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Have you ever been hit with crazy data roaming fees while travelling? ExpressVPN is launching an eSIM service for international travel via a new site, Holiday.com, to provide cellular data without draining your wallet.
The Holiday.com eSIM is for data use only when you're abroad, meaning regular phone calls and SMS messages will require your regular SIM card. This isn't a perfect solution, but if you already use messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal, or Facebook Messenger to message your friends and family, it's not a bad option as these use data or Wi-Fi connections.
Data plans can also be used to translate text into another language, conduct work on a business trip, ask ChatGPT for restaurant recommendations, check your credit card balances, track your luggage, or use GPS to navigate around a city.
"You’ll have instant connectivity from the moment you step off the plane—without any adjustments or network headaches," says ExpressVPN Product Lead Himmat Bains. "Even more importantly, an eSIM offers much better digital security than public Wi-Fi, which we know frequent fliers and budget-savvy travelers resort to so they can stay connected while on the road."
ExpressVPN's Director of Communications & Advocacy Lauren Hendry Parsons also cautions travelers against using public Wi-Fi, telling PCMag that they pose "a serious security risk."
An eSIM setup like this means you're running two SIM cards at once if your phone can support it. But Holiday's website shows that its eSIM works with over two dozen supported iPhones, as well as a slew of iPad models, over two dozen Samsung devices, and over a dozen Google Pixel devices. Select Huawei, Xiaomi, Motorola, Oppo, Sony, Nokia, Rakuten, Nuu, Sharp, Surface, and Honor devices are supported, too. The iPhone XR and newer should work with the eSIM, as should the Samsung Galaxy S20 and newer and a bunch of Z Flip models. Google Pixel 4 phones and newer will work with the eSIM, as will some Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 models.
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If you want to have multiple eSIMs going at the same time or have a newer phone without a physical SIM card slot, that'll work, too. If you have an older phone that takes a physical SIM card, you can activate the eSIM, too.
Data plans for the eSIM start at as low as just a few dollars a month and are purchased for a country at a time. For instance, 1GB of data in Canada for five days costs $5 USD, with other options ranging up to 20GB for 30 days for $43. Data plans for the UK range from $3.50 to $31.50, and Mexico data ranges from $5.50 to $39.
Data plans can be purchased for over 200 different countries, including the US, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, and other destinations across the Middle East, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. If you need to top up your data plan, you can do it anytime through the holiday.com website or app.
Existing ExpressVPN customers may be able to get special offers on the eSIM data plans, according to the company. Other eSIM services include MobileX, which earned our Editors' Choice designation because of its customizable plans, pricing, and network prioritization.
ExpressVPN's Holiday.com eSIM is available now. Stay tuned for our review.