Nomad eSIM is a prepaid travel data service sold at nomadesim.com. You buy a plan for one country, a region or the world, install it as a digital SIM on an eSIM-compatible phone, and use it for mobile data abroad instead of paying your home carrier's roaming rates. Your normal SIM can stay in the phone.

Does an esim Nomad plan include calls or a phone number?

Some plans include a local phone number, which the plan details show; not all do. Nomad also says you can keep your normal SIM in the phone so calls and texts stay on your home number while the eSIM carries data. Nomad's pages do not say which plans include a number.

Does Nomad eSIM allow hotspot?

Yes. Nomad's pages say hotspot and tethering are supported. They do not give a separate hotspot limit in the text we read, so check the plan details before you buy. Nomad also says add-on plans start automatically when the original plan ends, which helps if you tether heavily.

Nomad eSIM: What It Is and How It Works

Q: Can I hold more than one Nomad eSIM on one phone?

Yes. Nomad's page says you can activate, deactivate or delete up to 10 eSIMs from your device settings, so a Nomad eSIM for Japan can sit beside one for Korea. How many can be active at once depends on your phone, and Nomad's pages we read do not say.

Q: How much does a Nomad eSIM cost?

It depends on country and size. On 17 August 2026 Japan ran from $4 for 1 GB over 7 days to $35 for 50 GB over 30 days, in US dollars. Thailand's 50 GB over 10 days was $12. Nomad's pages may show another currency, so check the checkout. Our Nomad review lists all 436 prices.

What is Nomad eSIM?

Nomad eSIM is a prepaid travel data service. You buy a plan for one country, a region or the whole world, install a digital SIM on an eSIM-compatible phone, and use that for mobile data abroad instead of paying your home carrier's roaming rates. It is sold at nomadesim.com; the older getnomad.app address now redirects there.

People type it several ways: "nomad esim", "nomad esims", "esim nomad". They all lead to the same company. The plural has a small point to it, because one phone can hold several. Nomad's page says you can activate, deactivate or delete up to 10 eSIMs from your device settings, so a Nomad eSIM for Japan can sit beside one for Korea.

This page is a plain explainer. For prices and the comparison with Airalo, go to our Nomad review. We are doing desk research from Nomad's public pages, not reporting a trip. We have not tested a Nomad eSIM on a phone.

How does a Nomad eSIM work?

The steps, as Nomad describes them:

Choose a plan for your destination and buy it.
Install it by scanning a QR code or with a one-tap install. Nomad says this takes about five minutes and gives separate instructions for iPhone, Samsung and Google Pixel.
Keep your normal SIM in the phone. Calls and texts can stay on your home number while the eSIM carries data.
On arrival, turn the eSIM line on, choose it for cellular data, and switch data roaming on. Nomad is explicit that roaming must be enabled on the eSIM line.

Two details come from Nomad's country and global pages rather than the home page. You have to activate within 60 days of buying, and the plan clock starts when the phone first connects to a local network. Some eSIMs also need manual activation, so Nomad tells customers to check the installation email.

What can a Nomad eSIM do?

Nomad lists these features:

Hotspot and tethering are supported.
Add-on plans top up the same eSIM when data runs out. Nomad says they start automatically when the original plan ends.
A local phone number comes with some plans, not all.
Sharing data across devices is mentioned on the home page.
A free 1 GB trial is offered to new users.
A data calculator helps you estimate how much you need.

Support is 24 hours a day by live chat and email, according to the home page.

Which Nomad eSIM plans are there?

Nomad sells local plans for single countries, regional plans (Europe is the one the home page names), a global plan, and long-term "Global-EX" plans that run for up to a year across 54 or 82 destinations, depending on the listing. We cover the global plan and the China plan on their own pages.

How big is the coverage? Nomad's own pages disagree with each other. The headline says 200+ destinations. Another line says 4G/5G in nearly 200 countries. The prices we have read cover 47 countries, so that is the number we can vouch for.

How much does a Nomad eSIM cost?

We read Nomad's prices on nomadesim.com on 17 August 2026, in US dollars, and they may have moved since. A few from Japan: 1 GB for 7 days was $4, 3 GB for 30 days $7, 10 GB for 30 days $16, 20 GB for 30 days $23 and 50 GB for 30 days $35. In Thailand, 50 GB for 10 days was $12, which is the lowest cost per gigabyte on this site. Nomad also sells unlimited plans; Japan's three-day one was $11.

Nomad's pages showed Canadian dollars to our fetch, so currency depends on where you load the site. Check the checkout before you pay. Our full table of 436 prices is on the Nomad review, and a discount page is at Nomad promo code.

What does Nomad not tell you?

Two gaps stand out. Nomad says it uses multiple local network providers in each country, but it does not name the operator you will land on for the countries we checked. And the page we read does not say who owns the company; it shows only a 2026 copyright line.

If you want the cheapest option, compare it with others on the cheapest eSIM ranking. In half the countries where both are verified Nomad beats Airalo per gigabyte. It is strongest at 20 GB and 50 GB for a month, and weakest at 1 GB and in the United States. Country pages such as Japan and Thailand show the plan-by-plan detail.

Nomad eSIM explained: what it is, how it works, what it costs