Nomad eSIM vs Ubigi

At a glance

Whole-catalog figures — every active plan each provider sells today.

Price check in popular destinations

The cheapest plan each provider sells for two realistic trip sizes, in the destinations both cover that travelers check most. Every price is a live plan you can buy.

Plan types on offer

NomadUbigi

Unlimited data ✓ Yes ✓ Yes

Regional bundles No ✓ Yes

Global bundles (50+ countries) No ✓ Yes

Cruise / at-sea plans No No

Pay as you go No No

Comparison by eSIMKart

Policies compared

Confirmed from each provider's own site — see the trust card on each provider page for the verification date.

Nomad Ubigi

ID verification

Nomad: Not required

Ubigi: Not required

Refund policy

Nomad: Refund requests must be made within 30 days of purchase: a plan not yet installed or activated may be fully refunded (to the card or as Nomad Points); after activation only a partial refund for verified technical failure. Unlimited plans and a few others are non-refundable.

Ubigi: Refunds only for unused plans — a plan can't be refunded once you start using it. Requests within 14 business days of purchase, processed within 10 business days to the original payment method.

Validity starts

Nomad: Validity starts only when the eSIM is activated, meaning first connection to a network or the automatic activation-window deadline - not at installation or purchase.

Ubigi: Smartstart: the plan's validity countdown begins when you first connect at your destination, not at the moment of purchase. Preloaded eSIM QR codes must be redeemed within 6 months of purchase or they expire unused.

Fair-use limit

Nomad: Most Unlimited plans give 2 GB of high-speed data per day, then speed drops to about 1 Mbps or 2 Mbps (depending on the plan) for the rest of the day; the allowance resets every 24 hours from activation.

Ubigi: Unlimited plans run at full speed up to a threshold, then drop to 2 Mbps: about 15–25 GB on 7-day country plans and 60 GB on 30-day regional plans, depending on the destination.

Top-ups & rollover

Nomad: Add-ons can be purchased in the Nomad eSIM app or website (Manage, then Add more data) without reinstalling; not every plan supports add-ons and they cannot be bought from the UAE or India.

Ubigi: Existing Ubigi eSIMs can be recharged with a new data plan directly through the Ubigi app or ubigi.me account — even without Wi-Fi or remaining data — without installing a new eSIM.

Lost device / reinstalling

Nomad: A deleted eSIM can usually be reinstalled from the original QR code or manual details (support can resend them); some plans, such as Thailand Unlimited, cannot be reinstalled, and if reinstalling fails a refund may be given as Nomad Points.

Ubigi: Reinstalling a deleted Ubigi eSIM profile is limited to 5 times via the app's 'Re-install my Ubigi eSIM' button -- if the old device is lost or broken and can't be deleted first, contact Ubigi Customer Service for help.

Billing currency

Nomad: Checkout accepts major cards, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay with multi-currency billing; no specific conversion-fee disclosure was found on the payments help pages.

Ubigi: Charge currency is set by the country of residence on your Ubigi account: EUR for the euro zone, GBP for the UK, JPY for Japan, CNY for China, CAD for Canada, AUD for Australia, USD everywhere else.

Support

Nomad: Help center · Email · Live chat

Ubigi: Live chat · WhatsApp · Help center

Payment

Nomad: Card · PayPal · Apple Pay · Google Pay

Ubigi: Card · PayPal · Apple Pay · Google Pay

Headquarters

Nomad: Santa Clara, California, USA

Ubigi: Paris, France

Legal entity

Nomad: Not confirmed yet

Ubigi: Transatel

Founded

Nomad: 2020

Ubigi: 2017

Comparison by eSIMKart

Discount codes

Nomad -15% ESIMKART15

Ubigi -10% ESIMKART10

Nomad eSIM vs Ubigi — common questions

Figures on this page come from both providers' live catalogs and are re-checked automatically every day.

Compare Nomad eSIM and Ubigi by destination

Head-to-head prices for the destinations travelers check most.