1 · The short answer
Every travel eSIM sells Shanghai as part of its China plan, so the question is which China plan fits a Shanghai trip, and whether your usual apps open on it. We priced the six that get most of the traffic on the same day, for a few days in the city, a week and two weeks with Hangzhou or Beijing, and looked at what your phone has to do from Pudong to the Bund.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $22.99, less than any rival here charges for 7 days. 30 days at $35.99. Nothing renews.
3 days of unlimited at $11.50 on China Unicom, 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
10 GB for 30 days at $17 and 20 GB at $25, on China Unicom and China Telecom. Ubigi matches the 10 GB at $17.
Its China page states WhatsApp, Google and Instagram work without a VPN. $27.50 for a week.
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.
Travelling further? Compare the best eSIM for Asia and the eSIM for Asia-Pacific.
2 · The prices, charted
US dollars, 28 September 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 unlimited plan longer than 10 days for China.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Ubigi's month is 60 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps.
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
Swipe to compare →
Get Ringo Light for Shanghai, from $22.99.
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.
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.
4 · What to do in Shanghai, and what your phone does for you there
Six places for a first trip to Shanghai, from the riverfront to a canal town an hour away. All are on the metro or a short ride from it, with strong 4G and 5G.
5 · Getting online at Pudong or Hongqiao
International flights land at Pudong, about 30 kilometres east of the centre; Hongqiao, to the west, handles mostly domestic flights and sits next to the high-speed rail station. Both have 4G and 5G at the gate, so install your eSIM at home, leave it switched off, and turn it on for data when you land.
From Pudong the maglev runs to Longyang Road in about eight minutes, where you change to the metro; Metro Line 2 runs from both airports into the city. A taxi or Didi takes about an hour from Pudong in traffic.
6 · Google, WhatsApp and Alipay in Shanghai
A Chinese SIM bought at the airport sits behind the Great Firewall: Google, Gmail, Google Maps, WhatsApp and Instagram do not open on it. A travel eSIM usually routes its data through the provider's gateway abroad, so these apps usually open without a VPN. That is the usual case for roaming eSIMs, not a promise from any brand here except Holafly, whose China page states it outright. We have not tested Ringo Light from inside mainland China ourselves, so we promise no more than the usual case. If one app matters for your work, install a VPN as a fallback before you fly; app stores in China will not offer one.
The Chinese apps work on every plan, and you will use them more than the Western ones: Alipay and WeChat Pay, both of which take foreign cards now, Amap or Apple Maps for directions, Didi for rides, and the 12306 app for train tickets. Set up Alipay and link your card at home, while you can still receive its verification texts.
7 · Which plan fits a Shanghai trip
A long weekend: Airalo sells 3 days of unlimited at $11.50 and Holafly at $11.90. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
A week: Ubigi sells 8 days at $24, Nomad 7 days at $25, Airalo $27 and Holafly $27.50. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan, but its 2 weeks of unlimited data at full speed costs $22.99, less than any of those. You simply have days left over.
Two weeks with Hangzhou, Suzhou or Beijing: Ubigi asks $45 for 15 days, Saily $48.99, Airalo $49 and Holafly $50.50. Ringo Light 2 weeks at $22.99 covers all of mainland China on one eSIM. For a month, $35.99.
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 China, Shanghai included, it sells two trips, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $35.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, no app.
For a fixed amount of data, Nomad and Ubigi sell 10 GB for 30 days at $17, less than our 2 weeks. The card to buy Ringo Light is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
9 · Pick by trip
Airalo unlimited, 3 days, $11.50. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $22.99. It costs less than a week at Ubigi ($24), Nomad ($25), Airalo ($27) or Holafly ($27.50).
Ringo Light 2 weeks at $22.99 covers the whole route on one eSIM.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $35.99. Ubigi asks $66 and Airalo $69.
Nomad or Ubigi 10 GB for 30 days at $17.
10 · Frequently asked questions
11 · How we compared, and our sources
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for Shanghai 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/china-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars and network on the site; buckets from esimdb.com/china/airalo, 23 September 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-china/, prices, network and the statement on WhatsApp, Google and Instagram from its own page
- Saily: esimdb.com/china/saily, listing dated 14 July 2026; saily.com refused the fetch
- Nomad: esimdb.com/china/nomad, listing dated 20 September 2026; networks from nomadesim.com/china-esim
- Ubigi: esimdb.com/china/ubigi, listing dated 16 September 2026; network from cellulardata.ubigi.com; Best Asia 15 day plan rechecked on esimdb.com/china/ubigi on 12 October 2026 (listing dated 4 October), unchanged at $45
- 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.
