Vietnam eSIM Prices in 2026: Yesim vs. Saily vs. Airalo vs. eSIM Surfer

Vietnam has become one of the most popular long-haul destinations in Europe: Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, the lanterns of Hoi An, the Mekong Delta and the constant motion of Ho Chi Minh City. All of it is harder without mobile data – booking a Grab, following Google Maps and checking into your accommodation all need a connection, and roaming outside the EU is expensive here.

Four names come up again and again in travel groups: Yesim, Saily, Airalo and eSIM Surfer. All four work in Vietnam, but their prices differ by a factor of three or more. So we put them side by side, covering both fixed-data and unlimited plans.

How we collected these prices

We pulled the Yesim, Saily and Airalo prices from their public, euro-denominated price lists on 7 August 2026, without discount coupons or first-purchase promotions. eSIM Surfer figures are our own list prices. Prices change frequently, so treat the numbers below as a snapshot rather than a guarantee.

One methodological note, because without it any table like this misleads: we only compare plans with the same validity period. A 7-day plan and a 30-day plan are not the same product, so where a competitor only sells a 30-day plan, we list our 30-day price rather than our cheaper short-validity one. Where a provider has no plan at a given duration, we say so.

Fixed-data plans: 30-day validity

Thirty days is the most common validity across all four providers, so this is the cleanest like-for-like comparison.

In the typical holiday range of 5 to 10 GB, eSIM Surfer costs roughly half of the other three: EUR 5.99 against EUR 9.60 to EUR 10.00 at 5 GB, and EUR 7.99 against EUR 15.99 to EUR 16.50 at 10 GB. For a couple travelling together, the 10 GB gap alone is a decent dinner in Hoi An.

Fixed-data plans: 7-day validity

For a one-week trip there is no reason to pay for a month of validity. The field narrows here, though: Yesim sells its fixed-data plans exclusively with 30-day validity, so it drops out of this comparison.

Where a competitor wins

In one case: if you need just 1 GB across a longer trip, Yesim's EUR 2.50 plan with 30-day validity is the cheapest of the four. eSIM Surfer offers 1 GB only with 7-day validity, so we have nothing to put against it at that duration.

Compare like for like at 7 days, though, and the order flips: our 1 GB plan is EUR 2.99 against Saily's EUR 3.49.

Note also that Yesim's fixed-data prices are displayed as discounts against a struck-through list price, so they are promotional and can move.

Unlimited plans: where the gap gets large

This is no longer a matter of a few euros. On a two-week trip, an unlimited plan costs EUR 10.99 with eSIM Surfer against EUR 39 to EUR 43.50 elsewhere – a difference of roughly EUR 30 on a single phone.

It is also striking how closely the three international providers cluster: the 7-day unlimited plan is EUR 23.99, EUR 24.50 and EUR 24.50. That is not a coincidence. They are largely reselling the same wholesale capacity at similar margins.

What "unlimited" actually means

Before buying any unlimited plan, it is worth knowing that none of them means unlimited speed. Every provider's unlimited product is governed by the local network's Fair Usage Policy.

Airalo is the most transparent about it: its Vietnam unlimited plans drop to 1 Mbps after 3 GB of usage per day. Yesim and Saily use looser language, stating only that speed may be limited according to the operator's fair usage rules, without publishing a threshold.

In practice, 1 Mbps still handles maps, messaging and general browsing, but video and large uploads will struggle. This is why most travellers are better served by a correctly sized fixed-data plan than by an unlimited one.

Validity traps

The tables hide one more difference worth checking: how long each plan stays valid.

• Airalo: the cheapest EUR 4.00 plan lasts just 3 days, and the 3 GB plan 7 days. For a two-week trip you either buy twice or jump straight to a pricier 30-day plan.
• Saily: the 1 GB plan runs 7 days, everything else 30 days.
• Yesim: all fixed-data plans are 30 days, which is a genuine strength of their line-up.
• eSIM Surfer: most data tiers come in 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 30-day versions, so you are not forced to overpay for validity you will not use.

Coverage: everyone is on the same towers

This matters because higher prices are often mistaken for better quality: no eSIM provider builds its own network in Vietnam. They all run on local carriers – Viettel, Vinaphone and Mobifone – and Airalo's Vietnam plan, for instance, uses VNPT.

4G coverage is good in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An and around Ha Long Bay, and less consistent in mountainous areas such as Sapa or Ha Giang. Paying three times more does not change that.

Local SIM or eSIM in Vietnam?

You can buy a cheap local SIM at the airport counters in Vietnam, but the process requires your passport and a registration step, and tourist-facing desks often charge a premium. You also spend your first hour after landing queuing – exactly when you most need data to arrange a transfer.

An eSIM is installed at home over Wi-Fi and activates by itself once your phone first registers on a Vietnamese network after touchdown.

Verdict: which one should you take to Vietnam?

• A typical two to three-week trip (5–10 GB): eSIM Surfer, at EUR 5.99 to EUR 7.99.
• If you want unlimited data: eSIM Surfer again – this is where the gap is widest – but think about whether you really need unlimited at all.
• If 1 GB across a month is enough: check Yesim's EUR 2.50 plan, the one tier where a competitor comes out ahead.
• Airalo: expensive for Vietnam, and the short validity on its cheaper plans makes it awkward for longer trips. To its credit, it publishes its fair-usage threshold more clearly than the others.

Group recommendations are a reasonable starting point, but Yesim and Airalo owe much of their popularity to international brand recognition. On price, eSIM Surfer remains the better choice for Vietnam in 2026.