Uncompromised Travel quarterly report: eSIM, Q3 2026
What ChatGPT tells eSIM buyers Q3 2026: the travel eSIM companies it names, the ones it picks first and the websites it cites
On 5 October 2026, Uncompromised Travel recorded 455 ChatGPT answers to 311 questions that people ask before they buy a travel eSIM. Each dot below is one answer.
Airalo was named in 270 of 380 answers (71%).
First choice in 61. Recommended in a further 120. Named without a recommendation in 89. Not named in 110.
- First choice
- Recommended, not first
- Named, not recommended
- Not named
ChatGPT named Airalo in 270 of 380 answers to eSIM buyers' questions on 5 October 2026 (71%), more than any other travel eSIM company. Holafly followed with 218 of 426, then Nomad (207 of 420), Ubigi (158 of 441) and Saily (150 of 411). This report covers 455 answers from that one day: which of 26 tracked eSIM companies ChatGPT named, recommended and picked first, at which point in the buyer's search, what it said each one is best for, and which websites it cited.
Reading taken 5 October 2026. ChatGPT with web search on, asked from the United States. How it was measured, and its limits.
What did ChatGPT tell eSIM buyers in Q3 2026?
It named 24 eSIM companies across 455 answers, gave 87% of those namings to five of them, and picked Airalo first more often than any other. Eight figures from the reading:
- 455answers455 answers were recorded on 5 October 2026, to 311 questions: 18 to general eSIM questions, 207 to questions asking which eSIM is best, and 230 to questions about named companies.
- 24of 2624 of the 26 eSIM companies tracked were named at least once. Two were not named in any answer.
- 270of 380Airalo was the most named eSIM company, in 270 of 380 answers (71%). Holafly was second with 218 and Nomad third with 207.
- 87%Five companies took 87% of all namings. Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Ubigi and Saily account for 1,003 of the 1,158 times a tracked company was named. No other company was named in more than 24 answers.
- 61first choicesAiralo was ChatGPT's first choice most often, in 61 answers. Ubigi was first choice in 54, Nomad in 34, Holafly in 26 and Saily in 18.
- 54of 158Ubigi was picked first in 54 of the 158 answers that named it (34%), the highest rate among the 7 companies named in 20 or more answers.
- 0of 64Holafly was named in 64 Decision answers and picked first in none of them. Across all three stages it was first choice in 26 of the 218 answers that named it (12%).
- 185of 455ChatGPT cited airalo.com in 185 of the 455 answers (41%), more than any other website. It cited uncompromised.travel in 58 (13%).
Which eSIM companies does ChatGPT name most often?
Airalo (270 answers), Holafly (218), Nomad (207), Ubigi (158) and Saily (150) were the five most named eSIM companies on 5 October 2026. No other tracked company was named in more than 24 answers: Yesim and aloSIM reached 24, GigSky 19 and Orange Travel 13.
ChatGPT also named mobile networks, among them Orange (13 answers), T-Mobile (9), Verizon (6) and Vodafone (6), and recommended none of those four. They are not tracked and are not in the list below. All 24 tracked companies that were named are listed. Open a row for the split by stage.
24 companies named in all 455 answers, in order of answers naming them.
- First choice
- Recommended, not first
- Named, not recommended
1Airalo270 of 380 71%
Airalo was named in 270 of 380 answers (71%): first choice in 61, recommended in a further 120 and named without a recommendation in 89.
By stage: Awareness 4 of 18, Consideration 193 of 207, Decision 73 of 155. Uncompromised Travel's review of Airalo.
2Holafly218 of 426 51%
Holafly was named in 218 of 426 answers (51%): first choice in 26, recommended in a further 123 and named without a recommendation in 69.
By stage: Awareness 2 of 18, Consideration 152 of 207, Decision 64 of 201. Uncompromised Travel's comparison of Airalo, Yesim, Holafly and Saily.
3NomadPartner207 of 420 49%
Nomad was named in 207 of 420 answers (49%): first choice in 34, recommended in a further 124 and named without a recommendation in 49.
By stage: Awareness 3 of 18, Consideration 148 of 207, Decision 56 of 195. Uncompromised Travel's review of Nomad. Nomad is a partner of Uncompromised Travel.
4Ubigi158 of 441 36%
Ubigi was named in 158 of 441 answers (36%): first choice in 54, recommended in a further 63 and named without a recommendation in 41.
