We weigh travel eSIM brands for China on coverage, speed, reliability, which state carrier they roam onto, whether their routing slips past the Great Firewall, and fair use terms. Ranking is never for sale.
HelloRoam is Simscanner's top-ranked travel eSIM for China, with the cheapest sourced entry we tracked from $3.49. China requires real-name registration for any local prepaid SIM, with a passport and often a face scan at a carrier store, so a roaming travel eSIM bought before you fly sidesteps that desk entirely. Coverage centres on Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Weigh the brands in the ranking below.
Modelled estimates. Winner appears after verification.
We grade each brand on how far it reaches, how fast it runs, how steady it stays, which state carrier it roams onto, whether its routing clears the Great Firewall, how openly it states unlimited and fair use limits, and what reviewers report. Independent throughout, and never for sale.
A quick read of the field. Drop to the full grid lower down for reach, pace, steadiness, fair use, tethering, host carriers, and reviewer signals.
| Brand | Overall | Coverage | Speed | Unlimited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
HelloRoam |
91 |
90 |
91 |
Yes |
Airalo |
89 |
89 |
87 |
Yes |
Holafly |
86 |
87 |
82 |
Yes |
Nomad |
82 |
83 |
86 |
Yes |
Saily |
84 |
86 |
84 |
Yes |
Ubigi |
86 |
83 |
90 |
Yes |
78 |
76 |
78 |
No |
Swipe sideways to read every column. The brand name stays pinned on the left.
| Brand | Rank | Overall | Coverage | Speed | Reliability | Unlimited | FUP / fair use | Hotspot | Local networks | Review signal | Confidence | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HelloRoam |
1 | 91 |
90 |
91 |
Yes | Published no throttling; ~6 GB/day tested then ~1 Mbps (US) | Allowed | China Unicom | 4.6 | Verified | See brand → Visit HelloRoam ↗ | |
Airalo |
2 | 89 |
89 |
87 |
Yes | Unltd 3 GB/day | Not stated | China Mobile | 4.5 | Secondary | See brand → Visit Airalo ↗ | |
Holafly |
3 | 86 |
87 |
82 |
Yes | High-speed ~90 GB/month | Allowed (share ~1 GB/day) | China Mobile | 3.6 | Verified | See brand → Visit Holafly ↗ | |
Nomad |
6 | 82 |
83 |
86 |
Yes | Unltd 2 GB/day | Not stated | China Telecom | 3.7 | Secondary | See brand → Visit Nomad ↗ | |
Saily |
5 | 84 |
86 |
84 |
Yes | Unltd 5 GB/day | Allowed | China Mobile | 3.7 | Secondary | See brand → Visit Saily ↗ | |
Ubigi |
4 | 86 |
83 |
90 |
Yes | Not stated | Allowed (no restrictions) | China Mobile | 4.4 | Verified | See brand → Visit Ubigi ↗ | |
| 7 | 78 |
76 |
78 |
No | No unlimited China plan sourced | Allowed | China Unicom | 3.7 | Secondary | See brand → Visit Jetpac ↗ |
A travel eSIM brand sells the plan; a Chinese state carrier carries the signal. Whichever of the national networks a brand roams onto is what fixes your real-world coverage, your reach beyond the eastern cities, and whether 5G appears. The grid further down maps each brand to its host carrier in China.
| Brand | Connected network | 4G / 5G | Main cities | Rural confidence | Source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HelloRoam |
China Unicom | 5G/4G | Good metro coverage | Rural: Medium-high | helloroam.com | Verified |
Airalo |
China Mobile | 5G | Wide urban reach | Rural: High | esimdb | Secondary |
Holafly |
China Mobile | 3G/4G/5G | Strong across major cities | Rural: Good | holafly.com | Verified |
Nomad |
China Telecom | 5G | Strong across major cities | Rural: Good | esimdb | Secondary |
Saily |
China Mobile | 4G/5G | Solid in the main cities | Rural: Medium | esimdb | Secondary |
Ubigi |
China Mobile | 4G/5G | Wide urban reach | Rural: High | ubigi.com | Verified |
| China Unicom | 4G/5G | Good metro coverage | Rural: Medium-high | jetpacglobal.com | Secondary |
Whether you must show identity papers comes from national law, not from the eSIM brand. Here is the verified position for China.
