For many travelers, staying connected overseas has long been one of the most frustrating—and expensive—parts of a trip. Arrive in a new country and you’re faced with a choice: spend precious time hunting down a local SIM card, gamble on unreliable airport kiosks, or pay eye-watering roaming fees that can cost more than your flight. It’s a pain point that’s been around for decades, but in recent years, eSIM technology has started to change the game.

Leading the charge is Airalo, the world’s first and largest eSIM marketplace, which lets you download a travel data plan in minutes—no physical SIM, no waiting in line, and no sticker shock when your bill arrives. That promise of instant, affordable, and reliable connectivity has now earned Airalo one of the industry’s highest honors: the 2025 Canstar Blue Most Satisfied Customers Award for Travel Phone Plans.

If you’ve ever been stranded in a foreign airport without internet, watched your maps app fail because of throttled roaming speeds, or found yourself reluctantly approving a $300 “international data” charge, you’ll understand exactly why Airalo’s win matters.

What Is the Canstar Blue Award?

Canstar Blue is a respected Australian consumer comparison and review platform that conducts large-scale surveys to evaluate customer satisfaction across many product and service categories. These Customer Satisfaction Awards recognize providers whose customers report the highest levels of contentment across multiple metrics—including overall satisfaction, value for money, coverage, ease of use, and support.

The 2025 Travel Phone Plans Award

In 2025, Canstar Blue introduced a new category—Travel Phone Plans—to assess providers offering services for travelers (e.g., travel SIMs, eSIMs, roaming packs). According to their 2025 survey:

• Airalo earned the Most Satisfied Customers Award in this new category.
• It received five-star ratings for overall satisfaction, network coverage, and value for money.
• The assessments were based on feedback from 1,519 Australian respondents who had used travel SIM or roaming services in the past three years.

This suggests that among the brands evaluated—such as Telstra, Vodafone, SIM Corner, Optus, Everyday Mobile, and WorldSIM—Airalo topped the list in customer satisfaction for travel-related mobile connectivity.

In addition to network coverage, Airalo excelled in the following areas:

• Value for Money: Offering competitively priced roaming and travel packs, ensuring travellers receive high-quality service at an affordable cost. According to the survey, 31% of respondents said they used a travel SIM/roaming pack because roaming on their normal plan is too expensive.
• Sign-up and Activation: Simplified sign-up and activation processes for seamless access to travel plans. 21% of respondents said they used a travel SIM/roaming pack because finding a local plan in the country they were travelling to was too hard.
• Ease of Recharge: Hassle-free top-ups via the Airalo app or website to keep customers connected without interruption.
• User-Friendly Experience: Providing a seamless user experience and effortless navigation to access essential features on its app and website, both of which are designed with the customer in mind.

This recognition isn’t built on vanity metrics—it comes directly from real travelers. Canstar Blue’s survey gathered feedback from 1,519 Australians who had used travel SIM or roaming services in the past three years, and Airalo came out on top for overall satisfaction, coverage, and value for money. Beyond the survey, Airalo says it has served over 12,000 Australian customers, many of whom echo the same sentiment: “Airalo made my trip easier.”

Whether it was navigating unfamiliar streets, booking last-minute transport, or sharing moments in real time with loved ones back home, travelers consistently praised Airalo for delivering exactly what it promised—simple, stress-free travel connectivity.

As Airalo puts it, “It’s humbling to be recognized by real users who chose Airalo while traveling far from home.” And with travel set to keep growing in 2025, the company’s mission is just as relevant as ever: keeping people connected, no matter where in the world they land.

Final thoughts

Airalo’s win at the 2025 Canstar Blue Awards is more than a brand milestone—it’s a signpost for the direction of the travel connectivity market. In an industry where consumer trust is still catching up to the technology, awards based on verified user satisfaction carry more weight than glossy marketing campaigns. Much like JD Power’s influence in the automotive sector or Skytrax rankings in aviation, Canstar Blue’s travel phone plan category could become a benchmark for quality in global eSIM adoption.

The timing is critical. eSIM adoption has accelerated in the past two years, propelled by Apple’s eSIM-only iPhones in the U.S., increasing carrier support, and a growing number of travel-focused digital connectivity players. Recognition in a mature, competitive market like Australia—where domestic telcos and global travel SIM providers are fighting for the same customer—suggests Airalo is successfully navigating the trust barrier that often slows down emerging tech adoption.

More importantly, awards like this validate eSIM as a mainstream solution, not a niche gadget for early adopters. They also set the stage for healthy competition, pushing other providers to improve user experience, coverage, and pricing. As Canstar Blue expands or repeats this category in future years, we may see it evolve into a global barometer of which brands are truly delivering on the promise of borderless, hassle-free connectivity.

For Airalo, this isn’t just a trophy—it’s a strategic advantage. In a market forecasted to exceed $16 billion by 2030, third-party recognition gives it credibility not just with individual travelers but also with potential B2B partners like airlines, OTAs, and travel insurers looking to embed eSIM into their own ecosystems. In other words, this award doesn’t just celebrate what Airalo has done—it helps shape what the eSIM market will look like next.