The short answer
I checked Telstra's International Day Pass first. It lets your own mobile plan work in the US for A$10 a day (about $7), charged only on the days you use the phone there. Ringo Light is the cheaper way I found to cover a holiday: $17.99 for 2 weeks and $22.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed. Telstra wins on your own number, calls and texts included, and nothing to install.
Ringo Light gives unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $17.99 or 30 days at $22.99, one payment, nothing renews. Telstra is A$10 for every day you use the phone in the US, and that adds up fast.
This is the easy option. The pass runs on your own plan, so calls and texts keep working on your own number, and the cost lands on the Telstra account you already pay. Nothing to install, and a phone with no eSIM slot works too. Ringo Light is data only.
Prices read on 31 October 2026: Telstra, Ringo Light, European Central Bank 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, 31 October 2026. Telstra is charged only on days the phone is used, so 14 days is the most it can cost for the fortnight. Telstra's A$140 is converted at the ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026, A$1 = $0.70. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole 2 weeks.
Telstra's page shows no monthly pass for the US, so 30 days is 30 times the daily price, A$300 at the ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026, A$1 = $0.70. Ringo Light is one payment for 30 days.
Side by side
Swipe to compare →
Head to head
- Best eSIM for the United States
- Orange Polska vs Ringo Light for the United States
- Vodafone vs Ringo Light for the United States
- Three vs Ringo Light for the United States
- O2 vs Ringo Light for the United States
- Airalo vs Holafly for USA
- Airalo vs Ubigi for USA
- Nomad vs Ubigi for USA
- Airalo vs Nomad for USA
- Airalo vs Ringo Light for USA
- Airalo vs Saily for USA
- Holafly vs Nomad for USA
- Holafly vs Saily for USA
Get Ringo Light for the United States, from $7.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 7 days $7.99
- 2 weeks $17.99
- 30 days $22.99
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.
Telstra International Day Pass vs Ringo Light in one paragraph
When I put the two side by side for the US, Ringo Light costs a fraction of the Day Pass on any holiday longer than a few days. Two weeks is $17.99 against A$140 (about $98), and a month is $22.99 against A$300 (about $211). The Day Pass wins on convenience, and I count that as a real win. Calls and texts work on your own number, nothing needs installing, the cost sits on the Telstra bill you already pay, and it works on a phone with no eSIM slot. On a short work trip with zero setup it is a good answer. For a longer road trip, or a laptop on the hotspot, I would buy Ringo Light.
Price: the same trip at each
Telstra's roaming page, which I read on 31 October 2026, lists the United States of America in Zone 2 at A$10 a day. A day is charged when the phone is used for calls, sent texts or data, background data included. Two weeks of use is A$140 (about $98) and 30 days is A$300 (about $211), because the page shows no monthly pass for the US. To get dollars I used the European Central Bank reference rate of 30 October 2026, A$1 = $0.70.
Ringo Light is priced in US dollars, and the checkout shows the amount in the buyer's currency before paying. Trips are $17.99 for 2 weeks and $22.99 for 30 days, one payment. The gap is $80.01 on two weeks and $188.01 on a month. Ringo Light sells no 3-day trip for the US. On a stay of a day or two the Day Pass is the cheaper of the two, so that is where I would use it.
Data and speed at each
Here is what I read on Telstra's page. The Day Pass includes 2 GB of data a day, with unlimited standard calls and SMS, and what you do not use expires at the end of each day. It states no roaming speed. Beyond the 2 GB Telstra sells a data top up of 2 GB at A$10 (about $7), valid for 31 days. Two gigabytes covers maps, rideshare apps and messages. A day of navigation plus video, or a laptop on the hotspot, can pass it. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole trip. Fair use policy, see Terms.
Calls, texts and your own number
Telstra wins this row outright, and I am happy to say so. With the Day Pass your phone behaves as it does at home. The same number rings, texts arrive as usual, and verification codes sent to your Australian number keep reaching you. Ringo Light is data only. Calls go over apps that use data, and your own SIM stays in the phone for calls, with your number staying on your own SIM next to it. If your bank texts a code to your Australian number, I would leave your own SIM active whichever you choose.
Setup and billing
The Day Pass needs nothing from you. A day is charged when the phone makes a call, sends an SMS or uses data in the US, and it lands on your Telstra account. Ringo Light arrives by email after you pay and installs in one scan of the QR code. I would scan it at home on Wi-Fi before the flight, then switch the eSIM on for data when you land in Los Angeles or New York. Your phone must support eSIM. The Day Pass has no such requirement.
What Ringo Light is, and what it is not
A word on who I write for: Ringo Light is Ringo's data eSIM, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere. For the US it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 7 days at $7.99, 2 weeks at $17.99 and 30 days at $22.99. One payment, nothing renews.
What it is not: it has no phone number, so it does not replace your Telstra service for calls and texts, and it needs a phone with an eSIM slot. Telstra is simpler and keeps everything on one bill. Ringo Light is the lower price for the same time in the US, which is why it is my pick for a longer stay.
I put the travel eSIM brands for the United States side by side at /blog/best-esim-for-usa. The card to buy Ringo Light is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Which to pick
- ✓Ringo Light, for a holiday of two weeks or more. Pay $17.99 for 2 weeks or $22.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed, against A$10 for every day of use at Telstra.
- ✓Telstra Day Pass, for a day or two with zero setup. Nothing to install, calls and texts on your own number, and A$10 for each day used.
- ✓Telstra Day Pass, if your phone has no eSIM slot. It works on the plan already in the phone.
- ✓Both, for a long stay with a work line. Ringo Light handles data and your own SIM handles the calls and texts your number needs.
Pick by trip
Ringo Light, 2 weeks, $17.99, is what I would buy. Fourteen days of the Day Pass is A$140 (about $98).
Ringo Light, 30 days, $22.99, unlimited at full speed for maps and streaming. I would skip the Day Pass here, which would be A$300 (about $211).
Ringo Light, 30 days, $22.99, unlimited at full speed for the laptop, is my choice.
Telstra Day Pass, or Ringo Light for data with your own SIM left in the phone for calls. I would not look for a third option.
Telstra Day Pass, since I cannot recommend Ringo Light to a phone that cannot take an eSIM.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Telstra, Ringo Light, European Central Bank, Ringo Light
We priced Telstra and Ringo Light for United States on 31 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: Other eSIM brands. Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad and Ubigi sell the US too and are priced in the full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-usa. This page answers one question, Telstra or Ringo Light. Left out: Telstra prepaid. Telstra's page points prepaid customers to separate Pre-Paid International Roaming Packs and gives no prices for them, so this page prices the Day Pass only.
- Telstra: www.telstra.com.au/international-roaming, International Roaming Day Pass zones, A$10 a day for Zone 2 with the United States of America listed, the 2 GB a day allowance, billing on days used and the A$10 2 GB top up, read 31 October 2026
- Ringo Light: ringoesim.com/usa, the catalogue the checkout charges, read the same day
- European Central Bank: www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml, euro reference rates of 30 October 2026, the latest published on 31 October 2026, used for the dollar figures (A$1 = $0.70)
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 31 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.
