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What is the best eSIM for internet on your trip to Latin America?

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Latin America has so much to offer that we understand that it’s hard to choose just one country when organizing your trip, and even more so when you have to cross the pond. That’s why many travelers take the opportunity to visit several countries of the continent in the same trip. By now, you may already know that eSIM cards are the best option to have internet on your travels, but what you may not know is that eSIM cards are also sold for several countries in Latin America, so you can cross borders without having to make a new purchase or reinstall the eSIM. In this post, we tell you which is the best eSIM for Latin America.

There are currently a wide variety of brands with different features such as speed, data limit, technical support, price or duration of plans, so we have compared the main brands such as Holafly, Airalo or SimOptions, among others, and we tell you their advantages and disadvantages to help you make a decision. We’ve already told you that one of our favorite brands for its ease of use, unlimited data and efficient customer service are Holafly’s eSIM cards, a safe bet with no extra charges, and you will also have 24h support.

Comparison of eSIM for a trip to Latin America

When comparing different eSIM brands, we must take into account all the features that will determine if the card fits the needs of our trip. That’s why we have prepared this summary table with all the essential information about Holafly, Airalo, Maya Movile, Simoptions and Ubigi to help you choose. We’ll delve deeper into each eSIM brand later on, so you won’t miss any of the information.

BrandPlan durationData sharingUnlimited dataAppGB per planSupportPriceTrustpilotScore
Holafly5, 7, 10, 15, 20, 30, 60 and 90 daysNo++Unlimited Data on all plansIn English, direct chat and WhatsApp29€ – 217€ 4,74.4
Airalo7, 15 y 30 daysYes+1GB, 2GB, 3GB, 5GBEnglish, via bot15€ – 60€2,63.8
Ubigi30 daysYes+1GB and 3GBIn English by mail and App14€ – 38€4,44,1
Simoptions 15 daysNo6GBIn English by chat€39.94,4,3,5
Maya Mobile5, 10, 15 and 30 daysOnly in some plans+ 1GB, 3GB, 5GB, 10 GB, unlimitedIn English via bot8€ – 121€4,73,7
Comparator of eSIM card brands to get internet on your trip to Latin America

1. Holafly, eSIM for Latin America with unlimited data and the best customer support in English

AdvantagesThey offer data packages by continent and for countries.
Holafly’s eSIM cards are easy to purchase and install with QR code or manually.
They have eSIM cards for 160 destinations.
24/7 technical support in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese.
Very flexible pricing.
You can pay in euros, dollars and Mexican pesos.
All plans have unlimited data.
They have an App where you can check your usage and the number of days left on your contract.
DisadvantagesTheir eSIM cards do not include calls or sms.
One of the most expensive options on the market, but it’s worth it because they offer more gigabytes than the rest.
Holafly’s eSIM card for Latin America does not allow data sharing.
You can’t do the installation through their App.
Advantages and disadvantages of Holafly eSIM cards

With Holafly there is no need to buy a different eSIM for each country if you are on the road in Latin America as they offer a Regional eSIM covering 14 countries on the continent including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Chile, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.

eSIM Latin America
Holafly’s eSIM data plan for Latin America

With Holafly you will travel with peace of mind as it offers 8 unlimited data plans and a 24h customer service in Spanish, English, German, French, Italian and Japanese that responds in less than a minute by chat or WhatsApp, and is currently the company with the best customer rating on Trustpilot with a score of 4.7.

Data plan Price in EurosPrice in DollarsPrice in Mexican Pesos
5 days – unlimited data29€27$$599
7 days – unlimited data37€34$$699
10 days – unlimited data47€44$$899
15 days – unlimited data57€54$$1199
20 days – unlimited data69€64$$1399
30 days – unlimited data87€87$$1699
60 days – unlimited data147€144$$2899
90 days – unlimited data217€214$$4299
Pay for your Latin America eSIM in Euros, Dollars or Mexican Pesos with Holafly

There are two options for installing the Holafly eSIM. One is scanning the QR code that will arrive to your email once you have completed the purchase. And the other is the manual installation that you can do without a computer, simply typing a code in the settings of your mobile. This code will be sent to your email and you can also consult it in the Holafly App, which is very convenient to control the duration of the data plan.

