Saily eSIM Review UK: Cheaper Than Roaming, but What's the Catch?

Saily is a prepaid travel eSIM from Nord Security, the company behind NordVPN. An eSIM is a digital SIM profile: you install it on your phone alongside your UK SIM, and it gives you mobile data from a network at your destination. Saily sells data plans for more than 200 countries and regions, and you buy, install and top them up in its app.

Who you deal with depends on your tax country. Saily's terms of service (last updated 27 August 2026) assign the EEA to Saily UAB in Lithuania, Australia to CyberQuay Pty Ltd, and the rest of the world to Saily Inc., a Delaware company; on our reading, that puts UK customers with Saily Inc. The terms are governed by Delaware law, although the mandatory consumer protections where you live still apply, and Saily asks you to raise any dispute in writing with support@saily.com first. Payments may be handled by Moonflash Limited in London, NordSec B.V. (PayPal only) or Lagosec, Inc.

It isn't a UK mobile network, and you aren't holding a balance with it: you are buying prepaid data, which is used up or lost when the plan's validity ends.

Saily needs an unlocked phone that supports eSIM, and buying a plan won't make an incompatible phone work. Its supported-devices page covers most iPhones and many Android phones from Samsung, Google, Xiaomi, Motorola and others; check your exact model before you pay.

Check carefully if your iPhone came from Asia. Apple says most iPhone 11 to 16 models, plus the XR and XS Max, sold in mainland China, Hong Kong or Macao take two nano-SIMs and have no eSIM. The Hong Kong and Macao exceptions are the iPhone XS, SE (2nd and 3rd generation), 12 mini, 13 mini and 16e, and Apple's list of Hong Kong and Macao models with eSIM also includes the iPhone 17, 17e, Air, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. Saily itself says phones made and sold in mainland China don't support eSIM.

Among Hong Kong App Store reviewers, a recurring complaint is buying a plan first and only then finding the phone has no eSIM. Under the terms, you can ask for a full refund within 30 days of purchase on a plan that was never activated, but refunds are at Saily's discretion, so check your phone first.

There are three kinds of regular plan. Fixed-data plans give a set amount of data for a set period, mostly between 3 and 30 days. Unlimited plans run for between 5 and 30 days, depending on the destination. Regional plans cover several countries: Europe covers 35, including the UK and Turkey; Asia and Oceania covers 22, from £3.99; and Global covers 121, from £6.99. Ultra, a subscription, is covered further down.

In pounds on 13 October 2026, Europe cost £3.99 for 1GB over 7 days, then £9.49 for 3GB, £14.99 for 5GB and £27.49 for 10GB over 30 days, or £73.99 for 50GB over 90 days. Japan was £2.99 for 1GB over 7 days, then £5.99 for 3GB, £8.49 for 5GB, £13.99 for 10GB and £19.49 for 20GB over 30 days. The US was £2.99, £6.99, £10.99, £17.49 and £28.49 for the same sizes, and Turkey £2.99, £5.49, £7.49, £12.49 and £17.49. Most sizes also came in shorter versions for a little less, such as Europe 3GB for 7 days at £8.99.

Unlimited data cost £38.49 for 15 days in Europe and £35.49 for 15 days in the US. In Japan it was £14.49 for 5 days, £20.99 for 7, £37.49 for 15 and £55.49 for 30. Every plan earns 3% back in Saily credits towards future purchases.

Saily names its partner networks on some pages, KDDI and SoftBank in Japan and China Telecom and China Unicom in mainland China, but not on others, including Europe. Coverage and speed come from those local networks, so your experience depends on how well they cover the places you visit.

Travelling as a family or group? Most fixed-data plans can be shared from the app with up to four other people, five in all, as long as the plan hasn't been activated yet. Each person needs the Saily app and an account, and the shared plan lasts until the data runs out or the plan expires. Unlimited and Ultra plans can't be shared.

Whether Saily saves you money depends on your UK plan. EE's Pay Monthly price guide (charges from 31 March 2026) puts its Daily EU Charge at £2.72, or £19.04 for a week, and its Weekly EU Roaming Pass at £16.50. Further afield it costs more: Japan is in EE's Zone 3, where a pass is £8 a day for unlimited calls and texts plus 500MB of data, and the US is in Zone 1, where a pass to use your UK allowance is £6 a day or £30 a week.

