Compare the Best Travel eSIMs for Australia
Prepaid data eSIMs for visitors to Australia, every plan ranked by real price per GB. This is not a Australia contract or a local SIM. Updated daily.
The 3 best Australia eSIMs right now
Nomad✓ Verified partner
GigSky✓ Verified partner
Ubigi✓ Verified partner
What Australia data actually costs
Australia travel eSIM prices look random until you convert every plan to one number: the real cost per gigabyte. Here is what that reveals right now.
The cheapest plan at each size, 30 days
| Data | Cheapest provider | Total | Price per GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 GB | Nomad | $32 | $0.64/GB | Get plan ↗ |
| 25 GB | Ubigi | $35 | $1.40/GB | Get plan ↗🏷 10% off with code TRAVELCITY10 |
| 20 GB | Nomad | $24 | $1.20/GB | Get plan ↗ |
| 10 GB | Sim Local | $14.50 | $1.45/GB | Get plan ↗🏷 10% off with code ATESIM |
| 5 GB | Sim Local | $9.75 | $1.95/GB | Get plan ↗🏷 10% off with code ATESIM |
| 1 GB | Yesim | $4.55 | $4.55/GB | Get plan ↗🏷 15% off with code TRAVELCITY |
Cost per GB rises from $0.64/GB at 50 GB to $4.55/GB at 1 GB. Buying a little more data than you expect to use is almost always cheaper per gigabyte than buying exactly what you need.
The "unlimited" trap
The same words, unlimited for 30 days, cover a wide price range, and most plans slow down after a daily threshold that the label hides.
| Provider | Unlimited, 30 days | Fair-use cap | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maya | $49.99 | Confirming | Get plan ↗🏷 10% off with code ATESIM |
| Yesim | $65.81 | Confirming | Get plan ↗🏷 15% off with code TRAVELCITY |
| Airalo | $66.50 | Confirming | Get plan ↗ |
| Ubigi | $69 | Confirming | Get plan ↗🏷 10% off with code TRAVELCITY10 |
| Saily | $71.99 | Confirming | Get plan ↗ |
| GigSky | $74.99 | Confirming | Get plan ↗🏷 15% off with code ATESIM |
Unlimited 30 day plans run from $49.99 to $74.99, a spread of about 50 percent, for a label that means the same thing on paper. Check the daily cap before you buy, especially if you plan to tether a laptop.
Do not overpay for coverage you will not use
If your whole trip is in Australia, a Australia only plan is far cheaper per gigabyte than a Oceania or global plan carrying the same data. Same provider (Nomad), same 20 GB, 30 days:
| Nomad plan | Price | Price per GB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia only | $24 | $1.20/GB | Get plan ↗ |
| Oceania | $28 | $1.40/GB | Get plan ↗ |
| Global | $59 | $2.95/GB | Get plan ↗ |
A Australia only plan costs much less per gigabyte than a regional or global plan with the same data. Only pay for the wider plan if you are actually crossing borders on this trip.
Which network does your Australia eSIM use?
This is the question that decides your real signal, and almost no comparison site answers it. Your travel eSIM connects to one or more local networks as a visitor, and that choice matters the moment you leave the big cities, because rural coverage varies a lot between them.
| Provider | Host network | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Airalo | Optus | Confirmed |
| GigSky | Not publicly disclosed | Confirming |
| Ubigi | Optus | Confirmed |
| Nomad | Optus | Confirmed |
| Saily | Telstra and Optus | Confirmed |
| Yesim | Not publicly disclosed | Confirming |
Four of the six run on Optus, which is fine for cities and the coast but not the deep outback; Saily is the only one reported to also use Telstra, and none of these six matches the rural reach of a Telstra-based local SIM.
Coverage by where you are going
- Telstra's mobile network covers about 99.7% of the Australian population and more than 3 million square kilometres, the largest footprint of any carrier, with 5G reaching roughly 95% of the population as of 2026.