Here we leave you this ranking where we evaluate from 1 to 5 all the features of the Holafly eSIM cards for Latin America based on our experience.

In this post, you can read about our experience with Holafly eSIM cards and the opinions of some users: Our opinion of Holafly’s eSIM.

DataDurationSupportPriceAppSpeedSharingCurrenciesTotal
554.83.53.54.804.54.4
Evaluation of Holafly’s eSIM features

2. Airalo, the cheapest eSIM brand for travel to Latin America

Advantages and disadvantages of Airalo’s eSIM cards

Airalo is along with Holafly one of the world’s best-known brands for buying an international travel eSIM. This company, founded in Singapore in 2019 by Turkish entrepreneurs Abraham Burak and Ahmet Bahadir Özdemir, was one of the first to offer these services, and has a wide coverage of countries where they offer eSIM cards.

Airalo's eSIM data plan for Latin America
Airalo’s eSIM data plan for Latin America

Airalo’s eSIM card data plans for Latin America include 19 countries and have a duration of 7, 15 and 30 days, and prices range from $15 to $60. Airalo is characterized as one of the cheapest brands on the market, however, its technical service leaves much to be desired and takes a long time to respond. In addition, their data plans have very limited gigabytes, and you will most likely run out of data in the middle of the trip and have to recharge. This means that in the end the costs will increase, and the cheap will be expensive.

Pay your eSIM for Latin America in dollars with Airalo

Although Airalo is cheap and offers a wide variety of eSIM cards whose spending can be controlled through its App, the truth is that it is not one of the best options because of what we told you earlier about its technical service, as you can see on Trustpilot in user comments and ratings. Airalo has one of the lowest scores with 2,6. Here you have the ranking of each aspect of Airalo and in this post you can also read about our opinion of the brand: Our opinion of Airalo: is it worth it?

DataDuration SupportPriceAppSpeedData sharingCurrenciesTotal
4434.5444.533.8
Evaluation of Airalo eSIM features

3. Maya Mobile, data packs with as many GB as you need

Advantages and disadvantages of Maya Mobile’s eSIM cards

This company makes eSIM cards available for 5, 10, 15 and 30 days in Latin America including 16 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Chile, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Panama, Chile and Uruguay.

The price of the data packages varies depending on the gigabytes. In total, they have 5 packages of 1, 3, 5, and 10 gigabytes, and another with unlimited data. Maya Mobile’s unlimited data is relative since after having used the first 2GB daily the browsing speed will drop from 5Mbps to 1Mbps. The price ranges from €8 to €118.

Maya Mobile's eSIM data plan for Latin America
Maya Mobile’s eSIM data plan for Latin America

Like Holafly, Maya Mobile is characterized by the speed and simplicity of its contracting and installation process, which is also done via a QR code that arrives in the mail. In addition, they have a 100% refund policy of the purchase in case the data does not work, which is not usual since they have at least two data providers in each country where they offer their services.

Pay for your eSIM for Latin America in dollars with Maya Mobile

Here we leave you this table with the score of each of the features of their eSIM cards.

DataDurationSupportPriceAppSpeedData sharingCurrenciesTotal
44,53404.5333.7
Evaluation of Maya Mobile’s eSIM features

4. Ubigi and its eSIM cards for smart cars

Advantages and disadvantages of Ubigi eSIM cards

Ubigi is a slightly different eSIM card provider than the rest of the data plan companies for travelling abroad. While with other brands you have to choose and buy the plan and then proceed to install the eSIM, with Ubigi it is, on the contrary. First you can install the eSIM for free and then add credit depending on the gigabytes you are going to use. You can pay in dollars, euros, pounds and yen.

