How this review was made, and what it isn’t
We have not used this eSIM. We have not run a speed test, stood in a terminal watching it fail to activate, or called the support line. If that is what you are after, this is the wrong page and we would rather tell you now.
What this is: every figure read off the provider’s own terms, plan pages and fair-use policy, dated, with the gaps left visible. Plus what the people who did test have published — and, where it matters, the fact that several well-known review sites claim to have tested and publish no measurements at all.
What Nomad actually is
Cheapest in Thailand by a distance, and the best-documented affiliate program. Harshest throttling, and prices move constantly because half the catalogue is permanently on sale.
The specification, from its own terms
These are the numbers that decide whether a plan works for you, and most of them never appear on a checkout page.
| Full speed until | 2GB per day |
|---|---|
| Then throttled to | 512 kbps |
| Hotspot | Supported |
| Phone number | Thailand 50GB plan only, per review; otherwise unclear |
| Top-ups | Yes, as add-on plans |
| Activation window | 60 days |
| Owned by | Nomad |
What Nomad charges, everywhere we have checked
One provider across ten destinations. Sellers show you one country at a time, which makes it hard to see where a provider is cheap and where it is quietly expensive.
| Destination | Cheapest fixed plan | Cheapest unlimited |
|---|---|---|
| Indonesia (Bali) | 1GB/7d $4 | 5d $18 |
| Japan | 1GB/7d $4 | 3d $11 |
| China | 1GB/7d $4 | 3d $12 |
| Vietnam | 1GB/7d $4 | 5d $18 |
| Thailand | 1GB/7d $5 | 10d $16 |
| Fiji | 1GB/7d $7 | Not sold here |
| Singapore | 1GB/7d $4 | 5d $18 |
| New Zealand | 1GB/7d $4.50 | 3d $11 |
| United States | 1GB/7d $5 | 3d $11 |
| Europe | 1GB/7d $5.50 | 5d $19 |
Prices in US dollars, read off Nomad’s own pages. Where a figure could not be confirmed the table says so rather than estimating.
Two things to know before you buy Nomad
The throttle is the hardest here. 2GB a day at full speed, then 512 kbps — half of what Airalo and Saily drop to. At 512 kbps maps and messaging are fine, video is not, and photo uploads crawl. If you tether a laptop you will meet this limit on the first day.
The price you saw may not be the price you pay. Much of Nomad’s catalogue sits on permanent sale, so the figures in our tables are what was showing on the day stamped above, not a rate card. Check the page before you buy — we would rather say that than pretend a moving price is fixed.
The 60-day activation window is the shortest here. Buy it two months before a trip and it can expire unused.
What we could not establish
- No independent Japan speed test newer than 2023. The best-documented figures come from a single tester running 91 tests per provider — thorough, and three years old. We will not present it as current.
- The phone number position is unclear. One review reports a number on the Thailand 50GB plan; Nomad does not state a general policy, so we have not written one.
- Add-on behaviour draws consistent complaints. App-store reviewers report that buying an add-on can end the plan already running rather than extending it, and that usage metering has led people to buy data they did not need. These are user reports, not something we have verified against the terms — treat them as a reason to read the add-on wording carefully, not as established fact.
What its customers score it
| Provider | Score | Reviews | 5★ | 1★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holafly under review | 4.7 | 110,476 | 84% | 6% |
| Saily | 4.7 | 30,668 | 83% | 3% |
| Nomad | 4.3 | 43,079 | 72% | 8% |
| Airalo | 4.1 | 42,305 | 61% | 16% |
| Ubigi | 4.1 | 44,787 | 66% | 12% |
Read these with care. All five providers we hold ratings for invite their own customers to review, so none of these is an organic sample, and the gap between a 4.7 and a 4.1 says at least as much about when and how hard a company asks as about the product. Holafly — the highest score here — is also the only one of those whose profile currently carries a Trustpilot compliance notice: “Trustpilot is currently working with this business to address past violations of our Guidelines for Businesses and Legal Brand Guidelines. This profile is under active review to ensure full transparency for consumers.” Trustpilot does not say what the violations were, so neither will we. Checked 8 September 2026.
Compare it against the other four
A review of one provider can only tell you so much. The thing that decides most purchases is the daily cap and the hotspot rule, side by side.
See Nomad plans →