By CheckeSIMRates · Prices checked 9 November 2026
eSIM Black Friday deals are unlikely to come from cuts to the price list: across 57,597 plans that we checked every night for 26 nights, 90% never moved by as much as 2%. The discounts we could verify are also small, 5% at Holafly and 13% at Airhub last year, far too small to make a brand like Airalo the cheapest: to match the cheapest listed plan with 5 GB for a week, Airalo would need to cut its price by a median 59% across 185 destinations.
Our data stops on 9 November, 18 days before Black Friday (27 November 2026), so this is the baseline: how prices behave when nothing special is happening. We plan to add what actually changed on 27–30 November after Cyber Monday. This page compares prices only, not networks, speed or support, and what a provider announces can change.
Key findings
- 90% of plans never moved. 51,936 of 57,597 plans stayed within 2% of their price over 26 nightly checks (15 October to 9 November 2026), and at 14 of 28 providers fewer than 0.5% of plans moved.
- A few providers reprice often. Global YO moved 99% of its plans, Yatelo 81% and Breeze 72%, so a “percent off” banner there tells you little.
- The gap is about 60%, not 20%. To match the cheapest listed plan with 5 GB or more for 7 days or more, the median discount needed is 59% for Airalo, 60% for Saily, 60% for Ubigi, 56% for Yesim, 52% for Airhub and 62% for Roamless.
- A 30% sale rarely gets there. At 30% off, each of the six brands matches the cheapest plan in 8–21% of destinations. Without the two providers that reprice constantly the median gap is 44–53%.
- Verified offers are small. Holafly’s Black Friday page (updated 6 November) shows 5% off with a code; Airhub’s page says its 2026 offer is not confirmed and last year’s was 13%.
- Buying early has a time limit. Ubigi says a plan must be activated within 6 months of purchase; Airalo says an unconnected eSIM may be recycled, often after 90 days.
Do eSIM prices drop on Black Friday?
Usually not on the price list. Most providers kept the same prices for weeks in our data, so a Black Friday deal at those providers is likely to arrive as a code, a bundle or a short cut, and the two official offers we could verify are codes. Whether the list prices move on 27–30 November is what we plan to measure next, using the same method as below.
The useful question for a buyer is different: is the discounted price lower than the cheapest plan for the same trip? The sections below answer that with our data, and the checklist near the end shows how to check any offer.
What does 26 days of eSIM price tracking show?
Of the 57,597 plans that appeared in every one of our 26 nightly checks between 15 October and 9 November 2026, 51,936 (90.2%) stayed within 2% of their price. A plan counts as moved if its highest and lowest price in the window differ by 2% or more and by at least $0.05, after adjusting euro prices for exchange rates.
The 14 providers where fewer than 0.5% of plans moved cover 40,633 of the plans: eSIMCard, aloSIM, Airalo, GIGAGO, Holafly, Yesim, Quibity, eSIMatic, eSIM2Fly, GoMoWorld, Instabridge, Eskimo, SimCorner and BNESIM. Holafly moved none of its 10,677 plans.
Which eSIM providers change prices all the time?
| Provider | Plans tracked every night | Plans that moved 2% or more | Plans that fell 10% or more below their peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global YO | 1,726 | 99% | 99% |
| Yatelo | 1,147 | 81% | 48% |
| Breeze | 2,441 | 72% | 43% |
| Simify | 117 | 70% | 0% |
| TravSim | 673 | 23% | 0.6% |
| Voye Global | 782 | 23% | 21% |
| Sim Local | 1,074 | 18% | 11% |
| Orange Travel | 854 | 17% | 17% |
| eSimGlobe | 2,479 | 11% | 9.8% |
| SimAbove | 2,023 | 8% | 6.4% |
| Ubigi | 907 | 2.5% | 1.5% |
| Roamless | 941 | 1.8% | 1.3% |
| eTravelSim | 1,053 | 1.5% | 1% |
| Saily | 747 | 1.1% | 1.1% |
Global YO’s typical plan sat 40% lower at its cheapest than at its dearest within the 26 days, and Yatelo’s and Breeze’s about 9–10%. At providers like these a sale banner may just be today’s position in a regular swing, so compare with what the plan cost last week. Orange Travel’s numbers come mostly from one change on 5 November, explained below. Simify moved 70% of its few plans, by a few percent at a time, and none fell 10%.
What did Voye and Orange Travel change on 5 November?
In our data, the only broad cuts at otherwise stable providers happened on one day. On 5 November our check recorded Voye Global cutting 164 plans by more than 10%, for example its 7-day unlimited plan for the United Kingdom from $29 to $23, and Orange Travel showing lower prices on 138 plans. All of them were still in place on 9 November, so they look like repricing or a long promotion, not a one-day sale.
Orange Travel is a useful example of how a deal looks on a page. Its redesigned Thailand offer page shows an “original price” next to a “promotional price”, for example €1.99 against €8.99 for 5 GB over 7 days, and the price we record is the promotional one. The “original” price is the seller’s own claim, and we do not know when the promotion started or when it ends. It also shows why a “70% off” label does not tell you whether the plan is cheap: judge the price you pay.
