Almost every travel plan described as unlimited has a limit written underneath it. Here is what that limit usually is, how to read it before you pay, and what we sell instead — because we would rather hand you a number than a promise.
A promise versus a number
Unlimited plan
A word, with a policy behind it
- What you buy
- A claim, not a measurable amount
- The catch
- A fair-use threshold inside the terms
- When you find out
- Part-way through the trip
Fine once you have read the fair-use terms and they match how you actually travel.
Fixed-data plan
One number, one price
- What you buy
- An exact amount, such as 10GB
- The catch
- It runs out — you buy the next size
- When you find out
- Before you pay, on the plan card
What we sell: gigabytes, days and price sit on the same card.
Wi-Fi where you find it
Free, and only where it exists
- What you buy
- Nothing at all
- The catch
- It stops at the door, the bus, the beach
- When you find out
- The moment you need it
Excellent for downloads and updates; not a plan for the road.
What unlimited usually means
Unlimited travel data is normally sold with a fair-use policy. The plan gives you a large amount at full speed, then slows down for the rest of the period — or for the rest of the day — once you pass a threshold the provider sets.
That threshold, and the speed afterwards, differ between providers and plans, and they sit in the plan's own terms. We do not quote other providers' numbers here, because we have not verified them. Read the terms of whichever plan you are considering, in full, before you pay.
Five questions to ask any listing
Whatever the banner says, the questions are the same everywhere. How much data at full speed? What happens after that — slower, or stopped? Is the cap per day, or across the whole plan? Does sharing the connection with a laptop count the same way? Does the plan cover every country on your route?
A listing that answers none of them is selling you the word rather than the data. One that answers all five is a plan you can actually build a trip around.
What we sell instead
We do not sell unlimited plans. Every plan we sell carries a fixed amount of data for a fixed number of days, and the gigabytes, the days and the price are on the same card before you pay.
For heavy trips we go big rather than vague. Turkey 50GB for 30 days is $34, Japan 50GB for 30 days is $37.50, and the USA has a 100GB plan for 10 days at $140. Those are real plans we sell today, at the size shown — not an unlimited plan with a ceiling you discover later.
If you already bought an unlimited plan
Open the fair-use section now, before you fly, and find the number. Then put a back-up in place: download offline maps and your boarding passes on Wi-Fi, leave your home SIM in the phone, and note whose Wi-Fi you would actually use if the speed drops.
And if that number is smaller than your trip, a fixed-data plan for the same days is usually the calmer option — you know the price before you leave, and there is nothing to monitor on the road.
Quick answers
Is unlimited eSIM data really unlimited?
Not in the way the word suggests. Most unlimited travel plans carry a fair-use limit: after a set amount of data, or a set amount per day, the speed drops for the rest of the period. The number is written in the plan's terms — check it before you buy.
Do you sell unlimited data?
No. Every plan we sell is fixed data — an exact number of gigabytes for an exact number of days — so you know what you are buying before you pay.
What should I buy instead of an unlimited plan?
Match the size to your trip length. 1GB suits a short, light-use trip; 3–5GB a normal week; 10GB a busy week with maps, calls and uploads; 50GB for heavy use or a long stay. Our plans start at $2.50.
What happens when a fixed plan runs out?
The data stops until you buy another plan. There is no automatic renewal and no surprise charge — you choose the next size yourself, whenever you need it.
New to eSIM? Read the installation guide and check your phone on the compatibility page.