Nomad (USA 10 GB, 30 days) review 2027

Is Nomad the cheapest eSIM for a US trip?

Nomad costs $1.80 per GB on a 10 GB, 30-day plan, the lowest mainstream price in this test. For a US trip specifically, it gives you the same dual-network roaming as Airalo for a third less per gigabyte. Its smaller country list matters only if you are hopping borders.

That is the trade at the heart of this review. Nomad is built for one job: getting you online in the United States for as little money as possible. It roams onto both T-Mobile and AT&T, so you are not locked to a single carrier's coverage map, and the app tracks usage clearly enough that you can see where your data is going.

Heavier users get a better deal still. A 20 GB bundle for $32 brings the cost under $1.60 per GB, which is where Nomad pulls away from the pack on price. If your trip is a week of maps, messaging and the occasional video call, the 10 GB plan is the sensible starting point.

How did we score Nomad?

We scored Nomad across five criteria, for a total of 8.4 out of 10.

• Coverage & network quality: 24 out of 30. We looked at which carriers each eSIM roams onto in the US and abroad, and measured speed on the same handset in the same three locations. Nomad's dual-network roaming helped here, but its measured speeds were mid-pack.
• Price per gigabyte: 22 out of 25. We compared cost per GB on a typical 10 GB, 30-day plan and what a top-up costs. This is Nomad's strongest result.
• Setup & activation: 13 out of 15. We timed purchase to working data, checked QR versus in-app install, and noted whether a US number comes with the plan. Nomad reached working data in 3 minutes in our test.
• Flexibility: 12 out of 15. Plan lengths, regional and global bundles, hotspot allowance and whether unused data rolls over. Nomad offers 7 to 30 days, hotspot support, and no rollover.
• Support: 13 out of 15. Reachability when activation fails abroad, refund policy and app quality. Nomad's support is email-first, which costs it points against rivals with live chat.

What does Nomad do well?

The headline strength is price. At $1.80 per GB on the 10 GB plan, Nomad undercuts every other mainstream provider we tested. The 20 GB bundle at $32 is the better buy for anyone streaming or tethering, since it drops the per-GB cost below $1.60.

Network access is the second strength. Nomad roams onto both T-Mobile and AT&T, matching Airalo's dual-carrier approach. In practice that means if one network is weak in a particular neighbourhood or along a highway, your phone can fall back to the other.

Setup is quick. We measured 3 minutes from purchase to working data, which is competitive with the fastest providers here. The app is clean, with clear usage tracking, so you can see how much data you have burned without digging through menus.

How does Nomad compare with rival eSIMs?

Nomad scored 8.4, placing it fifth of seven providers tested. Here is how it stacks up against the closest rivals.

Saily (8.8, $22.99) costs 2.3 USD per GB on a 10 GB plan and covers 190+ countries. Saily includes built-in ad and tracker blocking and a virtual location feature, and reached working data in 3 min 10 s. Nomad is cheaper per gigabyte but covers fewer countries and lacks those extras.

US Mobile (8.6, $17.50) costs 1.75 USD per GB and is the only rival here that includes a US phone number, with calls and texts. You choose between Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T, and some plans allow data rollover. Its activation took 9 minutes because of an identity check. Nomad is faster to set up and covers more countries, but US Mobile wins on price per GB and on having a real US number.

Airalo (8.5, $26) costs 2.6 USD per GB and covers 200+ countries and regions, with installation in 2 min 40 s. It roams onto T-Mobile and AT&T, the same pair as Nomad. Airalo is the better pick if you need wide country coverage; Nomad is the better pick on price.

Ubigi (8.5, $22) costs 2.2 USD per GB and runs on AT&T alone, but it recorded the fastest connection we measured in all three locations. It covers 190+ countries and reached working data in 4 minutes. Nomad is cheaper and gives you a second network to fall back on, but Ubigi was faster in our tests.

Holafly (7.7, $99) sells unlimited data rather than gigabytes, with 24/7 human support and coverage across 200+ destinations. Hotspot is capped daily on some plans. It is the plan for people tethering a laptop all day; Nomad is the plan for people who know roughly how much data they need.

Where does Nomad fall short?

Country coverage is the clearest weakness. Nomad covers 165+ countries, against 190+ for Saily and Ubigi and 200+ for Airalo and Holafly. For a single-country US trip that gap is irrelevant, but if your itinerary crosses borders you will want one of the wider options.

Speeds were mid-pack in our tests. Ubigi, running on AT&T alone, was faster in all three locations. Nomad's dual-network roaming gives it resilience, but not the fastest raw connection.

Support is email-first. When activation fails abroad, that matters. Rivals with live chat or 24/7 human support will resolve problems faster, and Nomad lost points on this criterion as a result.

There is no data rollover either, so unused gigabytes at the end of your 30 days are gone. US Mobile offers rollover on some plans, and Airalo's top-ups extend validity instead.

Is Nomad good value?

Yes, on price per gigabyte it is the value leader here. The 10 GB plan works out at $1.80 per GB, and the 20 GB bundle at $32 brings that under $1.60 per GB. The base price starts at $18.

Compare that with Saily at 2.3 USD per GB, Ubigi at 2.2 USD, Airalo at 2.6 USD and US Mobile at 1.75 USD. Only US Mobile comes close on cost per gigabyte, and it does so with a narrower country list and a slower 9-minute activation that includes an identity check.

If you want unlimited data and are willing to pay $99 for it, Holafly is the alternative. For everyone else counting gigabytes, Nomad's bundles are the cheaper route.

Who should buy Nomad?

Budget-conscious travellers to the US. If your trip stays inside the United States and you know roughly how much data you will use, Nomad is the cheapest mainstream way to get online, with dual-network roaming on T-Mobile and AT&T and a 3-minute setup.

Skip it if you are touring multiple countries, need the fastest measured speeds, want a US phone number, or prefer live support when something goes wrong. In those cases, look at Airalo, Ubigi, US Mobile or Saily instead.