How big a Black Friday discount would make an eSIM brand the cheapest?
We took each destination where at least three providers sell a single-country plan with 5 GB or more for 7 days or more (211 destinations), found the cheapest listed one and asked how much each of six brands would have to cut its own cheapest plan of that kind to match it. This is the price of 5 GB for a week, not a recommendation: networks, speed and fair use differ.
| Brand | Destinations compared | Its median cheapest 5 GB+ plan | Median cheapest listed plan | Median discount needed | Matches the cheapest at 30% off | Matches at 50% off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airhub | 160 | $13.75 | $6.24 | 52% | 21% | 47% |
| Yesim | 176 | $14 | $6.99 | 56% | 15% | 40% |
| Airalo | 185 | $17 | $7.49 | 59% | 12% | 32% |
| Saily | 180 | $17.60 | $7.49 | 60% | 13% | 29% |
| Ubigi | 139 | $17 | $6.49 | 60% | 14% | 27% |
| Roamless | 159 | $16.45 | $6.51 | 62% | 8% | 30% |
At 5% off, the size of the code on Holafly’s page, no brand reaches the cheapest plan in more than 5% of destinations. Even a 30% sale gets Roamless there in 8% of destinations and Airhub in 21%, the highest share of the six. In 192 of the 211 destinations the cheapest plan comes from another seller, and Yatelo alone has it in 98.
Because Yatelo and Global YO reprice constantly, we also ran the comparison without them. The median gap falls to 44–53% and a 30% sale reaches the cheapest plan in 19–35% of destinations. Using each plan’s 26-day median price instead of today’s gives 55–61% for the five brands with enough history. The answer stays at about half or more.
What does that gap look like in popular destinations?
| Destination | Airalo’s cheapest plan with 5 GB+ for 7+ days | Cheapest listed plan | Discount Airalo would need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | $11 (5 GB, 30 days) | $3.70 (5 GB, 7 days, eSIMCard) | 66% |
| Spain | $9 (5 GB, 30 days) | $2.99 (5 GB, 30 days, Yatelo) | 67% |
| Italy | $12 (5 GB, 30 days) | $3.99 (5 GB, 30 days, Yatelo) | 67% |
| United Kingdom | $13 (5 GB, 30 days) | $3.99 (5 GB, 30 days, Yatelo) | 69% |
| United States | $13.50 (5 GB, 30 days) | $5.49 (5 GB, 30 days, Yatelo) | 59% |
| Türkiye | $10 (5 GB, 30 days) | $2.49 (5 GB, 30 days, Yatelo) | 75% |
| Indonesia | $13.50 (5 GB, 30 days) | $4.49 (5 GB, 30 days, Yatelo) | 67% |
Across these seven destinations the gap is 59–75%. Prices are those our check recorded on 9 November; we confirmed Yatelo’s Spain price of $2.99 for 5 GB over 30 days on its page that day, and shops can show other prices by visitor country. For how prices vary by size see our price per GB study and 10 GB price study, and for unlimited plans, which this comparison leaves out because their fair-use limits differ, read do unlimited eSIMs slow down and fixed-data versus unlimited.
What have eSIM providers announced for Black Friday 2026?
| Provider | What its own page says (read 9 November 2026) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Holafly | Black Friday page updated 6 November 2026. It names 27 November, 30 November and Travel Tuesday (1 December) and advertises 5% off its unlimited eSIMs with a code; it states no larger eSIM discount. | Black Friday page |
| Airhub | Page last updated 28 October 2026. It says its 2026 discount, code and sale dates are not confirmed yet, and that last year’s offer was 13% off with a code that should not be assumed to work again. One discount applies per order. | Black Friday page |
| Airalo, Ubigi | No Black Friday page or banner on the homepage on 9 November (homepage only). | Provider homepages |
We could not read Saily’s help and Black Friday pages from our server (access refused), so Saily is not covered, and we did not check every provider. Some Black Friday pages still mix 2025 and 2026 details, Airhub’s included, so treat any percentage you read before the sale starts as a claim, not a price.
Can you buy an eSIM on Black Friday and use it months later?
Sometimes, but providers set time limits, and a cheap plan that expires unused is not cheap. These are the rules the providers state on their own pages:
| Provider | What it says about buying early | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Airalo | For most packages the validity starts when the eSIM first connects to a supported network at the destination; for a few it starts at installation, so check the package’s activation policy. An eSIM that is never connected can be recycled, a period that varies and is often 90 days from purchase. | When can I install, Recycling |
| Ubigi | A preloaded data plan bought as a QR code must be activated within 6 months of purchase or it expires. Validity starts on arrival in a covered area. | QR validity, Activation |
| Holafly | The plan starts when you activate roaming data at your destination. We found no deadline for an unused eSIM on this page or in the terms; the terms allow a full refund of an unactivated eSIM bought in its app within 6 months, and a 14-day withdrawal right. | Plan start, Terms |
In our data, 1,423 of Airalo’s 1,452 plans that state a start rule begin at first use, and 29 begin at installation: they are in Sri Lanka (15), Bosnia and Herzegovina (7), Suriname (6) and Mayotte (1). We did not verify the rules of the other providers, and none of this replaces the package details at checkout. To avoid the problem, buy close to departure and read when to activate a travel eSIM. For stays of months, see our long-stay eSIM study.