Against that, a week in Spain on Saily's 30-day Europe 3GB plan costs £9.49, or £5.49 with our code on a first order. Ten days in Japan on the 30-day 10GB plan costs £13.99, or £9.99, against £80 on EE, and two weeks in the US on the 30-day 10GB plan costs £17.49, or £13.49, against £60. EE's passes include your UK calls and texts, so it isn't quite like for like, but if data is what you need, the gap is wide.

Check your own plan first. EE handset and SIM tariffs launched before 7 July 2021 roam in the EU at no extra cost, and some EE plans include a roaming pass; if yours covers your destination, Saily saves you nothing there. Against Airalo the prices are close: on the same day Airalo charged £38.50 for 15 days of unlimited data in Europe and £21.00 for 7 days in Japan, against Saily's £38.49 and £20.99. Our Airalo review covers its plans in detail.

New Saily customers get money off their first purchase with our code JIMMYU6940: £4 off a standard plan or £8 off Ultra when the account currency is pounds. The discount follows the currency on your account when you pay, so it is US$5 or US$10 on a dollar account and €4 or €8 on a euro account; check your account currency before checkout. Our link opens Saily's app. If the code isn't already filled in, type it into the referral code box at checkout, and check the discount shows before you pay.

The conditions, from Saily's referral terms (updated 25 September 2026): it is for new users only and works on the first purchase only; it can't be used on plans priced under £4.50 (US$5.60, €5 or CHF5), which rules out the £2.99 to £3.99 1GB plans; and it can't be combined with any other coupon code, promotion or discount. It comes off the price; it isn't cash. If you turn on auto top-up, later top-ups are charged at full price, even though your first plan was discounted.

On the £9.49 Europe 3GB plan the code takes off more than 40%; on a £38.49 unlimited plan, about a tenth.

Disclosure: JIMMYU6940 is GetQuids' own code, so we receive the same amount in Saily credits when you make your first purchase with it.

Install before you go, on Wi-Fi: installation needs an internet connection and is done in the Saily app, with no QR code. Saily's set-up steps are to install the eSIM, turn on data roaming for the Saily line, and make sure it's downloaded before you leave. When you land, it says to turn off your main SIM so your home network can't charge you for roaming, and to turn off mobile data switching so the phone uses only Saily for data. The plan activates when you reach your destination.

One thing Saily doesn't spell out: the Europe plan's 35 countries include the UK, and we couldn't confirm whether a Europe plan can start while you are still at home. To be safe, keep the Saily line switched off in your phone's settings until you land.

If you want to keep receiving texts on your UK number, such as bank security codes, you can leave the UK line on with its data roaming off instead of switching it off; check what your network charges for that abroad.

The eSIM stays on your phone after a plan ends, so next time you can add a new plan to it. Once a plan has activated, it can't be paused. To add data, Top-up now buys a one-off plan like your current one, and auto top-up buys another plan when the data runs out, once or every time. You get a notification each time, and you can turn auto top-up off in the app.

Two destinations need extra care. In mainland China, Saily uses China Telecom and China Unicom, and you can't buy an eSIM once you are in the country, so buy and install it before you go. Saily says Google and Instagram work through its virtual location feature, but WhatsApp needs a VPN, and so does logging in to Saily with a Google account. In Turkey, the Saily app and website may not work at all: buy and install the eSIM before you arrive, switch on top-up before you travel, and check your data use in your phone's settings.

Unlimited isn't unlimited at full speed. Each day, until local midnight, you get 3GB or 5GB of full-speed data depending on the destination (Saily's Europe, Japan, US and Thailand pages say 5GB), then 1 Mbps until the reset. That is slow for anything much heavier than messages and maps, and it is a recurring surprise in user reviews.

On hotspot, Saily says every plan supports sharing and its Japan and China pages promise "limitless" sharing, but the fair-use policy for unlimited plans bans tethering beyond occasional personal use, and Saily can slow, limit or suspend a plan it judges is being misused. On an unlimited plan, treat the hotspot as an occasional extra, not the laptop connection for your trip. The fair-use rules apply only to unlimited plans.

