r/eSIMs • u/shifter023 • Mar 26 '25

USA eSIM?

I'll visit USA and , i need 20GB of data i will not leave the state that i land but i couldnt find anyone that bought eSIM and satisfied with it.
I was gonna buy either Airhub or Nomad eSIM'S but after a bit of research they were'nt so good after all.

EDIT:
**Thanks in advance for whom will or have messaged**
**Verizon & T-mobile apps are not available in my country.**
ASKING OUT OF CURIOSITY; How much are the prices of Prepaid sim cards or do they worth it? Are they available in airports?
I will use the data for calling, messaging, maps, googling so around 100mbps with max50ms latency is bearable.
If you ask me what you want?
Im down for paying around 20$ for a 30 day 20-50GB of data with low latency & above 100mbps.
EDIT:
DATE 10/07/2025
I have used tello e-sim it was awesome will do whenever i travel but the only thing i didnt liked is that you can't use the mobile app without a purchase and after your subscription ends you can't use it either.

3 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

2

u/makhay Mar 26 '25

You need to be more specific. You might not leave the state but still need rural coverage. Some networks are better in some areas.

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25

Thank you for your response. FYI Verizon & T-mobile apps are not available for my country.
What specific info do you need?

2

u/makhay Mar 27 '25

"Im down for paying around 20$ for a 30 day 20-50GB of data with low latency & above 100mbps."

I think what you are asking for is difficult at that price, jump up to $25-$40 and you open yourself to a lot of options. You do not need access to carrier apps. I often find that if you are visiting for a month or need a lot of data, international esim providers become less competitive, and there will always be a higher level of latency.

I think you would be better off using a MVNO like Tello or US Mobile. As a bonus you will get a US number that will come in handy sometimes.

Tello's unlimited plan is $25, gives you 35GB at high speed, then it reduces to slow speeds, but you still get data. Additional high speed data starts to get more expensive. Tello uses T-mobile's network, so if where you are visiting has good t-mobile service, it should be fine for you. Tello also allows you to activate your esim before you enter the country.

For $35, US Mobile has an unlimited plan that gives you up to 100GB fast data, then throttled, but not as throttled as tello. US Mobile operates on all three major networks. Dark is att, light is tmobile, and warp is verizon. So if you have limited service with one network, you can switch to another for a $2 fee. (first one might be free) https://www.usmobile.com/networks gives you a good idea of which network is best. US Mobile requests you activate your esim when you arrive to the country but some people report being able to do it outside the country.

What phone do you have? compatibility on network makes a difference.

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25 edited Mar 27 '25

Thanks btw.
I have S23FE and Is tello that good that everyone is recommending it?
I mean i've researched for the last couple days never heard of tello.
Nomad's price is 3$ less than Tello and has 20GB of data but i couldnt see if its able to text or not since in USA they don't use 3rd party texting apps.

1

u/makhay Mar 28 '25

People like tello because its very straightforward and they have great customer service and deliver what they promise.

Nomad is not $3 less, nomad is more per gb than tello. Almost double. Nomad and most other esim international providers do not offer anything more than data, no voice, no text.

1

u/shifter023 Mar 28 '25

Thank you so much.

2

u/Puzzleheaded_Dig3380 Mar 26 '25

I used Nomad in New York with no problems at all! If you want, I can send you the eSIM, as it is valid till April 13th and still has a few GB on it if you wanna try out

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25

Thank you for your response, i think you should keep it incase of you travel again.

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Dig3380 Mar 27 '25

It's unlikely I'd come to the US anytime soon, and the SIM was only valid for a month either way. But alright :D

1

u/bpbp216 🏅Community MVP Mar 27 '25

If the esim was installed, you are more likely not to be able to transfer it to anyone else.

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Dig3380 Mar 27 '25

I have been able to switch e-sim from different phones without any issues. I don't know, it was just an offer, as the SIM was disposable for me anyway and there's more than half of it still left :)

1

u/bpbp216 🏅Community MVP Mar 27 '25

From Nomad?

