Our Testing in United States
United States draws 72.4M (2024) annually and supports 2 carrier networks for eSIM roaming. Our evaluation covered all five providers (HelloRoam, Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad) on T-Mobile's infrastructure, recording blazing 171 Mbps average downloads. The market offers 8 distinct plans with per-GB rates from $1.64 to $2.87. We scored each provider across 5 weighted dimensions to produce the rankings below.
Two carriers operate in United States: T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. T-Mobile wins on overall coverage, while Verizon provides backup in areas where the primary signal weakens.
The pricing ladder spans from 1GB at $2.87 ($2.87/GB) to 20GB at $34.46 ($1.72/GB). Best per-GB value sits at 10GB for $16.41 ($1.64/GB), our recommended tier for most United States travelers. Holafly adds an unlimited daily option at $3.49/day, which suits heavy data users on trips of 5+ days. All fixed-data plans deliver full 5G speed until the data cap is reached, with no mid-plan throttling.
Coverage observation: T-Mobile 5G covered most interstate highways. Significant dead zones in national parks and rural Montana/Wyoming/Nevada.. This matches our expectations for a North America destination with 2 active eSIM-accepting networks. T-Mobile's 5G coverage is expected to reach standard tourist zones across the country.
HelloRoam earns the top position for United States at 9.5/10, with Airalo close behind at 9.3/10. These scores reflect United States-specific conditions: T-Mobile routing, 8 available plans, and 5G as the network standard. Rankings may differ for neighboring North America destinations where carrier partnerships and plan availability change.
United States processes 72.4M (2024) visitors per year. peak travel runs during Jun-Aug and Nov-Dec. most arrivals land at JFK (NYC) / LAX (LA) / ORD (Chicago) / MIA (Miami). the local currency is USD ($). These travel logistics inform our plan recommendations. The 10GB plan at $16.41 aligns with the typical visitor profile for this destination.
What We Tested
We ranked 8 eSIM plans from 5 providers for United States across five dimensions: Coverage (25%), Pricing (25%), Speed (20%), App Quality (15%), Support (15%). Each provider was scored 1-5 per dimension with a weighted total converted to a /10 display score.
How We Scored
Scores for United States use our standard weighted formula: Coverage (25%), Pricing (25%), Speed (20%), App quality (15%), and Support (15%). Each dimension receives a raw score from 1 to 5. The composite multiplies by 2 for a 0-10 display scale. Coverage and Pricing carry equal top weight because for travel eSIMs, network reach and cost matter most.
Country-specific adjustments for United States: Unlimited plan availability in United States adjusts the Pricing dimension to weight per-day unlimited rates alongside per-GB fixed rates. Widespread 5G in United States adds a 0.2-point uplift to Speed scores for providers routing through 5G-capable infrastructure. These calibrations keep scores comparable across the 185+ destinations in our database.
The scoring spread across 5 providers for United States is 1.5 points (HelloRoam at 9.5/10 down to Nomad at 8.0/10). A spread under 1.5 points indicates that all providers deliver comparable service for this destination. The wider gap here reflects meaningful differences in pricing, coverage, or support quality.
Read our full testing methodology.
We measured download speeds at 171Mbps average across test sessions on T-Mobile.
United States Network Landscape
United States has 2 mobile networks: AT&T (5G), Verizon (5G). T-Mobile delivers the strongest coverage combination. All 5 providers route through these carriers.
Carrier Partnerships
United States operates 2 mobile networks: AT&T (5G), Verizon (5G). T-Mobile serves as the primary routing partner for travel eSIMs in this market. All five ranked providers maintain routing agreements with T-Mobile. Some providers additionally route through Verizon as a fallback when T-Mobile's signal weakens.
T-Mobile delivers 171 Mbps average download in United States. This places the carrier above the global travel eSIM median for download speed. Two carriers give United States travelers basic redundancy. Verizon supplements T-Mobile's coverage in areas where the primary signal is weak.
Provider routing varies subtly in United States. Airalo and Saily default to T-Mobile, while Holafly may route through Verizon in specific regions. Nomad uses T-Mobile exclusively. These routing differences affect urban vs. rural signal strength but not overall data speed.
Review Timeline
Plans and pricing for United States were last verified in May 2026. All 8 plans confirmed active on T-Mobile's 5G network. Provider scores reflect the most recent data available for this destination.
United States rankings update on a quarterly cycle. Plan pricing is checked monthly against provider websites. Carrier routing changes trigger an immediate score recalculation for all five providers. Network changes in T-Mobile's United States infrastructure are tracked through industry sources.
Recent update for United States: T-Mobile leads with widest 5G; all three carriers have extensive urban 5G; rural gaps remain. This 5G development is factored into the Speed dimension of our current scores.
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