Nomad in Egypt: nine plans, and the cheapest gigabyte in the country

The plans we hold

Nomad offers nine Egypt plans, all read from nomadesim.com on 17 August 2026: 1GB over 7 days at $6.00, then 3GB at $12.00, 5GB at $18.00, 10GB at $28.00 and 20GB at $37.00 over 30 days, plus unlimited at $14.00 for three days, $21.00 for five, $27.00 for seven and $35.00 for ten.

An earlier version of this page held two plans and priced them at $4.00 for 1GB rather than $6.00 and at $8.00 for 3GB rather than $12.00. Both were too low, and the page recommended the 3GB plan on the strength of the wrong one.

Hotspot tethering is supported. Nomad publishes no host network for Egypt, or for any other country; an earlier version of this page said it lists Vodafone Egypt and Orange Egypt, and it does not.

Thirty days changes the maths

The 20GB plan is the reason to consider Nomad for Egypt, and the reason is the rate.

Egypt itineraries sprawl. Cairo, then a flight south, then several days on a boat, then the Red Sea — a two-week trip with long stretches where you barely touch your phone and short bursts where you need it constantly. A plan that expires in three or seven days forces you to buy again mid-trip, which is where the real money goes.

At 40 cents per day of validity, Nomad's 3GB plan is still the most forgiving month on the list, but it is no longer the cheapest. Saily's 3GB month is a verified $14.99 — three dollars over Nomad, not the three dollars under that this page used to claim on an unchecked $8.99. On the checked figures Saily wins that row, where this page previously gave it to Nomad by a dollar.

Where Nomad is unambiguously ahead is volume. Its 20GB at $1.85 a gigabyte is the cheapest rate anyone sells in Egypt, its 10GB at $28.00 undercuts Airalo's $33.00, and its 5GB at $18.00 undercuts Airalo's $20.00.

Vodafone, which is the one to want

Nomad lists no host networks here, or in any of the 47 countries it sells — the Vodafone Egypt and Orange Egypt pairing this page used to carry against it came from our own older data rather than from Nomad. That is a shame, because Vodafone is the network that matters most in this country. It has the widest nationwide coverage and the most reliable 4G in tourist areas — Luxor, Aswan, Sinai, the Red Sea resorts — and it is the one people rate for staying connected on a Nile cruise. No travel eSIM will promise it to you.

That is a real advantage over Airalo, which does not publish an Egyptian host network at all: with Airalo you have no way of knowing which operator you attach to. Egypt averages around 28 Mbps nationally and coverage thins quickly outside the Nile corridor, so knowing you are on the strongest network has practical value on Upper Egypt roads and in Sinai.

On network disclosure there is nothing to choose between the sellers: Nomad, Saily and Holafly name no carrier for Egypt or for anywhere else, and the Vodafone Egypt and Orange Egypt pair our data once carried against eSIMCard's rows came from our own text rather than from eSIMCard.

Nothing helps in the Western Desert and Sahara interior beyond Siwa, on the road stretches between Luxor and Abu Simbel, in the Sinai interior mountains, or at Red Sea offshore dive sites — those have no signal at all. Download offline maps.

Where Nomad runs out of road

The ladder stops at 20GB, which is the same place Airalo's stops, so for a very heavy month the only answer in Egypt is unlimited. Nomad sells that too, up to ten days: $14.00, $21.00, $27.00 and $35.00 for three, five, seven and ten days. Beyond ten days it has nothing, and Airalo's $49.00 for fifteen days and $90.00 for thirty are the only options. Holafly's indicative unlimited undercuts Nomad at three and five days, but it does not allow hotspot.

And for a heavy two-week trip, the roughly $8 local tourist SIM at Cairo or Hurghada airport is genuinely competitive in Egypt, in a way it is not in most countries. It needs your passport and about 20 minutes of queueing at Cairo.

Verdict

For a heavy Egypt trip, Nomad is now the buy: its 20GB month at $37.00 is the cheapest rate in the country and it beats Airalo at 5GB, 10GB and 20GB alike. For a light one it is not. Saily's 3GB month at a verified $14.99 does not undercut Nomad's checked $12.00. This page previously recommended the 3GB plan on a price that turned out to be four dollars low, and that recommendation does not survive the correction.

The full Egypt comparison is on our Egypt hub.