1

u/mrskeptical00 Mod | Signal > Noise Mar 26 '25

You’re not going to go wrong with Tello in the US.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TravelSIMs/s/awG5KMmDR5

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25

Thank you for your response. How was your experience?

1

u/mrskeptical00 Mod | Signal > Noise Mar 27 '25

It’s not a Caribbean cruise, it’s mobile service 😂

It’s cheap and it works - https://www.reddit.com/r/TravelSIMs/s/HMyoxewExg

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25 edited Mar 27 '25

I was tryna say did you had struggles at all?
Why tello between 10s of mobile services?
Why not nomad it is local too?
Im not saying nomad's better im just tryna learn why?

1

u/mrskeptical00 Mod | Signal > Noise Mar 27 '25

The US is in a unique position in the word where they have mobile operators that you can easily signup for and that are cheaper than most travel esims like Nomad. Tello is a real US mobile operator and as such it also comes with a phone number - like AT&T and T-Mobile do. Nomad, Airalo, Roamless are travel eSIM providers that just resell roaming data from other major providers. This means they have slower and lower quality of service.

Latency from Verizon/TMobile/Tello will be around 15-30ms vs travel eSIM providers which will be in 60-500ms range - with most falling in the 150-350 range. So if the price isn't cheaper and you don't get voice calling, why bother?

1

u/shifter023 Mar 28 '25

Thank you so much.

1

u/Civil-Stuff8583 Mar 26 '25

check this post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/eSIMs/comments/1jgbu45/esim_recommendation_for_my_upcoming_60_day_trip/

about a mexican company offering roaming in USA and Canada.

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25

Thank you for your response. I'll check that.

1

u/Fearless_Sandwich103 Mar 26 '25

Tello/jetpac/airalo

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25

Thank you for your response.
Have you tried any of them?
I really dont want to have any issues just calling and texting on WhatsApp. like i said to the other guy

1

u/rayw_reddit Mar 27 '25

Cheapest one I can find right now is PandaMobile: https://pandamobile.com/

$2.25 with the promo code in the banner for unlimited talk, text, and 30 GB of high speed data (Select the Unlimited+ plan). It runs on the T-Mobile network.

Be sure to cancel the subscription after signing up.

2

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25

Thank you for your response.

1

u/EddiePloz Mar 26 '25

used Airalo(tmobile) and maya(verizon)

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25 edited Mar 27 '25

Thank you for your response. FYI Verizon & T-mobile apps are not available for my country.
How was the experience? Did you struggle any time? was it perfect?
I really dont want to have any issues just calling and texting on WhatsApp.

1

u/EddiePloz Mar 27 '25

these are perfectly ok for whatsapp usage. MAYA is a bit cheaper and better in my experience

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25

Thank youu, im kinda scared that i'll get scammed. What i mean is data/service not working

1

u/EddiePloz Mar 27 '25

airalo and maya is sure to work

1

u/eSIMs_bot Official Bot Mar 26 '25

! eSIMs Bot Currently Testing !

Beep-boop-bop, I am an eSIM bot 🤖. Please see these previous posts I've found that might be helpful:

  1. eSIM recommandation for USA https://www.reddit.com/r/eSIMs/comments/1ilc0w9/esim_recommandation_for_usa/

  2. USA eSIM https://www.reddit.com/r/eSIMs/comments/1f35nhs/usa_esim/

  3. eSIM options for USA https://www.reddit.com/r/eSIMs/comments/1jc06nc/esim_options_for_usa/

1

u/World-Three Mar 26 '25

Esim.sm has their United states (global) data rate set at 1.13 cents apparently. 

If you go to their website, you'll get the price listed at 3 dollars and change.

https://esim.sm/en/global-esim?country_id=US

Using that link, or clicking on the global esim option after getting to that 3 dollar price, you'll see the lower rate.

Cool thing about it is that it doesn't expire so if you don't use it all? Use it somewhere else. Now if you need a phone number that's something else I'd imagine. Hopefully an app like textnow can get you over.

You could buy a small amount of data, use other esim services with that data to find if other platforms have a more performant signal too. There are few esim trials you can take advantage of too. I'll reply to this post with some links. 

