The short answer
Ringo Light is the cheapest unlimited eSIM for the United States: $17.99 for 2 weeks and $22.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed on a local partner network, priced 25 October 2026. Airalo asks $46 for 15 days and $68 for 30 days on T-Mobile; for 3 days, Nomad is cheapest at $11, on AT&T and Verizon.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $17.99 or 30 days at $22.99, nothing renews. Airalo asks $46 for 15 days and $68 for the month.
10 GB for 30 days at $14 on T-Mobile, and 20 GB a month at $15 if you take its monthly plan, which renews.
3 days of unlimited at $11, 2 GB a day at full speed, and 10 GB for 30 days at $13. The only brand here that names Verizon, with AT&T.
Days, not gigabytes, on AT&T and T-Mobile, no daily cap stated for your own phone. $27.50 for a week; sharing limited to 1 GB a day.
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.
Travelling further? Compare the best eSIM for Canada.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 25 October 2026. The rivals sell 15 days, Ringo Light 2 weeks. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps.
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. Nomad sells no unlimited past 7 days.
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 the United States, 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.
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 the United States, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most first trips include, from New York and Washington to the Grand Canyon and San Francisco, with the one thing your data does for you at each. The cities have good 4G and 5G on every network; the canyons and valleys of the West do not, so plan those days offline.
If you want unlimited for two weeks or a month: Ringo Light
For two weeks or a month of unlimited data in the United States, Ringo Light is the cheapest of the six: $17.99 for 2 weeks and $22.99 for 30 days. The United States is big, and most trips are long: two weeks between two coasts, a loop through the national parks, a month with family. For 15 days of unlimited, Saily asks $45.99, Airalo $46 and Holafly $50.50, and Ubigi $39 for 30 GB at full speed. For a month, $62 to $73.90: Saily $67.99, Airalo $68. Nothing renews on Ringo Light.
Read what unlimited means before you pick. Airalo gives 5 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. Saily gives 5 GB a day, Nomad 2 GB. 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.
Our 2 weeks at $17.99 also costs less than any rival's 7-day plan, the cheapest of which are Nomad and Ubigi at $23. For a short trip, Ringo Light sells no 3-day or 7-day plan. Nomad sells 3 days of unlimited at $11, and Airalo at $11.50.
Which network works best in the United States
The United States has three national networks: AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. All three cover the cities and the interstates well. Away from them, coverage differs by network and by state, and every network has gaps in the big national parks, in the desert and in the mountains. Most travel eSIMs ride T-Mobile. Holafly names AT&T as well, and Nomad names AT&T and Verizon, the only brand here that names Verizon. For New York, Chicago, Las Vegas or San Francisco, any of them works. For long drives in the West, download offline maps whatever eSIM you buy.
Every plan on this page is data only, with no American phone number. Calls and messages go over WhatsApp, iMessage or FaceTime. A few services, such as some restaurant waitlists and bank codes, want a US number by text message; for those, keep your own line on for texts, or use Wi-Fi calling.
If you want a data bucket: Ubigi or Nomad
- Ubigi, $14 for 10 GB. The second cheapest 10 GB for 30 days, on T-Mobile with 5G, installed by QR code. For 20 GB it sells a monthly plan at $15 that renews, or 25 GB for 30 days at $32.
- Nomad, $13 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB for 30 days, and 20 GB for $21 while it is on sale (regular $38), the cheapest one-off 20 GB here, on AT&T and Verizon.
- Airalo, $22.50 for 10 GB. Its Change plan, 20 GB for $36.50, buckets from $4 for 1 GB.
- Saily, $22.99 for 10 GB. 20 GB at $36.99. Read on saily.com on 25 October 2026.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Our 2 weeks is unlimited for $17.99 and our 30 days unlimited for $22.99. For 10 GB that lasts a month, Nomad at $13 and Ubigi at $14 are the better buys, and Ubigi's 20 GB monthly plan at $15 is cheaper than our 30 days if you remember to cancel it. Nomad's 20 GB at $21 costs less than our 30 days while it is on sale (regular $38). Against every other 20 GB bucket for 30 days, our month is cheaper and has no cap on top. We would rather you read that here than at checkout.
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 the United States it sells two trips, both unlimited data at full speed with no speed cap: 2 weeks at $17.99 and 30 days at $22.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, no app.
Related: city pages for /blog/best-esim-for-new-york, /blog/best-esim-for-los-angeles, /blog/best-esim-for-las-vegas and /blog/best-esim-for-orlando, and for a trip that crosses into Canada or Mexico, /blog/best-esim-for-north-america.
The card to buy it is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
Nomad unlimited, 3 days, $11. Ringo Light sells no 3 days; its 2 weeks is $17.99 if the trip might run longer.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $17.99, less than any rival charges for one week.
Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $13, or Ubigi at $14.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $22.99.
Nomad, the only brand here that names Verizon, with AT&T. Download offline maps on any plan.
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 United States 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/united-states-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars on the site, 25 October 2026; buckets and daily allowance from esimdb.com/usa/airalo, listing updated 4 October 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-usa/, in dollars on the site, 25 October 2026
- Saily: saily.com/esim-united-states/, prices in dollars on saily.com, read 25 October 2026
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/united-states-esim, in dollars from the page's own data, 25 October 2026; the 20 GB plan is on sale, regular $38
- Ubigi: esimdb.com/usa/ubigi, listing updated 4 October 2026, still the latest on 25 October 2026; cellulardata.ubigi.com showed no USA plans
- 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.
