eSIM for Thailand: the best plans compared for 2026

An eSIM for Thailand costs from 2.86 USD for 1 GB to about 39 USD for 15 days of unlimited data, and it works the moment your plane lands. Below are the Thailand eSIM plans of Airalo, Holafly, Saily and Yesim, prices checked on 14 November 2026, then the tourist SIMs sold at the airport and the new SIM rules for foreigners.

Thailand eSIM prices for 7, 15 and 30 days

Two kinds of plan exist. A fixed plan gives a set number of GB, a unlimited plan gives a number of days. Here is what each vendor charged for the trip lengths people search for most.

Prices read on each vendor's Thailand page. Yesim showed discounted prices that day, 12.10 USD instead of 28.60 USD for 10 GB. Saily and Yesim sell unlimited plans for Thailand in their apps, but their websites did not show every price.

"Unlimited" usually comes with a daily limit at full speed. Airalo's 3-day plan drops to 1 Mbps after 5 GB in a day. Holafly says a slowdown can apply for up to one day. Enough for maps and messages, slow for video calls.

Best eSIM for Thailand by type of trip

No single vendor wins every line of the table. Pick by how you use your phone.

• A week of maps, Grab and messages: a 1 GB to 3 GB plan is enough. Yesim (2.86 USD, 1 GB over 30 days), Saily (2.99 USD, 1 GB over 7 days) and Airalo (4 USD, 1 GB over 7 days) are the cheapest.
• Two to four weeks with normal use: 10 GB or 20 GB over 30 days costs about 11 to 20 USD at Airalo, Saily or Yesim. Airalo and Saily let you top up from the app if you run short.
• Video, uploads and laptop on hotspot: go unlimited. Saily allows hotspot use without a cap. Holafly caps hotspot sharing at 1 GB a day, which matters if you work from a laptop.
• Known network: Airalo runs on AIS and True-dtac in 5G, Holafly on True-dtac. Saily and Yesim do not name the Thai operator they use.

Thailand SIM card at the airport: AIS and True-dtac tourist SIMs

The other route is a tourist SIM from a Thai operator, bought after immigration. Both AIS and True-dtac sell it as a plastic SIM or as an eSIM, with unlimited data and a Thai phone number. For two weeks it costs about the same as a travel eSIM.

AIS prices come from its tourist page, read on 14 November 2026. True-dtac publishes only the 8-day price, so the other two are taken from its airport price boards as reported in 2026. Avoid the True-dtac data-only 10-day SIM if you need to call: calls and texts are blocked on it.

Buying a SIM at Suvarnabhumi airport

At Bangkok's main airport, SIM kiosks start before passport control and line the baggage hall. The kiosks before customs are reported to take cash only, while the large AIS and True-dtac shops in the arrivals hall, near Exit 6, take cards. A Thai ATM charges foreign cards 250 to 350 THB per withdrawal.

Prepaid SIMs are often a little cheaper in a mall shop in central Bangkok, but the gap is small. The same operator counters are reported at Don Mueang and at the airport of Phuket.

Thai SIM card rules for foreigners in 2026

Thailand tightened SIM registration twice in a year to fight phone scams. Rules published in the Royal Gazette on 29 August 2025 limit a foreign passport to three SIMs per operator and cap a tourist SIM at 60 days, with no top-up to stretch it.

Operators have been reported to check a live photo against your passport since 18 August 2025. An NBTC notification in force since 16 May 2026 requires registration in person at a shop or approved dealer, and activation within 60 days. These rules apply to SIMs and eSIMs sold by Thai operators.

A travel eSIM bought online from Airalo, Holafly, Saily or Yesim is not registered at a Thai counter. The NBTC has published nothing specific on these foreign vendors so far.

The 60-day cap matters if your stay is longer than a usual holiday, for example on a 60-day tourist visa with a 30-day extension. If you move to Thailand for longer, take a regular prepaid or monthly SIM in your own name and count it as a line in the cost of living in Thailand. Thai banks and many local apps send codes to a Thai number.

How much data you need in Thailand for 1, 2 or 4 weeks

Maps, Grab, messaging and a few photo uploads use far less than people expect. Video and hotspot use change the picture. This is our rough guide, not a vendor figure.

Hotel and café Wi-Fi is everywhere in tourist areas, so most people stay in the light or normal column. Buying a smaller plan and topping up later usually costs less than paying for unlimited days you do not use.

Does your phone work with a Thailand eSIM? Installation before you fly

Two conditions: the phone must support eSIM and be unlocked by your carrier. iPhones from the XS and XR onwards take an eSIM, and US models from the iPhone 14 onwards have no SIM tray at all. Recent Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones also work. Typing *#06# shows an EID number if your phone has an eSIM chip.

1. Buy the plan a few days before departure and install it at home on Wi-Fi, from the QR code or the vendor's app.
2. Leave it switched off as your data line until landing. Airalo and Saily start the plan at the first connection in Thailand, and Saily gives 180 days to activate.
3. On arrival, select the eSIM for mobile data and turn on data roaming for that line, which these vendors require.
4. Keep your home SIM on for calls and texts if you want bank codes, with its data switched off to avoid roaming charges.

Thai mobile networks and eSIM coverage on the islands

Thailand has two network groups. AIS, whose network company appears as Advanced Wireless Network in eSIM settings, and True-dtac, born from the merger of True and dtac. Both sell 5G and both sell tourist SIMs. Travel eSIMs ride on one or both of them.

Airalo states that its Thailand plan covers the mainland and the islands, naming Phuket, Koh Samui, Krabi and Phi Phi, and switches between AIS and True-dtac. Holafly uses True-dtac. If you plan to spend most of your time on small islands or in national parks among the places to visit in Thailand, a plan that can use both networks gives you a fallback when one signal is weak.

Calls, LINE, WhatsApp and Grab with a Thailand eSIM

None of the four travel eSIMs gives you a Thai phone number. They are data only. Calls go through WhatsApp, FaceTime or LINE, the messaging app most Thais use, hotels and tour desks included. Saily sells a separate US number with a calls and texts plan, which is not a Thai number.

Grab, the ride-hailing app of Thai cities, needs data to book and follow the car. It sends a code by text when you open an account, so create it at home on your usual number before you leave.

Roaming with your own carrier is the simplest option and the dearest: Verizon lists its TravelPass at 12 USD a day, about 168 USD for two weeks.