China is the largest country in East Asia, spanning coastal megacities in the east and vast desert, plateau and mountain terrain across the west, with the currency stated in renminbi.
The full grid of every brand and plan offered for China, with data, validity, price, host network, hotspot, KYC and top-up. Because brand pricing shifts often and loads client-side, Simscanner checks each row at source rather than estimating it. Every cell is sourced where the brand publishes it.
| Brand | Plan | Data | Validity | Price (USD) | Network | Hotspot | KYC | Top-up | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HelloRoam |
Local 1GB | 1 GB | 7 days | $3.49 | China Unicom | Allowed | Not stated | Not stated | helloroam.com |
Airalo |
Chinacom 1GB 3d | 1 GB | 3 days | $4.00 | China Mobile | Not stated | Not required | Not stated | esimdb |
Holafly |
China Unltd 3d | Unlimited | 3 days | $11.70 | China Mobile | Allowed (share ~1 GB/day) | Not required | Not stated | holafly.com |
Nomad |
Local China 1GB 7d | 1 GB | 7 days | $4.00 | China Telecom | Not stated | Not required | Not stated | esimdb |
Saily |
China 1GB 7d | 1 GB | 7 days | $4.49 | China Mobile | Allowed | Not required | Not stated | esimdb |
Ubigi |
China 1GB 7d | 1 GB | 7 days | $4.00 | China Mobile | Allowed (no restrictions) | Not required | Not stated | ubigi.com |
| China 1GB 4d | 1 GB | 4 days | $4.00 | China Unicom | Allowed | Not required | Not stated | jetpacglobal.com |
The word "unlimited" rarely means limitless. Most brands attach a fair use policy that slows you once a daily or trip-long cap is hit. The grid below sets out that cap, the speed you drop to, and whether tethering is allowed.
| Brand | Unlimited? | High-speed allowance | Throttle after FUP | Hotspot | Policy clarity | Notes | Source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HelloRoam |
Yes | Published no throttling; ~6 GB/day tested then ~1 Mbps (US) | ~1 Mbps after ~6 GB/day (tested, US) | Allowed | Published no throttling; ~6 GB/day tested then ~1 Mbps (US) · ~1 Mbps after ~6 GB/day (tested, US) | helloroam.com | Verified | |
Airalo |
Yes | Unltd 3 GB/day | 1 Mbps | Not stated | Unltd 3 GB/day · 1 Mbps | esimdb | Secondary | |
Holafly |
Yes | High-speed ~90 GB/month | 256-1024 kbps | Allowed (share ~1 GB/day) | High-speed ~90 GB/month · 256-1024 kbps | holafly.com | Verified | |
Nomad |
Yes | Unltd 2 GB/day | 1 Mbps | Not stated | Unltd 2 GB/day · 1 Mbps | esimdb | Secondary | |
Saily |
Yes | Unltd 5 GB/day | 1 kbps | Allowed | Unltd 5 GB/day · 1 kbps | esimdb | Secondary | |
Ubigi |
Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Allowed (no restrictions) | Not stated · Not stated | ubigi.com | Verified | |
| No | No unlimited China plan sourced | n/a | Allowed | No unlimited China plan sourced · n/a | jetpacglobal.com | Secondary |
How fast a travel eSIM feels in China depends on the town you are in and the carrier it has latched onto. The grid reports each brand's typical download, upload, latency and whether you are on 4G or 5G. Figures shown are modelled estimates.
| Brand | Avg download | Avg upload | Latency | 4G / 5G | City confidence | Reliability | Last reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HelloRoam |
79 Mbps | 23 Mbps | 33 ms | 5G/4G | High in main cities | Reviewed 15 Jun 2026 | |
Airalo |
69 Mbps | 20 Mbps | 37 ms | 5G | High in main cities | Reviewed 15 Jun 2026 | |
Holafly |
57 Mbps | 17 Mbps | 43 ms | 3G/4G/5G | Good in main cities | Reviewed 15 Jun 2026 | |
Nomad |
67 Mbps | 19 Mbps | 39 ms | 5G | Good in main cities | Reviewed 15 Jun 2026 | |
Saily |
62 Mbps | 18 Mbps | 41 ms | 4G/5G | Good in main cities | Reviewed 15 Jun 2026 | |
Ubigi |
77 Mbps | 22 Mbps | 34 ms | 4G/5G | Good in main cities | Reviewed 15 Jun 2026 | |
| 47 Mbps | 14 Mbps | 48 ms | 4G/5G | Good in main cities | Reviewed 15 Jun 2026 |
We model public ratings from the App Store, Google Play and Trustpilot, then surface the recurring themes travellers raise about each brand. Ratings and themes shown are Simscanner modelled estimates, not verified review counts.