By stage: Awareness 1 of 18, Consideration 95 of 207, Decision 62 of 216.
5Saily150 of 411 36%
Saily was named in 150 of 411 answers (36%): first choice in 18, recommended in a further 98 and named without a recommendation in 34.
By stage: Awareness 3 of 18, Consideration 103 of 207, Decision 44 of 186. Uncompromised Travel's comparison of Airalo, Yesim, Holafly and Saily.
6Yesim24 of 438 5%
Yesim was named in 24 of 438 answers (5%): first choice in 2, recommended in a further 20 and named without a recommendation in 2.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 8 of 207, Decision 16 of 213. Uncompromised Travel's review of Yesim.
7aloSIM24 of 449 5%
aloSIM was named in 24 of 449 answers (5%): first choice in 0, recommended in a further 11 and named without a recommendation in 13.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 10 of 207, Decision 14 of 224.
8GigSky19 of 449 4%
GigSky was named in 19 of 449 answers (4%): first choice in 2, recommended in a further 14 and named without a recommendation in 3.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 15 of 207, Decision 4 of 224.
9Orange Travel13 of 455 3%
Orange Travel was named in 13 of 455 answers (3%): first choice in 5, recommended in a further 3 and named without a recommendation in 5.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 11 of 207, Decision 2 of 230.
10Roamless10 of 452 2%
Roamless was named in 10 of 452 answers (2%): first choice in 2, recommended in a further 6 and named without a recommendation in 2.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 3 of 207, Decision 7 of 227.
11Firsty9 of 455 2%
Firsty was named in 9 of 455 answers (2%): first choice in 1, recommended in a further 0 and named without a recommendation in 8.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 7 of 207, Decision 2 of 230.
12Jetpac9 of 449 2%
Jetpac was named in 9 of 449 answers (2%): first choice in 2, recommended in a further 5 and named without a recommendation in 2.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 8 of 207, Decision 1 of 224.
13MobiMatter8 of 452 2%
MobiMatter was named in 8 of 452 answers (2%): first choice in 3, recommended in a further 2 and named without a recommendation in 3.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 7 of 207, Decision 1 of 227.
14Kolet6 of 347 2%
Kolet was named in 6 of 347 answers (2%): first choice in 6, recommended in a further 0 and named without a recommendation in 0.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 6 of 207, Decision 0 of 122.
15Maya Mobile6 of 447 1%
Maya Mobile was named in 6 of 447 answers (1%): first choice in 2, recommended in a further 2 and named without a recommendation in 2.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 6 of 207, Decision 0 of 222.
16Instabridge5 of 452 1%
Instabridge was named in 5 of 452 answers (1%): first choice in 0, recommended in a further 4 and named without a recommendation in 1.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 5 of 207, Decision 0 of 227.
17Sim Local5 of 452 1%
Sim Local was named in 5 of 452 answers (1%): first choice in 0, recommended in a further 5 and named without a recommendation in 0.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 5 of 207, Decision 0 of 227.
18ArriveSIM3 of 455 under 1%
ArriveSIM was named in 3 of 455 answers (under 1%): first choice in 0, recommended in a further 0 and named without a recommendation in 3.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 3 of 207, Decision 0 of 230.
19Eskimo3 of 455 under 1%
Eskimo was named in 3 of 455 answers (under 1%): first choice in 1, recommended in a further 0 and named without a recommendation in 2.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 3 of 207, Decision 0 of 230.
20Flexiroam3 of 452 under 1%
Flexiroam was named in 3 of 452 answers (under 1%): first choice in 0, recommended in a further 0 and named without a recommendation in 3.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 3 of 207, Decision 0 of 227.
21HelloRoam3 of 455 under 1%
HelloRoam was named in 3 of 455 answers (under 1%): first choice in 0, recommended in a further 0 and named without a recommendation in 3.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 3 of 207, Decision 0 of 230.
22Vodafone Travel3 of 455 under 1%
Vodafone Travel was named in 3 of 455 answers (under 1%): first choice in 1, recommended in a further 0 and named without a recommendation in 2.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 3 of 207, Decision 0 of 230.
23Airhub1 of 453 under 1%
Airhub was named in 1 of 453 answers (under 1%): first choice in 0, recommended in a further 0 and named without a recommendation in 1.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 1 of 207, Decision 0 of 228.