On their website and App, you can see 3 data plans with 1 GB and 5 GB with a duration of 30 days for €14, 29 and €38. These eSIMs are intended for people who travel a lot and for long periods. The disadvantage is that all their plans have a data limit, and you can run out of internet in the middle of your trip.

Data planPrice in DollarsPrice in EurosPrice in PoundsPrice in Yens
30 days – 1 GB$14€14£11¥2000
30 days – 3 GB$38€38£33¥5400
30 days – 1 GB29$29€25£4100¥
Pay your eSIM for Latin America in Dollars, Euros, Pounds and Yens with Ubigi

Luckily, their App works very well and in addition to buying the eSIM from there, you can install and recharge it if necessary. Also, Ubigi’s eSIMs allow for data sharing with other devices

Ubigi's eSIM data plan for Latin America
Ubigi eSIM data plan for Latin America

Something curious about Ubigi’s eSIM cards is that they are also suitable for cars with internet. Some models of Jaguar, Fiat, Land Rover, Alfa Romeo or Jeep already incorporate this technology.

In this table, you can see how we evaluate each feature of Ubigi’s eSIM cards. And if you want to know our opinion about Ubigi eSIMs, check out this post: Our Ubigi opinion: is it worth it?

DataDurationSupportPriceAppSpeedData sharingCurrenciesTotal
43444.544.54.84.1
Evaluation of Ubigi eSIM features

5. SimOptions, an eSIM marketplace

Advantages and disadvantages of SimOptions eSIM cards

SimOptions is an eSIM card marketplace where local mobile carriers in each country sell their eSIM cards. The brand, with offices in Paris, Thailand and Hong Kong, offers data plans for eSIM cards in more than 160 countries and also have regional and global plans.

For Latin America you won’t find any plans, but there is a global one that includes the vast majority of South American countries. This data plan has a duration of 15 days with data limits of 6GB and is priced at €39.9. This option does not include calls or SMS. Nor do they give the option to top up.

SimOptions eSIM data plan for Latin America
Simoptions eSIM Data Plan for Latin America

The main drawback of Simoptions is that its website is a bit chaotic and the data plans, as they are from different brands, are very disparate, and their features vary a lot, not only price, speed or duration, but also technical support, the possibility of recharging or data sharing. This will force you to look in detail at each brand and will make it harder for you to make a decision.

Pay your eSIM for Latin America in Dollars with SimOptions

Our personal experience is that with SimOptions cards, you lose a lot of time comparing between one and the other. In addition, the price is high, you can only pay in dollars, and they don’t give you the guarantee of a good technical support. Here we leave you this ranking where we rate SimOptions eSIM cards from 1 to 5 and in this post you can read about our opinion and that of other customers about the brand: Our opinion about SimOptions: is it worth it?

DataDurationSupportPriceAppSpeedData sharingCurrenciesTotal
3433.504433,5
Evaluation of SimOptions’ eSIM features

Conclusion of which is the best eSIM for Latin America

In this post we have seen that there are many important factors to take into account when comparing eSIM cards since, for each type of travel, you will have different connection needs. That is why we have prepared this section where we tell you based on our experience which eSIM card is best for each type of travel in Latin America.

When we travel we don’t want to run out of data in the middle of our vacation, that’s why eSIM cards with unlimited data are the best option if we want to travel without worries. In Latin America only Holafly offers real unlimited data. On Maya Mobile’s website there is an unlimited data plan, but remember that it is capped at 2GB daily and has a browsing speed limited to 5Mbps. With some companies such as Ubigi or Airalo you can recharge the eSIM already installed through their website or App, but the best thing is not having to pay again if you run out of data.

If in the end you opt for an eSIM with limited data, we leave you this table that will help you to make the estimate of the gigabytes you will need based on your usual consumption.

Internet spending on video platforms and social media

The installation process for eSIM cards is always simple and fast, but it is true that there are some companies that make it even easier. The first thing is to check if your mobile is compatible with the eSIM of the brand. This information you can check on the website of each provider, and in the case of Ubigi, downloading the App tells you if your phone is compatible.

