ZenSim Vs Holafly: Travel eSIM Comparison & Holafly Alternative for Australian Travellers 

No, not your bloody toothbrush. I’m talking about mobile data, ideally one of those cheaper newfangled eSIMs (because you’re not global roaming-rich). While you could technically get an eSIM at Tokyo or Auckland airport, it’s way less hassle to sort one out now.

But which brand? You’ve seen ‘Holafly’ plastered all over the internet. That’s one option. But are there any good Holafly alternatives for Australians travelling overseas?

In this post, we’re comparing Holafly with ZenSim, a lesser-known, low-cost eSIM aimed squarely at holidaymaking Aussies. Instead of just slandering the competition, we’ll do our darndest to make this a fair, balanced, and factual ZenSim vs Holafly review.

ZENSIM VS HOLAFLY: AT A GLANCE

Both brands sell travel eSIMs for Australians. But that’s about where the similarities end.

Holafly is a big multinational based in the tax-attractive Irish capital of Dublin. Having served over 13 million customers for trips to 200+ destinations, it’s one of the world’s largest eSIM providers. Holafly focuses exclusively on unlimited data packages.

ZenSim is a small Australian eSIM provider run by a couple of easy-going blokes who loathe the stale corporate approach. While its customer base is overwhelmingly Australian, ZenSim does get a few South American customers (¡hola, muchachos!) from time to time.

ZenSim sells its eSIMs for travellers in AUD, as well as NZD, EUR, USD, GBP. Holafly, being a big multinational, has much more choice, taking payments in 25 currencies by my count.

HOW PLANS AND PRICING DIFFER

Holafly only offers unlimited data eSIMs in all destinations, except for its 25GB global Light Plan subscription. One genuinely great benefit is you can choose (and pay for) the exact number of days you need to whittle down costs.

ZenSim uses a more traditional eSIM pricing structure, offering a mix of unlimited and data-capped plans – 1GB, 3GB, 5GB, 10GB, 20GB, 40GB, etc. – in most destinations. Standard ZenSim durations are 5, 15 and 30 days.

When comparing equivalent plans, Holafly costs more than ZenSim (and many other competitors) for two reasons.

First, Holafly is a large, well-established brand with an inescapable online presence. The sheer amount of traffic its website captures gives Holafly the luxury of setting higher prices.

Second, a lot of that traffic comes from its pervasive (and highly successful) affiliate program. Basically, bloggers and YouTubers earn commissions through Holafly ‘recommendations’ that result in affiliate sales. Influencers want payment for their influence, so Holafly must jack up prices accordingly.

Let’s take a quick look at how the two eSIMs stack up pricewise at some of Australia’s favourite destinations: New Zealand, Bali (Indonesia), USA, Thailand, and Japan.

As you can see, Holafly pricing is 10-20% higher than ZenSim for equivalent unlimited plans. It’s worth whacking ‘holafly discount code’ through Google, as you can sometimes score 5% off the rack rate.

Also, in Holafly’s defense, the pick-your-duration feature is a unique, genuinely helpful perk that can level the playing field in some situations.

DAILY USE CAPS

The daily use cap is how much data an unlimited plan user can download per day before getting throttled to a slower speed, typically 1 or 1.5 Mbps.

Holafly hides it within a ‘Fair Use Policy.’ The local partner network will decide when you’ve used enough data and slam on the brakes. That could be rather inconvenient should it happen in the middle of something important, such as watching cute cat videos.

ZenSim offers a transparent 3GB/day use cap on all unlimited plans. You will know exactly when you can expect to get throttled and can adjust your usage accordingly.

DATA ALLOWANCES, HOTSPOTTING, AND TOP-UPS

Holafly is worth considering for unlimited data. But if you’re digitally thrifty and can make do with a data-capped plan, a low-cost competitor like ZenSim will save you stacks of cash.

For example, you’ll pay just A$17 for a 30-day 5GB Japan plan – that’s just enough data for messaging, navigating on Google Maps, responding to emails, and occasional browsing.

Say you’ve got a trip planned to Bali. Here’s what you’d save going with a cheap data-capped plan instead of an unlimited 30-day Holafly e SIM package.

Get a load of those savings. That’s a lot of extra Bintang at the hotel swim up bar.

HOTSPOTTING

One thing you should know is that Holafly’s SIMs have hotspotting limits, either 500MB or 1GB depending on the plan.

For some travellers, such as digital nomads tethering a laptop or couples sharing a connection, that could be a deal-breaker. But if you rarely or never do hotspotting, it’s probably not going to matter.

IN-APP TOP UPS

ZenSim lets you add data and days through the ZenSim app. Users get low-data notifications via email and via the ZenSim app and can top-up instantly, even without an active connection.

One interesting and unique thing about ZenSim is its destination top-ups. Instead of stuffing around with a whole new eSIM, you can add an extra country through the app.

That makes life easier if you decide to do a sneaky side trip or a stopover somewhere like Singapore. Just be sure to compare regional eSIMs, such as South America, Asia, or Global eSIMs, as they might work out cheaper.

Holafly doesn’t do top-ups. That sounds terrible on paper but it’s more of an inconvenience in practice. When extending, you have to buy another eSIM for the corresponding timeframe. It’s a bit of a chore, especially when you’re as indecisive as I am, but not the end of the world.

One cool thing Holafly started doing recently is the ‘always-on’ promotion. Basically, subscription plan customers get 1GB/month as backup emergency data to use in most destinations worldwide, even after cancelling their sub.

