No travel eSIM sold as unlimited stays at full speed. Saily’s terms give 3GB or 5GB a day by destination, then 1 Mbps. Airalo publishes 3GB a day on most plans and 5GB in Thailand, the USA, Spain, Italy and its Europe plan. Nomad is 2GB a day. Holafly publishes no cap. Checked 10 Nov 2026.
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Updated · Caps re-checked on each provider’s own terms or plan pages the same day, except Maya Mobile and Simify (still as at 31 August 2026) and Ubigi’s 2 Mbps throttled speed (still as at 8 October 2026).
| Provider | Full speed until | Then throttled to | Hotspot | Phone number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saily | 3–5GB/day | 1 Mbps | No numeric cap; ToS limit excessive tethering | Optional paid add-on |
| Airalo | 3–5GB/day | 1 Mbps | Unlimited | On some Data, Voice & Text packages and Discover+ |
| Nomad | 2GB/day | 1–2 Mbps or 512 kbps | Supported | Thailand 50GB plan only, per review; otherwise unclear |
| Ubigi | No daily cap — 60GB per 30-day plan (5GB in China) | 2 Mbps | Unlimited | Never — data only, no SMS |
| Holafly | Not published — terms allow a fair-use slowdown, with no figure given | Not published | 1GB/day | Never |
| Maya Mobile | 3GB/day | 10 Mbps, then 1 Mbps | Allowed, with guidance | No — data only, on every plan |
| Simify | No firm figure published — a help article says around 1–1.5GB | around 3 Mbps | Allowed | No — data only |
What each provider actually does
| Provider | The fair-use policy in plain English |
|---|---|
| Saily | Saily’s Terms of Service (last updated 27 Aug 2026) give a full-speed allocation of 3GB or 5GB in each 24-hour period, depending on the destination and specified in the offering, then 1 Mbps until local midnight. Its marketing pages still describe country and regional unlimited plans as 5GB a day. The Ultra plan is 30GB at full speed per monthly billing cycle, then 1 Mbps. |
| Airalo | Full speed until you use 3GB in a 24-hour period on most plans, then 1 Mbps for the rest of that day. The allowance resets every 24 hours from activation. Package details checked on 10 Nov 2026 set the cap at 5GB a day in Thailand, the USA, Spain, Italy and Airalo’s Europe (Eurolink) unlimited plans. Airalo’s fair-use policy also says there is no limit on tethering. |
| Nomad | Full speed until you use 2GB in a 24-hour period on most unlimited plans, then a reduced speed for the rest of that day. Nomad’s help centre (updated 24 Aug 2026, re-read 10 Nov 2026) says that reduced speed is about 1 or 2 Mbps; a Nomad plan document still says 512 kbps. The allowance resets every 24 hours from activation. |
| Ubigi | No daily cap. Each unlimited plan has a fixed full-speed allowance, then an unlimited slower tail. On 10 Nov 2026, Ubigi’s own plan codes still marked 30-day regional unlimited plans (including Europe) as FUP60 (60GB) and China unlimited plans as FUP5 (5GB). The 2 Mbps tail speed was last read on Ubigi’s plan pages on 8 October 2026; we did not re-find that speed figure on the listing we checked today. Ubigi sells unlimited in most of our destinations, but not in Fiji. |
| Holafly | Holafly publishes no daily cap and no throttled speed. Its terms say unlimited plans have no fixed data volume but may be subject to a fair-use policy if use is excessive or affects the network; destination pages we checked on 10 Nov 2026 say a slowdown, if applied, lasts no more than a day. Hotspot sharing is limited to 1GB a day on the destination pages that state a daily figure (a 7-day plan includes 7GB of shareable data). |
| Maya Mobile | Full speed until you use 3GB in a 24-hour period, then 10 Mbps, then 1 Mbps. Maya says any throttle applied is removed within 24 hours — the only restoration time anyone on this page publishes. |
| Simify | Simify publishes no firm figure at all — only an approximate 1–1.5GB, and only in a troubleshooting article rather than on any plan page. Where it does slow you down, it says the speed is around 3 Mbps. Not knowing the threshold is itself the problem. |
What the throttled speeds mean
The cap matters less than what happens after it. Once you are throttled:
- 1 Mbps (Saily, Airalo) still carries maps, messaging, email, and standard-definition video that buffers. It is annoying, not crippling.
- 1–2 Mbps, or 512 kbps (Nomad — official sources disagree): 1 Mbps is enough for maps, messaging and email; 512 kbps is tighter, and photo uploads crawl.
- Holafly does not publish a throttled speed. We have dropped an older 256–1024 kbps range because we could not find it on Holafly’s own pages on 10 Nov 2026.
How much data do you actually use?
Most travellers who are not streaming video use between 500MB and 1.5GB a day — maps, messaging, social feeds, a few uploads. On that pattern, none of these caps will ever bite, and buying unlimited is usually a waste. A 10GB fixed plan for a two-week trip costs a third of the unlimited price on almost every provider here.
Unlimited earns its price in two situations: you are tethering a laptop and working, or you genuinely cannot predict your usage. In the first case, check the hotspot rules before anything else — because that is where the real restriction lives.
How we got these numbers
Airalo publishes its default 3GB cap on its fair-use policy page; higher 5GB caps appear in the package details before you buy. Saily’s 3GB or 5GB split is in its Terms of Service (27 Aug 2026). Nomad’s 2GB cap is in its help centre; that page and a plan document disagree on the throttled speed, so we show both. Holafly still publishes no cap or throttle speed — we would rather show you an honest blank than a confident guess. Ubigi’s 60GB and 5GB (China) allowances were visible in its plan codes on 10 Nov 2026; the 2 Mbps tail remains as checked on 8 October 2026.
Airalo publishes its fair-use figure openly: 3GB a day at full speed on most unlimited plans, then 1 Mbps for the rest of the day. Package details checked on 10 Nov 2026 give 5GB a day in Thailand, the USA, Spain, Italy and Airalo’s Europe (Eurolink) plan.
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Fair-use questions travellers ask
Are unlimited travel eSIMs really unlimited?
No. Every travel eSIM sold as unlimited slows you down after a set amount of full-speed data, either per day or per plan. Most providers make you go looking for the number.
Which travel eSIM has the biggest daily allowance?
It depends on the destination. Saily’s terms give 3GB or 5GB a day, as specified in the offering (its marketing pages still describe country and regional plans as 5GB). Airalo publishes 3GB a day on most plans and 5GB in Thailand, the USA, Spain, Italy and Eurolink Europe. Maya Mobile allows 3GB a day and Nomad 2GB a day.
What happens when I hit the fair-use cap?
Your speed drops for the rest of the day: to 1 Mbps with Saily and Airalo, which still handles maps, messaging and email; to about 1 or 2 Mbps, or 512 kbps, with Nomad, depending on which Nomad page you read; Holafly publishes no throttled speed.
Does Ubigi have a daily cap on unlimited plans?
No daily cap. Its 30-day unlimited plans carry a 60GB full-speed allowance (Ubigi’s plan codes still showed FUP60 on 10 Nov 2026), then a slower unlimited tail; in China the allowance is 5GB. The 2 Mbps tail speed was last read on 8 October 2026.
How much data do travellers use per day?
Most travellers who are not streaming video use between 500MB and 1.5GB a day on maps, messaging, social feeds and a few uploads. On that pattern none of these caps will bite, and a fixed-data plan is usually cheaper.
When is an unlimited eSIM worth it?
In two situations: you are tethering a laptop and working, or you genuinely cannot predict your usage. If you are tethering, check the hotspot rules first, because that is where the real restriction lives.
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