Alternatives to Holafly
The real alternatives are Airalo, Saily and smaller providers like Zas. Checked on 22 August 2026, seven days in Japan cost 25,50 € with Holafly and 24,50 € with Airalo, both with unlimited data. The question that saves the most money isn't which of the two, but whether you need unlimited at all: a normal two-week trip uses between 2 and 4 GB, and that's 4,90 € with Zas.
Updated on
Almost nobody lands on this search by accident. You get here after looking at the price of a fifteen-day plan, working out what that is per day, and thinking there has to be another way.
What's out there, and what it costs
The prices below are from the same date and the same destination, Japan, so the comparison means something. Holafly and Airalo sell unlimited data; Zas sells volume and a day pass. They're not the same product, which is why they sit in different rows.
| 7 days | 15 days | 30 days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holafly, unlimited | 25,50 € | 46,90 € | 68,90 € |
| Airalo, unlimited | 24,50 € | 43,00 € | 62,00 € |
| Zas, 1 GB-a-day pass | 10,90 € | 20,90 € | 40,90 € |
| Zas, by volume | 1 GB — 2,90 € | 3 GB — 4,90 € | 5 GB — 5,90 € |
Saily exists and is a serious alternative, from the NordVPN people. It's not in the table because we didn't open its website that day, and no price gets published here that hasn't been looked at. Check it yourself before deciding.
The question that actually decides it
It's not which brand. It's how much data you use. A two-week trip with maps, messaging and some social media comes to between 2 and 4 GB in total, because video and photos get uploaded at night on the hotel Wi-Fi.
If that's you, you're choosing between paying 46,90 € for data you won't use or 4,90 € for the data you will. If that's not you — you work from there, you stream, you're the hotspot for a whole group — then an unlimited plan genuinely suits you, and that's said by someone who doesn't sell them.
What “unlimited” means in practice
No eSIM gives you infinite traffic, because a mast's capacity is finite. They all apply a fair use policy. Holafly's own website explains it and says the restriction applies for a period of no more than one day, after which normal speed comes back.
And there's a detail worth checking if you plan to share data: Holafly's page advertises sharing 1 GB a day over the hotspot. In other words, unlimited is unlimited for your phone, not for the laptop next to it.
Zas doesn't sell unlimited and won't pretend to. It sells a pass that says 1 GB a day at full speed and then 1 Mbps, with both figures up front.
Where each one wins
| Right for | Strong point | |
|---|---|---|
| Holafly | Heavy daily users who don't want to think about it | Genuinely unlimited on the phone, big support team, well-known brand |
| Airalo | People who travel to many different countries | Huge catalogue and a well-worn app; cheaper than Holafly |
| Zas | The normal one- or two-week trip | Price per gigabyte and the figures published, including what speed it drops to |
On Airalo's Japan page on 22 August only unlimited plans appeared. Airalo also sells per-gigabyte packages for other destinations, but since we didn't see them that day we're not putting their price here.
What's the cheapest alternative to Holafly?
It depends on how much you use. If you need unlimited data, Airalo was cheaper than Holafly for Japan on 22 August 2026: 24,50 € against 25,50 € for seven days. If your usage is normal, a volume plan comes in far below both: 4,90 € for 3 GB across fifteen days.
Is Holafly expensive?
It's expensive per gigabyte and reasonable for convenience, which is a different thing. It sells not having to think about usage, and for someone who genuinely uses a lot every day it pays off. For someone who uses 3 GB in two weeks, it doesn't.
Is Holafly's unlimited data really unlimited?
Its own website explains that a fair use policy applies, with a restriction lasting at most a day, after which the speed comes back. It also advertises sharing 1 GB a day over the hotspot, so the data-sharing part does have a published cap.
Can you switch provider mid-trip?
Yes. A new eSIM can be bought and installed on the spot, and phones hold several saved profiles. If you run short or something doesn't work, you're not locked in.
See the Japan plans from 2,90 €
Something off, or a price changed? Write to ayuda@zasesim.com and we'll fix it. Data when you land.