Is Airalo's unlimited Philippines eSIM really unlimited?
No. Airalo's "Unlimited" Philippines packages give you 3GB per day at full speed, after which your connection is throttled to roughly 1 Mbps for the rest of that day. The allowance resets daily. It is unlimited in the sense that you are never cut off, not in the sense that speed is unrestricted.
Checked 26 Jul 2026·4 plans cited·4 verified from provider·How we check this
The distinction matters more than it sounds. At 1 Mbps you can still use maps, messaging, and email comfortably. You cannot reliably hold a video call, and streaming video will buffer. If your work depends on being online, budget your 3GB deliberately rather than assuming the cap will not bite.
How the three main eSIM providers differ
- Airalo — 3GB per day at full speed, then approximately 1 Mbps. Resets daily.
- Nomad — a daily allowance, then 512 kbps, which is half Airalo's throttled speed. Resets every 24 hours from activation.
- Holafly — no routine daily cap. Its fair-use policy is stated as applying temporarily, for no more than one day at a time, to manage network traffic.
Holafly costs substantially more for that difference — $73.90 for 30 days against Airalo's $71 for the same window. If you were going to hit the cap most days anyway, Holafly is close to the same money for a materially better product. If you are a light user, Airalo's fixed-data packages are far cheaper than either.
| Provider | Plan | Price | Data / speed | Term | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airalo | Alpas Mobile Unlimited / 30 days | $71 (≈₱4,384) | 3GB/day at full speed, then ~1 Mbps | 30 days · Smart network | VerifiedAiralo26 Jul 2026 |
| Holafly | Unlimited / 30 days | $73.9 (≈₱4,563) | Unlimited, fair-use policy applies | 30 days · Globe network | VerifiedHolafly26 Jul 2026 |
| Nomad | Unlimited / 10 days | $33 (≈₱2,037) | Daily allowance, then 512 kbps | 10 days · Globe network | VerifiedNomad26 Jul 2026 |
Answer last reviewed 26 Jul 2026. How we check our data.