Wanderly vs Holafly for a Vietnam eSIM
Vietnam is the comparison where the word "unlimited" needs reading carefully, because several plans on both sides of it are capped once you pass a threshold — and we would rather say so than let you find out in Hanoi.
Current fixed-data, data-only plans of at least 1 GB. Starting offer: 1 GB for 7 days. View this plan and its terms.
The verdict for Vietnam
Be straight about our own catalogue first: several of our Vietnamese daily plans carry a fair-use policy that drops throughput to 1 Mbps after the daily allowance. That is stated in the plan name, and 1 Mbps is fine for maps and messaging and poor for video. Holafly's unlimited plans throttle after a threshold too. Neither of us sells genuinely uncapped mobile data in Vietnam, and any provider implying otherwise is worth a second look.
Given that, the comparison comes down to what you pay for the uncapped portion. Our Vietnamese fixed-data plans reach about a dollar a gigabyte on the 20 GB tier, and every gigabyte in them runs at full speed rather than dropping to a crawl once a daily limit passes. For most travellers a fixed allowance is the more honest product here.
Trip shape favours us as well. Vietnam is a long-country itinerary — Hanoi to Hoi An to the Mekong over several weeks — and our validity runs to 180 days on the largest plan. A daily unlimited plan bills for the days you spend on a sleeper train as readily as the days you spend online.
We don't publish Holafly's prices — we have no live feed for them, so anything we quoted would go stale. Check their site for current pricing; the figures above are our own.
Coverage in Vietnam
Better than most visitors expect. Coverage is dense along the entire coastal corridor from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, through the Mekong Delta, and in Hoi An, Hue and Da Nang. 4G is near-universal and cheap locally, which is why the infrastructure is good. The real gaps are the northern mountains — Ha Giang, Sapa and the passes around them — where signal comes and goes with the terrain.
Local networks: Viettel, VNPT-VinaPhone and MobiFone
How travellers actually use data here
Maps, Grab, translation and a great deal of photo upload. Vietnam is a photographed country and allowances go on images more than video. Café and hotel Wi-Fi is widespread and absorbs a meaningful share.
Routing: Vietnamese traffic breaks out in Hong Kong. Latency is low enough to be unremarkable across the region, and Vietnamese sites behave normally. Worth knowing separately: several of our Vietnamese daily plans carry a 1 Mbps fair-use cap after the day's allowance, which is named in the plan itself.
When Wanderly is the better buy in Vietnam
- ✓You want full-speed data throughout rather than full speed until a daily cap
- ✓You are travelling the length of the country over several weeks
- ✓You want a precise allowance rather than a daily subscription
- ✓You would rather we named the speed caps than discovered them yourself
When Holafly is the better buy
- •You want one flat price for a short, intense trip and will accept the throttle
- •You are streaming or tethering daily and prefer a subscription to an allowance
- •You value never checking a data figure more than the price difference
Holafly took a different bet from most of the category: instead of selling gigabytes, it sells days of unlimited data. That removes the part of buying a travel eSIM that people most dislike — guessing how much data they will use — and it is a legitimately better experience for heavy users. The trade-off is that you pay for the certainty whether you need it or not.
Vietnam vs Holafly — common questions
What does FUP1Mbps in a plan name mean?
Fair use policy: once the day's allowance is used, throughput drops to 1 Mbps for the rest of that day rather than stopping. That is workable for maps, messaging and email, and not for video. We put it in the plan name so it is visible before you buy.
How much data does two weeks in Vietnam actually use?
Six to twelve gigabytes for most travellers — Maps, Grab, translation, and a lot of photo upload. Café and hotel Wi-Fi is widespread and takes a meaningful share.
Is coverage good outside the big cities?
Better than most people expect. Vietnamese network density is high along the whole coastal corridor and through the Mekong Delta. The real gaps are the northern mountains around Ha Giang and Sapa, and they affect every provider equally.
Choose an eSIM for your Vietnam trip
Compare current Vietnam plans, coverage and activation terms. Your eSIM instructions arrive by email after your plan is prepared. No app required.
Browse Vietnam plans