The purchase of the eSIM for Latin America can be done through the web in the case of some brands such as Holafly or Sim Options, or through the app as with Ubigi. Holafly’s website is very intuitive and easy to use, while Sim Options’ is quite complicated to understand and you will have to read a lot.

The only brands that allow you to do the installation through the App are Airalo and Ubigi, and in the case of Holafly, from the App you will be able to get the code to install the eSIM manually without using a computer. You can also do the installation by scanning a QR code that you will receive in the mail as soon as you have completed the purchase with Holafly, Airalo or Sim Option.

Installation of eSIM for Latin America
eSIM card installation process

On the other hand, it is very important to consider the technical service to help you in the installation process and solve any doubt or problem. Most brands such as Maya Mobile or Airalo have a chat bot that takes a long time to respond and only does so in English. In the case of Simoptions, technical support will depend on the brand of eSIM card you have chosen. In this aspect Holafly’s technical support is the best as it responds in less than 1 minute in Spanish, English, German, French and Japanese via web chat or WhatsApp.

roaming in Latin America
Buy internet for your trip to Latin America from anywhere in the world

Many times when we travel we want to share data with other devices and only some providers like Airalo, Ubigi and some Sim Options brands make it possible. However, you have to keep in mind that if you share data it will be used up sooner.

But one of the most important aspects is the price. The cheapest brands are Airalo and Maya Mobile, however, their data plans are very limited, and you’re likely to run out and have to pay again with the top-up. That’s why it’s sometimes advisable to pay a little more and get a the eSIM card with unlimited data like Holafly‘s for peace of mind and no need to reload again.

All in all, Holafly eSIM cards are the best option for traveling to Latin America for their efficient technical support in several languages that responds in less than a minute. With Holafly you can travel with peace of mind with the certainty that everything will go smoothly.

Other options to have internet in Latin America

eSIM cards are undoubtedly the best option to have internet in Latin America and in any other destination for all the advantages and conveniences they offer, as we summarize in this table. We also tell you what other options you have available to have internet during your trips.

Advantages of eSIM cards for your trip to Latin America

1. SIM cards

SIM cards are one of the most widespread options today, but that does not imply that they are the best option, since as we show below they have quite a few drawbacks.

Advantages and disadvantages of SIM cards for connecting to the internet in Latin America

The two largest telecommunications companies in Latin America are Telcel and Claro, in whose stores, found both in commercial areas and at airports, you can buy your travel SIM.

The price of SIM cards varies greatly depending on the brand, the gigabytes available and the duration of the contract. Prices range from 30€ to 80€.

Travel to Latin America with an eSIM
Travel Latin America with an eSIM

2. Rent a Pocket WiFi

Another alternative for connecting to the Internet in Latin America is to rent a Pocket WiFi, that is, a portable router with which you can have access to the Internet wherever you go.

Advantages and disadvantages of a pocket wifi to have internet on a trip to Latin America

The pocket wifi can be rented both in the country of destination and in the country of origin. Some companies will ship it to your home and with others you will have to pick it up at approved points. It is usually recommended to rent these routers on long trips or business trips, as it is not worth it for short trips.

At Travelers Wifi you can purchase your Pocket Wifi for all of Latin America for €5.9 per day, which is more expensive than alternatives such as eSIM cards. The device’s battery lasts 13h and the data plan includes 10 South American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

esim internet in Latin America

3. Search for free WiFi networks in Latin America

As you can imagine, this is the cheapest option. However, as you may already know, it is also the most frustrating option in most cases. Slow connection, time limit or eternal forms that promise WIFI after giving all your data.

Advantages and disadvantages of using free wifi networks in Latin America

This is an option that should be used with caution for security reasons. Public WiFi hotspots are very vulnerable to hacks or cyber-attacks, through which they access your private data. It is therefore recommended to spend as little time as possible connected, to use it for specific queries and not to expose personal data.