24BNESIM1 of 452 under 1%
BNESIM was named in 1 of 452 answers (under 1%): first choice in 0, recommended in a further 1 and named without a recommendation in 0.
By stage: Awareness 0 of 18, Consideration 1 of 207, Decision 0 of 227.
No company on the list matches that name. Either it was not named in any of the 455 answers on 5 October 2026, or it is not one of the 26 companies tracked. Uncompromised Travel will send any eSIM company its own reading, free, within 3 business days: richard@uncompromised.travel.
A question that names a company is left out of that company's own count, which is why the totals differ from one company to the next.
Which eSIM does ChatGPT pick first?
Airalo was ChatGPT's first choice in 61 answers on 5 October 2026, more than any other eSIM company, followed by Ubigi (54), Nomad (34), Holafly (26) and Saily (18). Being named often and being picked first are different things. Holafly was named in 218 answers and picked first in 26 of them (12%). Ubigi was named in 158 and picked first in 54 (34%).
The chart shows the 12 companies named in 9 or more answers. Further right means named more often; higher means picked first more often when named. The horizontal scale is stretched at the low end so that the smaller companies can be told apart. Point at a mark, or tab to it, for the figures.
First choice at least twice: 13 companies
Answers where the company was ChatGPT's first choice, out of the answers that named it. Figures below 10 rest on few answers.
- Airalo61 of 270 (23%)
- Ubigi54 of 158 (34%)
- Nomad34 of 207 (16%)
- Holafly26 of 218 (12%)
- Saily18 of 150 (12%)
- Kolet6 of 6 (100%)
- Orange Travel5 of 13 (38%)
- MobiMatter3 of 8 (38%)
- GigSky2 of 19 (11%)
- Jetpac2 of 9 (22%)
- Maya Mobile2 of 6 (33%)
- Roamless2 of 10 (20%)
- Yesim2 of 24 (8%)
When does ChatGPT start naming eSIM companies?
Once the question asks for one. In 18 answers to general eSIM questions, 5 of the 26 tracked companies appeared at all. In 207 answers to questions asking which eSIM is best, 24 did. The three stages are the standard marketing funnel: Awareness, Consideration and Decision.
Only 10 general questions had been written by 5 October 2026, so the Awareness column rests on 18 answers. The question list has since grown to 110 general eSIM questions.
Awareness
General questions about eSIMs
18answers
“Is a travel eSIM worth it, or should I just buy a local SIM when I land?”
5 of 26 tracked companies were named at this stage.
Companies named most
- Airalo4 of 18
- Nomad3 of 18
- Saily3 of 18
- Holafly2 of 18
- Ubigi1 of 18
Websites cited most
- support.apple.com8 of 18
- airalo.com3 of 18
- esim.holafly.com3 of 18
- consumercomplaints.fcc.gov2 of 18
- consumerreports.org2 of 18
Consideration
Which eSIM is best for a place, a traveller or a need
207answers
“What is the best eSIM for Japan?”
24 of 26 tracked companies were named at this stage.
Companies named most
- Airalo193 of 207
- Holafly152 of 207
- Nomad148 of 207
- Saily103 of 207
- Ubigi95 of 207
Websites cited most
- airalo.com111 of 207
- esim.holafly.com66 of 207
- uncompromised.travel26 of 207
- cellulardata.ubigi.com23 of 207
- techradar.com23 of 207
Decision
Questions about named companies, including head-to-head comparisons
230answers
“Airalo vs Holafly: which eSIM is better?”
13 of 26 tracked companies were brought into answers about other companies.
Companies named most
- Airalo73 of 155
- Holafly64 of 201
- Ubigi62 of 216
- Nomad56 of 195
- Saily44 of 186
Websites cited most
- airalo.com71 of 230
- help.kolet.com69 of 230
- kolet.com51 of 230
- techradar.com42 of 230
- saily.com39 of 230
Which eSIM does ChatGPT pick for each kind of trip?
Across 36 core questions on 5 October 2026, ChatGPT's first choice was Airalo on 13, Ubigi on 8, Nomad on 8 and Saily on 3. Airalo was first choice on 7 of the 16 destination questions, including Europe, Spain, India and the USA. Ubigi was first choice for the UK, Italy and Japan, and Nomad for Turkey, China, Canada and Australia. Nomad was also a first choice on 4 of the 7 feature questions: fast 5G, paying as you go, a free trial and, with Ubigi, hotspot use.
