An unlimited eSIM charges a set price for every day of your trip, whatever you use; paying as you go, you pay only for the data you use. Travel periods of 6 to 8 days used a median of 1.38 GB in Bcengi's 2026 sample, and nine in ten used less than 6.50 GB. In the United States, 1.38 GB is $2.32 at $1.68/GB paying as you go; Holafly's 7-day unlimited plan there is $27.50 (Holafly's website, read October 2, 2026). Bcengi is about 12 times cheaper for this trip.
This page explains what an unlimited eSIM plan includes, how much data trips really use, and what that data costs each way. Other companies' prices are as they listed them on the dates given; Bcengi's rates are from our pricing page on October 2, 2026.
What an unlimited eSIM plan includes
An unlimited eSIM plan is sold for a set number of days at a set price. You pay for every day of the plan, whatever you use that day, and the plan ends when its days run out.
Unlimited does not always mean without limits. Holafly's help page says some operators may reduce your speed after a certain amount of high-speed data, for up to a day, without saying what that amount is (Holafly's website, read October 3, 2026). Holafly's USA page limits hotspot sharing to 1 GB a day (Holafly's website, read October 2, 2026).
Paying as you go with Bcengi, there is no plan and no daily price: you pay a rate per GB, metered by the KB, and you can share the eSIM's data as a hotspot.
How much data a trip really uses
Bcengi's 2026 International Mobile Data Usage Report measured a stratified random sample of 10,000 travel periods. By trip length:
- 3-day trip (2 to 4 days): median 0.50 GB; nine in ten used less than 2.84 GB.
- 7-day trip (6 to 8 days): median 1.38 GB; nine in ten used less than 6.50 GB.
- 14-day trip (13 to 15 days): median 3.16 GB; nine in ten used less than 11.9 GB.
The median travel period in the sample used 2.06 GB over a median of 11 days. A 7-day unlimited plan costs the same whether the trip uses the median 1.38 GB or many times more.
What a 7-day trip costs: unlimited or pay as you go
Each list prices the median 7-day trip (1.38 GB) and the 90th percentile trip (6.50 GB) paying as you go, against the 7-day unlimited plans Holafly and Maya list for that destination.
United States
- Paying as you go in the United States at $1.68/GB, metered by the KB: the median 7-day trip's 1.38 GB is $2.32, and the 90th percentile trip's 6.50 GB is $10.92.
- Holafly's 7-day unlimited plan in the United States is $27.50 (Holafly's website, read October 2, 2026). For the median trip, paying as you go is about 12 times cheaper; for the 90th percentile trip, about 2.5 times cheaper.
- Maya's 7-day Global Unlimited plan in the United States is $19.99 (Maya's website, read October 3, 2026). For the median trip, paying as you go is about 8.5 times cheaper; for the 90th percentile trip, about 2 times cheaper.
United Kingdom
- Paying as you go in the United Kingdom at $1.19/GB, metered by the KB: the median 7-day trip's 1.38 GB is $1.64, and the 90th percentile trip's 6.50 GB is $7.74.
- Holafly's 7-day unlimited plan in the United Kingdom is $27.50 (Holafly's website, read October 2, 2026). For the median trip, paying as you go is about 17 times cheaper; for the 90th percentile trip, about 3.5 times cheaper.
- Maya's 7-day Global Unlimited plan in the United Kingdom is $19.99 (Maya's website, read October 3, 2026). For the median trip, paying as you go is about 12 times cheaper; for the 90th percentile trip, about 2.5 times cheaper.
Maya's price on this page is from its Japan page, whose list of networks for its Global Unlimited plan includes the United States and the United Kingdom (Maya's website, read October 3, 2026).
We name a provider only after reading its prices, and only in destinations where paying as you go cost less in all nine of the usage report's trip rows, against the plan each trip needs. For every destination where that holds for Holafly, see Bcengi vs Holafly.
If you use far more data than most travelers
If you stream video for hours every day and expect to use many times the data above, an unlimited plan can look like the safe choice. Holafly's terms say an unlimited plan's speed may be subject to the network provider's fair use policy, and that the provider may restrict your data use or speed if your use is deemed excessive (Holafly's website, read October 3, 2026).
With Bcengi, a heavy week costs more, at the same rate, metered by the KB. At 2 GB a day, a 7-day trip uses 14 GB, which is $23.52 at $1.68/GB with Bcengi in the United States. If you expect to use that much every day, read an unlimited plan's fair use terms before you buy it.
What you get with Bcengi
- One reusable eSIM: install it once and use it on every trip.
- A balance that never expires: what one trip does not use is there for the next.
- No plan to pick: you never guess a size before you travel.
- Top up any time, by hand or with auto-refill.
- Your phone number stays on your home SIM for calls and texts; Bcengi is data only.
For the full comparison of bundles and pay as you go, with trip costs in the 10 most searched destinations, see how bundles and pay as you go compare.
Unlimited eSIM questions
Is an unlimited eSIM really unlimited?
Not always without limits. Holafly lists its plans as unlimited data for a set number of days. Its USA page also says your speed can be reduced for up to a day under a fair usage policy, and that Holafly limits hotspot sharing to 1 GB a day (Holafly's website, read October 2, 2026). Read a plan's fair use terms before you buy it.
Is an unlimited eSIM worth it?
On price, not for a typical trip in the two destinations above: the median 7-day trip's data cost less paying as you go than either 7-day unlimited plan there.
How much data do I need for a week abroad?
Travel periods of 6 to 8 days used a median of 1.38 GB in Bcengi's 2026 sample, and nine in ten used less than 6.50 GB. See how much data you need when traveling.
Does an unlimited eSIM expire?
Yes. An unlimited plan ends when its set number of days runs out, whatever you used. A Bcengi balance never expires: what one trip does not use is there for the next. See how travel eSIM expiry works.
How these figures were measured
The usage figures come from Bcengi's 2026 International Mobile Data Usage Report: a stratified random sample of 10,000 travel periods, with usage from January 1 to September 30, 2026. The figures cover every destination in the sample, not one country. Everyone sampled chose a pay-as-you-go eSIM, so the figures describe those travelers, not all travelers.
Each trip cost on this page is a model, not a bill: the GB a trip used times the per-GB rate on our pricing page on October 2, 2026. Rates can change; the pricing page always has the current ones.
Updated October 3, 2026. Sources: Bcengi 2026 International Mobile Data Usage Report; Bcengi pricing page; Holafly's United States and United Kingdom pages, read October 2, 2026; Holafly's terms and help page, read October 3, 2026; Maya's Japan page, read October 3, 2026.
