Best eSIM for China in 2026: 14 Providers Ranked by Traveler Reports

Best eSIM Providers for China

eSIM plans in China at a glance

How well each provider's eSIM works in China

The Vefru score is our overall rating of the provider. The percentage shows how many reviewers said their eSIM worked well in China. Since unhappy customers review more often, it is best used to compare providers with each other.

8.4Our score

Worked well in China

39 of 41 reviewers

95%

Visit website Detailed review

7.2Our score

Worked well in China

353 of 388 reviewers

91%

Visit website Detailed review

7.1Our score

Worked well in China

211 of 233 reviewers

91%

Visit website Detailed review

6.1Our score

Worked well in China

38 of 43 reviewers

88%

Visit website Detailed review

6.9Our score

Worked well in China

37 of 45 reviewers

82%

Visit website Detailed review

7.5Our score

Worked well in China

45 of 58 reviewers

78%

Visit website Detailed review

7.1Our score

Worked well in China

25 of 44 reviewers

57%

Visit website Detailed review

6.3Our score

Worked well in China

35 of 72 reviewers

49%

Visit website Detailed review

6.6Our score

Worked well in China

17 of 18 reviewers

94%

Visit website Detailed review

7.1Our score

Worked well in China

15 of 16 reviewers

94%

Visit website Detailed review

8.0Our score

Worked well in China

9 of 12 reviewers

75%

Visit website Detailed review

8.1Our score

Worked well in China

9 of 14 reviewers

64%

Visit website Detailed review

7.8Our score

Worked well in China

4 of 8 reviewers

50%

Visit website Detailed review

8.8Our score

Worked well in China

2 of 2 reviewers

100%

Visit website Detailed review

Compare all eSIM plans in China

How we got these numbers: we read 994 public customer reviews that mention China or a place in it, published between March 2024 and August 2026, and counted a report as "worked" when the reviewer said the eSIM connected, even with small hiccups. We treat 20 or more reports as strong evidence, 3 to 19 as limited, and fewer than 3 as too few to judge. A count like 39 of 41 means the eSIM worked well for 39 of the 41 travelers who reported from here; each provider section says what went wrong for the rest. The Vefru test score is a separate number: our own hands-on test of the provider, run outside China, so it says how the provider behaves, not how the network performs here. Local operator prices in the text were checked on 25 September 2026; provider ratings, the plan tables and the price-per-GB chart are live and update on their own.

The Best group is the six providers above the line: we rank on how often the eSIM worked for travelers in China first, on price position in our comparison second, and on our own hands-on test third, which is why Holafly sits behind Nomad despite the same percentage, and why eSIM4Travel, with only two reports, is included for its price and its help desk rather than for its record here.

Maya Mobile eSIM in China: best record, unlimited only

8.4 /10

Vefru score Excellent Score details

• Purchase process9/10
• Mobile app8/10
• eSIM installation9/10
• Customer support6/10
• Speed test9/10
• Prices8/10
• Customer feedback9/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Maya Mobile sells one product: a global unlimited eSIM plan for 165+ countries that you install once and switch on for every trip. It was fast in our test, and it is the cheapest global unlimited plan we have compared. There are no single-country plans, and nothing shorter than 3 days.

Key facts

• 165+ countries
• iPhone app 4.5
• Android app 4.7
• Auto Top-Up
• Hotspot
• 5.5 GB/day at full speed

Trustpilot

4.5/512,788 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Cheapest global unlimited plan

Very fast: 785 Mbps on 5G

Worked for 91% of travelers

Quick checkout, many ways to pay

No country or short plans

Pushes auto top-up hard

Clunky WhatsApp support

“Unlimited” has a hidden daily limit

Maya Mobile eSIM in our hands

Go to Maya Mobile website View full review

Maya Mobile is the pick for most trips of a week or more, because it had the best record of any provider with strong evidence from China and the fairest unlimited plan we tested. It worked well for 39 of 41 travelers who reported from China (95%, strong evidence). The reports that name a place are all big cities and all positive: Beijing 3 of 3, Shanghai 2 of 2, Guangzhou 1 of 1 and Suzhou 1 of 1. Maya's own page lists China Unicom as its network (checked in September 2026).

The two misses carry no place in the reports, so we cannot say where they happened. The caveats come from Maya's own terms: the eSIM is locked to the first phone it is installed on, with a replacement charge if you lose that phone, and Maya was mid-migration between two sites in September 2026, so the same product shows up with two different pricing models. Calls and SMS work only over Wi-Fi calling.

In our comparison tool Maya sells only global unlimited plans for 3, 7, 14 or 30 days, with or without cruise coverage, at 5 GB a day at full speed before the plan slows; hotspot is allowed and a VPN is listed as working. In our test the eSIM came by QR code and email, installed in about two minutes, ran at full speed on 5G and slowed only after roughly 5.5 GB in a day, which is the most generous unlimited rule we have seen; help came over WhatsApp through a form and took a few minutes to reach a person, as our Maya Mobile test shows. On price it is by far the cheapest global unlimited plan in our comparison, but it sells nothing small, so a two-day stopover is better served elsewhere. You can check the current plans on Maya Mobile's site.

Nomad eSIM in China: most reports, no help desk

7.2 /10

Vefru score Very good Score details

• Purchase process8/10
• Mobile app7/10
• eSIM installation8/10
• Customer support2/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices7/10
• Customer feedback8.6/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Nomad is a US travel eSIM brand run by LotusFlare, with plans for more than 200 destinations. It has a polished native app, fast data and prices close to the market average almost everywhere. Its weak spot is support: the chat is an AI bot with no route to a human.