Core questions are the ones an eSIM company would itself name as questions it wants to win. None of them names a company. 36 of the 40 on the fixed list had been asked by 5 October 2026. Eight were asked three times; where more than one company was first choice across the three answers, each is shown, which is why two questions have two first choices.
36 questions.
Which eSIM providers are the most trustworthy with my data?Overall question
First choice: Airalo
Also recommended: Nomad, Saily and Ubigi.
Named with a caution: Holafly.
Websites cited: airalo.com, esim.holafly.com, pikasim.com, saily.com.
Which travel eSIMs have the best customer reviews?Overall question
First choice: Saily
Also recommended: Holafly and Nomad.
Named without a recommendation: Airalo.
Websites cited: trustpilot.com.
Which eSIM providers have the best coverage worldwide?Overall question
First choice: Airalo
Also recommended: GigSky, Holafly, Nomad and Ubigi.
Websites cited: airalo.com, cellulardata.ubigi.com, esim.holafly.com.
Which eSIM apps are easiest to set up?Overall question
First choice: Airalo
Also recommended: Holafly, Nomad, Saily and Ubigi.
Websites cited: support.apple.com.
Which travel eSIM do frequent travellers recommend most?Overall question
First choice: Airalo
Also recommended: Holafly, Nomad, Saily and Ubigi.
Websites cited: techradar.com, uncompromised.travel, yonosim.com.
What is the best travel eSIM in 2026?Overall question · asked three times
First choice: Ubigi and Airalo
Also recommended: Holafly, Nomad and Saily.
Websites cited: airalo.com, esim.holafly.com, uncompromised.travel, cellulardata.ubigi.com.
Which travel eSIM is cheapest for 10GB?Overall question · asked three times
First choice: Ubigi
Also recommended: Nomad.
Named without a recommendation: Airalo, Ezy eSIM and Saily.
Websites cited: cellulardata.ubigi.com, uncompromised.travel, airplans.app, ezyesim.com.
Which is the best eSIM for Europe?Destination question · asked three times
First choice: Airalo
Also recommended: Holafly, Nomad and Saily.
Websites cited: airalo.com, cloudspress.com, esim.holafly.com.
Which is the best eSIM for the UK?Destination question
First choice: Ubigi
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly, Nomad and Saily.
Websites cited: airalo.com, cheapsimcard.com, esim-index.com.
Which is the best eSIM for Italy?Destination question
First choice: Ubigi
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly and Nomad.
Websites cited: airalo.com, allthingsesim.com, cellulardata.ubigi.com, esim.holafly.com.
Which is the best eSIM for France?Destination question · asked three times
First choice: Orange Travel
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly and Ubigi.
Websites cited: airalo.com, en.selectra.info, how-to-france.com, travel.orange.com.
Which is the best eSIM for Spain?Destination question · asked three times
First choice: Airalo
Also recommended: Holafly, Nomad and Orange Travel.
Named without a recommendation: Orange.
Websites cited: airalo.com, mytechguide.io, nomadbriefing.com, esim.holafly.com.
Which is the best eSIM for Turkey?Destination question
First choice: Nomad
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly and Saily.
Websites cited: nomadistanbul.com, roamingscanner.com, techradar.com.
Which is the best eSIM for Thailand?Destination question
First choice: Airalo
Also recommended: Nomad.
Named without a recommendation: AIS, True and dtac.
Websites cited: airalo.com, allthingsesim.com, mestogo.com, true.th.
Which is the best eSIM for China?Destination question
First choice: Nomad
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly and Saily.
Named without a recommendation: Trip.com.
Websites cited: chinafortravelers.com, chinasimguide.com, maptrip.ai, travelsimfinder.com.
Which is the best eSIM for Mexico?Destination question
First choice: Holafly
Also recommended: Airalo.
Websites cited: airalo.com, esim.holafly.com, reddit.com.
Which is the best eSIM for Canada?Destination question
First choice: Nomad
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly, Saily and Ubigi.
Websites cited: airalo.com, gizmodo.com, itechguides.com, nomadesim.com.
Which is the best eSIM for Australia?Destination question
First choice: Nomad
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly and Ubigi.
Named without a recommendation: Optus and Telstra.
Websites cited: allthingsesim.com, cellulardata.ubigi.com, finder.com.au, optus.com.au.
