The short answer
Saily is cheaper than Holafly for China at 15 days ($49.99 against $51.50) and 30 days ($72.99 against $76.50). Holafly is cheaper for a week ($27.50 against $29.99) and is the only one of the two with a 3-day plan, at $11.90. Holafly rides China Mobile and states that WhatsApp, Google and Instagram open without a VPN; Saily slows you after 5 GB a day. Ringo Light, the third option, is unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $22.99 or 30 days at $35.99.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $22.99 or 30 days at $35.99, nothing renews, no app. Holafly asks $51.50 and $76.50, Saily $49.99 and $72.99. No buckets, no 3-day or 7-day plan.
$49.99 for 15 days and $72.99 for 30 days of unlimited, 5 GB a day at full speed. 10 GB for 30 days at $26.99, 20 GB at $39.99. Needs its app. China Telecom and China Unicom.
Days, not gigabytes, on China Mobile, the largest network, installed from a QR code. $11.90 for 3 days, $27.50 for a week. Its page states WhatsApp, Google and Instagram work without a VPN. Sharing limited to 1 GB a day.
Prices read on 25 October 2026: Holafly, Saily 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, 25 October 2026. Ringo Light sells 2 weeks, Holafly and Saily 15 days. Holafly states no daily cap; Saily is 5 GB a day at full speed, then slowed; Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Saily slows you after 5 GB a day. Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone.
Holafly sells no buckets, so it has no bar here. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days. For a fixed 10 GB, Saily is the cheaper of the two buckets.
Side by side
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Holafly vs Saily in one paragraph
Saily is cheaper than Holafly for China at 15 days, $49.99 against $51.50, and at 30 days, $72.99 against $76.50. Holafly is cheaper for a week, $27.50 against $29.99, and is the only one of the two with a 3-day plan, at $11.90; Saily's shortest is 5 days at $22.99. Holafly gives you the simpler product: unlimited days with no stated daily cap, installed from a QR code with no app, on China Mobile, the largest network, and its page states that WhatsApp, Google and Instagram open without a VPN. Saily gives you more choice, buckets of 10 GB and 20 GB as well as unlimited, but its unlimited slows after 5 GB a day and you need its app. If the trip is two weeks or a month and you want unlimited, neither is the cheapest: Ringo Light sells 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $35.99, unlimited data at full speed.
Price: the same trip at each
Priced on 25 October 2026, in US dollars. For 3 days of unlimited, Holafly asks $11.90; Saily sells no 3-day plan. For a week, $27.50 at Holafly and $29.99 at Saily, so Holafly is $2.49 less. For 15 days, $51.50 and $49.99, so Saily is $1.51 less. For 30 days, $76.50 and $72.99, so Saily is $3.51 less.
For a fixed amount of data, Saily is the only one of the three that sells it: 10 GB for 30 days at $26.99, 20 GB at $39.99. Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells none either. If 10 GB is all you need, Saily is the one to look at, though Ringo Light's 2 weeks of unlimited at $22.99 costs less than Saily's 10 GB.
Ringo Light sells two trips for China: 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $35.99. The 2 weeks costs $28.51 less than Holafly's 15 days and $27 less than Saily's, and less than either brand's week. The 30 days costs $40.51 less than Holafly's $76.50 and $37 less than Saily's $72.99. Ringo Light sells no 3-day or 7-day plan.
What unlimited means at each
Saily's unlimited for China gives 5 GB a day at full speed, then slows you for the rest of the day. That is enough for maps, messages and several hours of video. Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone and limits sharing to 1 GB a day, so Holafly is the one to pick if you refuse any cap on your own screen, and Saily has more headroom for sharing to a laptop, up to its 5 GB. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole 2 weeks or 30 days. Fair use policy, see Terms.
Google, WhatsApp and Instagram in China
A Chinese SIM bought at the airport sits behind the Great Firewall: Google, Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram and most Western news sites do not open on it. A travel eSIM is different in one way that matters. Its data usually leaves the country through the provider's own gateway abroad, so these apps usually open without a VPN. That is the usual case for roaming eSIMs. Holafly states it outright on its China page. Saily makes no such statement in what we read. We have not tested Ringo Light from inside mainland China ourselves, so we say no more than the usual case. If one app matters for your work, keep a VPN installed as a fallback before you fly.
The Chinese apps work on every plan: WeChat, Alipay, Didi, Amap and the 12306 rail app. Link a foreign card to Alipay or WeChat Pay before you land.
Networks and coverage in China
China has three networks: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. China Mobile is the largest and reaches furthest into the countryside and the west. All three cover the cities and the high-speed rail lines. Holafly rides China Mobile. Saily lists China Telecom and China Unicom. Ringo Light rides a local partner network. For Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai, any of them works.
Installation, app and support
Saily needs its app: you buy and install inside it. Holafly needs no app; it sends a QR code you scan in your phone's settings. Ringo Light needs no app either; the eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan. Whichever you pick, install it at home before you fly.
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 China it sells two trips, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $35.99. One payment, nothing renews, no app.
What it does not do: no buckets, no 3-day or 7-day plan, no phone number. For exactly 3 days, Holafly at $11.90 is the one to buy. For two weeks or a month of unlimited, Ringo Light is the cheapest of the three.
The full six-brand comparison for China is at /blog/best-esim-for-china. The card to buy Ringo Light is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Which to pick
- Saily, if you want a bucket, or the lower price at 15 and 30 days. 10 GB for 30 days at $26.99, 20 GB at $39.99; 15 days at $49.99 and 30 days at $72.99, against $51.50 and $76.50 at Holafly.
- Holafly, if you want 3 days, China Mobile and no app. $11.90 for 3 days and $27.50 for a week, QR code install, with a written statement that WhatsApp, Google and Instagram open without a VPN.
- ✓Ringo Light, if the trip is two weeks or a month. Unlimited data at full speed at $22.99 or $35.99, cheaper than both at each of those lengths.
Pick by trip
Holafly unlimited, 3 days, $11.90. Saily sells no 3-day plan; Ringo Light neither.
Holafly unlimited, 7 days, $27.50, against $29.99 at Saily. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan; its 2 weeks at $22.99 costs less than either week.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $22.99, against $49.99 at Saily and $51.50 at Holafly for 15 days.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $35.99, against $72.99 at Saily and $76.50 at Holafly. Holafly if you want China Mobile and a written promise on WhatsApp and Google.
Saily 10 GB for 30 days at $26.99. Holafly and Ringo Light sell no buckets.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Holafly, Saily, Ringo Light
We priced Holafly, Saily and Ringo Light for China 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, Nomad and Ubigi. They sell China too and are priced on the same day in the full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-china. This page answers one question, Holafly or Saily, so it keeps to those two and the cheaper third option.
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-china/, prices in dollars, network and the statement on WhatsApp, Google and Instagram from its own page, read 25 October 2026
- Saily: saily.com/esim-china/, saily.com/esim-china, dollars, read 25 October 2026
- 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.