These are some places where you can find WiFi on your trip in Latin America in case you need it: airports, museums, subways, parks, cafés, restaurants and hotels. There are also APPs that tell you where to find WiFi spots, as well as Facebook, which also offers this service.

4. Activate roaming for Latin America

One of the options that is losing more and more popularity due to its high costs is roaming, also known as data roaming. It is the simplest option as you can receive calls and connect to the Internet without having to install anything or change your phone number, however, the bills are very high.

In Spain there are several companies that offer roaming service abroad. Some examples are Movistar, Vodafone and Orange. Before embarking on a trip, it is recommended to ask your usual company about the cost of roaming in order to compare with other services such as eSIM cards. Keep in mind that if you are going to travel through several countries, the price of GB will change every time you cross a border. The price per MB is around €15 or even more.

If you decide to use another option, remember to turn off data roaming on your cell phones or change the main line in the case of using an eSIM.

Advantages and disadvantages of roaming for Latin America
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Frequently asked questions about having internet in Latin America

How do eSIM cards work?

eSIM cards allow you to have internet on your mobile phone when you travel abroad without having to remove your usual SIM card, as is the case with SIM cards. This is possible thanks to a chip that is built into the latest generation of mobile phones.

The purchase of the eSIM data plan can be done through the website or the App of some brands. Choose your destination, the duration and the gigabytes of the data plan and pay securely.

How are eSIM cards installed?

The installation and activation of the eSIM is a really easy procedure that will only take a few minutes.
Once you have verified that your mobile phone is compatible with the product and chosen the data plan that best suits your needs, go to the mobile data settings on your smartphone and select “add data plan”. The camera will then open so you can scan the QR code that you will have received in the mail after the purchase. The installation and activation of your card will then begin.
This process must be carried out with an internet connection, which is why it is recommended that you do it before setting off on your trip or as soon as you arrive at the hotel.

How do I know if my cell phone is compatible with a SIM or eSIM?

Most models of popular brands such as Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Huawei or Google are compatible as long as they are recent models. Several iPads are also compatible. However, it is best to consult the website of each provider, where they will indicate all the compatible models.

What is the delivery time of the physical SIM card?

SIM cards can be purchased in physical shops or online, with delivery times ranging from 48 to 72 hours. There are also companies that offer same day express delivery.

Are there unlimited internet options in Latin America?

In South America only Holafly offers eSIM cards with real unlimited data.

When should I activate the eSIM card?

It is best to activate it just before your trip as you will need an internet connection.

What is the duration of data packages in Latin America?

Most plans have a duration of 7, 15 or 30 days.

Is Holafly’s eSIM for Latin America reliable?

Holafly is a Spanish company launched in 2018 that you can trust, it has been tested by more than 400,000 customers, travel blogs and Youtubers. Holafly has been marketing eSIMs since 2019.

What are the reviews of Holafly’s eSIM for Latin America?

Holafly has over 10,000 positive experiences published on Trustpilot, with a rating of “Excellent” and an average score of 4.7.

Is the Sim Options eSIM for Latin America reliable?

SIM Options has both positive and negative reviews, and a lower average Trustpilot rating than Holafly at 4.4. SIM Options is a Hong Kong based company.

Does Maya offer unlimited data in Latin America?

No, Maya actually limits the speed on its unlimited plans to only 5mbps. Once you consume 2GB per day, Maya further limits the speed to 1mbps.

Is Maya Mobile’s eSIM a reliable option for Latin America?

Maya is owned by a US company, Maya Virtual Inc. Maya’s reviews on Trustpilot are good, with an average rating of 4.7.

How much do eSIM cards cost?

The price varies depending on the provider, the gigabytes and the duration of the contract. The price range is between €8 and €217.

Is the Airalo eSIM a reliable option for Latin America?

Airalo reviews on Trustpilot are good, with an average score of 2.6.

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