WIRED review finds Saily Ultra eSIM offers premium travel data at a high price
The $60 monthly plan covers 121 countries with 30 GB of high-speed data and perks like lounge passes, but regional alternatives remain significantly cheaper.
WIRED has published a review of the Saily Ultra eSIM Premium plan, characterising the service as a high-cost, perk-rich option for frequent international travellers. The subscription, which costs $60 per month and auto-renews unless cancelled, is designed for business travellers and those embarking on multi-country tours. It provides coverage across 121 countries, allowing users to set up data before departure and connect to local networks immediately upon landing.
In testing conducted on an iPhone 16, the service demonstrated reliable connectivity by piggybacking on local providers, primarily connecting to EE and Vodafone networks in the UK and Europe. Users achieved speeds of up to 300 Mbps on 5G networks in city centres, while performance in rural areas dropped to approximately 15 Mbps on 4G. The plan includes 30 GB of high-speed data per month, after which users receive unlimited throttled data at speeds up to 1 Mbps, sufficient for messaging and navigation but less ideal for data-heavy video streaming.
While the data allowance is comparable to typical monthly usage, the review notes that travel often reduces access to Wi-Fi, causing the 30 GB limit to deplete quickly. For travellers visiting only one or two countries, regional alternatives are considerably more affordable. For instance, Saily offers unlimited data in the UK for 15 days at $49, or 20 GB for 30 days in France for $23, making the Ultra plan a premium proposition rather than a budget-friendly choice.
The primary differentiator for the Saily Ultra Premium plan is its bundle of additional benefits, which are not typically included with other eSIM services. Perks include lounge passes, fast-track benefits, an ad blocker, priority support, and 8 percent back in Saily credits. Lounge and fast-track benefits can roll over for up to three months if unused, though they cannot be shared between users.
Longer-term commitments offer modest savings, with quarterly service priced at $160 and annual service at $600. Although the service is described as expensive compared to regional options, WIRED concludes that it performs well in terms of ease of use and connectivity. The review suggests that while the plan may be a hard sell for casual travellers looking solely at data costs, frequent globetrotters will likely appreciate the comprehensive package of services.