Which is the best eSIM for India?Destination question
First choice: Airalo
Also recommended: Holafly and Saily.
Named without a recommendation: Jio and Airtel.
Websites cited: airalo.com, esim.holafly.com, jio.com, saily.com.
Which is the best eSIM for Southeast Asia?Destination question
First choice: Airalo
Also recommended: Holafly, Nomad and Saily.
Named without a recommendation: HelloRoam.
Websites cited: esimcomparisons.com, goabroad.travel.
Which is the best eSIM for a round-the-world trip?Destination question
First choice: Airalo
Also recommended: Holafly, Nomad, Saily and Ubigi.
Websites cited: airalo.com, esim.holafly.com, nomadesim.com.
What is the best eSIM for Japan?Destination question · asked three times
First choice: Ubigi
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly, Nomad and Saily.
Websites cited: airalo.com, esim.holafly.com, cellulardata.ubigi.com, japantravelessentials.com.
What is the best eSIM for travelling in the USA?Destination question · asked three times
First choice: Airalo
Also recommended: Holafly, Nomad and Ubigi.
Websites cited: airalo.com, esim.holafly.com.
Which travel eSIM provider is best for a business traveller who needs reliable data everywhere?Traveller question
First choice: Ubigi
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly, Nomad and Saily.
Named without a recommendation: GigSky.
Websites cited: cnbc.com, gigsky.com, techradar.com, uncompromised.travel.
Which travel eSIM provider is best for a digital nomad moving country every month?Traveller question
First choice: Roamless
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Saily and Ubigi.
Websites cited: airalo.com, help.roamless.com, roamless.com, techradar.com.
Which travel eSIM provider is best for a family with four phones?Traveller question
First choice: Saily
Also recommended: Airalo and Holafly.
Websites cited: airalo.com, airalopartners.zendesk.com, esim.holafly.com, saily.com.
Which travel eSIM provider is best for someone who has never used an eSIM?Traveller question
First choice: Saily
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly and Nomad.
Websites cited: airalo.com, saily.com, support.saily.com.
Which travel eSIM provider is best for a backpacker on a tight budget?Traveller question
First choice: Ubigi
Also recommended: Airalo, Nomad and Saily.
Named with a caution: Holafly.
Websites cited: esimspotter.com, roamprice.com, uncompromised.travel.
Which travel eSIM provider is best for a cruise passenger?Traveller question
First choice: GigSky
Named without a recommendation: Airalo, Cellular at Sea, Holafly and Nomad.
Websites cited: cellularatsea.com, esim.holafly.com, support.gigsky.com.
Which travel eSIM provider is best for someone who wants one eSIM that works in every country?Feature question
First choice: Airalo
Also recommended: Holafly and Ubigi.
Websites cited: airalo.com, esim.holafly.com.
Which travel eSIM provider is best for someone who needs fast 5G speeds?Feature question
First choice: Nomad
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly and Ubigi.
Named without a recommendation: Saily.
Websites cited: networkscrutiny.com, techradar.com, uncompromised.travel.
Which travel eSIM provider is best for someone who wants data that never expires?Feature question
First choice: Eskimo
Also recommended: BNESIM.
Named without a recommendation: ArriveSIM.
Named with a caution: Airalo and Nomad.
Websites cited: andreondigital.com, arrivesim.com, eskimo.travel, nomadesim.com.
Which travel eSIM provider is best for someone who wants to pay as they go?Feature question
First choice: Nomad
Also recommended: Airalo and Instabridge.
Named without a recommendation: Firsty.
Websites cited: airalo.com, getnomad.app, techradar.com.
Which eSIM companies give refunds if the eSIM does not work?Feature question
First choice: Maya Mobile
Also recommended: Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Saily and Ubigi.
Named without a recommendation: Transatel.
Websites cited: airalo.com, esim.holafly.com, getnomad.app, help.maya.net.
Which eSIM providers offer a free trial?Feature question
First choice: Nomad
Also recommended: GigSky and Sim Local.
Named without a recommendation: Eskimo, Firsty, GoMoWorld, T-Mobile, Verizon and Visible.
Named with a caution: Airalo.
Websites cited: esimsherpa.com.
Which travel eSIMs allow hotspot?Feature question · asked three times
First choice: Ubigi and Nomad
Also recommended: Airalo, Jetpac, Saily and aloSIM.
