India e SIM plans, sized against a 12-day stay

Budget 0.5 GB a day for maps and messaging, 1.5 GB a day for social media and browsing, and 3 GB a day if you stream. Over a 7-day India trip those rates come to 4 GB, 11 GB and 21 GB. Most visitors land on the middle rate, so the 20 GB plan at $48.35 covers the moderate figure on a local mobile network. Past 3 GB a day the fixed tiers run out here, and unlimited days at $8.61 take over. Pick the daily rate that matches your habits at home, because a trip rarely changes them.

Two traveler types, two shapes in India. The leisure visitor on maps, photos and messaging fits a fixed tier: 11 GB across 7 days, which the 20 GB plan covers at $48.35. The streamer or remote worker fits unlimited days at $8.61, where running out is not on the table. The shortest unlimited commitment sold here is 1 day at $8.27. Unlimited days come from Holafly, catalogue-wide. HelloRoam and Airalo publish unlimited on part of the catalogue, so check the destination first. Nomad and Saily sell one shape only, a fixed bundle of gigabytes. The catch with Holafly: no per-GB tier exists, so it is unlimited or nothing.

If you only check maps and send messages in India, 4 GB covers 7 days. The 5 GB plan at $15.89 handles that at $3.18/GB. If you scroll social media and browse regularly, step up to the 20 GB plan at $48.35 ($2.42/GB). If you stream video or work on video calls, you need 21 GB, and the 20 GB plan at $48.35 ($2.42/GB) is the largest tier sold here, so a heavy pace needs a second purchase or an unlimited plan.

Run the check before you pay, not at the gate. Dial *#06# and look for an EID number under the IMEI, because that number is what an eSIM profile installs against. iPhones from XS onward, Samsung Galaxy from S20 onward, and Pixel from 3 onward all qualify. Confirm the phone is carrier-unlocked as well. Those checks take a minute and they decide whether a India plan works at all on 5G. Whether a page calls it eSIM, e-SIM or e SIM, it is the same embedded profile.

The landing starts it. Nearly every India plan opens its validity window at the first connection to a local network, not at checkout. That gap is useful: install the QR code at home over WiFi, then let the plan begin when you arrive. The 1 GB plan at $4.74 suits a short stay. The 20 GB plan at $48.35 suits a longer one. Buy 1 to 3 days before departure so a delay or a schedule change cannot burn paid days while the phone is still at home.

Rank the activities by what they cost you in gigabytes. Messaging and navigation sit at the bottom, inside the 0.5 GB light band. Social feeds with autoplay video sit in the middle, at the 1.5 GB moderate band. Streaming and video calls sit at the top, on the 3 GB heavy band. A India traveller who turns autoplay off drops a full band, and the 5 GB plan at $15.89 then stretches further at $3.18/GB.

Count the nights, multiply by 1.5 GB, and buy the first tier above that number. For India at a moderate pace that maps out as: 1 to 2 nights takes the 3 GB plan at $10.88 ($3.63/GB); 3 nights takes the 5 GB plan at $15.89 ($3.18/GB); 4 to 6 nights takes the 10 GB plan at $27.31 ($2.73/GB); 7 to 13 nights takes the 20 GB plan at $48.35 ($2.42/GB). The 20 GB plan holds the lowest per-GB rate here at $2.42/GB. Add 20% on top if you stream video or run navigation for whole days, because a tier that fits exactly leaves you rationing on the last morning.

HelloRoam publishes the widest support access of the five we score, at 63 languages over live chat, WhatsApp and email, around the clock. HelloRoam publishes support in 63 languages, Airalo 12, Holafly 10, Nomad 2 and Saily 1. Language matters more than it sounds when a plan is wrong in a country you have not been to before. On refunds: HelloRoam and Holafly publish 180 days, Nomad and Saily 30 days and Airalo 14 days, all measured on an unactivated eSIM. Buy the size you need in India, then keep the receipt until the profile is live. Sizing up first is still cheaper than any refund: the 20 GB plan holds the lowest rate here at $2.42/GB.