Key facts

• 200+ destinations
• iPhone app 4.8
• Android app 4.5
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• 2 GB/day cap

Trustpilot

4.3/544,625 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Quick, easy purchase

Great app with a data widget

Fast, full-speed data

Fair prices almost everywhere

Support is a bot, no human

Easy to lose the install button

App stops when your data runs out

No refund after install

Nomad eSIM in our hands

Go to Nomad website View full review

Nomad is the pick for travelers who install at home and will not need a help desk, because no other provider comes close to its evidence from China. It worked well for 353 of 388 travelers who reported from China (91%, strong evidence). The successes cover the whole tourist map: Beijing 17 of 19, Xi'an 4 of 4, Tibet 5 of 5, the Great Wall 3 of 3, Xinjiang 2 of 2, Shenzhen 2 of 2 and Chengdu, Chongqing, Guilin, Gansu and Shangri-La with no misses. Nomad's page names China Unicom and China Telecom as its networks [6], and the "more than one local network" claim matches what the western-China reports show.

The 35 misses cluster in Shanghai (13 of 18 worked) and are otherwise scattered: two in Beijing, one each in Guangzhou and Suzhou, and one each in the smaller tourist stops Fenghuang, Leshan, Zhangjiajie and Guizhou. Nomad states on its China page that purchases and top-ups are not possible once you are inside the country [6], so a plan that was never activated at home cannot be rescued on arrival. In our hands-on test the AI bot looped on a setup question and never handed us to a person, which is the one finding that keeps Nomad behind Maya; our Nomad test has the chat log.

In our comparison tool Nomad sells China plans from 1 GB (3 or 7 days) to 50 GB (45 days), unlimited plans for 3 to 10 days at 2 GB a day before the speed drops, and regional Greater China, China-Japan-Korea, APAC and global plans; add-on data is available and the 1 GB 3-day plan is a free trial for new users. The install was a QR code, the plan starts on first connection, and Nomad says Google and WhatsApp work on it without a VPN. Price sits a little below the market average in China. Current plans are on Nomad's site.

Holafly eSIM in China: strong record, capped speeds

7.1 /10

Vefru score Very good Score details

• Purchase process7/10
• Mobile app7/10
• eSIM installation9/10
• Customer support6/10
• Speed test4/10
• Prices5/10
• Customer feedback9.4/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Holafly is an Irish eSIM provider built around unlimited data, with trip eSIMs for 200+ destinations. Travelers report it working more often than any other provider we track. Its weak points are speed and price: our test ran at about 30 Mbps on 5G, and its unlimited plans cost more than most.

Key facts

• 200+ destinations
• iPhone app 4.8
• Android app 4.7
• No top-ups
• Hotspot 1 GB/day
• 30 to 40 Mbps

Trustpilot

4.7/5113,513 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Truly unlimited data

Most reliable we track: 92% worked

One-tap install, no QR code

6 months to refund an unused eSIM

Slow: about 30–40 Mbps on 5G

Pricier than other unlimited eSIMs

Saved our card without asking

No top-ups, buy a new eSIM instead

Holafly eSIM in our hands

Go to Holafly website View full review

Holafly is the safe choice for travelers who want unlimited data and no decisions, with one drawback that has to be said first: in our hands-on test its speed was capped from the start, before any data was used. That is enough for maps, messaging, browsing and streaming, and slow for large downloads, uploads, cloud backups and laptop work. It worked well for 211 of 233 travelers who reported from China (91%, strong evidence), with its best city records in Shanghai (10 of 11), Chengdu (3 of 3), Guangzhou and Chongqing (2 of 2 each) and single positive reports from Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Xi'an and the Great Wall. Hotspot is limited to 1 GB a day and there are no top-ups; a second eSIM is the only way to add data [5].

Beijing is where Holafly misses: 12 of 17 worked there, and the capital accounts for 5 of its 22 misses, with single misses in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuhu. Holafly's page names CMCC (China Mobile) as its network and says the plan is for the mainland only; Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are excluded, so a combined trip needs a second plan [5]. A third-party guide claims Holafly rides China Unicom with a Hong Kong exit; we show the conflict rather than pick a side.

Holafly's China eSIM is not in our comparison tool at the time of writing, so there is no plan table here; Holafly's page lists unlimited plans from 3 to 30 days, a fair-use rule that can cut speed for up to a day, a free 1 GB a month after the plan ends if you keep the eSIM, and a six-month refund window on unused plans [5]. On price it is the most expensive unlimited option in most of our comparisons. In our test the install was one tap with no QR code and 5G connected at once, as our Holafly test shows, but the speed finding is why it sits third here. Plans are on Holafly's China page.

ByteSIM eSIM in China: short trips, clumsy checkout

6.1 /10

Vefru score Good Score details

• Purchase process4/10
• Mobile app4/10
• eSIM installation7/10
• Customer support2/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices5/10
• Customer feedback9.6/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

ByteSIM is a Hong Kong eSIM shop with a huge catalog: daily, fixed and unlimited plans for about 200 destinations. Data was fast in our test, and travelers report it working in 88% of cases. The checkout, the app and support were the weak points.

Key facts

• About 200 destinations
• iPhone app 4.6
• Android app 3.8
• No top-ups
• Hotspot
• 175 Mbps on 4G

Trustpilot

4.8/54,279 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Cheap for 3–5 GB short trips

Fast 4G, no throttling

Worked for 88% of travelers

180 days to get a refund

Checkout asks for phone and address

Clunky app, auto-activation failed

Promises 5G, gave us only 4G

Support didn't reply in our test

ByteSIM eSIM in our hands

Go to ByteSIM website View full review

ByteSIM is the pick for a trip of a few days where a cheap daily plan and a three-network fallback matter more than a polished app. It worked well for 38 of 43 travelers who reported from China (88%, strong evidence), with Shanghai 2 of 2 and Shenzhen 1 of 1 among the placed reports. Its own page names China Mobile as the primary network with China Unicom and China Telecom as backup on the daily plans (checked in September 2026), the only product in this comparison that claims automatic failover across all three operators.