Named with a caution: Holafly.
Websites cited: airalo.com, uncompromised.travel, getopensim.com, traviva.com.
What does ChatGPT say each eSIM is best for?
ChatGPT calls Airalo best for “most travelers”, Holafly best for heavy data use and Nomad best for value. Saily is picked out for its app and security features, and Ubigi is called “best overall” and “best value” about equally often.
Holafly was called best for “heavy data use” in 28 answers and described with the words “unlimited data” in 37. Nomad was called “best value” in 22. The counts come from every answer that named the company on 5 October 2026, including answers to questions about the company itself. General praise such as “excellent” and “good” is left out.
Airalo
326 answers named it
Called best for
most travelers
24best overall
11maximum country coverage
3
Words used most
best overall
29broad coverage
10lots of plan choices
8more established
8
Holafly
236 answers named it
Called best for
heavy data use
28heavy data users
21unlimited data
7
Words used most
unlimited data
37unlimited-data plans
22usually more expensive
6
Nomad
231 answers named it
Called best for
best value
12value
11price-conscious travelers
5
Words used most
best value
22best overall value
11excellent value
9hotspot is supported
5
Saily
182 answers named it
Called best for
most travelers
10privacy/security
5simple app experience
3
Words used most
security features
8polished app
824/7 support
6
Ubigi
165 answers named it
Called best for
best overall
14best overall value
10hotspot
3
Words used most
best overall
14best value
13reusable eSIM
5particularly strong in Japan
3
Kolet
111 answers named it
Called best for
most travelers
4a Europe trip
3Flying Blue members
2
Words used most
24/7 human support
8best value
8unused-data credits
4
Yesim
40 answers named it
Called best for
regional travel
3heavy data users
2
Words used most
virtual-number options
5automatic network switching
3Swiss-based
3
aloSIM
26 answers named it
Called best for
phone-number functionality
2phone number included
2data + phone number
2
Words used most
some plans include a Hushed number
2
Which websites does ChatGPT cite for eSIM questions?
eSIM companies' own websites made up most of what ChatGPT cited: 281 of the 402 citations among the 25 most cited sites at the Consideration stage (70%). The most cited single website was airalo.com, in 111 of 207 Consideration answers and 185 of all 455, followed at that stage by Holafly's site (66) and uncompromised.travel (26), the most cited site not run by an eSIM company. Review platforms appear once a buyer asks about a named company: Trustpilot was cited in 33 of 230 Decision answers and is not among the 25 most cited sites at Consideration.
The Decision questions were not spread evenly across companies. 108 of the 230 Decision answers came from questions that name Kolet, which is why Kolet's own help centre, website and shop rank high in that list.
Uncompromised Travel publishes this report and is also one of the websites counted in it. The counts are produced the same way for every site.
Consideration stage: websites cited in 207 answers
Where the 402 citations among the 25 most cited websites went, by kind of site:
- uncompromised.travel: 26 (6%)
- An eSIM company's own site: 281 (70%)
- Publisher: 29 (7%)
- Independent eSIM blog or comparison site: 66 (16%)
- 1airalo.comAn eSIM company's own site111 of 207
- 2esim.holafly.comAn eSIM company's own site66 of 207
- 3uncompromised.travelThis site26 of 207
- 4cellulardata.ubigi.comAn eSIM company's own site23 of 207
- 5techradar.comPublisher23 of 207
- 6saily.comAn eSIM company's own site20 of 207
- 7allthingsesim.comIndependent eSIM blog or comparison site14 of 207
- 8andreondigital.comIndependent eSIM blog or comparison site13 of 207
- 9nomadesim.comAn eSIM company's own site13 of 207
- 10ringoesim.comAn eSIM company's own site12 of 207
- 11traviva.comIndependent eSIM blog or comparison site10 of 207
- 12getnomad.appAn eSIM company's own site7 of 207
- 13cloudspress.comIndependent eSIM blog or comparison site6 of 207
- 14gizmodo.comPublisher6 of 207
- 15nomadbriefing.comIndependent eSIM blog or comparison site6 of 207
Decision stage: websites cited in 230 answers
Where the 522 citations among the 25 most cited websites went, by kind of site:
