Which Travel eSIMs Let You Roll Over Data, Share It, Top Up the Same eSIM, Try It Free or Get a Refund in 2026: 7 Providers Checked

Of seven travel eSIM providers checked on 5 October 2026, Kolet is the only one whose own help pages describe both keeping unused data (as Kolet Koins, valid for three years) and sending data to another person; Ubigi is the clearest choice for topping up one eSIM across many trips; Nomad eSIM has the largest free trial that needs no particular bank card (1 GB for 3 days in 48 destinations); and Holafly publishes the longest refund window of the policies read (six months, for a plan never activated). The seven are Kolet, Nomad eSIM, Airalo, Ubigi, GigSky, Holafly and Saily. Each feature below is taken from the provider's own help centre or policy page, linked where it is used. Where a page was not read, the entry says so.

Verified 5 October 2026 · Kolet help centre · Nomad eSIM help centre · Airalo help centre · Ubigi help centre · GigSky · Holafly refund policy · Saily refund policy · each read at source

Which travel eSIM is best for each feature in 2026?

Kolet is best for unused data and for sending data to someone else, Ubigi for reusing one eSIM, Nomad eSIM and GigSky for a free trial, and Holafly and Saily for a written refund policy. No provider of the seven leads on all five features, so the choice follows the way a traveller uses data: one long trip, several short ones, a couple or family on one purchase, or a first eSIM on an untested phone.

Which travel eSIM lets you keep or roll over data you did not use?

Kolet is the only one of the seven whose help centre describes keeping unused data: on its regular plans, leftover data converts into Kolet Koins, which are valid for three years and can be spent on any later Kolet plan. The test applied here is narrow. A provider counts only if its own page says what happens to data left at the end of a plan and gives the traveller something for it.

Two details catch people out. Kolet has two help pages on this: the current one describes converting data in the app, while an older page still describes asking customer care and mentions unused data over 1 GB, so the app is the place to check what a given plan will return. And Koins are not a refund in money: Kolet's Koins page says they cannot be converted to cash. For how much data a trip needs in the first place, see how much eSIM data you need.

Which travel eSIM lets you share data with a friend or family member?

Kolet lets a traveller send part of an active data plan to another person from its app, provided at least 1 GB is left; Ubigi and GigSky share by hotspot, and Ubigi states that a plan cannot be moved to another account. Sharing means two different things. One is a transfer of data from one account to another. The other is tethering, where a second device connects through the first phone's hotspot and both must stay close together.

For Airalo, Nomad eSIM, Holafly and Saily, the pages read on 5 October 2026 describe no transfer between accounts. A hotspot is the practical route with those providers where the plan allows it, and plans marketed as unlimited are the ones most likely to cap it. The guide to choosing an eSIM covers hotspot limits, and multiple eSIMs on one phone covers the case where each traveller carries a separate plan.

Which eSIM is best for several trips a year and topping up the same eSIM?

Ubigi is the clearest choice: one eSIM profile serves every trip and stays valid as long as the account is recharged at least once every 18 months, with Kolet and GigSky working the same way, while Airalo and Nomad eSIM top up within a plan that is still running. The question is whether the eSIM installed for the first trip is still the one in use on the fifth, or whether each trip means a new download and a new line in the phone's settings.

Saily and Holafly are left out of this section because their top-up pages were not read on 5 October 2026. For frequent travellers the arithmetic matters as much as the mechanism: a reusable eSIM saves a few minutes of setup per trip, not money. Prices per gigabyte are compared in the main eSIM comparison and in Nomad eSIM against Airalo.

Which travel eSIM has a free trial?

Nomad eSIM and GigSky both have one: Nomad eSIM gives first-time users 1 GB for 3 days in 48 destinations, and GigSky gives 100 MB for 7 days in 125 countries or 500 MB for 7 days across Europe, with no credit card. A trial shows whether an eSIM installs and connects on a particular phone, which is the main uncertainty for a first-time user.

GigSky's own comparison lists Holafly, Ubigi and Saily as having no free trial; that is GigSky's statement about competitors and was not checked at each company. Kolet's help pages read on 5 October 2026 mention no trial. The address of Nomad's trial page still contains "500mb", the size of the earlier offer, while the page itself describes 1 GB. A fuller account of Nomad eSIM is in is Nomad eSIM worth it.

Which eSIM companies give refunds if the eSIM does not work?

Holafly and Saily publish the clearest refund rules of the seven: Holafly refunds part or all of a plan when the fault is its own or the local network's and refunds an unactivated plan for up to six months, and Saily refunds in full within 30 days if no data was used. Every policy read separates two cases: a plan that was never used, and a plan that failed during a trip. The second is always assessed by support, case by case.

Airalo's and Nomad eSIM's refund terms were not read at source on 5 October 2026; both keep them in their help centres (Airalo, Nomad eSIM). With any provider the practical rule is the same: report a fault while still abroad and keep the eSIM installed until the claim is settled, because support will ask for details from it. Common faults and their fixes are in common eSIM problems.

Three planning rules for choosing on features

1 · Choose on the habit, not the headline price. A traveller who uses half of each plan gets more from Kolet's Koins than from a slightly cheaper gigabyte elsewhere. A traveller who always runs out gets more from easy top-ups, where Ubigi and Airalo are strongest.

2 · Install before leaving home. Every provider here needs an internet connection to download the eSIM, and Ubigi says so directly. Installing at home also leaves time to use a refund rule that depends on the plan not being activated, which is the basis of both Holafly's and Saily's full refunds.

3 · Treat credit and cash as different things. Koins, and store credit offered in place of a refund, keep the money with the provider. That suits a traveller who will buy again within three years and suits nobody else. The eSIM provider index compares the companies on ownership, coverage and price.

What changed for these eSIM features in 2026

Three changes stand out, all read on 5 October 2026. Nomad eSIM's free trial is now 1 GB for 3 days, where the earlier offer was 500 MB, and it covers 48 destinations. Kolet published a plain account of Koins on 26 August 2026, and its help centre now describes converting unused data in the app without contacting support. GigSky is offering, for a limited time, its first free trial for cruise connectivity (100 MB), described in its 2026 guide to its own plans.