The 5 misses carry no place in the reports. The drawbacks are on our side of the test: the checkout demanded a phone number and a full postal address, the app threw install errors, the promised 5G came up as 4G on our test cell, and the WhatsApp help desk that claims a reply within five minutes had not answered after fifteen, as our ByteSIM test shows. ByteSIM states on its page that daily and total plans drop to a very low speed once the quota is used, and there are no top-ups.

In our comparison tool ByteSIM sells daily plans from 500 MB to 3 GB a day for 1 to 30 days, total plans from 3 GB to 50 GB for 3 to 90 days, and unlimited plans for 1 to 30 days flagged as throttled, including a "Total 10GB (Poland IP)" variant that sells the exit country as a feature. Hotspot is allowed, over 50 local payment methods are accepted, and unused plans can be refunded for 180 days. On price it is the third cheapest in China in our comparison, but it charges for validity, so the short plans are where it wins. Current plans are on ByteSIM's site.

Jetpac eSIM in China: reachable help desk, throttled unlimited

6.9 /10

Vefru score Good Score details

• Purchase process5/10
• Mobile app5/10
• eSIM installation9/10
• Customer support5/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices5/10
• Customer feedback9.4/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Jetpac is a Singapore eSIM provider with plans in 129 countries. It adds extras like in-app calls, free WhatsApp and Google Maps after your data runs out, and lounge access on delayed flights. Its website, app and support are rough, so it suits travelers who can fix small issues themselves.

Key facts

• 129 countries
• iPhone app 4.0
• Android app 4.1
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• 3 GB/day cap

Trustpilot

4.7/53,528 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle Pay

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

WhatsApp and Maps keep working without data

Unlimited hotspot

Cheap calls in the app

Free lounge if your flight is late

Slow website, confusing checkout

No top-up once your data runs out

Slow, technical support

Pricey for 3–20 GB

Jetpac eSIM in our hands

Go to Jetpac website View full review

Jetpac is the pick for travelers who expect to need a person on the help desk, because the China reviews praise its WhatsApp and in-app chat more than any other provider's. It worked well for 37 of 45 travelers who reported from China (82%, strong evidence). The successes have a pattern: the eSIM did not connect at first in Shenzhen, Shanghai or on arrival, a support agent fixed the APN or re-assigned the pack within minutes, and the trip went on; several Singapore-based reviewers also say they used Google and Facebook without a VPN. One traveler wrote on 20 Nov 2025: "Used them in both Japan, China and Vietnam without any problems."

The 8 misses are mostly about the unlimited plan and about speed: a Beijing traveler in August 2026 got unusable speeds because the ICCID on the QR code did not match the account and switched to Holafly; two travelers in April and June 2026 found the "unlimited" APAC plan slowed to a crawl after the daily allowance, one of them in Shanghai and Hangzhou; one traveler in August 2025 never got a connection and found WhatsApp support unreachable from inside China. One of them wrote that Jetpac later issued a partial refund. Jetpac's page states that unlimited plans slow after 3 GB in 24 hours (as of September 2026), and every China pack in our comparison tool is flagged 4G only.

In our comparison tool Jetpac sells China packs from 1 GB to 40 GB for 1 to 30 days, unlimited for 3 to 30 days, and China-Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau, APAC and global bundles; packs of 3 GB and up keep WhatsApp, Google Maps, Uber and Grab working after the data runs out, tethering is unlimited, voice packs are sold in the app, and a delayed flight unlocks a free lounge. In September 2026 its 20 GB pack cost more than its 30 GB pack on its own page, so check the ladder before buying. In our test the site was slow and the app rough, but the install was automatic, as our Jetpac test shows. Price is a little below the market average here. Plans are on Jetpac's site.

eSIM4Travel eSIM in China: cheapest, only two reports

8.8 /10

Vefru score Excellent Score details

• Purchase process8/10
• eSIM installation8/10
• Customer support10/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices10/10
• Customer feedback8.8/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of seven categories from our own paid test and customer reviews. eSIM4Travel has no app, so we do not score one.

eSIM4Travel is a US eSIM seller with plans for 158 destinations and no app. It was the cheapest provider in our price database, and its support was the best we have tested. Without an app, you cannot reach the store to top up once your data runs out.

Key facts

• 158 destinations
• No app
• Web only
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• No throttling

Trustpilot

4.4/5202 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardPayPalApple Pay

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Cheapest provider we track

Quick, helpful human support

Fast, no throttling

Website in 41 languages

No app: out of data, you need Wi‑Fi to top up

US dollars only, no Google Pay

Unlimited slows after 3 GB a day

No refund after 10% of data used

eSIM4Travel eSIM in our hands

Go to eSIM4Travel website View full review

eSIM4Travel is in the Best group for its price and its help desk, not for its record here: only 2 travelers have reported from China so far (one of them from Shenzhen), both positive, which is too few to judge. It is the cheapest provider for China in our comparison by a wide margin, cheaper than Global YO in second place, and its own page names China Mobile as the network (checked in September 2026), the operator with the largest 5G build in the country.

What we can vouch for is our hands-on test, run outside China: the eSIM was bought on the website and sent by email, a screenshot of the QR code installed it and data worked right away, and one click took us from the bot to a person on the help desk who solved the problem, as our eSIM4Travel test shows. The downsides are built in: there is no app, no Google Pay, and once the data runs out you cannot reach the shop to top up without Wi-Fi, which matters in a country where profiles cannot be downloaded on the ground.

In our comparison tool eSIM4Travel sells China plans from 1 GB (1 or 7 days) to 50 GB (30 days), unlimited plans for 3 to 30 days at 3 GB a day before the speed drops, and separate China and Macau and China, Hong Kong and Macau bundles; the plain China plan excludes Hong Kong and Macau. Tethering is allowed, top-ups are available, the plan starts on first connection, and you have 90 days to activate. Current plans are on eSIM4Travel's China page.

