The short answer
Nomad and Ubigi are close on price for Japan and different in kind. Nomad sells unlimited days with 2 GB a day at full speed: $11 for 3 days, $25 for a week, $41 for 14 days, and nothing past 21 days at $49. Ubigi sells a fixed amount at full speed, then 2 Mbps: $39 for 15 days with 30 GB, $65 for 30 days with 60 GB, on KDDI and NTT Docomo. For 10 GB, Nomad is $16 and Ubigi $16.50. 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 2 weeks at $26.99 or 30 days at $54.99, nothing renews, no app. Nomad asks $41 for 14 days, Ubigi $39 for 15 days with 30 GB at full speed and $65 for the month.
10 GB for 30 days at $16, 20 GB at $23, both on sale on the day. 3 days of unlimited at $11, a week at $25, 14 days at $41, 2 GB a day at full speed, on KDDI au and SoftBank. App optional.
One of the few brands on NTT Docomo, Japan's largest network, with KDDI. $39 for 15 days with 30 GB at full speed, $65 for 30 days with 60 GB, then 2 Mbps. 10 GB for 30 days at $16.50. App optional.
Prices read on 25 October 2026: 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.
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The prices, charted
US dollars, 25 October 2026. Ringo Light and Nomad sell 14 days, Ubigi 15. Nomad is 2 GB a day at full speed, then slower. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed.
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 has no bar here: it sells no 30-day plan for Japan and stops at 21 days, $49.
Nomad's 10 GB was on sale at $16 on the day, regular $18. Ringo Light sells no bucket: its 2 weeks is unlimited, and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days. For a fixed 10 GB, Nomad is the cheaper of the two by 50 cents.
Side by side
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Nomad vs Ubigi in one paragraph
Nomad and Ubigi sell Japan at almost the same prices and in two different shapes. Nomad sells unlimited days, 2 GB a day at full speed and slower after that: $11 for 3 days, $25 for a week, $41 for 14 days, and its longest plan is 21 days at $49. Ubigi sells a fixed amount at full speed, then 2 Mbps for the rest of the plan: 30 GB for 15 days at $39, 60 GB for 30 days at $65. Ubigi rides KDDI and NTT Docomo, the network that reaches furthest into the mountains; Nomad rides KDDI au and SoftBank. For buckets, Nomad's 10 GB at $16 beats Ubigi's $16.50 by 50 cents, and its 20 GB at $23 beats Ubigi's 25 GB at $32. Pick Nomad for a short trip, a week or a bucket. Pick Ubigi for two weeks, a month, or Docomo. If the trip is two weeks or a month and you want unlimited, neither is the cheapest: Ringo Light sells 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, Nomad asks $11; Ubigi sells no 3-day plan. For a week, Nomad asks $25 for 7 days and Ubigi $25 for 8 days with 5 GB a day. For about two weeks, Nomad asks $41 for 14 days and Ubigi $39 for 15 days with 30 GB at full speed. For a month, Ubigi asks $65 for 60 GB at full speed; Nomad sells no 30-day plan for Japan, its longest is 21 days at $49. Nomad wins the short end, Ubigi the long end, and the week is a tie at $25.
For a fixed amount of data, both sell buckets. Nomad's 10 GB for 30 days was on sale at $16 on the day, regular $18, and its 20 GB at $23, regular $26. Ubigi asks $16.50 for 10 GB and $32 for 25 GB. Nomad is cheaper at both sizes, even at its regular price for the 10 GB.
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 Ubigi's 15 days at $39 and Nomad's 14 days at $41, with no fixed amount and no daily cap. The 30 days costs less than Ubigi's $65. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan; for a week, Nomad and Ubigi at $25 are each cheaper than our 2 weeks at $26.99, by under two dollars. Ringo Light sells no buckets either. If 10 GB is all you need, Nomad at $16 or Ubigi at $16.50 is cheaper than our $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, photos and some video; an evening of streaming will hit it. Ubigi does not sell unlimited in the usual sense: its 15 days carries 30 GB at full speed and its 30 days 60 GB, then 2 Mbps until the plan ends. There is no daily cap, so you can spend 10 GB on one day and nothing the next, but once the fixed amount is gone you are on 2 Mbps for the rest of the trip. Over 15 days, 30 GB is 2 GB a day on average, the same as Nomad, with the freedom to spend it unevenly. 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. Nomad rides KDDI au and SoftBank with 5G. Ubigi rides KDDI and NTT Docomo, and is one of the few travel brands here that names Docomo at all. Ringo Light rides a local partner network. For Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima, any of the three works. If you are heading for the Japanese Alps, Tohoku or rural Hokkaido, Ubigi is the one of the two to pick for Docomo.
Installation, app and support
Nomad's app is optional: you can buy on its site and install from a QR code, or buy, install and top up inside the app, where its support chat also lives. Ubigi's app is optional too: buy on its site or in the app, install from a QR code, and top up from either. Ubigi's monthly plans renew unless you stop them; its travel plans do not. Nomad's plans do not renew. Ringo Light needs no app; 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 or Ubigi at $16.50 is the better buy. If you want a week, Nomad or Ubigi at $25 is cheaper than our 2 weeks at $26.99, by under two dollars. If you need Docomo in the mountains, Ubigi names it and we name a local partner network. 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, Holafly and Saily 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, on sale on the day. Ubigi is $16.50 for 10 GB and $32 for 25 GB. Ringo Light sells no bucket.
- Nomad, if the trip is a week or less. $11 for 3 days and $25 for a week of unlimited, 2 GB a day at full speed. Ubigi sells no 3-day plan; its 8 days is also $25. For 3 days, Ringo Light at $9.99 is cheaper still.
- Ubigi, if you want Docomo or a month. KDDI and NTT Docomo, 60 GB at full speed for 30 days at $65. Nomad sells no 30-day plan for Japan.
- Ubigi, if you spend data unevenly. 30 GB for 15 days at $39 with no daily cap, against Nomad's 2 GB a day at $41 for 14 days.
- ✓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. Ubigi sells no 3-day plan.
Nomad unlimited, 7 days, $25, or Ubigi 8 days with 5 GB a day, also $25. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan; its 2 weeks is $26.99.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $26.99, against $39 at Ubigi for 15 days with 30 GB and $41 at Nomad for 14 days.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $54.99, against $65 at Ubigi for 60 GB at full speed. Nomad stops at 21 days, $49. Ubigi if you leave the cities and want Docomo.
Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $16, on sale on the day, or Ubigi at $16.50 on Docomo. Ringo Light sells no buckets.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Nomad, Ubigi, Ringo Light
We priced Nomad, Ubigi 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, Holafly and Saily. 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, Nomad or Ubigi, 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.
- 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
- Ubigi: cellulardata.ubigi.com/data-plans-and-coverage/ubigi-esim-data-plans/?destination=JPN, prices in dollars on the site, 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.
