Methodology
How We Calculate Roaming Savings
Every savings figure on this site is the result of a documented process. We pull carrier roaming rates from official sources, collect eSIM plan prices from provider websites, and subtract one from the other. No estimates. No assumptions.
Where carrier rates come from
We track roaming rates for 6 carriers, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, EE, Vodafone, and Xfinity Mobile. Each rate is pulled directly from the carrier's own international roaming page. We record the daily pass price, per-MB overage cost, and any speed throttle that applies. When a carrier uses zone-based pricing, we map each of our 207 destinations to the correct zone and store the zone rate for that country.
We do not accept carrier-supplied data sheets or press releases. Every rate is read directly from the public pricing page and timestamped. If the carrier changes its page after June 2026, the next check picks up the change, and every rate on this site shows the date it was checked. See the full carrier rate breakdown.
How we collect eSIM prices
The provider ranking uses the 30 Oct 2026 price check. HelloRoam's prices come from its live catalogue, fetched 29 Oct 2026 and spot-checked against the live site on 30 Oct 2026. Airalo, Holafly, Nomad and Saily were read on their own plan pages on 30 Oct 2026, as a signed-out visitor in USD, with no promo codes, memberships or cashback. Destination plan prices come from the catalogue read 29 Oct 2026. Destinations outside it, and a few older pages, keep the plan catalog captured on 3 June 2026. Destination pages take the cheapest plan that covers a seven-day trip at 1 GB a day.
The 5 providers we track are HelloRoam, Holafly, Nomad, Airalo, and Saily. Each was selected based on global destination coverage and the number of supported countries. Compare eSIM providers.
The savings calculation
The savings number on each country page follows a fixed formula. We take the carrier's total cost for a seven-day trip (daily pass multiplied by seven, or per-MB rate multiplied by expected usage) and subtract the eSIM plan price. That difference is the dollar figure you see. We run this calculation for every carrier and every provider combination so you can compare across all options.
We also calculate a percentage savings figure. If AT&T charges $84 for a week in Japan and an eSIM costs $12 for the same period, the percentage is 83%. Both figures update automatically when either the carrier rate or the eSIM price changes.
Worked example: Japan, 10-day trip
Japan is one of the most popular destinations on this site and shows the formula well. Here is exactly how the savings figure on the Japan page is calculated.
| Option | Rate | 10-Day Cost |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T International Day Pass | $12/day | $120.00 |
| Verizon TravelPass | $12/day | $120.00 |
| T-Mobile International Pass | $10/day | $50.00 |
| HelloRoam eSIM (10 GB) | One-time | $15.99 |
The formula applied step by step:
- Carrier baseline: AT&T daily rate ($12) × 10 days = $120.00
- eSIM: HelloRoam 10 GB Japan plan, valid 30 days = $15.99
- Dollar savings: $120.00 minus $15.99 = $104.01
- Percentage savings: $104.01 ÷ $120.00 = 87%
On the 30 Oct 2026 check the same size cost $16.00 on Nomad, $17.99 on Saily, $18.00 on Airalo. We repeat this calculation for all three major US carriers so you can see the savings regardless of your home carrier. Run the calculator for your destination.
Worked example: UK, weekend trip
Short trips amplify the percentage savings because eSIM plans cover multi-day use at a single flat price. Here is how a 3-day UK trip works out:
- Carrier baseline: AT&T daily rate ($12) × 3 days = $36.00
- eSIM: HelloRoam 3 GB UK plan = $7.10
- Dollar savings: $36.00 minus $7.10 = $28.90
- Percentage savings: $28.90 ÷ $36.00 = 80%
Even on a 3-day trip, the savings exceed $28. On the 30 Oct 2026 check the same 3 GB size cost $8.99 on Saily, $9.00 on Nomad, $9.00 on Airalo. The same logic applies to every destination in our database. The carrier pays $12 per day regardless of trip length; the eSIM plan price stays fixed regardless of how many days are left on it.
How we score and rank the 5 providers
Savings math answers one question: what does the trip cost. Our provider score answers a second: which provider to buy it from. This site compares carrier roaming against eSIM on cost, so the score weights what a trip bills you and what you get back if the trip never happens. The weights, dated 30 Oct 2026, are Trip Cost 40%, Refund Window 25%, Destination Coverage 20%, and Support Channels 15%. Trip cost carries the most weight, refund window is next, then destination coverage, then the support channels you can reach.
