Best eSIM for Vietnam

Prices in Vietnam

Airalo and Saily are a cent apart on the 5 GB plan and within a dollar on a week of unlimited data; Holafly is the simplest buy but never the cheapest. How the three providers compare across all fifteen destinations is in our main eSIM comparison.

Which network you get

What each provider says on its own Vietnam page:

• Airalo shows VNPT as its network. Its page does not state 5G or hotspot terms.
• Holafly names “GPC Vinaphone (VNPT)”, with 5G where available and hotspot sharing capped at 1 GB a day. It warns that coverage is weaker on parts of the Ha Giang Loop.
• Saily does not name its network; it states 5G depending on the local provider, no hotspot restrictions, and notes weaker coverage in remote and mountain regions.

Buying a local SIM instead

Vietnam’s telecoms decree requires every mobile subscriber to be registered, foreigners included.

• Decree 163/2024/NĐ-CP (Article 17) lists the document for a foreign national as a passport valid for the period of the visa or of the visa-free stay, or an electronic identification account.
• Viettel, the largest operator, sells a tourist SIM through its own portal, which asks for a photo of your passport and a portrait before it shows any plan. Plan prices sit behind that step, so we do not quote them.
• VNPT’s site lists no tourist product, and we found no operator or airport page stating counters in the arrivals halls, so we make no claim about buying on landing.

Before you land

The travel eSIM route avoids the registration step entirely, because the profile is issued abroad.

• Install on Wi-Fi at home; Airalo allows 365 days from purchase to start, Saily 180.
• These are data-only plans. Keep your home SIM active for the text messages your bank and your airline send, with data roaming switched off on it.
• Carry your onward reservation in a form that opens without a connection: the check-in desk asks for it before the eSIM is on. Vietnam’s onward-ticket rules are on their own page, and the free checker covers your passport.