Thailand · 7 providers compared · prices checked August 2026
Best eSIM for Thailand
Thailand sells the cheapest travel data in Asia: 20GB for three months costs less than 3GB in Singapore. The only real decision is whether your eSIM can use AIS on the islands.
The picks for Thailand cheap country, easy decision
GigSky
Best price per GB in the country $9.79 10GB / 30 days- $15.99 for 20GB over 90 days, which no other provider comes close to
- Runs on AIS, the network that holds up on the islands, plus dtac
- Free 100MB trial before you pay for anything
Watch out: No access to True, the strongest network in parts of Isaan and the far north.
Trustpilot 4.3/5 · 6,084 reviews
See GigSky Thailand plansAiralo
Widest network access for the money $11.00 10GB / 30 days, Maew- Permitted on AIS, True, True Move H and dtac, the broadest list of any provider here
- Small sizes are genuinely cheap: $6 for 3GB, $8 for 5GB over 30 days
- Its unlimited starts at $9.50, the cheapest unlimited entry in Thailand
Watch out: That unlimited caps at 3GB a day, and the 20GB pack is dearer than GigSky at nearly double the price per GB.
Trustpilot 4.1/5 · 41,238 reviews
See Airalo Thailand plansSaily
Best for hotspots and remote work $10.99 10GB / 30 days- Unlimited with a published 5GB per day cap, the biggest in the country
- Trustpilot 4.7 across 30,000 reviews, the best trust record of the four
- Fixed sizes are competitive too: $19.99 for 20GB
Watch out: Saily does not publish which Thai networks it uses. In a country where AIS versus dtac decides your island coverage, that silence matters.
Trustpilot 4.7/5 · 30,290 reviews
See Saily Thailand plansEvery Thailand plan we can verify the whole ladder
| Provider | 1GB | 3GB | 5GB | 10GB | 20GB | Unlimited (real cap) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saily | $2.99 /7d | $5.99 /30d | $7.99 /30d | $10.99 /30d | $19.99 /30d | from $18.99 · 5GB/day |
| Airalo | $4 /3d | $6 /7d | $8 /30d | $11 /30d | $18 /30d | from $9.50 · 3GB/day |
| GigSky | $2.99 /7d | $5.49 /15d | $7.29 /30d | $9.79 /30d | $15.99 /90d | from $10.99 · 3.5GB/day |
| Yesim | $3.02 /30d | — | $8.13 /30d | $12.78 /30d | $19.75 /30d | not sold here |
| Nomad | $5 /7d | $6 /30d | $8 /30d | $10 /30d | — | from $16 · 2GB/day |
| Jetpac | $7 /4d | $5 /7d | $7 /30d | $11.50 /30d | $28 /30d | from $12.99 · 3GB/day |
Two things stand out in that table. GigSky's $15.99 for 20GB over 90 days works out at roughly $0.80 per gigabyte, which is Thai domestic pricing rather than tourist pricing. And Nomad's 10GB at $10 undercuts most of the field; we cannot link it and it belongs in the table anyway.
Networks, ferries and the islands where the choice bites
Bangkok works on anything. The decision is about Koh Tao, Koh Lanta, the Similans and the long-tail boat you are standing in.
AIS has the broadest rural and island footprint and is what Thai islanders themselves carry. True is the strongest in the far north and much of Isaan and matches AIS in the cities. dtac, now merged into True's group but still a separate network profile on these plans, fades first offshore.
| Provider | Thai networks it may use |
|---|---|
| GigSky | AIS + dtac |
| Airalo | AIS + True (CAT) + dtac + True |
| Yesim | AIS + dtac |
| Nomad | AIS + True + dtac |
| Ubigi | AIS + True |
| Saily | not published |
| Jetpac | not published |
Permissions from each provider's published Thailand coverage record, 2026-08-31. "True (CAT)" is the legacy CAT Telecom profile that some plans still list separately.
Our pick for Thailand is GigSky on AIS and dtac, 10GB for $9.79 over 30 days.
See GigSky Thailand plans Back to the picksAIS
The island networkKoh Tao, Koh Lanta, the ferry routes out of Donsak and Rassada. If your trip involves boats, this is the one to have on the plan.
True
Strongest in the northChiang Rai, Pai, the Mekong border towns and most of Isaan. Airalo and Nomad are the ways onto it from this page.
dtac
Cities and highwaysPerfectly good in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and along the main roads, thinner on the small islands and in the hills.
Every provider here except Ubigi carries AIS, so a beach trip is hard to get wrong. The plans worth paying extra for are the ones that add True, and that is Airalo and Nomad.
