Nomad's Austria eSIM: beaten by Airalo at every size

The line-up, corrected

Nomad's metered Austria range runs six sizes, five of them valid for 30 days. Every price below was read off Nomad's own site on 17 August 2026.

An earlier version of this page listed four plans at $9, $16, $22 and $29. Those were extracted from older article text rather than read off Nomad, and three of the four were wrong. The 5GB plan is $12.50 rather than $9; the 10GB plan is $14 rather than $16; the 50GB plan is $45 rather than $29. The correction matters most at the top: what we called Nomad's best product costs $16 more than we said it did.

There is also an unlimited ladder — $11 for three days, $18 for five, $25 for seven, $33 for ten — which stops at ten days and so does not cover a month-long stay.

At the short end, Nomad's entry point is $4.50 for 1GB over seven days. That is a real plan rather than the $9 floor we previously described, but it is still dearer per gigabyte than anything else Nomad sells here, and rivals sell a week of 1GB for less.

Where Nomad still wins

Nowhere against Saily. Saily's Austria prices have now been read off Saily's own site, on 18 August 2026, and they are lower than we used to carry at every size:

Saily is cheaper at all four sizes, by three dollars at 3GB and by three at 20GB. This page previously said Nomad was $5 to $8 under Saily at 10GB and 20GB. That rested on Saily figures of $18.99 and $26.99 that nobody had read off Saily, and both were high by eight and eleven dollars respectively. Nomad's one remaining advantage over Saily here is that it sells a 50GB tier at all, and at $45 that is not a tier anyone should want.

That is the whole of Nomad's case in Austria. The 50GB plan, which this page previously called Nomad's genuinely strong product at $29, actually costs $45. At 90 cents a gigabyte it is not the cheapest data in Austria and not close to it.

Where it loses

Everywhere, to Airalo. Airalo's Austria prices were read off its own site on 13 August 2026 and Nomad's off its own on 17 August 2026, so this is now a comparison of two checked ladders:

Airalo is cheaper at every shared size, by $3 in the middle of the range and by $16 at 50GB. The 50GB row is the one that changed: this page used to record it as a tie at $29, and on the real figures Nomad charges more than half again as much for the same allowance over the same month. Airalo also sells shorter durations — Servus Austria at $6.00 for 3GB over seven days and $10.00 for 10GB over seven days — which covers the short-trip case Nomad's 30-day plans do not.

One caution when you compare directly on Airalo's site: it sells Austria as two packages, Servus Austria and Servus Austria+, and both appear in the same list at the same allowances. Every Airalo price quoted here is Servus Austria. Servus Austria+ costs more for the same thing — 50GB over 30 days is $29.00 as Servus Austria against $36.50 as Servus Austria+, and 10GB over 30 days is $11.00 against $14.50. Airalo does not state what the plus package adds, so read the product name and make sure it is the one you meant to buy.

Practicalities

Nomad supports hotspot tethering on its Austria plans, so a laptop or tablet can share the connection. That is worth noting mainly because Holafly's Austria plan does not.

No Nomad plan includes calls or SMS. Everything runs over data, so WhatsApp and similar apps work normally but you have no Austrian number for SMS verification codes. And there is no passport requirement to buy the eSIM — that matters because a physical local SIM from A1, Magenta or Drei does require your passport or national ID at registration, and costs around $15 at the airport.

Nomad publishes no host network for Austria, and neither do Airalo or Saily. We hold nothing on which of the three Austrian operators any of them roams onto, so ignore any page that states one confidently. What is true regardless of provider is where Austrian coverage is weak: high Alpine terrain above roughly 2,000 metres, deep narrow valleys in Tyrol and Styria, and some mountain areas along the German border.

Verdict

There is no size in Austria at which we would now pick Nomad over Airalo. Servus Austria undercuts it at 5GB, 10GB, 20GB and 50GB, and the gap at 50GB is $16 on a $29 plan. This page previously recommended Nomad's 50GB month on a figure nobody had read off Nomad, and the real price is sixteen dollars higher; that recommendation is withdrawn. Nor is there a size at which we would pick it over Saily, whose Austrian ladder now undercuts Nomad's from 3GB to 20GB on checked prices. Nomad's only remaining arguments here are its 50GB tier, which Saily does not sell, and hotspot support against Holafly.

The Austria hub sets out every provider side by side, including whether you should be buying anything at all — EU and EEA residents usually roam in Austria on their home allowance at domestic rates.