Other eSIM Providers for China

We have tested all eight providers below too. They sit here because their China record is weaker, their sample is small, or a finding from our test counts against them; two of them, Ubigi and GoMoWorld, are ones we would not take to China at all.

Airalo eSIM in China: easy setup, pricier here

7.5 /10

Vefru score Very good Score details

• Purchase process9/10
• Mobile app8/10
• eSIM installation9/10
• Customer support7/10
• Speed test7/10
• Prices5/10
• Customer feedback8.2/10
• Coverage7/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Airalo is an eSIM marketplace from Singapore with plans for 200+ destinations, some with calls and texts. It is easy to buy and install. But prices sit at the market median, and travelers report more failed connections than with any other provider we track.

Key facts

• 200+ destinations
• iPhone app 4.6
• Android app 4.3
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• No cap on fixed plans

Trustpilot

4.1/545,721 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Buy on the web, no app needed

Works right after install

Fast, no speed cap on fixed plans

Most plans with calls and texts

Average prices, not cheap

Lowest success rate we track: 72% worked

App stops when your data runs out

Clunky checkout, no QR download

Airalo eSIM in our hands

Go to Airalo website View full review

Airalo is a known quantity with a middling China record. It worked well for 45 of 58 travelers who reported from China (78%, strong evidence); the placed reports are all positive (Beijing 2 of 2, Shanghai 2 of 2, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Tibet 1 of 1 each), while the 13 misses carry no place. Two Ubigi customers in our review set switched to Airalo mid-trip and wrote that it worked at once, one of them through Beijing and Guilin, which is the closest thing to a field test the reviews give us. Airalo's China page names China Unicom as the network [4]; a third-party blog claims the profile rides China Mobile's radio, which we could not confirm.

In our comparison tool Airalo sells "Chinacom" plans from 1 GB (3 days) to 50 GB (30 days) and unlimited for 3 to 30 days at 3 GB a day before the speed drops, plus Asialink regional and Discover global plans; all are data-only, with no local number. On price it is among the dearer providers in China in our comparison, which is why it is not a pick. In our test the purchase and install were the easiest of the fourteen, with data working at once and no settings to touch, as our Airalo test shows; Airalo suits a first-time buyer who values that over price. Plans are on Airalo's China page.

GigSky eSIM in China: most expensive, mixed record

7.1 /10

Vefru score Very good Score details

• Purchase process7/10
• Mobile app6/10
• eSIM installation8/10
• Customer support9/10
• Speed test6/10
• Prices4/10
• Customer feedback8.6/10
• Coverage8/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

GigSky is a US travel eSIM that works like its own operator, with plans for 190+ destinations plus cruise, ferry and in-flight plans. Its app stays partly online after your data runs out. But its fixed-data plans are the most expensive of the 12 providers we compared.

Key facts

• 190+ destinations
• iPhone app 4.5
• Android app 3.9
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• 3.5 GB/day cap

Trustpilot

4.3/57,194 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Buy more data even with none left

Cruise, ferry and in-flight plans

Human support answered right away

Cheap 1-day unlimited passes

Most expensive per GB we track

App required, no Google Pay

Clunky, web-like app

Less reliable than average

GigSky eSIM in our hands

Go to GigSky website View full review

GigSky is not a pick for China: it worked well for 25 of 44 travelers who reported from here (57%, strong evidence), and it is the most expensive provider for China in our comparison by a wide margin. The placed reports are thin: Guangzhou, Shanghai and Wuhan 1 of 1 each, Xiamen and Hainan 0 of 1 each; the other misses carry no place. Its network for China is named only in GigSky's own blog, as China Mobile and China Unicom; the product page confirmed nothing when we checked in September 2026, and a third-party plan listing describes the China plan as 4G and 3G with no 5G, which we could not confirm.

In our comparison tool GigSky sells China plans from 1 GB (7 days) to 20 GB (90 days), a 1-day unlimited pass, and Asia Pacific, World and cruise bundles. Its one real strength is that the app stays partly online after the data runs out, so you can buy a new plan without Wi-Fi, which only Ubigi matched in our test; GigSky also gives a free 100 MB trial. In our test the help desk answered at once but the app was a wrapped website, as our GigSky test shows. It makes sense for a cruise that calls at Chinese ports, not for a land trip. Plans are on GigSky's China page.

Ubigi eSIM in China: failed for half the travelers

6.3 /10

Vefru score Good Score details

• Purchase process4/10
• Mobile app3/10
• eSIM installation8/10
• Customer support2/10
• Speed test9/10
• Prices7/10
• Customer feedback8.2/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Ubigi is the travel eSIM brand of Paris operator Transatel, with one reusable eSIM for 200+ destinations. Data was fast in our test, and its 3 GB, 10 GB and 30-day unlimited plans are cheap. Its weak point is support: a chatbot that ends in an email ticket, with no live agent.

Key facts

• 200+ destinations
• iPhone app 4.6
• Android app 3.7
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• 568 Mbps on 5G

Trustpilot

4.1/547,238 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

eSIM by email in a minute

Very fast: 568 Mbps on 5G

Cheap 3 GB, 10 GB and 30-day unlimited

Buy more data even with none left

No live support, only email tickets

Confusing website and app

Few plan sizes, no 20 GB

No refund after you scan the QR code

Ubigi eSIM in our hands

Go to Ubigi website View full review

Ubigi is the one provider we would not take to China. It worked well for only 35 of 72 travelers who reported from here (49%, strong evidence), and Beijing is a dead zone in the reports: 0 of 9 worked there, including one traveler at Beijing Capital airport and one near Daxing. The misses describe the same thing over and over: full signal bars but no data, a connection that holds for a minute or two and drops, days of restarting and APN changes, and support tickets that went unanswered for weeks; many of these travelers bought a second eSIM from Airalo, Saily or Trip.com on the spot. Shanghai split 2 of 4, Wuxi and Hunan failed, and one traveler in June 2026 lost the service for most of a day before it came back on its own.

