, 25 October 2026. Ringo Light sells 2 weeks, the others 15 days. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad sells no two-week unlimited; its longest is 10 days at $29.
The 30-day regional plan at each brand. Ubigi's month is 60 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad sells no 30-day unlimited.
Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells none either: its 2 weeks is unlimited, so it lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days.
Side by side
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Get Ringo Light for Hong Kong and China, from $21.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 7 days $21.99
- 2 weeks $34.99
- 30 days $59.99
- 90 days $73.99
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 Hong Kong and China, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places that many trips through Hong Kong and China include, four in each, with the one thing your data does for you at each. One Asia eSIM works on both sides of the border.
One plan across the border: Ringo Light
A Hong Kong country plan does not follow you past the border, and a China plan does not work in Hong Kong, so this pair is where a regional eSIM matters most. One install at home covers the MTR, the train to Shenzhen and the rest of your route. With two country eSIMs you would be switching lines at the border post.
On the Asia plan I read Ringo Light at $34.99 for 2 weeks and $59.99 for 30 days, and nothing renews. For two weeks of unlimited on a regional plan, the others charge $45 at Ubigi (a fixed 30 GB at full speed), $49 at Airalo, $51.50 at Holafly and $54.99 at Saily. A month costs them $66 to $86.99.
Ringo Light's two country plans cost more than the one regional plan. Hong Kong's 2 weeks is $26.99 and China's $22.99 on their own pages, $49.98 together, against $34.99 for the Asia trip that covers both. For a month, Hong Kong's 30 days is $45.99 and China's $35.99, $81.98 together, against $59.99 for Asia.
If you stay in only one place, the country plan wins: China alone for a month is $35.99, far below $59.99. The Asia plan pays off when the days really split across the border.
Which plans cover both countries
Ringo Light covers both. Hong Kong and China are on its list of 20 countries, so one eSIM works on each side of the border at the same price.
For the rivals I only have the country counts from the table (Airalo 18, Holafly 16, Saily 22, Nomad 14, Ubigi 17) and the few countries the parent post says are missing, which are not Hong Kong or China. I did not confirm both on each brand's list on the day, so I would check yours before you pay.
One thing changes on the mainland. A Chinese SIM sits behind the Great Firewall, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram do not open on it. A travel eSIM usually sends data out through the provider's gateway abroad, so these apps usually open without a VPN. That is the usual case, not a promise from any brand here, and I have not tested Ringo Light from inside mainland China. Hong Kong is not behind the firewall. If one app matters for your work, I would keep a VPN installed before you fly, since China's app stores will not offer one.
If you want a data bucket: Nomad or Airalo
- Nomad, $21 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB I read, on the APAC plan with 14 countries. 20 GB for 45 days is $35 on sale, $40 regularly.
- Airalo, $25 for 10 GB. Asialink has 18 countries, with 20 GB for 30 days at $39. Buckets start at $4 for 1 GB.
- Ubigi, $28 for 10 GB. Best Asia has 17 countries. Its 20 GB for $19 is a monthly plan, and it renews until you cancel it.
- Saily, $35.99 for 10 GB. Asia and Oceania, 22 countries. The listing I read on saily.com on 25 October 2026 had no 20 GB bucket.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. It sells unlimited trips, 2 weeks at $34.99 and 30 days at $59.99. Nomad and Airalo are cheaper for 10 GB, and Nomad, Airalo and Ubigi's monthly plan for 20 GB. I would buy Ringo Light for unlimited data, and a bucket from someone else.
What Ringo Light is
Ringo Light is the data eSIM from Ringo, and I write for Ringo, so weigh what I say with that in mind. It is sold to fund the full Ringo, a single plan for everywhere that carries your own number. For Asia it sells two trips across 20 countries, with Hong Kong and China among them, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $34.99 and 30 days at $59.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, with no app. Install it before you fly, because 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 open the Hong Kong page. Ringo Light sells no week, but its Hong Kong 2 weeks at $26.99 costs less than the Asia plan.
I would buy Airalo's 3 days of unlimited at $11.50, or Ubigi's week with 25 GB at $25. Ringo Light has neither length on Asia.
My pick is Ringo Light unlimited for 2 weeks at $34.99, below every other regional price for that length.
I would buy Ringo Light unlimited for 30 days at $59.99.
I would buy Nomad's 10 GB at $21, once I had confirmed that its 14 countries include both of yours.
No travel plan on this page does that. The full Ringo, paid for in part by Ringo Light, ports the number you already 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 Hong Kong and China 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/asia-esim?currency=USD, Asialink unlimited, 18 countries and the 3 GB daily cap read on the site in dollars, 25 October 2026; 10 GB and 20 GB buckets from esimdb.com/vietnam/airalo, listing dated 4 October 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-asia/, prices in dollars and the 16-country list on the site, 25 October 2026
- Saily: saily.com/esim-asia-and-oceania/, Asia and Oceania plans, prices in dollars on saily.com, read 25 October 2026
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/apac-esim, Regional APAC plans, prices in dollars from the page itself, read 25 October 2026; 20 GB for 45 days is on sale, $40 regular
- Ubigi: cellulardata.ubigi.com/rates-and-coverage/best-asia-data-plans/best-asia-unlimited-30-days/, Best Asia plan pages on cellulardata.ubigi.com, 25 October 2026: 7 days $25, 15 days $45, 30 days $66, 10 GB $28, 20 GB a month $19
- 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.