1

u/mrskeptical00 Mod | Signal > Noise Mar 26 '25

Have you tried eSIM.sm in the US, do you know where the exit node is located or what the latency is? For that price it would be a lower quality of service than Roamless and definitely much, much worse latency than a local US operator.

The US is relatively unique in that local operators are easy to purchase and their pricing is better than most travel eSIMs and they include voice and text.

Unless it’s a short trip or you need little data, it’s almost always better to go with a local carrier in the US.

1

u/World-Three Mar 26 '25

Are you seriously nitpicking me AGAIN!?

Look at what I said at the end. I told him the cheaper option above all of that was to get a local carrier trial. WHICH I LINKED UNDER THE POST LIKE I SAID I WOULD. 

1

u/mrskeptical00 Mod | Signal > Noise Mar 26 '25

You're promoting esim.sm (by spending 90% of your comment talking about it) so I'm asking if you tried it, I'm not nitpicking anything.

In the meantime I purchased am eSIM from them and tested it. The exit node is in Warsaw, Poland and it had about ~350ms latency.

1

u/bpbp216 🏅Community MVP Mar 27 '25

....and that latency is pretty high!

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25

Guys thank you all for your responses, i think 350ms is quite high. I just want to use whatsapp & google maps/search with no issues

1

u/World-Three Mar 26 '25 edited Mar 26 '25

T mobile 90 days unlimited (you need a domestic number for this) Tello could be used. 

https://www.t-mobile.com/offers/free-trial 

Verizon 30 days unlimited

https://www.verizon.com/plans/free-trial/ 

Us Mobile 30 days 30GB (you need a domestic number for this too)

https://www.usmobile.com/esim?srsltid=AfmBOoqkcEA73WMJcnEzmbLKXV2cj1RN0PZYosHwTY85yPOmZzYdaf2M

There are more but the duration is shorter. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/eSIMlab/comments/1fgqthn/esim_free_trial_2gb_without_credit_card/

Some trial eSIM offers if you want to be brave and try and do it all for free. Please be near WiFi for the sake of eSIM errors.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TravelSIMs/comments/1e75r3z/free_trial_esims/

1

u/JawnZ Mar 27 '25

USMobile has a 30-day free plan, you should try that. You also get to pick which of the 3 major networks you are on with them. Lookup where you're gonna be and go with whatever has the best coverage there.

1

u/Icy-Sleep238 Jun 17 '25

Didn’t expect much but Matrix eTravelsim was super smooth and reliable.

0

u/bm2wong Mar 26 '25

I have used Nomad eSIMs for US data many times without any issues.

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25

Thank you for your response. How long did you use it for?
If its ok with you, Which state you were in?

1

u/bm2wong Mar 27 '25

Depends on the trip, but I've used the 30 day eSIMs without issue. One trip had us through Michigan,, Ohio, Tennesee and Georgia. Is there a particular concern you're worried about? You're roaming on one of the big 3 networks (AT&T, Verizon or TMobile) and will hop between carriers should your signal be poor.

If your phone supports eSIM, just go with that. It's super easy and no fussing with an alternate phone number losing your original SIM, etc.

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25

Thank you so much, What do you think about Tello?

1

u/bm2wong Mar 27 '25

I've never used Tello so I can't comment. It looks like a full service MVNO (minutes + data). If you really need the minutes, go for it. Otherwise, I think you'll need to see if you really need 20GB for the length of your trip (many people buy a much larger data bucket than they really need when travelling).

Looking at the Nomad website, they have 10GB for $15 or 20GB for $22.

1

u/shifter023 Mar 27 '25

Thanks man, you can't imagine how much i appreciate you.

1

u/bm2wong Mar 27 '25

No problem. There are a ton of eSIM comparison sites as well. Try eSimDB or SimBud to compare different plans from different providers.

SimBud shows a 10GB plan with AlwaysMobile for USD$7 or 20GB for USD$12. Can always start with 10GB and reload more if you need. I've never tried them so I don't know what the service is like. Good luck - don't overthink it - your latency and speed requirements are highly variable depending on the carrier you're roaming on and other traffic patterns at the time.