Each dimension is scored out of 10 as a share of the best published figure in the set. On refund window the best published figure is 180 days, so a provider publishing 30 days scores 1.67 out of 10. On trip cost the direction flips: the cheapest published figure scores 10 and everything else scores the cheapest figure as a share of its own. The composite is the weighted average. The same arithmetic runs on all 5 providers and there is no per-provider override anywhere in the code.
| Dimension | Weight | Direction | Published figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trip Cost | 40% | Lower is better | The median price of the provider's 7-day unlimited plan across every country where all five providers showed a readable 7-day price in the 30 Oct 2026 price check. HelloRoam's prices come from its live catalogue; rivals' were read on their own sites that day. Daily full-speed allowances differ by provider and are published beside the figure. |
| Refund Window | 25% | Higher is better | Days a provider will refund an eSIM that was bought and never activated, read off its own refund policy page. |
| Destination Coverage | 20% | Higher is better | Destinations the provider sells a plan for, counted from its own destination list. |
| Support Channels | 15% | Higher is better | Published support channels, with one point added when the provider publishes round-the-clock hours. Response time is not scored: the figures providers quote are self-reported and not posted on a page we can re-check. |
| Support Languages | 0% | Not scored | HelloRoam publishes no support-language count: its support replies in the customer's own language. With one of the five stating no number, the dimension cannot be compared, so it carries no weight. The other four providers' published counts stay on the page as data. |
| Checkout Currencies | 0% | Not scored | Only one of the five publishes a figure. Scoring a dimension four providers say nothing about would mean inventing four numbers, so it carries no weight until all five publish one. |
One rule decides what gets scored: a dimension counts only when all 5 providers publish a figure for it. That drops checkout currencies, where HelloRoam publishes a figure and nobody else does, so the dimension our top-ranked provider would win carries no weight. App store stars are not here either, at any weight. Those are other people's review counts, and this site collects no reviews.
Current standings
| # | Provider | Trip Cost | Refund Window | Destination Coverage | Support Channels | Composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HelloRoam | 10 | 10 | 9.25 | 10 | 9.9 |
| 2 | Holafly | 7.82 | 10 | 10 | 7.5 | 8.8 |
| 3 | Nomad | 8.6 | 1.67 | 10 | 2.5 | 6.2 |
| 4 | Airalo | 7.96 | 0.78 | 10 | 5 | 6.1 |
| 5 | Saily | 7.97 | 1.67 | 10 | 2.5 | 6.0 |
No provider sweeps the table. HelloRoam takes trip cost, Airalo, Holafly, Saily and Nomad takes destination coverage, and Holafly and HelloRoam tie the refund window at 180 days. Prices checked 30 Oct 2026; refund windows, destination counts and support channels checked June 2026.
What changed on 30 Oct 2026
Two inputs changed, and we publish both. First, trip cost used to be a modelled week: each provider's lowest per-GB rate times seven days, at June 2026 rates. It is now the median price of each provider's 7-day unlimited plan across the 35 countries where all 5 showed a readable price on the 30 Oct 2026 check. Second, support languages now carries no weight. HelloRoam support replies in your own language and publishes no language count, so the five cannot be compared on it. Its 15% weight was split: trip cost rose from 30% to 40%, and support channels from 10% to 15%. The other providers' published counts stay on their profiles as data.
| Provider | 7-day median | Full speed per day | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| HelloRoam | $21.50 | 2 GB a day in 33 countries, 1 GB in 2 | Live catalogue, fetched 29 Oct 2026, spot-checked 30 Oct 2026 |
| Nomad | $25.00 | 2 GB a day in 35 countries | Own plan pages, 30 Oct 2026 |
| Saily | $26.99 | 5 GB a day in 25 countries, 3 GB in 10 | Own plan pages, 30 Oct 2026 |
| Airalo | $27.00 | 3 GB a day in 31 countries, 5 GB in 4 | Own plan pages, 30 Oct 2026 |
| Holafly | $27.50 | no daily cap stated | Own plan pages, 30 Oct 2026 |
HelloRoam was the cheapest for 7 days in 25 of 35 countries; a rival was cheaper in 10: Thailand, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Morocco, Brazil, Peru, India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia. The daily allowance is the caveat: HelloRoam's plans run at full speed for 2 GB a day in 33 countries, 1 GB in 2, while Saily's allow more and Holafly states no cap. A rival is priced on its cheapest unlimited plan lasting at least 7 days; HelloRoam on its 7-day tier. Each score shown on this site is the formula's output, with no per-provider override.
What would change the ranking
A ranking nobody could overturn is a ranking nobody should trust, so here is the test. Published figures and checked prices, and nothing else. HelloRoam leads Holafly by 1.1 points. If Holafly's 7-day unlimited median fell from $27.50 to $20.29, it would take first place on the same arithmetic. If HelloRoam cut its refund window from 180 days to 30, it would fall to second. Both figures are produced by re-running the same rubric with one published number changed, so this paragraph cannot drift away from the table above it.
A different site would pick different weights and get a different winner. Weight destination count heaviest and Airalo, Holafly, Saily and Nomad finish first. Weight only the cheapest week and HelloRoam still leads. We weight cost protection because that is what this site is for, and we publish the weights so you can disagree with them. See the full ranking.
Where network and device figures come from
We run no device lab and no drive tests, so this site publishes no throughput figures at all. Destination pages name the network technology a market runs on, 5G or 4G LTE, and that label comes from the plan feed. We do not print megabit-per-second numbers for any country, carrier, or provider, because we have no way to measure one and no licence to republish someone else's.
