Airalo worked okay at least in Manila. But speed is not that high at all and upload speed can be quite slow sometimes. I used it only for messaging, maps, Grab, etc. so was okay for me.
It's a roaming network provided by Singtel so it goes through Singapore with latency of a bit shy of 100ms.
If you don't mind the task of getting a local SIM and swapping it in your phone, you'll get better deal and better latency for sure. But as far as prepaid eSIM goes, Airalo does a decent job I think. You just have to lower your expectation a bit.
I was in Manila, El Nido and Coron. It worked well enough in Manila that I had no complaints. In El Nido, I had to manually select a network for it to work. Leaving it on automatic on the phone will choose the wrong network. In Coron, I had no reception once outside the main town. My wife had a physical SIM card and she had no issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Airalo offer unlimited data eSIM for Philippines?
Airalo does not provide a truly unlimited data eSIM for the Philippines. All of Airalo’s plans that carry the word “Unlimited” still have a fixed data allowance of 3 GB per day; once that threshold is reached the speed drops to 1000 kbps. Travelers can choose instead one of the large fixed‑data plans that Airalo offers. For example, the Alpas Mobile – 50 GB plan supplies 50 GB of high‑speed 5G data for 30 days at $48 USD, and the Asialink – 100 GB plan offers 100 GB of 5G data for 180 days at $185 USD. These fixed plans can be more cost‑effective for heavy data users and provide a clear data limit without speed throttling after a set daily amount.
Does Airalo offer Philippines eSIM with phone number and SMS?
Airalo does not provide eSIMs that include a local phone number or SMS capability for the Philippines. Customers who need voice or text services in the Philippines will need to use data‑based services such as VoIP apps. Airalo only offers data‑only eSIM plans for travel in the Philippines.
How many data plans does Airalo offer for Philippines?
Airalo offers 18 single‑country data plans that cover only the Philippines and an additional 20 multi‑country plans that include Philippine coverage. Among the available options, six plans are structured as daily data‑cap arrangements that reset each day, while the other 32 provide a fixed data allotment for the entire validity period. Prices start at approximately $4 USD and can reach up to $185 USD, with data limits spanning from 1 GB to 100 GB and validity windows ranging from 3 to 365 days.
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