- Optus covers about 98.5% of the population. It launched 5G in November 2019 and works well in cities and coastal towns, with less depth once you go inland.
- Vodafone, operated by TPG Telecom, historically had the smallest reach; a 2024 network-sharing deal gives it access to 2,444 Optus sites and lifts its coverage to about 98.4% of the population.
- No carrier gives continuous coverage across the outback. Long stretches of the Stuart Highway and the Nullarbor, plus remote parts of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, have no signal on any network.
- Boost Mobile is the one prepaid brand that resells the full Telstra retail coverage footprint, while Aldi Mobile and Belong use the slightly smaller Telstra wholesale coverage.
- 5G launched in 2019 on Telstra in May and Optus in November, with Vodafone starting in early 2020, and it is now common across metro areas and larger regional towns.
Travel eSIM vs a local Australia SIM
A travel eSIM is the simple choice for a city and coastal trip. Airalo, Nomad and Ubigi run on Optus, Saily adds Telstra, and you can install and manage everything before you fly. Prices are low and you avoid roaming charges, but you are usually locked to whichever network the provider uses.
A local prepaid SIM makes sense if you want Telstra coverage for regional and outback travel. Boost Mobile prepaid runs on the full Telstra network and is sold in supermarkets and at Australia Post. Telstra, Optus and Vodafone also sell their own prepaid starter packs, and most local prepaid SIMs include calls and texts, which the data-only travel eSIMs do not.
Quick rule: City and coast trip, use a travel eSIM; outback or long regional driving, add a Telstra-based local SIM such as Boost.
Australia's networks are Telstra, Optus and Vodafone (TPG), and Boost Mobile prepaid is the only budget brand that uses Telstra's complete retail coverage rather than the slightly smaller wholesale footprint used by Aldi Mobile and Belong.
How a Australia travel eSIM works
A travel eSIM replaces expensive roaming with a cheap local data plan you activate in seconds. There is no plastic SIM and no airport queue. Roaming with your home carrier can run 6 to 12 dollars a day, so a week easily tops 50 to 80 dollars for service you already pay for at home.
Three things to get right:
- Check your phone supports eSIM before you buy.
- Install the eSIM at home over WiFi, but wait to activate it until you land, because the validity period usually starts on activation.
- Keep your physical SIM in the phone for calls and texts on your normal number.
How we rank Australia eSIMs
Every plan on this page is sorted by real price per GB (total price divided by included data, normalised to USD), so a cheap-looking 1 GB plan cannot outrank a better-value 10 GB one. We refresh prices daily and only list providers with a track record of activating on arrival. We earn a small affiliate commission when you buy through our links. It funds the price tracking and never changes the order you see.
Australia travel eSIM FAQ
Which network is best for outback and regional travel in Australia?
Telstra, by a clear margin. It covers about 99.7% of the population and more than 3 million square kilometres, well beyond Optus or Vodafone. For long inland drives, choose a Telstra-based plan.
Do these travel eSIMs run on Telstra?
Mostly not. Airalo, Nomad and Ubigi use Optus, and Saily is reported to switch between Telstra and Optus. GigSky and Yesim do not publicly name their Australian host network.
Will my eSIM work in Tasmania?
Yes. Tasmania uses the same three carriers as the mainland, so an eSIM that works in Sydney works in Hobart. Coverage still thins out in remote parts of the island.
Can I make calls and send texts on these eSIMs?
All six are data-only. You can make calls and send messages through apps like WhatsApp, Signal or Viber, but you do not get an Australian phone number for standard calls or SMS.
Is there 5G on travel eSIMs in Australia?
Yes, where the host network has 5G. Optus and Telstra 5G are widespread in cities and larger towns, so an Optus-based eSIM gets 5G in metro areas when your device supports it.
Do I need a local SIM as well as a travel eSIM?
Only for coverage. If you stay in cities and along the coast, a single travel eSIM is enough. For remote regions, add a Telstra-based local SIM such as Boost Mobile alongside your eSIM.