Where it worked, it worked well: Dalian on 5G, and one traveler wrote on 7 May 2026: "Very stable in the west China (Urumuqi and Torfan)." Ubigi's partner list names China Telecom as its only China network [7], the operator with the best reputation for the far west, which fits that report. In our comparison tool Ubigi sells China plans of 1, 3, 10 and 25 GB (7 or 30 days), unlimited for 8, 15 or 30 days, and Asia and World bundles; Ubigi's plan page says the 30-day unlimited slows after 5 GB a day and flags no 3G for China (as of September 2026). In our test the network was fast but the site, app and help desk were the weakest of the fourteen, with a ticket unanswered after 24 hours, as our Ubigi test shows. Plans are on Ubigi's site.

Yesim eSIM in China: good record, slow support

6.6 /10

Vefru score Good Score details

• Purchase process6/10
• Mobile app7/10
• eSIM installation8/10
• Customer support2/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices5/10
• Customer feedback8.6/10
• Coverage8/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Yesim is a Swiss eSIM provider built around unlimited plans sold by the day, with one eSIM for 200+ destinations. Data was fast in our test. But its support was among the slowest we have tested, and its fixed-data country plans cost more than most rivals.

Key facts

• 200+ destinations
• iPhone app 4.6
• Android app 4.7
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• Possible slowdown

Trustpilot

4.3/52,963 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Fast data in our test

Unlimited plans by the day

Pay with PayPal, Klarna or crypto

Website in 44 languages

Among the slowest support we've tested

Pricey fixed-data country plans

No top-up once your data runs out

Signs you up for marketing emails

Yesim eSIM in our hands

Go to Yesim website View full review

Yesim has a good but small China record and a help desk you do not want to need. It worked well for 17 of 18 travelers who reported from China (94%, limited evidence); the placed reports are Shanghai and Hainan 1 of 1 each, and the one miss was in Beijing. Yesim did not name a network on its page when we checked in September 2026, and it claims a built-in VPN and automatic network switching.

In our comparison tool Yesim sells China plans from 100 MB to 30 GB and unlimited plans by the day for 1 to 30 days, plus Asia and global bundles; Yesim's page says the unlimited plan cannot be topped up and gives 90 days to activate (as of September 2026). In our test the plan started at purchase rather than on first use, so buy it close to departure, and replies from the help desk took up to an hour, as our Yesim test shows. Price sits at the market average in China. It suits experienced users who want unlimited sold by the day. Plans are on Yesim's China page.

Roamless eSIM in China: small sample, no throttling claimed

7.1 /10

Vefru score Very good Score details

• Purchase process5/10
• Mobile app7/10
• eSIM installation7/10
• Customer support7/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices5/10
• Customer feedback9/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Roamless is a US provider built around one global eSIM for 203 destinations, paid with pay-as-you-go credit. It was fast and unthrottled in our test, and travelers report it working in 91% of cases. Its weak point is buying: the website forces you into the app, and large data amounts cost more than most rivals.

Key facts

• 203 destinations
• iPhone app 4.8
• Android app 4.1
• Pay-as-you-go
• Unlimited hotspot
• No throttling

Trustpilot

4.5/51,746 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle Pay

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

One eSIM for 200+ destinations

Fast, no throttling

Worked for 91% of travelers

Free 500 MB trial

Website pushes you into the app

We had to fix the APN to get data

Credit can expire after 12 months

Pricey for 10 GB and up

Roamless eSIM in our hands

Go to Roamless website View full review

Roamless has a strong but small record and a free tier worth knowing about. It worked well for 15 of 16 travelers who reported from China (94%, limited evidence); none of the reports name a place, so we cannot say where the one miss was. Its China page names China Unicom, states "speed limit: never" and allows unlimited tethering (checked in September 2026); that no-throttle claim is unusual and untested by us.

In our comparison tool Roamless sells a free 500 MB China tier for new users, 30-day China plans from 1 GB to 50 GB, pay-as-you-go credit that never expires, and Asia and global bundles. Price is at the market average in China, cheap for 1 GB and dear from 10 GB up because the credit has no volume discount. In our test the preselected APN did not work and we had to pick another one by hand before data flowed, as our Roamless test shows. It suits a light user hopping between several countries. Plans are on Roamless's China page.

Global YO eSIM in China: cheap big buckets, 4G only

8.0 /10

Vefru score Excellent Score details

• Purchase process8/10
• Mobile app8/10
• eSIM installation9/10
• Customer support5/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices10/10
• Customer feedback8/10
• Coverage8/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Global YO is a US eSIM provider aimed at young travelers, with plans in 195 countries. It is the second cheapest provider in our price data, and buying and installing took minutes. Its weak spot is support: quick to answer, slow to help.

Key facts

• 195 countries
• iPhone app 4.5
• Android app 3.8
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• Over 150 Mbps

Trustpilot

4.0/51,293 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle Pay

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Second cheapest we track

Buy and install in minutes

Apple Pay, Google Pay, social login

Hotspot and top-ups on every plan

Support is slow to actually help

App only, no buying on the web

App stops when your data runs out

Unclear refund rules

Global YO eSIM in our hands

Go to Global YO website View full review

Global YO is the second cheapest provider for China in our comparison, and the one to look at for a 50 GB or 100 GB bucket, but its China record is thin. It worked well for 9 of 12 travelers who reported from China (75%, limited evidence); none of the reports name a place. Its spec table names China Unicom and lists the speed as 4G/LTE only, with no 5G (checked in September 2026).