How do you check an eSIM Black Friday deal?
- Find the cheapest everyday plan first. Open the destination page, for example Japan or Spain, and note the cheapest plan with the data and days you need. Our guide to choosing an eSIM explains which size fits.
- Compare after the discount. Take the final checkout price, not the label. A brand at “30% off” still sits above that cheapest plan in most destinations, as the table above shows.
- Look behind the “was” price. A “was” or “original” price is the seller’s own claim. Compare with what the same plan cost in the last weeks, since some providers reprice every few days.
- Read the conditions. New customers only, specific plans, an expiry date for the code, whether it stacks: Airhub’s page says one discount applies per order.
- Check expiry and your phone. Use the table above for the activation limit, and confirm your phone is unlocked and supports eSIM (check your phone; see also eSIM on Wikipedia).
How we collected the data
- We read 31 providers’ own websites every night and keep each day’s prices. The price-change comparison uses the 26 nightly checks from 15 October to 9 November 2026, all made by our automated nightly routine. Two shops that price by visitor location, Yesim and Instabridge, did not move at all in that window, which suggests the location did not change. Earlier nights came from a laptop that moved between countries, where several shops show other prices, so we do not use them.
- 57,597 plans from 28 providers appeared in all 26 checks; plans that appeared or disappeared are excluded. Euro-priced plans (for example Holafly, Saily and SimAbove) are stored in dollars, so each day’s exchange-rate drift was removed using the median movement of that currency’s plans.
- “Moved” means a plan’s highest and lowest adjusted price in the window differ by at least 2% and $0.05. “Fell 10%” means the lowest is at least 10% below the highest.
- Orange Travel redesigned its offer pages in early November and Yatelo changed its price markup on 20 October; our readers were updated after each change, so rows for those two providers were stale for a day or more before. Global YO, Yatelo and Breeze reprice often, so their numbers are volatile.
- The discount benchmark uses single-country fixed-data plans with 5 GB or more and 7 days or more, from 64,502 plans across 31 providers on 9 November 2026 at 15:00 UTC. We use each provider’s cheapest qualifying plan per destination and keep destinations where at least three providers sell one. Prices are the listed prices in US dollars, without taxes, fees or promo codes. Unlimited plans are excluded.
- Provider statements are from their own pages, read on 9 November 2026, and can change. We did not buy plans or test any checkout.
Questions about eSIM Black Friday deals
Do eSIM prices drop on Black Friday?
At most providers the price list does not move: 90.2% of 57,597 plans stayed within 2% of their price over 26 nightly checks before Black Friday, and at 14 of 28 providers fewer than 0.5% of plans moved. The Black Friday offers we could verify came as promo codes: 5% at Holafly, and 13% at Airhub last year. We plan to add the result for 27–30 November after Cyber Monday.
Is Black Friday a good time to buy a travel eSIM?
It is a good time if you are travelling soon, the code applies to the plan you were going to buy anyway, and you have checked the expiry rules. It is a poor reason to buy early for a trip months away, because some eSIMs expire if not connected within a set time. In our data even a 30% discount leaves a plan from one of these six brands above the cheapest listed plan in most destinations.
When are Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2026?
Black Friday is Friday 27 November 2026 and Cyber Monday is Monday 30 November. Holafly’s Black Friday page also names Travel Tuesday, 1 December. Sellers set their own sale dates, so check the provider’s own page.
How big a discount would make an eSIM brand the cheapest?
A big one. To match the cheapest listed plan with 5 GB or more for 7 days or more, Airalo would need a median 59% discount across 185 destinations, Saily 60%, Ubigi 60% and Airhub 52%. A 30% discount gets them there in 8–21% of destinations.
Can I buy an eSIM on Black Friday and use it next summer?
Only if the provider’s expiry rules allow it. Ubigi says a preloaded plan must be activated within 6 months of purchase or it expires. Airalo says an eSIM that is never connected can be recycled, often 90 days after purchase, depending on the package. Holafly’s help page says its plan starts when you activate it at your destination, and we found no deadline for an unused eSIM on its pages. Read the package details before you pay.
Which eSIM provider has the best Black Friday deal?
We cannot say before the sales start. Of the providers whose own pages we read on 9 November, Holafly shows a 5% code and Airhub says its 2026 offer is not confirmed. Compare the price after the discount with the cheapest plan on the destination page: of the six brands we compared, Airhub is closest to the cheapest, with a median gap of 52%.
How do you track eSIM prices?
We read 31 providers’ own websites every night and keep each day’s prices. The Black Friday comparison uses the 26 nightly checks from 15 October to 9 November 2026, all made by the same automated routine.
The practical takeaway
Use Black Friday to lower the price of the plan you were already going to buy, not to pick it. Find the cheapest everyday plan for your trip on our destination pages or compare the providers, then check whether any sale beats it, and buy close to your trip unless the expiry rules clearly allow waiting. We plan to add the measured price changes for 27–30 November here after Cyber Monday.