The short answer
Island hopping here usually means Thailand's beaches, the Philippines, Bali and the Gilis, or Malaysia's islands, often two or three of them in a month. I priced the six regional Asia plans on 25 October 2026, added up Ringo Light's country plans for Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, and read the network notes in each country post. For two weeks or a month across more than one of those countries I would buy the Ringo Light Asia plan.
One eSIM across Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, unlimited data at full speed, 2 weeks at $34.99 or 30 days at $59.99, nothing renews. Airalo asks $49 for 15 days and $73.50 for the month.
For one short island stop: 3 days of unlimited at $11.50, with 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps.
If the phone only does maps and ferry bookings: 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 for $25, then 2 Mbps. 20 GB a month for $19 if you are happy with a plan that renews.
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
Regional plans, 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 no bucket 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 island hopping in Southeast Asia, 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.
Where island hopping in Southeast Asia lands, and what your phone needs at each stop
Eight island stops across Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, two in each country, with the one thing your data does for you at each. One Asia eSIM is already on when the boat docks.
One plan for the whole trip: Ringo Light
Island hopping across Southeast Asia means a ferry here, a short flight there and a new country every week or two. A regional eSIM is one install that is already on at each landing. Four country eSIMs mean four installs, and one of them running out on the wrong island.
Ringo Light charges $34.99 for 2 weeks and $59.99 for 30 days on the Asia plan, nothing renews. For about two weeks of unlimited, Ubigi asks $45 for a fixed 30 GB at full speed, Airalo $49, Holafly $51.50 and Saily $54.99. For a month, the rivals run $66 to $86.99.
Bought one country at a time, Thailand's 2 weeks at $22.99, the Philippines' $22.99, Indonesia's $23.99 and Malaysia's $16.99 come to $86.96, against $34.99 for the Asia trip that covers all four. For a month the four are $32.99, $36.99, $35.99 and $35.99, $141.96 together, against $59.99.
Each country plan on its own is cheaper than the Asia plan, so if your islands are all in one country, I would buy that country. The Asia plan wins once you cross a border. The cheapest pair of two-week country plans, Malaysia's $16.99 and Thailand's $22.99, is $39.98, and the cheapest pair of 30-day plans, Thailand's $32.99 and Indonesia's $35.99, is $68.98. Both cost more than Asia.
Which plans cover your stops
Ringo Light covers Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia on one eSIM. The plan covers the country, not a list of islands, and I make no claim for any specific small island. What my country posts do say: in the Philippines the signal thins on the boats between islands and in the lagoons of El Nido and Coron, whichever network you ride. In Malaysia it thins on the East Coast islands. In Indonesia, Telkomsel reaches furthest across the islands, including the Gilis and Nusa Penida.
For the rivals, I read the country counts in the table (Airalo 18, Holafly 16, Saily 22, Nomad 14, Ubigi 17). My Asia comparison names the few countries they leave out, and none is one of these four. I did not confirm each country on every brand's list on the day, so I would open the list for yours before you pay. Nomad rides Telkomsel in Indonesia, Holafly lists XL and Telkomsel, and Ubigi rides Indosat, which matters if you will spend days on the smaller islands.
If you want a data bucket: Nomad or Airalo
- Nomad, $21 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB on its 14-country APAC plan, and 20 GB for 45 days at $35 (on sale, regular $40). Enough for maps, ferry bookings and messages.
- Airalo, $25 for 10 GB. Asialink, 18 countries, 20 GB for 30 days at $39, buckets from $4 for 1 GB.
- Ubigi, $28 for 10 GB. Best Asia, 17 countries. Its 20 GB for $19 is a monthly plan that renews until you stop it.
- Saily, $35.99 for 10 GB. Asia and Oceania, 22 countries, no 20 GB bucket on its listing. Read on saily.com, 25 October 2026.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Its 2 weeks is unlimited for $34.99 and its 30 days unlimited for $59.99. For 10 GB, Nomad and Airalo cost less, and for 20 GB, Nomad, Airalo and Ubigi's monthly plan do too. I would buy Ringo Light for unlimited, not for a bucket.
What Ringo Light is
Ringo Light is Ringo's data eSIM, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it, and I write for Ringo, so weigh that. For Asia it sells two trips across 20 countries, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia 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, no app.
The card to buy it is further up this page, after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
I would buy Airalo unlimited, 3 days, $11.50. Ringo Light sells no 3 days on Asia.
I would open that country's page. Each of the four country plans costs less than the Asia plan.
I would buy Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $34.99, less than any rival charges for two weeks.
I would buy Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $59.99.
I would buy Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $21, if its 14 countries include yours.
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 island hopping in Southeast Asia 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.
