Traviva’s pick for Vietnam is Ubigi: 10GB for 30 days at US$12.90, the cheapest verified plan, on VNPT’s 4G and 5G network with tethering allowed. Nomad (US$17), Saily (US$17.99) and Airalo (US$18) are the next cheapest for the same allowance. It suits travellers with an unlocked, eSIM-capable 4G phone — Vietnam switched off 2G in September 2026, and arriving with a working eSIM avoids local SIM registration through the VNeID app.
Updated · Prices in US dollars unless marked A$; figures marked “checked October 2026” were read off each provider’s own site on 8 October 2026.
Vietnam eSIMs at a glance
The 10GB, 30-day plan from each provider, or its unlimited plan where it sells no fixed data. Hotspot rules come from each provider’s own terms.
| Provider | Plan / data | Validity | Price | Hotspot | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ubigi | 10GB | 30 days | US$12.90 | Yes | VNPT, 4G and 5G. Unlimited: US$54.90 for 30 days (60GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps). Price checked October 2026. |
| Nomad | 10GB | 30 days | US$17 | Yes | Vietnamobile, MobiFone and Vinaphone. Price checked October 2026. |
| Saily | 10GB | 30 days | US$17.99 | Yes | Network not disclosed. Price checked October 2026. |
| Airalo | 10GB | 30 days | US$18 | Yes | VNPT. Price checked October 2026. |
| Holafly | Unlimited | 30 days | US$76.50 | 1GB a day | Vinaphone (VNPT). No fixed-data plans. Price checked October 2026. |
| Maya Mobile | Unlimited | 30 days | US$49.99 | Allowed, with guidance | MobiFone. 3GB a day, then 10 Mbps, then 1 Mbps. Price checked October 2026. |
| Simify | Unlimited | Varies | Not verified | Allowed | Sells only unlimited plans for Vietnam; we could not verify the current price. |
Vietnam verifies SIM owners through a national ID app that visitors cannot get
Buying a Vietnamese SIM means registering with a passport valid under your entry visa. Since April 2026 those registrations are re-verified through VNeID, Vietnam’s national identity app — and the official guidance never explains how a visitor does that.
Under Decree 163/2024/ND-CP, a foreigner registering a Vietnamese mobile subscription must present a passport “still valid for use in Vietnam according to the entry visa”. The duty sits on the telecom enterprise, before it serves a terrestrial mobile subscriber.
From 15 April 2026, Circular 08/2026 requires subscriber information to be re-verified in waves through the VNeID app. Carriers must suspend outgoing calls and SMS for subscribers who do not complete it, after notifying them daily for five days.
Neither government article announcing this mentions foreigners, passports or tourists at all. We looked. How a visitor without a VNeID account verifies a Vietnamese SIM is simply not addressed — and that gap is a reason in itself to arrive with a roaming eSIM already working rather than plan to buy locally.
One honest caveat: unlike Indonesia, Vietnam publishes no explicit exemption for inbound roamers. The obligation is written as falling on Vietnamese telecom enterprises registering their own subscribers, which is why a foreign-issued roaming profile sits outside it. That is a reading of the scope, not a quoted carve-out.
And 2G is gone
Vietnam completed its 2G shutdown on 15 September 2026, two years after it stopped serving 2G-only handsets. There is no 2G fallback. Reports of a 3G shutdown in 2028 are circulating; we could not find a government source for that date, so we are not publishing it.
What a 10GB month costs in Vietnam
Same plan, same duration, four sellers. Prices in US dollars, checked 8 October 2026.
Holafly sells no fixed-data plans anywhere — its 30-day unlimited plan is $76.50, which is a different product and so is not plotted on the same scale.
Ubigi
Ubigi at $12.90 for 10GB over 30 days is the cheapest verified plan here, with Nomad at $17. Holafly charges $76.50 for a month in one of the cheapest data markets in Asia — Vietnam is the clearest illustration of what flat global pricing costs you.
See Ubigi Vietnam plans →Every verified plan
Prices in US dollars, read off each provider’s own page. Where we could not confirm a price, we say so rather than estimate.