In our comparison tool Global YO sells China plans from 1 GB (3 days) to 100 GB (60 days) and day plans for 3 to 30 days that slow after a daily allowance, plus Asia Explorer and Global Explorer bundles; top-ups and tethering are allowed. You can only buy in the app, the eSIM then arrives by email, a deleted eSIM cannot be reinstalled, and the help desk took ten minutes for a template reply in our test, as our Global YO test shows. It suits a price-driven buyer who installs at home and will not need help. Plans are on Global YO's China page.

Saily eSIM in China: best app, dear here

8.1 /10

Vefru score Excellent Score details

• Purchase process7/10
• Mobile app9/10
• eSIM installation9/10
• Customer support10/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices4/10
• Customer feedback9.4/10
• Coverage8/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Saily is the travel eSIM from the company behind NordVPN, with plans for about 200 destinations. It has the smoothest install we have tested, a polished app and a built-in VPN. But prices run above the market in most big European destinations, and traveler reports sit below average.

Key facts

• About 200 destinations
• iPhone app 4.7
• Android app 4.5
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• 3 or 5 GB/day cap

Trustpilot

4.7/531,741 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle Pay

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Easiest install we've tested

Fast 24/7 human support

Free VPN and ad blocker

Plan starts only when you land

Pricey in big European countries

App required, no eSIM by email

Less reliable than average

App stops when your data runs out

Saily eSIM in our hands

Go to Saily website View full review

Saily has the best app and help desk in our test, but China is one of its weak countries. It worked well for 9 of 14 travelers who reported from China (64%, limited evidence); none of the reports name a place. The reviews of other providers give two glimpses: one Simify customer in July 2026 wrote of a very bad experience with Saily in China, while one Ubigi customer in August 2026 switched to Saily after Ubigi failed in Beijing. Saily's page does not name a network and warns that its own app may be blocked inside China, so everything has to be set up before you fly.

In our comparison tool Saily sells China plans from 1 GB (7 days) to 20 GB (30 days) plus Asia and Oceania and global bundles; Saily's page also listed unlimited plans with a daily allowance and gives 180 days to activate (as of September 2026). Price is the second most expensive in China in our comparison. In our test the in-app install was the smoothest of the fourteen and the help desk reached a person fast, as our Saily test shows, so it still suits a first eSIM if the price is acceptable. Plans are on Saily's China page.

GoMoWorld eSIM in China: activation fails on arrival

7.8 /10

Vefru score Very good Score details

• Purchase process8/10
• Mobile app8/10
• eSIM installation8/10
• Customer support6/10
• Speed test10/10
• Prices7/10
• Customer feedback7.6/10
• Coverage8/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

GoMoWorld is the travel eSIM brand of Irish operator eir, with plans in 202 countries. Every destination has the same four euro prices, and we saw no throttling at all. The catch is that everything happens in the app, and human support works only in office hours.

Key facts

• 202 countries
• iPhone app 4.8
• Android app 4.6
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• No throttling

Trustpilot

3.8/51,987 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle Pay

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Very fast, no throttling

Among the cheapest from 5 GB

Clean, easy app

Start the plan when you land

App only, no QR code

Human support only in office hours

App stops when your data runs out

Weaker in the US, Japan and China

GoMoWorld eSIM in our hands

Go to GoMoWorld website View full review

GoMoWorld is the fastest eSIM we have tested and the one with the clearest failure pattern in China. It worked well for 4 of 8 travelers who reported from China (50%, limited evidence). All four misses are the same story: the traveler landed, tried to start the plan from inside China and could not, in Beijing for over a week in February 2026 and for four days elsewhere in May 2026, with no phone line to call; one got it running only after customer service stepped in. The successes, Shanghai in July 2026 among them, read as routine, and one says no VPN was needed.

In our comparison tool GoMoWorld sells four China plans, from 1.2 GB (7 days) to 18 GB (30 days), delivered only through its app with one account per device; plans stay valid until you press Start, which is also why they fail when that step is left for the arrivals hall. It bundles a European VPN and did not name a network on its page when we checked in September 2026. In our test speeds were the highest of all fourteen with no throttling, but the help desk is staffed only in office hours, as our GoMoWorld test shows. Price is among the dearer options in China in our comparison. Plans are on GoMoWorld's site.

Providers travelers report from China that we have not tested

Simify, an Australian provider we have not tested, appears in the China reviews we read with mostly positive stories (Google and WhatsApp without a VPN, hotspot for the family, a 30-minute delay before data flowed on arrival in one case), but it has no counted reports in our analysis, so it is not ranked here.

Best eSIM Plans for China

Price per GB in China by eSIM Provider

How much does each provider charge per GB in China? The chart below compares plans of 1 to 10 GB that last 6 to 14 days, the usual range for a one- or two-week trip. Provider websites show only their own plans, so this side-by-side view is one you would otherwise have to work out yourself. A shorter bar means a lower price per GB.

Two things to know before you read the tables. The cheapest two providers for China in our comparison, eSIM4Travel and Global YO, are not the two with the best record; Maya Mobile and Nomad are. And "unlimited" means something different at each provider: 5 GB a day at Maya, 3 GB at Airalo, eSIM4Travel and Jetpac, 2 GB at Nomad, and a cap from the first megabyte at Holafly in our test. If your trip continues to Japan or South Korea, a search for plans that cover China and Japan together shows the regional bundles, and our Japan guide and South Korea guide have the picks there.

Best eSIM for Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, plus Tibet and Xinjiang

Nomad is the pick for Beijing and Holafly for Shanghai and Shenzhen, and the far west is Nomad territory in the reports. The table lists every place the 994 reports name, with the count per provider in the same order as the matrix above; a pick needs at least 3 reports for that provider in that place.

