I don't get the point of eSIM roaming services
Recently, eSIMs in smartphones have been becoming more and more popular, and this has caused a rise in dedicated roaming SIMS with companies like Airalo, BetterRoaming.com and Holafly popping up for people to roam easier than ever before, but is it really worth it?
I don't personally use a device that supports eSIMs, but I've taken a look at all 3 companies and I just don't understand the point of using a dedicated roaming SIM in most cases, instead of just picking up a Pay as you Go SIM at a supermarket when you land at your destination.
All 3 basically don't advertise any minutes or texts whilst using them, which is definitely an issue especially if your contacts don't use Signal or another messaging app.
I'm going to use UK and Europe plans as examples throughout this page, since that's where I live. Wherever possible, I'm looking for 30 day unlimited plans. In most cases by the way, it's usually more worth it to get a regional SIM instead of just a single country on these plans.
Let's start with the most well known of them, Airalo. For their UK plans, the best you can get is 20GB for 30 days for US$36. No minutes or texts included. Airalo is kind enough to provide information on the providers it roams on, in this case being O2 - UK (which is actually the provider I'm currently with since Virgin Mobile is moving all their customers over) and 3 UK. They state that it uses LTE (4G) only. It's also crucial to note that the providers they use for 4G aren't the fastest that they could necessarily get.
Let's take a look at the whole Europe plan now. Their biggest 30 day plan for Europe is unfortunately 10GB. What's interesting to note about roaming providers in the UK, is that they allow you to roam on EE 5G this time, as well as 3 UK 4G like before, and vodafone UK 4G instead of O2 - UK 4G (it's also worth noting that vodafone has a cell site sharing agreement with O2 (for example my entire O2 coverage for where I live is towers that Vodafone operates off). For this plan, it's US$37 and you get access to 37 countries.
Considering that if you're in a country that is part of the EU, you have free EU roaming with practically no restrictions on any provider in an EU country. Obviously in the UK, it's a bit different since we've left the EU, but still in most supermarkets, you should be able to find a O2, Smarty or Giffgaff SIM card which still allows you access to roaming abroad in the EU (from what I've heard, 3 UK PAYG SIMs also allow you to roam abroad, but Pay Monthly also don't roam abroad).
Either way, let's continue onto Holaflys selection. All of Holaflys plans tend to be unlimited data, and some of them even include minutes too, but unfortunately they don't give you a lot of minutes (for the Europe one shown below its 60 (for receiving and making calls), and it excludes minutes to and from the UK, Turkey, Ukraine, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland). Holafly is probably actually a more of a decent option for holiday-goers since 5 days in Europe (unlimited data) is £19. 30 days meanwhile is £59, which is an extreme amount to spend, especially as most people usually don't need unlimited data. If you're interested, you get an Austrian +43 number for the Europe plan. Also, you get no tethering if you wanted to tether to anyone.
The UK plan is significantly worse since it's priced exactly the same as the EU plan and you get no phone number, no minutes. It roams on vodafone UK but it's limited to 4G and no tethering again (I know it's not really common in other countries, but we do have tethering included as standard with no restrictions on basically any local SIMs, but sometimes you can't use it abroad). I'm also not quite sure about them describing vodafone UK as the best network on the UK, considering that's technically false advertising through most data sources, and EE is usually described as the best network.
Finally, BetterRoaming.com. Unfortunately, you can't see plans without downloading the eSIM to your phone. However, on their help pages, they showed an active SIM that you can top up to, and well I'm able to see the prices through there. Another thing I'd like to note is that the site is very basic, and doesn't have any minutes included, and it doesn't mention what networks it roams on. I'm just going to show you the UK and EU plans so you can see the prices for yourself.
Now, I think I'd like to suggest physical PAYG SIMs. Unless you’re running on an American iPhone 14, you're likely to have a SIM slot. You can usually find pay as you go SIM deals in a supermarket, however I am looking at listings on Amazon for examples of deals you can find.
I've never seen these in supermarkets, but Three is showing unlimited data 30 day pay as you go SIMs with unlimited UK minutes and texts on Amazon for £35 (which would also include Three+, which is a loyalty rewards scheme that you could use). https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Unlimited-data-Pay-You/dp/B08BWY2MJP
It also includes 12GB free roaming to 70 countries and you should be able to tether too.
Or, Lebara is offering unlimited data mins and texts for £25/mo and 100 international minutes (so you might be able to call back home). It also involves 30GB EU roaming and 10GB India roaming. Lebara uses the vodafone UK network. Again this particular deal isn't available in supermarkets, but you should be able to choose this configuration in the app (hopefully). Plus, you also have free tethering on Lebara too. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lebara-Unlimited-Minutes-International-minutes/dp/B09DGR7Q23
Hopefully the examples I've shown steers you away from these eSIM roaming SIM deals, since it really isn't worth it in most cases. Consider subscribing and sharing with friends if this helped you.