- uncompromised.travel: 30 (6%)
- An eSIM company's own site: 375 (72%)
- Reviews, app stores and forums: 69 (13%)
- Publisher: 45 (9%)
- Other: 3 (1%)
- 1airalo.comAn eSIM company's own site71 of 230
- 2help.kolet.comAn eSIM company's own site69 of 230
- 3kolet.comAn eSIM company's own site51 of 230
- 4techradar.comPublisher42 of 230
- 5saily.comAn eSIM company's own site39 of 230
- 6esim.holafly.comAn eSIM company's own site34 of 230
- 7trustpilot.comReviews, app stores and forums33 of 230
- 8uncompromised.travelThis site30 of 230
- 9shop.kolet.comAn eSIM company's own site28 of 230
- 10reddit.comReviews, app stores and forums19 of 230
- 11cellulardata.ubigi.comAn eSIM company's own site14 of 230
- 12yesim.appAn eSIM company's own site13 of 230
- 13support.saily.comAn eSIM company's own site12 of 230
- 14apps.apple.comReviews, app stores and forums11 of 230
- 15getnomad.appAn eSIM company's own site9 of 230
Awareness stage: websites cited in 18 answers
Where the 24 citations among the 8 websites cited in two or more answers went, by kind of site:
- uncompromised.travel: 2 (8%)
- An eSIM company's own site: 6 (25%)
- Publisher: 2 (8%)
- Independent eSIM blog or comparison site: 2 (8%)
- Help pages and regulators: 12 (50%)
- 1support.apple.comHelp pages and regulators8 of 18
- 2airalo.comAn eSIM company's own site3 of 18
- 3esim.holafly.comAn eSIM company's own site3 of 18
- 4consumercomplaints.fcc.govHelp pages and regulators2 of 18
- 5consumerreports.orgPublisher2 of 18
- 6support.google.comHelp pages and regulators2 of 18
- 7traviva.comIndependent eSIM blog or comparison site2 of 18
- 8uncompromised.travelThis site2 of 18
Core questions: websites cited in 52 answers
Where the 125 citations among the 18 websites cited in two or more answers went, by kind of site:
- uncompromised.travel: 13 (10%)
- An eSIM company's own site: 86 (69%)
- Publisher: 7 (6%)
- Independent eSIM blog or comparison site: 19 (15%)
- 1airalo.comAn eSIM company's own site35 of 52
- 2esim.holafly.comAn eSIM company's own site23 of 52
- 3uncompromised.travelThis site13 of 52
- 4cellulardata.ubigi.comAn eSIM company's own site10 of 52
- 5techradar.comPublisher7 of 52
- 6nomadesim.comAn eSIM company's own site4 of 52
- 7saily.comAn eSIM company's own site4 of 52
- 8allthingsesim.comIndependent eSIM blog or comparison site3 of 52
- 9cloudspress.comIndependent eSIM blog or comparison site3 of 52
- 10en.selectra.infoIndependent eSIM blog or comparison site3 of 52
- 11how-to-france.comIndependent eSIM blog or comparison site3 of 52
- 12nomadbriefing.comIndependent eSIM blog or comparison site3 of 52
- 13support.saily.comAn eSIM company's own site3 of 52
- 14travel.orange.comAn eSIM company's own site3 of 52
- 15getnomad.appAn eSIM company's own site2 of 52
Each list shows up to the 15 most cited websites at that stage. A count is the number of answers that cited the site.
For eSIM companies: see your own reading
This report shows one day across the whole travel eSIM market. Uncompromised Travel can show one company in detail:
- where ChatGPT names you, and where it names someone else
- the words it uses about you, and whether they are accurate
- whose pages it reads before it answers
The first reading is free and takes 3 business days.
How was this measured?
Uncompromised Travel asked ChatGPT a fixed list of eSIM questions on 5 October 2026, from the United States with web search on, and recorded 455 answers: every company named, how it was treated, the words used about it, and every website cited.
- The questions. Written the way a buyer asks them. Some are real search queries and the rest are variations on them. A question is never reworded once it has been asked.
- Asked once or three times. 239 questions were asked once and 72 three times, which gives 455 answers. The 72 include the 12 questions that Nomad, a partner of Uncompromised Travel, follows, and 50 questions written about Kolet. Each answer counts once, so these questions weigh more in the totals.
- Three stages. Awareness: general questions about eSIMs (10 questions, 18 answers). Consideration: which eSIM is best for a place, a traveller or a need (161 questions, 207 answers). Decision: questions about named companies, including head-to-head comparisons (140 questions, 230 answers).