Best eSIM for Beijing

Nomad wins Beijing on the weight of the evidence: 17 of 19 reports worked, against Holafly's 12 of 17, which is Holafly's weakest city in China, and Maya Mobile's 3 of 3, which is too small a sample to put ahead of Nomad. Beijing is also where the misses of the other providers pile up. Ubigi failed for all 9 travelers who reported from the capital, two of them already at the airports: one wrote of barely any signal at Beijing Capital and nothing at all in the lounge, another of almost no connection near Daxing, and the rest of signal bars without data in the city. GoMoWorld's one Beijing report is a traveler who could not get a connection for over a week and bought a local SIM; Jetpac's one Beijing report is the August 2026 case of unusable speeds that ended with a switch to Holafly.

If you use Holafly in Beijing, the reports say it connects far more often than not, but its speed is capped in our test and 5 of its 22 China misses are here. For the Great Wall day trip, Nomad's 3 of 3 and Holafly's 1 of 1 are the only reports, and all worked.

Best eSIM for Shanghai

Holafly wins Shanghai: 10 of 11 reports worked, and the capped speed in our test is the only reason to look elsewhere. Nomad, the runner-up, worked for 13 of 18 here, and Shanghai is where 5 of its 35 China misses sit, more than in any other city. Ubigi split 2 of 4, with one traveler in July 2026 writing that the connection often cut out in the middle of the city and another, who had already failed in Beijing in June, losing the network again in Wuxi and Shanghai the next month; Jetpac's one Shanghai report is an unlimited plan that became unusable after a couple of days.

The positive Shanghai reports from Ubigi and GoMoWorld describe data working on arrival, one of them during a transit through Shanghai on the way to Europe. Airalo, ByteSIM, Maya Mobile and Yesim have only positive reports here, all with fewer than 3, so the country ranking applies to them.

Best eSIM for Shenzhen and Guangzhou

Holafly is the pick for Shenzhen (3 of 4 worked) and Nomad for Guangzhou (3 of 4), with the same caveat on Holafly's capped speed. The Pearl River Delta is where Jetpac's help-desk stories come from: a family of three in July 2026 had no connection in Shenzhen despite activating at home, and an agent fixed it after midnight and an escalation. ByteSIM, eSIM4Travel and Jetpac each have one positive Shenzhen report, and Airalo and GigSky one each from Guangzhou, too few to rank.

For Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Gansu the reports are all positive and nearly all Nomad's (Tibet 5 of 5, Xinjiang 2 of 2), with single positive reports from Holafly and Airalo in Tibet and from Ubigi in Urumqi and Turpan. No provider publishes a coverage map for China, and the gaps the research describes on the plateau away from the railway and in the deserts apply to every eSIM alike, so for a western route the choice is between Nomad's record and ByteSIM's three-network failover, which has no western reports yet.

Local SIM Cards and Operator eSIMs in China

A local SIM beats a travel eSIM only when you need a Chinese +86 number, for example for apps that verify by SMS; for data alone the cheapest travel eSIMs cost less, need no registration and reach Google, WhatsApp and Gmail without a VPN, while a local SIM sits behind the Great Firewall. A domestic Chinese eSIM is not an option at all: industry reports agree that activation needs a Chinese national ID card and an in-person face check at a carrier shop, with no path for a foreign passport, even after MIIT approved commercial eSIM trials on 13 Oct 2025.

No operator publishes a tourist tariff page that we could find, so every price here is a counter price reported by third parties as of September 2026 and may differ by airport and province. Trip.com lists a China Unicom tourist plan at ¥200.00 for 30 days with 20 GB and 30 domestic minutes, and a 100 GB version with 50 minutes at ¥300.00; travel guides put a typical airport tourist SIM at ¥100.00 to ¥200.00 for 7 to 30 days, and a China Mobile airport SIM at about ¥100.00. Some plans are province-locked, so ask for national data.

Every SIM in China needs real-name registration: staff scan your passport and run a face check at the counter, and MIIT caps how many numbers one ID can hold. Counters sit in the arrivals halls of Beijing Capital, Beijing Daxing, Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao'an, Chengdu Tianfu and Hangzhou Xiaoshan, with English plan boards, and the process takes about 15 to 30 minutes. Travelers report that the Pudong counters close between roughly 22:00 and 07:00, so a late arrival with nothing pre-installed is offline until morning. City carrier shops are better for a long stay but not every branch handles foreign passports, and China Unicom and CTExcel ship physical SIMs abroad if you order about a week ahead.

No source we found adds an activation fee or tax to the counter price. On the eSIM side Nomad, Maya Mobile, Yesim and ByteSIM all state that their prices include taxes.

Mobile Networks in China

China Mobile has the largest network, China Unicom claims the widest population coverage, and China Telecom has the reputation for the far west; which one your eSIM uses is published by most providers here, and that is the main difference between them. MIIT counted more than 5.1 million 5G base stations and 1.3 billion 5G subscribers at the end of July 2026 [2], and 5G reached every town and more than 95% of administrative villages by the end of 2025 [1]. China Unicom's 2025 results put its mobile population coverage above 99% and its 5G-Advanced network in more than 330 cities [3]. No regulator publishes per-operator coverage or speed comparisons, so the ranking of the three rests on their own infrastructure figures: China Mobile's annual report, as relayed by the financial press, gives it well over half of the country's 5G base stations and the low-band spectrum it shares with China Broadnet, which is what reaches the villages. The reputation of China Telecom for Tibet, Xinjiang and Sichuan comes from provider blogs, not from measurements.

