Saily eSIM Review: My Personal Experience and Ratings

Saily eSIM Review Details and My Ratings from Experience

Coverage and Performance: 9/10

I have used Saily eSIM in multiple destinations, in urban centers and in prominent rural areas. The service automatically connects to partner networks in the destination, typically choosing the strongest signal available.

I could use Google Maps, book online tickets, check restaurant reviews, book Uber, make occasional video calls and other necessary things on-the-go without any issue.

For example, my Saily eSIM worked seamlessly in Medellin, a big city in Colombia, and the extended parts of the city even in remote neighborhoods.

When we went to Jardin, a small town in the green mountains in the coffee region of Colombia, the eSIM worked fine, with some drops in remote areas of the mountains during hikes.

However, this is fairly common with most mobile services, not just Saily, but worth noting if you are planning to venture off the beaten path.

📶 We have realized, while using a mix of local SIM and eSIM, that the drops often happen when the local providers are weak in those remote areas.

Hotspot functionality worked without issues, allowing us to connect other devices to share the connection. We did not notice any significant throttling when using the hotspot feature.

Cost-Benefit Efficiency: 9/10

You can get started with Saily eSIM connectivity for countries in Latin America like Brazil for as little as 3.99 USD, and several countries for 5.99 to 7.99 USD.

When comparing value:

• Vs. roaming: Saily is significantly cheaper than traditional carrier roaming fees
• Vs. local SIM: For short trips (1 to 3 weeks), Saily offers better convenience value.
• Vs. competitors: Saily’s pricing is comparable to competitors, sometimes slightly higher for higher data coverages, but occasionally offering better country bundles. For example, the Brazil data rates for Saily are more economic than Airalo’s, and in Colombia, it is the other way round.

Top-up options are available if you need more data and the top-up process is straightforward through the app.

For very long stays in a single country, months rather than weeks, a local SIM might eventually be more economical, but you lose the convenience factor and immediate connectivity upon arrival.

Data Plan Options: 8/10

Saily offers 3 main types of plans:

• Country-specific plans: For travelers visiting a single destination
• Regional plans: Covering multiple countries in a specific region, for example, Latin America, Europe, Caribbean Islands.
• Global plans: Providing coverage across multiple regions worldwide

They also have unlimited data plans for certain countries, like the USA, however, these are meant for travelers with heavy data usage.

Data allowances typically range from 1 GB to 20 GB, with validity periods from 7 days to 30 days. Pricing is competitive compared to other eSIM providers, though it varies by destination.

🗓️ Since we travel long term, we prefer the 10 GB plans which typically come with a validity of 30 days.

Saily eSIMs offer a decent combination of data and validity. However, if you have very specific need, and want many combinations of GB and validity, you may not get as much options.

Purchase and Activation: 10/10

My experience of purchasing and activating Saily eSIM was smooth. The application is intuitive and user-friendly.

These are the steps I followed to activate my Saily eSIM:

1. Getting Started: I got my Saily plan, selecting the destination and preferred data package. The checkout process was straightforward.
2. Activation: I received a QR code, used to it to install the app and followed the instructions on the app to set up my Saily eSIM profile.
3. Configuration: I enabled International Roaming on my phone using this new Saily eSIM profile.
4. Connection: My phone was connected to mobile data, within minutes of landing in my destination.

The entire process from purchase to configuration took about 5-7 minutes. No manual APN settings were required.

🛜 Install your Saily eSIM before departure, when you still have reliable internet access, so that you are ready to connect immediately upon arrival.

Tip: In case you face issues using internet browser after connecting, try restarting your phone.

Add-ons in Data Plans: 5/10

As with most travel eSIMs, Saily provides data-only service without voice or SMS capabilities. Add-on plans are limited.

Local SIM providers often add free Whatsapp or Social Media add-ons which can help save data. However, in our experience, the effect is minimal, particularly if you get higher data coverage eSIM plan.

🔐 Security features like built-in add blocker, web protection and virtual location are excellent free add-ons, and, coming from the family of NordVPN, is reliable.

Customer Support: 8/10

Saily offers customer support primarily through in-app chat and email.

The self-help resources in the app and on the website cover most common questions and setup procedures, which are helpful for solving basic issues without waiting for support.

I have not encountered any major issues when using Saily, requiring extensive support. So I am not aware how convenient it is to get to a human led customer support in case of immediate assistance requirement.

Overall, I would rate the customer support experience as adequate.