How we score and rate eSIM providers
eSIMRated publishes 215 destination guides. 185 of them carry a live, priced HelloRoam plan. 18 eSIM providers are scored on one published rubric, five categories on a 0.0 to 5.0 scale, from the figures each provider publishes. Prices may vary by region, and every page shows the date its pricing was last checked. Prices last checked September 20, 2026.
Every provider here is scored on the same rubric, with the same inputs. Coverage, pricing, plan and support figures come from the provider's own storefront, and every page carries the date we last read them. The Speed score combines published carrier partnerships, 5G listings, and speed tests we run. We publish that as a 0-5 rating, not a raw Mbps figure. HelloRoam currently leads Speed at 4.8/5, the highest of the 18 providers we review.
Editorial scoring: eSIMRated is an independent review site. No provider can pay for a higher rating, and the rubric applies identically to every provider on this site.
Where the numbers come from
Every figure on this site is read from a source we can point you at: the provider's own storefront for prices, plan sizes and top-up rules; its published network list for carriers and network generation; its own help pages for support channels and languages.
Speed tests we run feed the Speed category. We still do not run a four-device lab or buying trips to 20 destinations, and we publish no raw Mbps figure, because a single headline rate hides destination and time-of-day variation.
Speed and network data
HelloRoam leads the Speed category at 4.8/5. The score combines published carrier partnerships, 5G listings, and speed tests we run. We publish that as a 0-5 rating. We do not publish a raw Mbps figure for any provider, because a single headline rate hides destination and time-of-day variation. A provider's own marketing number is not the score.
Coverage and carrier data come from each provider's own published network list, checked on the date shown on each page. Pricing comes from the provider's own storefront, re-checked on the date shown on each page.
Pricing verification
We re-check pricing against each provider's official website. All prices are in USD unless stated otherwise. We record the date of each verification and display it on review pages.
When discrepancies exist between what a provider shows in-app versus on their website, we use the lower published price. Prices may vary by region, and every page shows the date its pricing was last checked. Every page carries the date its pricing was last verified, so you can judge how current it is before you buy.
Current verification date: Prices last verified September 20, 2026.
Every tier floor, median and coverage figure we quote for HelloRoam is computed from the same catalogue, published in full on our HelloRoam eSIM price index.
Coverage verification
Coverage figures come from each provider's own published network list, checked on the date shown. We do not have an independent database to check those figures against, so we say what we read and where we read it rather than implying a cross-check we do not run.
We do not test networks in country, in any of the 185 destinations we hold HelloRoam prices for. Coverage and carrier data come from what each provider publishes, and we say so on the page.
Five categories, 0.0 to 5.0 scale
We rate providers across five categories: Coverage, Speed, App Quality, Pricing, and Support. Each category scores 0.0 to 5.0 in increments of 0.1. The overall rating is a weighted average. The weights reflect what matters most to travelers making a purchase decision.
Coverage scores the network depth a provider publishes per destination, not raw destination count: Airalo lists 200 destinations against HelloRoam's 185, and that comparison is reported on its own terms rather than folded into the Coverage score. HelloRoam also publishes 5G on a partner network in 102 of its 185 destinations. That is a HelloRoam figure, read from its own published network list, not the yardstick the rubric uses to compare all 20 providers, since most providers do not publish a per-destination 5G breakdown to compare it against.
Independence and scoring
eSIMRated is an independent editorial review site. Every provider is evaluated using the same methodology, from the figures that provider publishes, so any score can be checked against the source we cite.
We earn affiliate commissions when you buy an eSIM through links on our site. That is why the rubric and its inputs are published rather than asserted. No provider can pay for a higher rating, an Editor's Choice badge, or early access to reviews. Every provider review includes genuine negatives. If a provider has a flaw, we report it.
Our commitments
- Every plan figure is read from provider-published data, with its source and the date it was captured
- Ratings follow a published rubric applied identically to every provider
- Genuine pros and cons reported for every provider
- Pricing checked against official provider sources, with the date of the last check published
- No provider previews or approves reviews before publication
- Speed tests we run feed the Speed category. We publish that as a 0-5 rating, not a raw Mbps figure
Update cadence
Pricing: read from official provider pages, with the date of the last check shown on every page. Coverage data: updated when a provider changes its network partners. Speed figures: published as a 0-5 editorial score. HelloRoam leads at 4.8/5. We publish no raw Mbps.
What we do not do
- We do not personally travel to every country we cover, and we run no 20-destination buying programme
- We do not run a four-device lab
- We do not publish a raw Mbps figure for any provider. Speed tests we run feed the 0-5 Speed score
- We do not time activation, and we publish no activation success rate
- We do not accept payment for higher ratings, and no provider can buy a better score
- We do not guarantee that prices shown reflect real-time availability
- We do not allow providers to preview or approve reviews before publication
Questions about our methodology? Contact editorial@esimrated.com
Last updated: September 20, 2026