All you have to do is keep the Holafly eSIM on your phone (don’t delete it). The data is good for 12 months.

COVERAGE, INSTALLATION, EASE OF USE

Both eSIMs cover 200+ destinations globally. That lengthy list includes a bunch of smaller, lesser-known places you’ve probably never heard of, let alone plan to visit.

Customers should pay attention when comparing coverage for regional eSIMs, such as Asia or Latin America plans. Holafly and ZenSim won’t necessarily include the same countries, and one might offer certain destinations the other won’t. For example, ZenSim includes Turkey with its Europe eSIM, whereas Holafly does not (you’ll need a separate eSIM).

On the ground coverage (speed and latency) depends on the partner network. One thing I like about Holafly is that, unlike many competitors, it’s upfront about its partner networks. ZenSim also discloses its partners upfront. Sometimes we partner with better networks than Holafly, sometimes they’re the same. It varies by country.

Prioritise providers with multi-networks connections, where possible, as your phone can automatically hop between whichever is quickest at the time.

INSTALLING YOUR ESIM

The eSIM is meant to be easy. That’s the whole point. That and they’re cheaper than roaming.

Both ZenSim and Holafly are simple enough to install for anyone with basic tech skills. Customers have three installation options, each taking less than five minutes (two don’t require a QR code). If one doesn’t work for whatever reason, just move onto the next.

ZenSim wins as it looks like Holafly hasn’t introduced one-tap installs through the app yet (I’m guessing they will one day).

SETTING UP YOUR ESIM BEFORE YOU TRAVEL

Before buying an eSIM, double-check it will work on your phone with our eSIM compatibility checker.

Regardless of whether you get ZenSim or Holafly, I recommend installing your eSIM before departure, ideally at home where you have good WiFi. A solid connection is a must.

On-arrival installation is possible, but it’s a bit of a pain, as you have to scramble to find WiFi then run through the motions in a stressed, jetlagged state.

With a pre-installed eSIM in your phone, you can activate your plan automatically by toggling on two settings upon arrival.

1. Make the eSIM your active mobile data line
2. Turn global roaming on for your eSIM only.

I normally do this bit sometime during the flight or when the plane is taxing in towards the gate. That way you get a seamless connection upon arrival.

SUPPORT, REFUNDS, AND RELIABILITY

As a big multi-national, Holafly offers 24/7 support via chat (website and app), email, and WhatsApp.

When contacting Holafly via web chat, you’ll liaise with a chirpy AI chatbot named Emma, who pretended to think my Survivor reality TV-themed GIF was hilarious (why else would GIFs exist on a support platform?). I assume a human gets involved at some point.

ZenSim offers support via WhatsApp, Messenger & email, with native (only real humans here) Australians working around the clock to respond as rapidly as possible. We don’t actually get many help requests as the product just works.

COMPARING REFUND POLICIES

Holafly offers a generous pre-departure refund policy, with a full money-back guarantee for service withdrawals (i.e., change of plans) or incompatible or locked phones.

Connection issues experienced after departure are eligible for a full or partial refund minus a small service fee of $3.50 USD. Customers must contact Holafly ASAP. Post-trip claims may be rejected.

ZenSim offers a full-money back guarantee for any reason before departure. We don’t care if you bought the wrong plan, switched destinations, or just found out your phone is carrier locked. You get your money back.

After departure, once you’ve activated your eSIM by downloading data, we assess refunds on a case-by-case basis. Contact us straight away. Rest assured we take customer satisfaction seriously.

Upon studying the fine print, the refund policies are fairly similar. Both have a 6-month refund limit. It looks like Holafly doesn't do incompatibility refunds for QR code installations.

WHICH IS MORE RELIABLE: ZENSIM OR HOLAFLY?

The two brands are legit. Holafly is a large, multinational with a huge online presence, while ZenSim is a rapidly-expanding startup partnering with some of the world’s leading networks to guarantee the best possible connections.

If you’re on an unlimited plan, ZenSim is more reliable due to the transparent daily use cap. You know you will get exactly 3GB at full speed before potential throttling. With Holafly and its ‘Fair Use Policy’, you will simply get throttled whenever the local network sees fit. That could be in the middle of an important business call or cat video.

ZenSim also gets a better average feedback score (4.9/5.0 Productreview vs 4.7/5.0 Trustpilot), largely due to easy setups and dependable connections.

WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?

So which is the better option? Holafly or ZenSim? Both eSIMs have their pros and cons.

CHOOSE ZENSIM FOR LOW PRICES AND AUD-FRIENDLY FEATURES

Made by Australians for Australians (y nuestros compañeros sudamericanos tambien), ZenSim is a popular option among Aussies for its fair dinkum prices, native AUD payments, and friendly, responsive support.

Unlimited hotspotting keeps the work-from-everywhere crowd content, while a transparent 3GB/day use cap ensures unlimited plans are predictable. ZenSim’s cheap-as-chips data-capped deals make it one of the best Holafly alternatives for frugal adventure seekers.

Shop our range of travel eSIMs.

CHOOSE HOLAFLY FOR BACK-UP DATA AND SPECIFIC-DAY PLANS

While Holafly is pricier than competitors for equivalent length plans, its unique exact-date-selection feature can lead to significant savings on some itineraries. That might even make it better value, depending on the length of your trip.

Some travellers may err towards Holafly subscriptions purely for its nifty ‘always-on’ perk, which you can retain in your phone for free emergency back-up data for up to 12 months.