The short answer
I read every South Korea price on 10 November 2026, and Ringo Light is the cheapest unlimited eSIM: $23.99 for 2 weeks and $35.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed on a local partner network. Airalo asks $49 for 15 days and $69 for 30 days on SK Telecom. For 3 days I would pick Ringo Light at $9.99, against $11 at Nomad, and for 10 GB, Ubigi at $14.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $23.99 or 30 days at $35.99, nothing renews. Airalo asks $49 for 15 days and $69 for the month.
10 GB for 30 days at $14 and 25 GB at $25, on LG U+ and SK Telecom with 5G.
Unlimited for 3 days at $11 and 20 GB for 30 days at $28, on SK Telecom, KT and LG U+.
Days, not gigabytes, no daily cap stated for your own phone, on SK Telecom and LG U+. $27.50 for a week.
Prices read on 10 November 2026: Airalo, Holafly, 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.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 10 November 2026. The rivals sell 15 days, Ringo Light 2 weeks. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad sells no 15-day unlimited.
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.
Side by side
Swipe to compare →
Get Ringo Light for South Korea, from $9.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 3 days $9.99
- 2 weeks $23.99
- 30 days $35.99
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 South Korea, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most first trips include, from Seoul down to Busan, Gyeongju and Jeju, with the one thing your data does for you at each. Google Maps gives only partial directions in Korea, so most travellers switch to Naver Map or KakaoMap.
If you want unlimited for two weeks or a month: Ringo Light
For two weeks or a month of unlimited data in South Korea, I would buy Ringo Light. It is the cheapest of the five: $23.99 for 2 weeks and $35.99 for 30 days. For 15 days in Korea, Airalo asks $49 and Holafly $50.50. For a month, $69 and $73.90. Ubigi is cheaper at $34 and $49, and I count that as a fair rival, for a fixed amount at full speed. Nothing renews on Ringo Light.
I read what unlimited means before I compare prices, and you should too. Airalo gives 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. Nomad gives 2 GB a day. Ubigi gives 30 GB for 15 days or 60 GB for the month, then 2 Mbps. Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone and limits sharing to 1 GB a day. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks or 30 days.
For a short trip, Ringo Light sells 3 days of unlimited data at $9.99, and no 7-day plan. If you want a week, I would look at Nomad, which sells 3 days of unlimited at $11 and a week at $25.
If you want a data bucket: Ubigi
- Ubigi, $14 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB for 30 days, and 25 GB for $25, on LG U+ and SK Telecom with 5G.
- Nomad, $18 for 10 GB. 20 GB for $28, $7.99 under Ringo Light's 30 days, on all three Korean networks.
- Airalo, $19 for 10 GB. Its Jjang plan rides SK Telecom. 20 GB for $30.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Ringo Light's 2 weeks is unlimited for $23.99 and its 30 days unlimited for $35.99. For 10 GB that lasts a month, Ubigi at $14 is the better buy, and Nomad sells 20 GB for $28. I would rather you read that here than at checkout.
What Ringo Light is
I write for Ringo, so you should know that 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 South Korea it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 3 days at $9.99, 2 weeks at $23.99 and 30 days at $35.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, no app.
If you are planning stops, I would read the pages for Seoul, which has its own page at /blog/best-esim-for-seoul, a trip that goes on to Japan, compared at /blog/best-esim-for-japan, and the region at /blog/best-esim-for-asia.
I put the card to buy it further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
Ringo Light unlimited, 3 days, $9.99, against $11 at Nomad.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $23.99, less than any rival charges for one week of unlimited.
Ubigi 10 GB for 30 days at $14.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $35.99. Ubigi at $49 for 60 GB at full speed if you move big files every day.
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, Nomad, Ubigi, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for South Korea 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: Saily. I could not read its prices for this country on 22 October (saily.com and esimdb.com refused the fetch), so it has no bar in the charts rather than a guessed one.
- Airalo: www.airalo.com/south-korea-esim?currency=USD, unlimited read on the site in dollars, 10 November 2026; buckets from the esimdb listing dated 4 October 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-south-korea/, read on the site in dollars, 10 November 2026
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/south-korea-esim, read on the site, plan data in dollars, 10 November 2026; 10 GB on sale at $18, regular $20; networks from the same page
- Ubigi: cellulardata.ubigi.com/rates-and-coverage/south-korea-data-plans/south-korea-unlimited-30-days/, 30-day unlimited page read on the site in dollars, 10 November 2026; 7 and 15 day, 10 GB and 25 GB plans from the esimdb listing dated 4 October 2026
- 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.
