Review: Saily Ultra eSIM Premium Plan

Traveling is stressful enough without worrying about fiddling with SIM cards and setting up data service in foreign countries. The top-tier Saily Ultra eSIM service covers 121 countries, is packed with perks, and aims to keep you connected wherever you roam, but the Premium plan costs $60 per month. This plan is aimed squarely at jet-setters and will likely best suit business travelers or folks embarking on a multicountry tour.

An international eSIM service can be set up on your phone before you even leave home, and it will connect you with local networks the moment you land. If you have a phone with dual eSIM support, like the iPhone 16 I tested Saily Ultra with, you can keep your regular number and add a second one for your international trip, or just use the international eSIM for mobile data.

Frequent Flyers

Most of us have been stung by painfully expensive roaming charges at some point. While it’s worth checking what kind of international service options your usual provider offers, a separate international eSIM service can make life easier and keep costs transparent. Saily Ultra comes in three tiers, all covering the same 121 countries and offering the same perks.

• Standard ($30/month): 5 GB of high-speed data
• Plus ($45/month): 10 GB of high-speed data
• Premium ($60/month): 30 GB of high-speed data, then unlimited data throttled at up to 1 Mbps

Photograph: Simon Hill

I tested the Premium plan extensively in the UK and briefly in Europe. It was quick and easy to set up in the Saily app and kept me connected as I roamed, offering decent speeds up to around 300 Mbps on 5G networks in city center locations, inevitably dropping off to 4G and around 15 Mbps in more rural spots. The specific speeds you’ll get depend entirely on the local network. Saily piggybacks on local providers, mainly connecting to EE and Vodafone during my month of testing.

The Ultra plan includes 30 GB of high-speed data. In this case, high-speed simply means unfettered; the actual speed you get depends on coverage where you are. After that 30 GB is gone, you get unlimited throttled data at up to 1 Mbps. In practice, I found this lower speed was enough for messaging, web scrolling, and navigation, but anything data-hungry, like video, is out.

It’s worth noting that the 30 GB limit is for the month. Most folks use around 20 GB of data in a month, so 30 GB sounds like a lot. But consider that you are probably connected to Wi-Fi most of the time at home or work, and you may not be when traveling. That 30 GB can disappear surprisingly quickly, and you should take advantage of Wi-Fi whenever you can on your travels. One of my top travel tips is to download videos and maps before you go, or when you’re connected to Wi-Fi.

If you’re only visiting one or two countries, it’s probably better to get a pay-as-you-go plan for that specific region or country. For example, Saily offers unlimited data in the UK for 15 days for $49, but there’s a fair usage policy that will throttle you after 5 GB in a single 24-hour period (until the next day). Unlimited data across Europe (35 countries) for a month will cost you $72, with the same 5 GB daily limit. You could also just buy 20 GB of data to use over 30 days for $23 in France or $31 in the UK.

Having used a few different international eSIM and regular SIM services for travel over the years, Saily compares favorably on performance and ease of use but is relatively expensive. That said, most other eSIM services don’t come with a bundle of extras.

Plenty of Perks

Saily Ultra will be a hard sell for most folks simply looking at the data, but frequent travelers will appreciate the plentiful perks. Here’s what you get:

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• 1x Airport Lounge Pass per month: Airports can be noisy and uncomfortable, but airport lounges offer quieter spaces where you can work or relax, with fast Wi-Fi, comfier seating, and complimentary food and drink. If you’re stuck in an airport for a few hours, a lounge pass can make your wait as painless as possible. With Saily Ultra, you get one free pass per month for one person. It generates a QR code in the app that’s valid for 30 minutes. Here’s the complete list of supported lounge destinations. You also get a free lounge pass for that trip if your flight is delayed for more than two hours (contact support in the app).
• 1x Fast-Track Pass per month: You can skip the long security queue with fast-track and get straight through into the terminal. With Saily Ultra, you get one free fast-track pass for one person, generated as a QR code in the app. Here’s the complete list of supported fast-track destinations. Availability is far more limited than with the lounge pass, so I was unable to test this.
• Online Security Tools: You get access to NordVPN, NordPass, NordLocker, and Incogni with an activation code in the Saily app. Saily’s parent company is Nord Security, so it makes sense that its popular VPN service, password manager, and secure cloud storage are included. Incogni is a privacy tool that can help you remove personal data from the internet.

Saily lists several other perks on its website, including priority support, an ad blocker, and 8 percent back in Saily credits. The ad blocker is handy and also reduces your data usage, and you can use any credits you accrue to buy data plans or extra perks, like additional lounge passes. It's also worth noting that lounge and fast-track benefits rollover for up to three months if unused, though you can't share them. Saily also lists a ClassPass subscription on the site right now, but that wasn’t available when I tested. The perks are subject to change, so it’s important to check what’s included at the time of purchase.

While none of this is essential, the lounge pass is very nice to have, especially if your flight gets delayed, and I highly recommend using a VPN when you connect to Wi-Fi on your travels. That said, you can get NordVPN service separately pretty cheaply (the company runs frequent promotions) from around $5.50 per month (down to $3.50 if you sign up for a longer contract).

Saily Ultra Premium costs $60 per month and is a subscription service that will auto-renew unless you cancel. A month of Saily Ultra could be ideal for Americans touring Europe. Year-round country-hoppers can snag a slight discount by signing up for longer periods. Quarterly service costs $160 (down to around $53 per month), and annual service is $600 ($50 per month).