1 · The short answer
Samarkand is the heart of every trip to Uzbekistan, usually between Tashkent, Bukhara and Khiva, and every travel eSIM sells it as part of its Uzbekistan plan. We priced the six that get most of the traffic on the same day, for a few days in the city and for the one or two weeks most people spend on the Silk Road route.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $17.99, less than any rival here charges for 7 days. 30 days at $35.99. Nothing renews.
3 days at $12.50 and a week at $27.50, 3 GB a day at full speed. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
10 GB for 30 days at $18 and 20 GB at $29, on Uzmobile.
Days, not gigabytes, on Beeline. $73.90 for 30 days; sharing limited to 1 GB a day.
Prices read on 28 September 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.
2 · The prices, charted
US dollars, 28 September 2026. The rivals sell 15 days, Ringo Light 2 weeks. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Saily sells no Uzbekistan unlimited; its bar is the regional Asia and Oceania plan. Nomad sells no unlimited here.
The 30-day unlimited at each brand that sells one. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Only Holafly sells an Uzbekistan month; Saily's bar is its Global plan, 30 GB then 1 Mbps, Ubigi's its Best World plan, 60 GB then 2 Mbps, and Airalo's its Discover global plan, 3 GB a day. Nomad sells no unlimited.
Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days.
3 · Side by side
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Get Ringo Light for Samarkand, from $17.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
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.
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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.
4 · What to do in Samarkand, and what your phone does for you there
Six places for a first trip to Samarkand, from Timur's capital to his birthplace. The city has good 4G; the pass to Shakhrisabz does not.
5 · Getting to Samarkand online
Most visitors fly into Tashkent and take the Afrosiyob high-speed train to Samarkand, about two hours; Samarkand also has its own airport with international flights. Both airports have 4G at the gate, so install your eSIM at home, leave it switched off, and turn it on for data when you land.
Train tickets are sold online by Uzbekistan Railways and the fast trains sell out days ahead in spring and autumn. Keep the ticket on your phone. In Samarkand, Yandex Go is the usual taxi app, with the fare shown before you ride.
6 · Signal on the Silk Road route
Beeline, Ucell, Mobiuz and Uzmobile all cover Samarkand, Tashkent and Bukhara well. Between Bukhara and Khiva the road and railway cross the Kyzylkum desert and the signal drops for long stretches, and it fades on the mountain pass to Shakhrisabz. Save offline maps before those legs.
Uzbekistan is far from the European Union, so a European phone plan roams here at full price. Check yours before you land, or keep its data off.
7 · Which plan fits a Samarkand trip
A few days in Samarkand: Airalo and Holafly sell 3 days of unlimited at $12.50. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
A week from Tashkent to Bukhara: Airalo and Holafly ask $27.50. Ringo Light 2 weeks of unlimited data at full speed costs $17.99, less than either.
Two weeks with Khiva and the Fergana Valley: Airalo and Ubigi $49 and Holafly $50.50 for 15 days, against Ringo Light 2 weeks at $17.99 for the whole country. A month: $35.99, against Holafly's $73.90.
8 · What Ringo Light is
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 Uzbekistan, Samarkand included, it sells two trips, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $17.99 and 30 days at $35.99. 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, just after the side-by-side table.
9 · Pick by trip
Airalo unlimited, 3 days, $12.50. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $17.99, less than a week at Airalo or Holafly ($27.50).
Ringo Light 2 weeks at $17.99 covers the whole country on one eSIM.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $35.99. Holafly asks $73.90.
10 · Frequently asked questions
11 · How we compared, and our sources
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for Samarkand 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.
- Airalo: www.airalo.com/uzbekistan-esim?currency=USD, unlimited and network in dollars on the site; buckets and the Discover global plan from esimdb.com/uzbekistan/airalo, 28 September 2026; unlimited rechecked on esimdb.com/uzbekistan/airalo on 12 October 2026 (listing dated 5 October), unchanged at $12.50, $27.50 and $49
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-uzbekistan/, dollar prices and network from the site, 28 September 2026
- Saily: esimdb.com/uzbekistan/saily, listing dated 2 July 2026
- Nomad: esimdb.com/uzbekistan/nomad, listing dated 21 September 2026; network from nomadesim.com/uzbekistan-esim
- Ubigi: esimdb.com/uzbekistan/ubigi, listing dated 17 September 2026; network from cellulardata.ubigi.com
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 28 September 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.
