Best eSIM for Vietnam: What Works in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Mountains
Verdict:For a trip centered on Vietnam's cities, buy the Nomad Vietnam eSIM: 10 GB for 30 days is $17, it is cheaper than Airalo at every fixed tier from 5 GB up, and it runs on Vinaphone. Buy Airalo if you want a longer unlimited plan, and note that none of the three big travel eSIMs lists Viettel, the network guides recommend for the remote north.
For a Vietnam trip that stays in Hanoi, Hoi An, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City, the Nomad Vietnam eSIM is the best eSIM to buy: 10 GB for 30 days is $17, it undercuts Airalo at every fixed tier from 5 GB up, and it runs on Vinaphone. Airalo is the better buy if you want a long unlimited plan. Holafly costs the most.
One fact changes the whole decision for some trips. None of these three providers lists Viettel as its network, and Viettel is the one most guides recommend for the far north around Sapa and Ha Giang. If those mountains are on your route, read the Viettel section before you buy.
Prices below were read from each provider’s own page on October 12, 2026, and they change often, so confirm at checkout.
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Which Vietnamese network each plan uses
Vietnam’s three big networks are Viettel, Vinaphone, and MobiFone. Local Vietnam, a Vietnam travel guide, says all three give good service in cities and rates Viettel highest for rural and remote areas. That matches the pattern in other guides: Vinaphone and MobiFone are fine in tourist centers, and Viettel is the one that holds up on the Ha Giang loop.
Here is what each provider’s own page lists:
Nomad: Vinaphone on the fixed plans. The unlimited plans use Vietnamobile and MobiFone.
Airalo: VNPT on the unlimited plans. VNPT is the company behind Vinaphone.
Holafly: GPC Vinaphone (VNPT) on every plan.
That is the honest gap. We did not find firsthand reports of Airalo or Holafly working in the northern mountains, so we cannot tell you they do.
Nomad is cheaper than Airalo at every fixed tier from 5 GB up, and its fixed plans run on Vinaphone. The fixed plans are 1 GB for 7 days at $4, 3 GB for 30 days at $8, 5 GB for 30 days at $10, 10 GB for 30 days at $17, 20 GB for 30 days at $25, and 50 GB for 30 days at $39. Its listing says tethering is supported.
The unlimited plans are $18 for 5 days and $33 for 10 days, on Vietnamobile and MobiFone. Full speed runs up to 2 GB per day, then drops to 512 Kbps. That is a lower cap and a slower floor than Airalo’s, and it is worth noting that Nomad sells no unlimited plan longer than 10 days for Vietnam.
The negative is the network split. The cheap fixed plans use Vinaphone, and the unlimited plans use a different pair, so a heavy streamer is on a network you cannot compare directly to the fixed plans.
Airalo’s Vietnam eSIM is called Xin Chao, and its unlimited plans run on the VNPT network. The fixed plans are 1 GB for 3 days at $4, 5 GB for 7 days at $10, 5 GB for 30 days at $11, 10 GB for 30 days at $18, 20 GB for 30 days at $29, and 50 GB for 30 days at $49.
The unlimited plans are $11.50 for 3 days, $27 for 7 days, $34.50 for 10 days, $48 for 15 days, and $69 for 30 days. Full speed runs up to 3 GB per day, then drops to 1 Mbps. Airalo’s help centre confirms hotspot works if your phone and the network support it.
The negative is price. Airalo runs $1 to $10 above Nomad on comparable fixed plans, and the listing for its fixed plans does not name the network, so you are inferring Vinaphone from the unlimited listing.
Holafly sells only unlimited plans for Vietnam, on GPC Vinaphone (VNPT). Pricing is by duration: 3 days is $11.90, 5 days is $20.50, 7 days is $27.50, 10 days is $37.50, 15 days is $51.50, and 30 days is $76.50. You can pick any length from 1 to 90 days.
Compared with Airalo, a 10-day plan is $37.50 against $34.50 and a 30-day plan is $76.50 against $69. Holafly’s page says operators may restrict speeds for up to one day but publishes no daily number, and hotspot sharing is capped at 1 GB per day.
A Vietnam travel guide also notes that Holafly is the most expensive option and provides no local Vietnamese number, which is true of every eSIM in this comparison.
Viettel is the network guides keep recommending for the far north. One provider-run guide still warns that the Ha Giang loop has dead zones in passes and remote valleys even on Viettel, and tells riders to download offline maps. Another guide says Sapa’s town centers have strong 4G but hiking routes into the hills lose signal quickly.
Local Vietnam lists two ways to get Viettel. A Viettel eSIM bought in Vietnam is the cheapest and requires passport registration, and “VietnamEsim by Gigago” is a reseller that sells a Viettel-network eSIM online before the trip, at about EUR 13 for 15 days or EUR 18 for 30 days. We did not verify that reseller’s plans ourselves, so check the plan page and the reviews before you buy.
What travelers say
Reddit coverage is thin. A GummySearch roundup of Reddit comments had no Vietnam mentions at all, and we found no firsthand accounts of Airalo or Holafly in the northern mountains. For Nomad, one Reddit user wrote that they used it in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China “with no issues,” which is not Vietnam evidence.
Treat this as the real state of the evidence: the network names above come from the providers, and the coverage rankings come from guides, not from speed tests.
Before you buy
Your phone must be eSIM-capable and not carrier-locked. A carrier-locked phone will not accept a travel eSIM.
Install it before you fly. Scan the QR code on home Wi-Fi, then switch it on after landing.
If your trip is Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City, buy Nomad. 10 GB for 30 days is $17 on Vinaphone, below Airalo at every fixed tier from 5 GB up.
If you want unlimited data for 15 to 30 days, buy Airalo. $48 for 15 days and $69 for 30 days, with a published 3 GB per day cap.
If you want unlimited data by the exact day and accept the price, buy Holafly. A 7-day plan is $27.50, with hotspot capped at 1 GB per day.
If you are riding Ha Giang or trekking Sapa, consider a Viettel-network plan. None of the three above lists Viettel, so look at a Viettel eSIM or a reseller instead.
Airalo vs Holafly compared on real USD prices for Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam, daily data caps, hotspot rules, and who each eSIM is right for.
Verdict: Buy Airalo for most trips: it was cheaper than Holafly on every unlimited duration we checked in Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam, it sells fixed-GB plans that cost far less for light use, and it publishes its daily full-speed cap. Buy Holafly only if you want unlimited data sold by the exact day, from 1 to 90 days, and accept paying from $0.50 to about $25 more.
Airalo vs Saily compared on live prices, coverage, calls, apps, support, and Trustpilot scores, with a clear pick for each kind of trip.
Verdict: Airalo is the better default because its prices match Saily's almost to the cent and it adds calls and SMS plans, 3 to 365 day validity, and wider regional coverage. Saily is the better pick if you want a single reusable eSIM, faster in-app support, and a much higher Trustpilot score (4.7 against 4.1).
Anker power bank review for travelers: Laptop 25K 165W, Prime 26K 300W, MagGo 10K Slim and Nano 5K compared by weight, price, Wh, and the recall list.
Verdict: For most travelers carrying a laptop, the Anker Laptop Power Bank (25K, 165W) is the Anker to buy, because it pairs 92.5Wh of capacity with two built-in cables for $119.99. If you only charge an iPhone, buy the MagGo 10K Slim or the Nano 5K instead.