| Provider | Fixed data plans | Unlimited |
|---|---|---|
| Saily | 1GB/7d $3.99 · 3GB/30d $7.99 · 5GB/30d $10.99 · 10GB/30d $17.99 · 20GB/30d $28.99 | Not verified in October 2026 |
| Airalo | 1GB/3d $4 · 3GB/3d $7.50 · 3GB/7d $8 · 5GB/7d $10 · 10GB/7d $17 · 5GB/15d $10.50 · 10GB/15d $17.50 · 20GB/15d $28 · 5GB/30d $11 · 10GB/30d $18 · 20GB/30d $29 · 50GB/30d $49 | 3d $11.50 · 5d $18.50 · 7d $27 · 10d $34.50 · 15d $48 · 30d $69 |
| Nomad | 1GB/7d $4 · 3GB/30d $8 · 5GB/30d $10 · 10GB/30d $17 · 20GB/30d $25 · 50GB/30d $39 | 5d $18 · 10d $33 |
| Ubigi | 3GB/15d $6.90 · 10GB/7d $10.90 · 10GB/30d $12.90 · 50GB/30d $36.90 Ubigi also sells a recurring 20GB plan in Vietnam at $16/month. | 7d $24 · 15d $39.90 · 30d $54.90 The 30-day plan runs at full speed for the first 60GB, then 2 Mbps. |
| Holafly | No fixed-data plans — unlimited only | 3d $11.90 · 5d $20.50 · 7d $27.50 · 10d $37.50 · 15d $51.50 · 30d $76.50 |
| Maya Mobile | No fixed-data plans — unlimited only Maya sells no fixed-data plans anywhere; its product is one global unlimited plan. | 3d $9.99 · 7d $19.99 · 14d $27.99 · 30d $49.99 The same four prices apply in every country Maya covers. |
| Simify | No fixed-data plans for Vietnam — unlimited only | Not verified in October 2026 |
Provider names link to their own site. Some of those links earn us a commission — the disclosure page says exactly which, and it plays no part in which plan we call cheapest.
Every price on this page is in US dollars except Simify’s, which are in Australian dollars because it bills in A$. An Australian card adds a foreign transaction fee of around 3% to the rest, which none of them mention at checkout — what that actually costs you →
Before you choose on price
Every unlimited plan sold in Vietnam slows down at some point, so none of them is truly unlimited. Airalo gives you 3GB a day before dropping to 1 Mbps; Nomad gives you 2GB a day before dropping to 512 kbps; Ubigi sets no daily cap, but its 30-day plan runs at full speed for 60GB, then 2 Mbps; Holafly publishes no figure at all, though third-party analysis puts it near 2–3GB a day; Maya Mobile gives you 3GB a day before dropping to 10 Mbps, then 1 Mbps; Simify, where it sells unlimited, publishes no firm figure at all — only an approximate 1–1.5GB, and only in a troubleshooting article rather than on any plan page.
The cap matters less than what happens after it, and it decides whether a cheaper fixed-data plan would serve you better. Every provider’s daily cap and throttled speed, in one table →
Which network you actually roam onto
An eSIM is a roaming agreement with a local carrier. In Vietnam, that means:
| Provider | Local network |
|---|---|
| Airalo | VNPT |
| Nomad | Vietnamobile, MobiFone and Vinaphone |
| Ubigi | VNPT — 4G and 5G, no 3G fallback |
| Holafly | GPC Vinaphone (VNPT) |
| Saily | Not disclosed |
| Maya Mobile | MobiFone |
| Simify | Not disclosed |
When Australians go to Vietnam
The fastest-growing destination in Southeast Asia for Australians — up 18% year on year in June 2026. Strongly seasonal: 72,620 trips in January against 37,500 in June, roughly double, tracking the Australian summer holidays rather than Vietnamese weather.
Vietnam eSIM questions travellers ask
What is the best eSIM for Vietnam?
Traviva’s pick is Ubigi: 10GB for 30 days at US$12.90 in October 2026, on VNPT’s 4G and 5G network. Nomad (US$17), Saily (US$17.99) and Airalo (US$18) are next for the same allowance.
How much does a Vietnam eSIM cost?
A 10GB, 30-day plan cost US$12.90 to US$18 from the four cheapest providers we checked in October 2026. Holafly sells only unlimited plans, at US$76.50 for 30 days, and Maya Mobile’s 30-day unlimited plan is US$49.99.
Do tourists need to register a SIM in Vietnam?
If you buy a Vietnamese SIM, yes: a foreigner must present a passport valid under their entry visa, and since 15 April 2026 subscriber details are re-verified through the VNeID app, which the official guidance does not explain for visitors. The rules are written for Vietnamese operators registering their own subscribers, which is why a foreign roaming eSIM sits outside them.
Does 2G still work in Vietnam?
No. Vietnam completed its 2G shutdown on 15 September 2026, so you need a 4G phone. We could not find a government source for the 3G shutdown dates circulating online.
Can I use a Vietnam eSIM as a hotspot?
Yes with Ubigi, Nomad, Saily and Airalo, which allow tethering. Holafly limits hotspot sharing to 1GB a day. Tethering uses the same data allowance as your phone.
Which Vietnamese network will my eSIM use?
Airalo and Ubigi use VNPT, Holafly uses Vinaphone (VNPT), Nomad uses Vietnamobile, MobiFone and Vinaphone, and Maya Mobile uses MobiFone. Saily and Simify do not disclose their network.
Related
- Ubigi is cheapest in Vietnam, but Airalo is the name most people search for — what you get for the premium →
- Airalo and Holafly both sell Vietnam plans and are the two most-searched eSIM brands, but they work in completely different ways — we put them side by side →
- Planning to tether a laptop in Vietnam? Every provider’s hotspot rules, which are not the same as its data rules →