The short answer
Nomad is cheaper than Holafly for Japan at every length the two share: $11 against $11.90 for 3 days, $25 against $27.50 for a week, $41 for 14 days against $50.50 for 15. Holafly sells a 30-day plan at $73.90; Nomad stops at 21 days for $49. Holafly states no daily cap; Nomad slows you after 2 GB a day. Ringo Light, the third option, is unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $26.99 or 30 days at $54.99, and 3 days at $9.99.
Unlimited data at full speed for 3 days at $9.99, 2 weeks at $26.99 or 30 days at $54.99, nothing renews, no app. Nomad asks $11 and $41, Holafly $11.90, $50.50 and $73.90.
$11 for 3 days, $25 for a week, $41 for 14 days of unlimited on KDDI au and SoftBank, 2 GB a day at full speed. 10 GB for 30 days at $16, 20 GB at $23, both on sale on the day. App optional.
Days, not gigabytes, on KDDI and SoftBank, installed from a QR code. $27.50 for a week, $50.50 for 15 days, $73.90 for 30 days. Sharing limited to 1 GB a day.
Prices read on 25 October 2026: Holafly, Nomad 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.
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The prices, charted
US dollars, 25 October 2026. Ringo Light and Nomad sell 14 days, Holafly 15. Nomad is 2 GB a day at full speed, then slower; Holafly states no daily cap; Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone. Nomad has no bar here: it sells no 30-day plan for Japan and stops at 21 days, for $49.
Holafly sells no buckets, so it has no bar here. Nomad's 10 GB was on sale at $16 on the day. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited, and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days. For a fixed 10 GB, Nomad is the one to buy.
Side by side
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Holafly vs Nomad in one paragraph
Nomad is cheaper than Holafly for Japan at every length the two share: $11 against $11.90 for 3 days, $25 against $27.50 for a week, and $41 for 14 days against $50.50 for 15. Nomad also sells buckets, 10 GB for $16 and 20 GB for $23, both on sale on the day, and its app is optional. Holafly gives you the simpler product: unlimited days with no stated daily cap, installed from a QR code, on KDDI and SoftBank, and it is the only one of the two with a 30-day plan, at $73.90; Nomad stops at 21 days for $49. Nomad's unlimited slows after 2 GB a day. Pick Nomad for price or a bucket. Pick Holafly if you stream all evening and never want to think about a daily cap, or if you need a full month in one plan. If the trip is 3 days, two weeks or a month and you want unlimited, neither is the cheapest: Ringo Light sells 3 days at $9.99, 2 weeks at $26.99 and 30 days at $54.99, unlimited data at full speed.
Price: the same trip at each
Priced on 25 October 2026, in US dollars, from each brand's own site. For 3 days of unlimited, Nomad asks $11 and Holafly $11.90. For a week, $25 at Nomad and $27.50 at Holafly. For about two weeks, $41 for 14 days at Nomad and $50.50 for 15 days at Holafly. For a month, Holafly asks $73.90 for 30 days; Nomad sells no 30-day plan for Japan, its longest is 21 days at $49. Nomad wins every row the two share, by under a dollar on 3 days and by almost ten dollars on two weeks.
Ringo Light sells three trips for Japan: 3 days at $9.99, 2 weeks at $26.99 and 30 days at $54.99. The 2 weeks costs well under Nomad's 14 days at $41 and about half of Holafly's 15 days at $50.50. The 30 days costs less than Holafly's $73.90, and Nomad has no month to compare. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan; for a week, Nomad at $25 is the cheapest of the three, Holafly is $27.50, and Ringo Light's 2 weeks at $26.99 sits between them with a week of days left over.
For a fixed amount of data, Nomad is the only one of the three that sells it: 10 GB for 30 days at $16, 20 GB at $23, both sale prices on the day. Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells no buckets either. If 10 GB is all you need, Nomad is cheaper than Ringo Light's $26.99, and we would rather you read that here than at checkout.