Who rides what, as the providers state it: Holafly [5], eSIM4Travel and ByteSIM name China Mobile, with ByteSIM adding China Unicom and China Telecom as backup on its daily plans; Nomad names China Unicom and China Telecom [6]; Airalo [4], Global YO, Roamless and Maya Mobile name China Unicom; Ubigi names China Telecom only [7]. GigSky names China Mobile and China Unicom only in its blog. Saily, Yesim, Jetpac and GoMoWorld did not name a network on their pages when we checked in September 2026. Comparison sites report that China Unicom's bands match foreign phones better than China Mobile's, which we could not verify; the traveler reports do not show a Unicom advantage, since Nomad and Ubigi, both on Unicom or Telecom, sit at opposite ends of the table.

Two practical points. China Broadnet, the fourth operator, has no 2G, 3G or 4G of its own and is not sold to tourists, and Ubigi's plan page flags no 3G for China, so an old phone without 4G is a problem whichever eSIM you choose. Coverage follows the transport: MIIT figures relayed by the trade press describe continuous coverage along 654,000 km of highways and railways and 316 metro lines, which matches the high-speed train reports, while the plateau and the deserts are the exceptions. None of the three operators published an open coverage map when we checked; the only public maps are crowdsourced and thin. Our guide to eSIMs with several networks explains how to switch operator by hand when a profile allows it.

How to Set Up an eSIM for China

Install the eSIM and, where the provider requires it, start the plan before you board; the activation failures in the reviews we read all happened on the ground, where Nomad says purchases and top-ups are not possible [6] and Saily says its app may be blocked. The steps:

1. Check your phone. An iPhone bought in mainland China, Hong Kong or Macao mostly has no eSIM; Simify and eSIM4Travel both list only the iPhone 17, 13 mini, 12 mini, SE 2020 and XS as exceptions, and China-market Android phones from Xiaomi, HONOR and Samsung ship without it too, according to industry reports. Our list of phones that take an eSIM covers the rest.
2. Buy at home and mind the activation window: 90 days at eSIM4Travel and Yesim, three months at Jetpac, six months at Ubigi, 180 days at Saily; Nomad's page gave 60 days when we checked in September 2026, while some of its plans in our comparison tool say 30. Yesim's plan started at purchase in our test, so buy it last.
3. Install on Wi-Fi at home. Most providers here send a QR code by email (eSIM4Travel, Airalo, Maya Mobile, Ubigi, Yesim, ByteSIM, Jetpac, Nomad, Holafly); GoMoWorld, Saily, Roamless and GigSky install only through their app, and Global YO sells only in its app. Our guides for adding an eSIM on an iPhone and on a Samsung show where the settings are.
4. Turn on data roaming for the eSIM line and set the APN if the provider asks for one: Maya Mobile and Global YO use "globaldata", GigSky "gigsky", Ubigi "mobiledata", and Roamless needed a manual switch away from its preselected APN in our test.
5. Start the plan the way your provider wants. GoMoWorld plans do nothing until you press Start or schedule a start; most others begin on first connection in China, so keep the line off until you land. Holafly's QR code scans once and a deleted profile cannot be reinstalled, and the same applies to Global YO.
6. On arrival, switch the eSIM line on, give it a minute, and toggle airplane mode if nothing happens; several Simify and Ubigi reviewers waited up to half an hour before data flowed. If it still fails, our eSIM troubleshooting guide lists the fixes in order, and a Jetpac or eSIM4Travel help desk can reach you over hotel Wi-Fi.

Calls and SMS in China

China's calling code is +86, and no travel eSIM in this article gives you a Chinese number; every China plan in our comparison tool is data-only. Calls and texts over WhatsApp, Signal or a similar app are the normal route, and the providers here reach those apps without a VPN. One Ubigi customer in April 2026 found she could not call local numbers at all, including emergency numbers, which is the general rule for a data-only eSIM.

If you want a number anyway: Jetpac sells voice packs in its app, which showed the called party a US number in our test; Roamless adds a second number in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia as a paid add-on; Saily's add-on is a US number, not a Chinese one; Airalo's China plan has no number, unlike its global Discover+ plan; Maya Mobile handles voice and SMS only over Wi-Fi calling. The only way to get a +86 number, which some Chinese apps and payment flows ask for at sign-up, is a local SIM with the passport registration described above; the Unicom tourist plans Trip.com lists come with 30 or 50 domestic minutes.

Free eSIM Data for China

Four providers give away data that works in China. Roamless lists a free 500 MB China tier for new users in our comparison tool, which its page confirms (it was 400 MB until recently, so check the current figure). Nomad's 1 GB 3-day China plan is flagged as a free trial for new users in our comparison tool. GigSky gives a free 100 MB, 7-day trial for China, and GoMoWorld a free 100 MB one-day trial, both on their own pages as of September 2026. All four need the app or the website before you fly, since a profile cannot be downloaded inside the country. Our round-up of free eSIM trials keeps the current list.

Summary: the best eSIM for China

Maya Mobile is our pick for most trips to China in 2026: it worked well for 39 of 41 travelers who reported from here, its unlimited plan slows only after 5 GB in a day, and the only drawbacks are that it sells nothing short and locks the eSIM to one phone. Nomad is the choice for anyone who installs at home and will not need help, with 353 of 388 reports positive, Tibet and Xi'an spotless, and Shanghai its weak city. Holafly is the safe unlimited option for Shanghai, Chengdu and Shenzhen, 211 of 233, with speed capped from the start in our test and Beijing its weakest city.

ByteSIM (38 of 43) suits a short trip on a cheap daily plan with a three-network fallback and a clumsy checkout; Jetpac (37 of 45) suits travelers who expect to need a help desk, with an unlimited plan that slows after 3 GB a day; and eSIM4Travel is the cheapest provider for China in our comparison with a human help desk and no app, but only 2 reports from China so far. Whichever provider it is, the best eSIM for China is the one installed and started before you board; in the reports we read, that habit mattered more than the provider.

Compare All eSIM Plans for China

Every China plan from the 14 providers in this article, in one comparison with live prices.