"Unlimited" in Thailand and why it rarely pays
| "Unlimited" plan | Real daily high-speed cap | After the cap |
|---|---|---|
| Saily Thailand Unlimited (from $18.99, 5 days) | 5GB / day | throttled until midnight |
| GigSky Thailand Unlimited (from $10.99, 3 days) | 3.5GB / day | reduced speed for the rest of the day |
| Airalo Maew Unlimited (from $9.50, 3 days) | 3GB / day | throttled, chat and maps still work |
| Nomad Thailand Unlimited (unlinked, from $16) | 2GB / day | throttled |
| Yesim unlimited days | not published | unspecified reduction after heavy use |
Thailand is the country where unlimited makes the least sense. A 10GB fixed pack is $9.79; ten days of Saily unlimited is $18.99 for five. Unless you tether a laptop every day, buy gigabytes.
The largest cap you can read before buying in Thailand is Saily's 5GB a day, from $18.99 for 5 days.
See Saily unlimited How every cap comparesStaying a month or three the Chiang Mai case
Thailand collects long stays: retirees, remote workers, people who came for two weeks in 2019. For anything past 30 days, validity matters more than price per gigabyte.
GigSky's $15.99 for 20GB runs 90 days, and its 50GB pack runs 180. That is a whole season on one purchase and no monthly renewal to forget. Everyone else's Thailand plans expire at 30 days.
The honest alternative at that length is a Thai prepaid SIM from AIS or True at about ฿300 to ฿600 a month (roughly $9 to $17) for far more data. It costs you a passport registration, a shop visit and a Thai number you will keep getting spam on. Past two months, that is usually the better trade, and no affiliate link on this page changes that arithmetic.
Airport SIM or eSIM? the counter at Suvarnabhumi
AIS, True and dtac all run counters in arrivals at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and Phuket. Tourist packs run about ฿299 to ฿799 (roughly $8 to $23) for 8 to 30 days, usually with a big or unlimited data allowance and a Thai number included.
Thai law requires every prepaid SIM to be registered against your passport, which the counter does for you, so budget a queue rather than paperwork. The catch is the same as everywhere: it happens after your flight, the counters at Don Mueang close overnight, and you land without data in the meantime.
Buy the local SIM if you want a Thai number for Grab, hotel calls or a domestic booking. Buy an eSIM if you want to walk off the plane already connected, which for a two-week trip is worth more than the ฿100 you saved.
Thailand questions the ones people actually search
Which eSIM is best for Thailand?
GigSky for value at $9.79 for 10GB, or $15.99 for 20GB over 90 days. Airalo Maew at $11 if you want True as well as AIS, which matters in the far north. Saily if you tether, for the published 5GB per day cap. Checked August 2026.
How much data do I need for two weeks in Thailand?
Around 6 to 8GB for maps, messaging, photo uploads and normal social use, assuming you use hotel and cafe wifi at night, which in Thailand is fast and everywhere. Add video calls or streaming on long bus rides and 10 to 12GB is safer. At these prices the difference between 5GB and 10GB is about $3, so take 10GB.
Do eSIMs work on Koh Tao, Koh Phi Phi and the small islands?
Yes, on all the plans here, but the network decides the quality. AIS reaches furthest offshore and every provider on this page except Ubigi is permitted on it. On the boat between islands expect long dead stretches on any network, so download your maps before boarding.
Do I need to register an eSIM in Thailand with my passport?
No. Registration applies to Thai prepaid SIMs bought inside the country, which the shop or airport counter handles for you. A travel eSIM roams onto a Thai network under a foreign contract, so there is nothing to register and no ID to show.
Is a Thai SIM card cheaper than an eSIM?
For a stay over a month, usually yes: local monthly packages start around ฿300 (about $9) with far more data than a tourist eSIM pack. For two weeks the gap is a few dollars, and the eSIM saves you the counter queue and gets you connected on landing. Under a month, buy the eSIM.
Can I use one eSIM for Thailand and Vietnam or Cambodia?
Yes, with a regional plan rather than a Thai one. A regional Asia eSIM costs roughly twice per gigabyte but covers every border crossing on one install. Our multi-country comparison has the coverage tables.
Thailand · 20GB · $15.99
Valid 90 days on AIS and dtac. The cheapest gigabytes in Asia, and enough for a whole season of island-hopping.
Get GigSky for ThailandSources & freshness: Thailand plan prices and validity from provider feeds via esimdb, 2026-08-31, in USD. Network permissions from each provider's published Thailand coverage record, same date. Local SIM and airport counter prices from 2026 operator tourist packs, converted at roughly ฿34 to the dollar. No speed tests of our own in Thailand yet, and we will say so until there are. Back to the Asia eSIM comparison.