Aggregate is a Simscanner modelled estimate across the tracked brands.
Brand-agnostic steps. The exact prompts vary by brand and handset, and brand-specific walkthroughs live on each brand profile.
Make sure your handset is eSIM-capable and carrier-unlocked before you buy a China plan. Recent iPhone and most flagship Android models qualify.
Pay for the plan and load the eSIM by scanning its QR code or tapping one-tap install while on home Wi-Fi, well before your flight, since China plans cannot be bought once you are inside the mainland.
Pick the eSIM as your data line and enable data roaming for it so the profile latches onto a Chinese network, and routes your traffic out past the Great Firewall, the moment you arrive.
Many China plans start counting validity when the eSIM first registers on a local network, so switch it on when you land in Beijing or Shanghai, not before.
Every brand earns a score across seven inputs. Coverage and local-network quality draw on public Chinese-carrier sources. Speed and reliability draw on public network performance data. Review and FUP signals come from public brand and store pages. No brand can pay to rank higher.
Public Chinese-carrier coverage data, mapped from the eastern megacities to the western plateau and desert regions.
Public network performance sources, scoped to Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Drop-off, time-to-connect, and uptime signals from public sources.
Whether the brand states it routes data out of the mainland past the Great Firewall, plus clarity of allowance, throttle and hotspot rules.
Whether hotspot and tethering are allowed and on which China plans.
Which Chinese network the brand roams onto: China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom or China Broadnet.
App Store, Play Store, and Trustpilot signals, weighted by recency.
Source quality, recency, and number of verified inputs per brand.
Straight answers to what China-bound travellers ask most. The wording lives in the page itself so both search engines and AI readers can lift it.
For a local Chinese SIM, yes: China's real-name law has required identity registration since 2013, so a foreigner must show an original passport in person at a carrier store and often pass a face scan. A roaming travel eSIM avoids this, because the brand handles any identity step at checkout before you travel and you never visit the registration desk. Buy it before you fly, as China eSIM plans cannot be purchased once you are inside the mainland.
China has four state-owned networks: China Mobile, the largest and with the widest reach, China Unicom, China Telecom, and China Broadnet, the fourth operator that shares radio with China Mobile. Most travel eSIMs roam onto China Mobile or China Unicom. The local networks table on this page maps each brand to its Chinese carrier once that mapping is verified.
Usually, yes. A travel eSIM roams onto a Chinese network but routes your data out of the mainland, so it exits the Great Firewall and apps such as Google, Gmail, WhatsApp and Instagram work as they do at home, without a separate VPN. A local Chinese SIM, by contrast, sits behind the firewall. Always confirm a brand states it routes traffic outside mainland China before you rely on it.
5G depends on the Chinese network the eSIM roams onto and whether the plan includes it. China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom all launched commercial 5G in November 2019, with the densest coverage around Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Simscanner publishes a modelled per-brand speed comparison for China in the speed section.
Buy the plan before departure, then install the eSIM over home Wi-Fi by scanning its QR code or using one-tap install. Leave it set to start on first contact with a Chinese network, switch data roaming on for that line, and make it your data line as you land in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou. China eSIMs cannot be bought once you are inside the mainland, so do this in advance. Exact prompts differ by brand and device.
FUP is the fair use policy: the threshold past which a brand may slow an unlimited plan. Because China plans run as roaming products, an unlimited tier can carry a daily high-speed cap before throttling. The plans table on this page lists each brand's allowance and throttle, and never carries an invented limit.
Every factual claim about China's networks, KYC position, currency, capital and region on this page is sourced below. Brand plan pricing is sourced per brand where the brand publishes it. All sources retrieved 30 May 2026.
AI-assisted disclosure. This page was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the Simscanner editorial team. Every network, KYC, currency, capital and region claim is cited above with its retrieval date. Brand plan pricing and coverage are sourced; per-brand scores and speeds are Simscanner modelled estimates.
Carry on with a neighbouring country, the wider region, a leading brand profile, or the way we score.