Roamly vs Airalo
An honest, like-for-like comparison for Australian travellers. Prices checked 19 September 2026.
Airalo is the biggest name in travel eSIMs, and for good reason: it covers more places than anyone, sells unlimited plans, and has an app on both platforms. Roamly is a small Australian company that does fewer things and prices them lower.
On the six destinations Australians fly to most, a like-for-like 5 GB plan is 16% to 41% cheaper with Roamly, every plan includes hotspot and can be topped up, and the person answering the chat is in Sydney. If you need unlimited data, a phone number, or a destination we don't cover yet, Airalo is the better fit today. The rest of this page is the detail behind that.
At a glance
| Roamly | Airalo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Priced and charged in AUD by an Australian company. | Shown in AUD to Australian visitors. 16 currencies supported. |
| Coverage | 100+ countries and territories, through single-country plans and regional bundles. | 200+ countries and regions. |
| Plan types | Fixed-data plans. No unlimited option. | Fixed-data and unlimited plans, local, regional and global. Unlimited slows to 1 Mbps after 3 GB in a day. |
| Calls and texts | Data only. Your Australian SIM stays in for calls and texts. | Voice and text packages in some countries. Of the six compared here, only the USA. |
| Hotspot | Included on every plan, no restrictions. | Allowed where the device and network support it. Some eSIMs need a manual APN setting. |
| Top-ups | Reloadable plans top up from My eSIMs without reinstalling. Every plan in the six destinations below is reloadable. | Only on eSIMs marked rechargeable. |
| Support | Real people in Sydney by live chat, email and phone, 9am to 5pm AEST. Replies within 24 hours. | 24/7 live chat and WhatsApp, in several languages. |
| Refunds | Generally not available once your eSIM is provisioned. Always refunded if provisioning fails, nothing is delivered, or you're charged twice. Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply. | Withdraw within 14 days or before activation, whichever comes first. Wrong-purchase refunds go to Airmoney credit; faults are refunded to Airmoney or your card within 30 days of the issue. |
| Apps | iPhone app. Android coming soon; the website works on any phone. | iPhone and Android apps. |
| Payment | Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay and Google Pay. | Cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Alipay in the app. |
| Rewards | Cashback credit that grows with what you've spent, plus referral credit. | Airmoney cashback of 5 to 10% by spend tier. Credit expires after a year unused. |
| Company | Australian-owned and run from Sydney (HJ Atlas Pty Ltd). | Founded 2019, registered in Singapore (AirGSM Pte Ltd). 30 million+ users worldwide. |
Like-for-like prices
The fairest comparison is the same plan on both sides. Both companies sell a 5 GB, 30-day plan in each of these destinations, so nothing here is approximated. Prices are in Australian dollars as each site shows them to an Australian visitor, read on 19 September 2026.
| 5 GB, 30 days | Roamly | Airalo | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | $12.45 | $19.50 | $7.05 (36%) |
| Japan | $9.45 | $16.00 | $6.55 (41%) |
| Thailand | $9.10 | $11.50 | $2.40 (21%) |
| Vietnam | $13.50 | $16.00 | $2.50 (16%) |
| USA | $15.40 | $19.50 | $4.10 (21%) |
| New Zealand | $15.45 | $20.00 | $4.55 (23%) |
Every Roamly plan in this table can be topped up from My eSIMs without reinstalling.
The cheapest way in
Entry-level plans aren't like-for-like, so here's what each one buys. Airalo's is a 1 GB, 3-day plan; Roamly's starts at 3 GB for 15 or 30 days. For a weekend, Airalo's can be the cheaper ticket. For anything longer, the extra dollar or two buys three times the data and a much longer clock.
| Cheapest plan | Roamly | Airalo |
|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | $7.003 GB, 15 days | $6.501 GB, 3 days |
| Japan | $5.453 GB, 15 days | $6.001 GB, 3 days |
| Thailand | $6.803 GB, 30 days | $6.001 GB, 3 days |
| Vietnam | $8.003 GB, 30 days | $6.001 GB, 3 days |
| USA | $8.453 GB, 30 days | $6.001 GB, 3 days |
| New Zealand | $7.453 GB, 15 days | $6.001 GB, 3 days |
Where each one wins
Which should you pick?
Going to Bali, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the US or New Zealand for a week or more? Roamly. The like-for-like plan is cheaper, you can hotspot and top up, and you're not converting currency.
Want unlimited data, a local phone number, or somewhere we don't cover yet? Airalo. Those are real gaps in our catalogue and we'd rather say so than sell you the wrong thing.
Two or three days, light use? Compare the entry plans above. Airalo's 1 GB plan can be the cheaper ticket for a very short trip.
Common questions
Roamly figures are from our own plan catalogue and policies. Airalo figures were read from airalo.com and its help centre on 19 September 2026, in AUD as shown to a visitor in Australia, and checked a second time the same day. Both companies change prices and terms; we re-check this page monthly. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@onroamly.com. Airalo is a trademark of its owner. Roamly is not affiliated with Airalo.
Compare something else