Plan prices come from each provider's public plan pages, read directly and timestamped. Carrier day pass rates come from each carrier's own international roaming page. We do not accept rate cards, data sheets, or press releases in place of the published page.
Device compatibility lists come from Apple, Samsung, and Google support documentation. Activation steps come from each provider's own setup instructions. Nothing on this site reports a measurement we made ourselves, so every figure traces back to a source you can open and check.
When each figure was checked
Carrier rates were checked in June 2026 against each carrier's own website. The provider prices behind the ranking were checked on 30 Oct 2026. Destination plan prices come from the catalogue read 29 Oct 2026. Destinations outside it, and a few older pages, keep the plan catalog captured on 3 June 2026. The site promises no fixed refresh cycle, so each figure carries the date it was checked.
| Data type | Last checked | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Carrier roaming rates | June 2026 | Carrier official pricing pages |
| Provider prices (ranking) | Live catalogue; rivals' own plan pages | |
| Destination plan catalogue | 29 Oct 2026 | HelloRoam's catalogue |
| Other destination plans | 3 June 2026 | Plan catalog per destination |
| Network technology labels | 17 August 2026 | Plan feed operator records |
| Coverage maps | No fixed cycle | GSMA Intelligence, provider docs |
| Zone mapping tables | As updated by carrier | Carrier-published zone tables |
If you find a rate that looks wrong, our contact page has a correction line.
Data sources
- Carrier roaming rates: official websites of AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Vodafone, EE, Xfinity Mobile (checked June 2026)
- Provider prices for the ranking: HelloRoam's live catalogue (fetched 29 Oct 2026, spot-checked 30 Oct 2026) and the public plan pages of Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad (read 30 Oct 2026)
- Destination plan catalogue: read 29 Oct 2026; destinations outside it, captured 3 June 2026
- Zone mapping: carrier-published international zone tables
- Network coverage: GSMA Intelligence country records
- Network technology per market (5G or 4G LTE): operator records in the plan feed (read 17 August 2026)
- Device compatibility: Apple, Samsung, and Google support documentation, cross-checked against provider supported-device lists
What we do not do
We do not use estimated or self-reported speeds in cost calculations. We do not round savings numbers in favor of either option. The math is the same whether the result favors the carrier or the eSIM provider.
Primary sources
Frequently asked questions
How often do you update carrier roaming rates?
Carrier roaming rates on this site were last checked in June 2026 against each carrier's own pricing page. The prices behind the provider ranking were checked on 30 Oct 2026, from the live catalogue and the rivals' own plan pages. Destination plan prices come from the catalogue read 29 Oct 2026. Destinations outside it, and a few older pages, keep the plan catalog captured on 3 June 2026. The site runs no fixed weekly or monthly cycle, so each figure carries the date it was checked.
Do you count taxes and fees in the savings calculation?
No. All savings calculations use published base rates only. Carrier taxes, activation fees, and government surcharges are not included because they vary by account and location. The actual savings you see at checkout may be slightly higher or lower depending on your specific plan and tax situation.
Why do you use AT&T as the primary comparison baseline?
AT&T has the largest US subscriber base and uses a predictable flat $12/day International Day Pass rate across most destinations. That consistency makes it the clearest baseline for comparisons. We also show Verizon TravelPass and T-Mobile International Pass figures alongside AT&T on every destination page.
What happens when a carrier changes its roaming pricing?
The figures here stay at the June 2026 check until the next check. Each rate shows the date it was checked, so you can compare it with the carrier's own page before you travel. If you spot a rate that looks wrong, our contact page has a correction line.
Do your savings figures account for unlimited data plans?
Yes. Where a provider offers an unlimited eSIM daily rate, we compare that against the carrier's daily pass rate directly. For fixed-data plans, we use the cheapest plan that covers a typical 7-day trip at 1 GB a day as the baseline comparison point. Unlimited plans slow after a daily full-speed allowance that differs by provider, and the ranking page prints each one.
For more context on where these numbers lead:
How this site works
The work is desk research, not field testing: we read published carrier pricing pages and published provider plan pages, then run the same rubric over every provider. eSIM vs Roaming is an independent savings desk. Some provider links are affiliate links and this site earns a commission when you buy through them; that commission does not change day-pass math or savings rankings.
For more about who we are and our editorial standards, visit our about page.
Is eSIM cheaper than international roaming?
Yes, a travel eSIM is 70-90% cheaper than carrier roaming for international trips. AT&T and Verizon charge $12/day for international data, totaling $84-168 for a 7-14 day trip. A travel eSIM on the same local network costs $5-25 for the same period. Both connect to the same cell towers in the destination country. The eSIM removes the carrier markup. Rates verified June 2026.
Do eSIMs use the same network as carrier roaming?
Yes, travel eSIMs connect to the same local carrier towers that AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile use for roaming. When AT&T says you are roaming on NTT Docomo in Japan or Vodafone in the UK, a travel eSIM connects to the exact same towers. The difference is price: AT&T charges $12/day for that connection. An eSIM charges $5-15 for a full week on the same infrastructure.
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