Our top pick, reviewed properly
Airalo in Vietnam
Airalo sells Vietnam under the name Xin Chao, and it is the one brand here that will tell you which Vietnamese network you are actually renting.
The Airalo Vietnam plans USD, checked September 2026
Airalo brands its Vietnam eSIM Xin Chao. Its regional plan, Asialink, covers Vietnam alongside Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and a dozen others, and is a separate purchase.
| Plan | Price | Per GB | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1GB / 3 days | $4.00 | $4.00 | Airport-and-first-night money. |
| 3GB / 7 days | $8.00 | $2.67 | Beaten by GigSky's $7.49 for 15 days. |
| 5GB / 7 days | $10.00 | $2.00 | Only if you genuinely need it in a week. |
| 5GB / 30 days | $11.00 | $2.20 | A dollar more than the 7-day version. Take the 30 days. |
| 10GB / 30 days | $18.00 | $1.80 | The default buy for a two-week trip. |
| 20GB / 30 days | $29.00 | $1.45 | Yesim is $3.42 cheaper here. |
| 50GB / 30 days | $49.00 | $0.98 | The best price per gigabyte on this entire site. |
| Unlimited / 3 days | $11.50 | — | 3GB per day at full speed, then 1 Mbps until midnight. Both numbers published. Data-only. |
| Unlimited / 30 days | $69.00 | — |
The shape of this ladder is the point. Below 10GB Airalo is beaten on price by GigSky at every size. From 10GB it is competitive, and at 50GB it is unmatched: 98 cents a gigabyte, against $1.09 for Yesim's 30GB and $1.45 for Airalo's own 20GB. Buy Airalo at the top of the range or for the network disclosure, not for a cheap 3GB.
Airalo against the other four where each one wins
| Airalo | GigSky | Saily | Yesim | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5GB / 30 days | $11.00 | $10.29 | $10.99 | $11.16 |
| 10GB / 30 days | $18.00 | $16.79 | $17.99 | $18.60 |
| 20GB / 30 days | $29.00 | none | $28.99 | $25.58 |
| 50GB / 30 days | $49.00 | none | none | 30GB $32.56 |
| Names its network | yes, VNPT | no | no | no |
| Unlimited cap | 3GB/day, then 1 Mbps | 3.5GB/day packs | 5GB/day, speed unstated | none published |
| Trustpilot | 4.1 · 41,863 | 4.3 · 6,208 | 4.7 · 30,537 | suspended |
| Free trial | no | 100MB / 7 days | no | no |
Read it row by row and Airalo wins almost nothing on price under 20GB and everything on disclosure. GigSky undercuts it at every small size and will not say whose towers it uses. Saily has the best review record in the category and also names no network. Yesim is cheapest at 20GB and has no usable Trustpilot score at all. Airalo is the option with the fewest unknowns, which in a country with Vietnam's north-south coverage split is worth a dollar or two.
What Airalo actually reaches in Vietnam place by place
| Where | What to expect on Airalo (VNPT) |
|---|---|
| Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang | 5G in the central districts, solid 4G everywhere else. No complaints on any brand here. |
| Hoi An, Hue, Nha Trang, Mui Ne | Strong the length of the coast road, which is where most itineraries spend most days. |
| Ninh Binh, Ha Long, Cat Ba | Fine on land. Out among the karsts on an overnight boat it comes and goes on every network. |
| Da Lat, Phong Nha, the Mekong towns | Reliable in town. The signal fades on the access roads, in the caves and on the delta side channels. |
| Sapa town, Lao Cai | Works in town, thins fast on the descent into the trekking valleys. |
| Ha Giang loop, Dong Van, Cao Bang | The Airalo limit, and every VNPT eSIM's limit. These roads lean on Viettel. Expect one bar or none. |
Airalo lists VNPT for Vietnam on its own product page, which is one more fact than three of its four rivals will give you. What it does not change is the underlying map: VNPT is excellent on the coast and thin in the far north, and the Viettel page explains what to do about that.
Xin Chao or Asialink? the regional plan is a separate purchase
Airalo sells two things that cover Vietnam and they are easy to confuse at checkout. Xin Chao is the Vietnam-only plan. Asialink is the regional plan covering Vietnam plus Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and others.
| Size | Xin Chao (Vietnam) | Asialink (regional) | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5GB / 30 days | $11.00 | $15.00 | +$4.00 |
| 10GB / 30 days | $18.00 | $25.00 | +$7.00 |
| 20GB / 30 days | $29.00 | $39.00 | +$10.00 |
| 50GB / 30 days | $49.00 | $59.00 | +$10.00 |
| 100GB / 180 days | none | $89.00 | — |
If Vietnam is the whole trip, buy Xin Chao and save the premium. If you are crossing to Cambodia or Laos, buy Asialink, because unused Vietnamese data does not travel across a land border. We work the two-country maths through here.