Ultra is different: a subscription (the Ultra page describes monthly renewal, and its FAQ also mentions quarterly and yearly versions) with 30GB of full-speed data a month in 121+ destinations, then 1 Mbps, plus NordVPN, NordPass, NordLocker and Incogni, one airport lounge pass and one fast-track pass a month (unused ones roll over for up to three months), a lounge pass at selected airports if your flight is delayed by two hours or more, priority support and 8% back in credits.

It starts as soon as you pay, even before you install the eSIM, and renews automatically at the then-current price. Saily notifies you at least 3 days before, charges you 2 days before the next period starts, and may retry a failed payment for up to 14 days. You can cancel auto-renewal in the app at any time and keep Ultra until the end of the period you have paid for. Saily's help centre says the 30GB resets at the start of each calendar month, while its terms say each billing cycle, so don't plan around either date.

Ultra's price isn't shown on the Ultra page, and we couldn't confirm it at checkout, so check the price and billing period in the app before subscribing. With our code, the first payment is £8 less; renewals are at the full price.

Saily's plans are data only, so for calls and texts you would use WhatsApp, FaceTime or a similar app over the data, or keep your UK SIM on. Saily also sells an optional US (+1) number add-on for calls and SMS, which only works after an identity check. It covers local calls in the country you are in (the Global plan covers any supported country), not international calls, MMS, short numbers or call forwarding, and people calling it from their own network may pay international rates to the US. Saily warns that some apps flag it as a VoIP number, which can stop security codes arriving, so don't rely on it for your bank.

The plans come with an ad blocker, which Saily says can cut data use by up to 28.6%, web protection that blocks malicious sites and limits trackers, and virtual locations in 115+ places.

Support is by 24/7 live chat in the app and by email at support@saily.com. Install and test the eSIM at home while you still have Wi-Fi, because reaching the chat needs a connection.

Regular plans have a 180-day activation period: buy up to about six months ahead, and the plan starts when you arrive, or automatically on day 180 if you haven't used it. Validity then runs (between 3 and 30 days on most plans, 90 on the 50GB Europe plan) and can't be paused; whatever data is left at the end is lost.

Refunds are where the dates matter. If a plan hasn't activated, whether or not the eSIM is installed, you can ask for a full refund within 30 days of purchase, as long as you haven't used any extras. Once it has activated, Saily only considers a refund if more than 99% of the data is left, and still within 30 days of purchase. Ultra refunds must be requested within 14 days of a payment: in full if you have used no more than 5% of the data and no extras, in part up to 10%. Saily decides within 5 working days and pays within 30 days, and every refund is at its discretion.

Two traps. If you buy more than 30 days ahead, you can't get your money back if your plans change, even though the plan could still be activated for months. And deleting your Saily account after buying rules out any refund. You can delete it in the app under Profile, then account settings, but use or refund your plans first.

On 13 October 2026 the Saily app was rated 4.8 from 9,851 ratings on the UK App Store, 8,528 of them five stars, and 4.7 from about 98,000 on Google Play. Trustpilot gave Saily 4.7 from about 32,200 reviews, 83% five stars and 3% one star, and Saily had replied to 99% of negative reviews.

The complaints that keep coming up: "unlimited" turning out to be 5GB a day at full speed; weak coverage in particular places (New York, Switzerland on the Sunrise network, rural areas and some African countries); data stopping mid-trip; the app or top-ups hanging; refunds refused once a plan has activated; unexpected Ultra renewals; login limited to a Google or Apple account; and needing the app to install the eSIM at all. Among Hong Kong reviewers, buying a plan for a phone without eSIM comes up repeatedly.

If it won't connect on arrival, Saily's checklist is to make sure the Saily eSIM is switched on, data roaming is on for it, and its APN is present. On Android, keep the Saily app open for up to five minutes so it can set the APN itself; on an iPhone, contact support.

Use it if your UK plan charges for roaming where you are going, if you mainly need data for maps, messaging and bookings, if you are happy doing everything in an app, and if you buy within 30 days of travelling so a change of plans can still be refunded. It makes the most difference on long-haul trips, where roaming costs most.

Skip it if your plan already includes roaming at your destination, if you need a local number for calls or bank texts, if your phone is locked or has no eSIM (check the Asia-bought models above), or if you are buying months ahead and might cancel. Think twice about Ultra unless you travel most months: it is a subscription that starts at once and renews on its own.