Why everyone suddenly cares about eSIMs

If it feels like every airline, YouTuber, and travel blogger is suddenly shouting about eSIMs, you’re not imagining it. The market is exploding, investors are pouring money in, and travelers have finally realised something brutally simple: roaming fees are optional.

GSMA Intelligence says consumer eSIM adoption is only at the “early lift-off” stage — but travel eSIM usage is outpacing everything else, becoming the gateway drug to a world where swapping networks is as easy as buying a coffee. And Juniper Research expects the travel-eSIM economy to balloon past US$1.8B in 2025. That’s not a trend — that’s a tide.

And like any gold rush, the “best provider” is no longer the one with the cheapest 1GB. It’s the one that manages to stay standing when everyone else is shouting “unlimited data!!!” a little too loudly.

So who’s actually winning? Who’s overrated? And who’s quietly running circles around the giants? Let’s get into it.

The heavyweights: big platforms with bigger ambitions

Airalo – the unavoidable one

Airalo is basically the Coca-Cola of travel eSIMs. Ubiquitous, everywhere, and the one your cousin’s friend insists is “the only app you need.”

There’s a reason: 20+ million users, 200+ destinations, and a recent US$220M funding round that turned the company into the first eSIM unicorn. Big money, big brand, big footprint.

But here’s the catch: when you get that big, you stop being a scrappy disruptor and start becoming a utility. Airalo works, it’s reliable, it’s familiar — but it’s not always the fastest, the cheapest, or the most creative. It’s the default, not always the delight.

Holafly – the “don’t make me think” crowd-pleaser

Holafly’s pitch is irresistible: unlimited data in 200+ countries. The founders didn’t bother fighting the gigabyte pricing war — they flipped the table.

And travelers love it. Heavy users love it. People posting 30 Instagram Stories a day really love it.

But unlimited always hides a footnote (or three). Some countries throttle speeds, hotspotting isn’t always allowed, and the daily price is higher than Airalo-style metered plans. Still — the simplicity wins. And Holafly’s new global subscription (with a number included) shows they’re evolving into something closer to a lightweight mobile operator.

The “smart middle”: the quiet overachievers

Airhub, Yesim, Ubigi, Nomad and friends

This is the tier where UX actually matters, pricing is transparent, and plans feel tailored rather than templated.

Nomad pushes the “travel like a local” narrative — clean app, fair pricing, strong regional partners. aloSIM made noise recently thanks to mainstream features in the New York Post and its clever credit-based system. Ubigi rides on the back of strong corporate partnerships and branded devices like BMWs and tablets.

These brands don’t scream for attention. They win it by not being annoying.

And increasingly, that’s what travelers want: quiet reliability.

The niche specialists: small brands doing big things

The real soul of the eSIM market lives here — the regional players and the service-first teams who don’t have unicorn funding but do have obsessive customer support, better voice/SMS bundles, and smarter business offerings.

Think Yesim, Airhub, Fairplay Mobile, Suresim and other region-oriented providers. You’ll rarely see them in flashy TikTok ads, but you will absolutely see them recommended on nomad forums by people who actually test networks instead of copying blog posts.

Airhub in particular gets love for pairing data with voice minutes — something the big marketplaces don’t always bother with. Business travelers still need to take calls. Not everything can be solved with WhatsApp.

These niche players are the ones travel agencies and corporate travel teams gravitate to. Not because of price — but because someone actually answers the email.

The bigger picture: what the data actually shows

Let’s zoom out.

• Independent outlets like TechRadar, The Guardian and The Sun increasingly list Airalo and Holafly as the default options for mainstream travelers — but always with caveats.
• Market analysts expect plan prices to continue dropping as margins shrink and competition tightens.
• GSMA’s work on new standards (like SGP.32) will make switching providers even easier — which means loyalty will depend on experience, not lock-in.

In other words: the real battle hasn’t even started yet.

Conclusion

The real best eSIM provider? The one you build for yourself

If you came here hoping for one winner, you’re missing the emerging pattern. The market is fragmenting into use cases, not winners.

• Airalo wins if you want global coverage and zero thinking.
• Holafly wins if you burn through data like a YouTuber in Dubai.
• Airhub, Yesim, Nomad, aloSIM and Ubigi win if you want polished apps and fair pricing.
• Regional specialists win if you want voice minutes, SMS, support, or a plan that actually matches how you travel.

And the biggest trend is this: the provider matters less than the ecosystem you build.

Smart travelers now carry a “connectivity stack”:

• one marketplace app (Airalo or Nomad),
• one unlimited option (Holafly),
• one regional or premium provider they trust (Airhub, Yesim, etc.).

Just like choosing flights: you don’t marry an airline — you mix and match based on where you’re going and how you want the trip to feel.

The real winners will be the brands that understand this shift and stop trying to be “the best eSIM for everyone,” and instead become the right eSIM at the right moment.

That’s where the competition is heading — faster than most people realise.