What unlimited means at each
Nomad's unlimited for Japan gives 2 GB a day at full speed, then slows for the rest of the day. That covers maps, messages and some video; an evening of streaming will hit it sooner than Airalo's 3 GB or Saily's 5 GB in the full comparison. Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone and limits hotspot sharing to 1 GB a day, so Holafly is the one to pick between the two if you refuse a daily cap, but sharing to a laptop stops at that 1 GB. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole 2 weeks or 30 days. Fair use policy, see Terms.
Networks and coverage in Japan
Japan has three big networks: NTT Docomo, KDDI au and SoftBank. All three cover the cities and the Shinkansen lines well; Docomo reaches furthest into the mountains and rural Hokkaido. Holafly rides KDDI and SoftBank. Nomad rides KDDI au and SoftBank, with 5G. Ringo Light rides a local partner network. For Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima, any of the three works; none of them is the brand to pick for Docomo coverage, which Ubigi offers in the full comparison.
Installation, app and support
Holafly needs no app; it sends a QR code you scan in your phone's settings, and support is by chat on its site. Nomad's app is optional: you can buy on its site and install from a QR code, or do it all inside the app, where you can also top up. Ringo Light needs no app either; the eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, and support is by email. Whichever you pick, install it at home before you fly and switch it on for data when you land at Narita, Haneda or Kansai.
The cheaper third option: Ringo Light
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 Japan it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 3 days at $9.99, 2 weeks at $26.99 and 30 days at $54.99. One payment, nothing renews, no app.
What it does not do: no buckets, no 7-day plan, no phone number, data only. Calls go over apps that use data. If you want 10 GB for a month, Nomad at $16 is the better buy, and 20 GB at $23. If you want exactly a week, Nomad at $25 is cheaper than our 2 weeks at $26.99, by under two dollars. For 3 days, two weeks or a month of unlimited, Ringo Light is the cheapest of the three.
The full six-brand comparison for Japan, with Airalo, Saily and Ubigi priced the same day, is at /blog/best-esim-for-japan. The card to buy Ringo Light is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Which to pick
- Nomad, if you want a bucket. 10 GB for 30 days at $16, 20 GB at $23, sale prices on the day. Neither Holafly nor Ringo Light sells a bucket.
- Nomad, if you want a week. $25 for 7 days of unlimited, 2 GB a day at full speed. Holafly is $27.50 and Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan.
- Holafly, if you refuse a daily cap, or need a full month from one of the two. No stated daily cap, QR code install, KDDI and SoftBank. You pay $50.50 for 15 days against $41 at Nomad, and $73.90 for 30 days, a length Nomad does not sell.
- ✓Ringo Light, if the trip is 3 days, 2 weeks or a month. Unlimited data at full speed at $9.99, $26.99 or $54.99, cheaper than both at each of those lengths.
Pick by trip
Ringo Light unlimited, 3 days, $9.99, against $11 at Nomad and $11.90 at Holafly.
Nomad unlimited, 7 days, $25. Holafly is $27.50. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan; its 2 weeks is $26.99.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $26.99, against $41 at Nomad for 14 days and $50.50 at Holafly for 15.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $54.99, against $73.90 at Holafly. Nomad has no 30-day plan; its 21 days is $49. Holafly if you must have no daily cap from a brand other than us.
Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $16. Holafly and Ringo Light sell no buckets.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Holafly, Nomad, Ringo Light
We priced Holafly, Nomad and Ringo Light for Japan 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: Airalo, Saily and Ubigi. They sell Japan too and are priced on the same day in the full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-japan. This page answers one question, Holafly or Nomad, so it keeps to those two and the cheaper third option. Left out: Revolut. It sells Japan data plans of 1 GB for 7 days up to 20 GB for 30 days inside its banking app, for Revolut account holders only. Its website shows the plan sizes and a starting price in pounds, but no price per plan in dollars, and no unlimited plan, so it has no bar in the charts. 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.
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-japan/, prices in dollars on the site, 25 October 2026
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/japan-esim, prices in dollars on the site, 25 October 2026; 10 GB and 20 GB were on sale at $16 and $23
- 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.