The 100GB Asialink plan over 180 days is worth noting separately: at 89 cents a gigabyte with a six-month window, it is the cheapest data on this site by a distance, and it exists for people travelling the region for a season rather than a fortnight.
Buying and activating Airalo the four-minute version
- Buy on the Airalo website at home on wifi. Our links go to the web checkout on purpose; the app store route does not credit this site, and the price is identical either way.
- Install the profile before you fly. The plan does not start counting until it first connects to a Vietnamese network, so buying a week early costs you nothing.
- On landing at Noi Bai or Tan Son Nhat: switch the Airalo line on for data, leave your home line on for calls with its data roaming off.
- If nothing connects within five minutes, open network selection, set it to manual and pick Vinaphone. Near the Chinese border a handset will sometimes latch onto a Chinese network instead, and manual selection is the fix. Full setup and symptom fixes.
Buy it or skip it the honest split
Buy Airalo if
You want to know which network you are buying, which in a country with Vietnam's north-south split is the most useful single fact available.
You need 50GB: $49.00 is 98 cents a gigabyte and nothing else here comes close.
You want unlimited you can plan around: 3GB a day and 1 Mbps after it, both printed.
You are crossing into Cambodia, Laos or Thailand: Asialink is the cleanest regional plan in this comparison.
Skip Airalo if
You need 10GB or less: GigSky is cheaper at every size up to and including 10GB.
You want 20GB specifically: Yesim is $3.42 cheaper, caveats included.
You want to test before paying: only GigSky gives you 100MB free.
Your route is the Ha Giang loop or Sapa's valleys: no VNPT eSIM fixes that, only Viettel does.
Questions on Airalo in Vietnam
Which network does Airalo use in Vietnam?
VNPT, which trades as Vinaphone, published on Airalo's own Vietnam product page. That is excellent in the cities and along the coast and thin in the northern mountains. Travel blogs frequently claim Airalo runs on MobiFone or Viettel; Airalo's own page does not say that, and we go with the page.
Is Airalo good in Vietnam?
Yes, with one boundary. On the coast road and in the cities it is a straightforwardly good buy at $18.00 for 10GB, and it is the only brand here that tells you what you are riding. On the Ha Giang loop and below Sapa it will struggle, because VNPT does, and that is a network fact rather than an Airalo fault.
What is Xin Chao?
Simply the name Airalo gives its Vietnam eSIM, the way it names every local eSIM after something local. Asialink is the separate regional plan that covers Vietnam plus Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and others.
Is Airalo unlimited really unlimited in Vietnam?
No, and Airalo says so on the page. You get 3GB per day at full speed and then 1 Mbps until midnight. That is the only unlimited plan sold for Vietnam with both numbers published, and 1 Mbps still carries maps and messaging. The unlimited comparison works out the price per usable gigabyte.
Is there a better eSIM than Airalo for Vietnam?
On price, yes: GigSky is cheaper at 3, 5 and 10GB, and Yesim is cheaper at 20GB. On support record, Saily's 4.7 from 30,537 reviews beats Airalo's 4.1. On knowing what you have bought, no: Airalo is the only one that publishes its Vietnamese network, and at 50GB it is also the cheapest per gigabyte.
When does the Airalo plan start counting?
On first connection to a Vietnamese network, not at purchase. Install at home on wifi, land, switch the line on, and the clock starts then.
Can I hotspot on Airalo in Vietnam?
Yes, on the fixed-data plans, drawing from the same allowance. On the unlimited plans, tethered data counts toward the 3GB daily full-speed cap. There is no separate hotspot ceiling, unlike Holafly's 1GB a day.
Airalo Vietnam · 10GB · $18.00
VNPT, published on the product page. 30 days. Or 50GB for $49.00, which is 98 cents a gigabyte and the best large bundle in this comparison.
See Airalo's Vietnam plansSources & freshness: Prices via esimdb.com and airalo.com, September 4, 2026, in USD before promo codes. Network partner from Airalo's own Vietnam product page. Trustpilot score checked September 4, 2026. Compare all six: best eSIM for Vietnam.