- Named, recommended, first choice. Named means the company appears in the answer. Recommended means ChatGPT puts it forward as an option. First choice means ChatGPT ranks it top or calls it the best pick. Every first choice is also counted as recommended and as named.
- Each company's total. A question that names a company is left out of that company's own count. Airalo is counted over 380 answers and Orange Travel over 455.
- The companies. 26 travel eSIM companies are tracked. The 24 that were named are listed. The two that were not named are not listed. Mobile networks and other names that ChatGPT mentioned are not tracked.
- Best for, and the words used. Taken from every answer that named the company, including answers to questions about the company itself. Capital letters have been restored to names such as Japan and Flying Blue; the spelling is ChatGPT's.
- Kind of website. The kinds of website in the sources section are Uncompromised Travel's own classification.
- Limits. One day. ChatGPT's answers change from one run to the next, so a gap of a few answers between two companies means little. The answers were read by software and have not yet been checked line by line by hand. In a few answers, company names were lost when the answer was captured. The Awareness stage rests on 18 answers. The reading is from the United States and covers ChatGPT only.
- Why it is called Q3. This is the Q3 2026 edition, taken five days after the quarter closed. The same questions, and more, are now asked every day, and the Q4 2026 edition will draw on that daily record.
Cite this report
Uncompromised Travel (2026). What ChatGPT tells eSIM buyers: Q3 2026. Reading of 5 October 2026. https://uncompromised.travel/data/esim-chatgpt-report-q3-2026
Figures may be quoted with a link to this page.
Travel eSIMs in ChatGPT: the questions people ask
Which eSIM does ChatGPT recommend most often?
On 5 October 2026, ChatGPT recommended Airalo in 181 of 380 answers to eSIM buyers' questions, more than any other travel eSIM company. Nomad was recommended in 158 answers, Holafly in 149, Ubigi in 117 and Saily in 116. The figures come from Uncompromised Travel's Q3 2026 reading of 455 ChatGPT answers.
Which eSIM is ChatGPT's first choice?
Airalo was ChatGPT's first choice in 61 answers on 5 October 2026, followed by Ubigi (54), Nomad (34), Holafly (26) and Saily (18). Ubigi had the highest rate among the most named companies: it was first choice in 54 of the 158 answers that named it.
Which eSIM does ChatGPT recommend for Japan, Europe or the USA?
On 5 October 2026, ChatGPT's first choice was Ubigi for Japan, the UK and Italy, Airalo for Europe, Spain and the USA, Nomad for Turkey, China, Canada and Australia, Holafly for Mexico and Orange Travel for France. Each of those answers also recommended other companies, listed in the core questions section of this report.
Which eSIM does ChatGPT call best for heavy data use?
Holafly. In the 236 answers that named it on 5 October 2026, ChatGPT called Holafly best for “heavy data use” in 28 and for “heavy data users” in 21, and used the words “unlimited data” about it in 37. It also called Holafly “usually more expensive” in 6.
Which websites does ChatGPT cite when answering eSIM questions?
Mostly eSIM companies' own websites: 281 of the 402 citations among the 25 most cited sites at the Consideration stage on 5 October 2026. The most cited single site was airalo.com, in 185 of all 455 answers, followed by Holafly's site in 103. uncompromised.travel was cited in 58. Trustpilot was cited in 33 of 230 answers about named companies.
How many eSIM companies does ChatGPT mention?
24 of the 26 travel eSIM companies tracked by Uncompromised Travel were named at least once in 455 ChatGPT answers on 5 October 2026. Five of them, Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Ubigi and Saily, accounted for 1,003 of the 1,158 namings, or 87%.
Does this report cover Copilot, Gemini or Google?
No. The Q3 2026 edition covers ChatGPT only, asked from the United States with web search on, on 5 October 2026. ChatGPT's answers vary from one run to the next.
How can an eSIM company see its own figures?
Open the company's row in the list on this page. For a fuller reading, covering the questions that matter to one company, the words ChatGPT uses about it and the pages it cites, email richard@uncompromised.travel. The first reading is free and takes 3 business days.
Read next
- eSIM provider index 2026: the providers assessed on this site
- Airalo vs Yesim vs Holafly vs Saily: four of the most named, compared
- What ChatGPT tells safari buyers: Q3 2026: the same reading for safari companies
- Uncompromised Travel data: every report and dataset in one place