Buying a Thailand eSIM: five real journeys, then the current DriftAsia flow
Accounts, apps and email instructions shaped five competitor purchases in September 2026. DriftAsia’s current price and installation options are documented separately.
Historical observations: September 2026 · One Android phone
The short version
- The historical journeys differed more than the purchase confirmations. Accounts, apps and installation methods changed what happened after payment.
- Saily needed its app in the installation flow we followed. The other four competitor installations did not require an app in those journeys.
- DriftAsia is documented separately below. Its current functions and price are not a sixth purchase timed alongside the September transactions.
Part 1. Five purchases made during the campaign
We bought one Thailand plan from each of Airalo, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Yesim on 22 September 2026. The same Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, running Android 16, was used to follow the installation journeys.
| Provider | Purchased plan | Amount paid (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Airalo | 10 GB / 15 days | USD 10.50 |
| Saily | 10 GB / 30 days | USD 10.99 |
| Nomad | 10 GB / 30 days | USD 10.00 |
| Ubigi | 10 GB / 30 days | USD 11.00 |
| Yesim | 10 GB / 30 days | USD 13.20 |
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These are the amounts recorded as paid during the campaign, not current competitor quotations. Airalo’s plan lasted 15 days; the others lasted 30. Future credit, referral rewards and later discounts are not deducted. A confirmation that omits the total proves purchase or delivery, not the amount by itself.
What happened after the order confirmation
The confirmations below are evidence of particular steps. The surrounding journeys come from the recorded test, and a button on a page does not establish that we used it or that an app was compulsory.
Airalo
The journey returned from email to the website and My eSIM account for QR installation. Manual instructions were available; an Android direct-install button was not observed in this flow.
- Account in the tested purchase
- Required
- App for installation
- Not required
- Later management
- My eSIM account
Saily
The app guided the installation after three Next confirmations. With the requested permissions, it automated profile installation, roaming and data-line assignment. A named Thai network was not clearly shown in the purchase flow.
- Account in the tested purchase
- Required
- App for installation
- Required
- Later management
- Saily app
Nomad
Gmail initially truncated the delivery email. Opening “Show entire message” revealed the Android direct-install link. Management in the tested flow used the ICCID and email rather than a new account.
- Account in the tested purchase
- Not required in tested basic flow
- App for installation
- Not required
- Later management
- Website with ICCID + email
Ubigi
Purchase and QR installation were possible without an account. An account and app were used later for tracking. A temporary maintenance screen interrupted that later management attempt; access eventually worked.
- Account in the tested purchase
- Not required for purchase / installation
- App for installation
- Not required
- Later management
- Account created later; website / app
Yesim
The purchase flow included signup. Android installation used a QR code; an iOS one-tap option was visible but was not tested end to end. The app was downloaded later for management, not required for the observed installation.
- Account in the tested purchase
- Required in purchase flow
- App for installation
- Not required for installation
- Later management
- App used later for management
Installation options were not identical
Compare the observed methods and purchase-time network information
| Provider | Methods documented or observed | Network information at purchase |
|---|---|---|
| Airalo | QR and manual; Android direct install not observed; iOS not documented | True + AIS |
| Saily | Automated in app; separate QR / manual and iOS not documented | No named Thai network clearly shown |
| Nomad | QR and Android direct link; iOS / manual not documented | AIS + dtac |
| Ubigi | QR and manual; direct Android not observed; iOS not documented | AIS + TrueMove H |
| Yesim | QR and manual; iOS one-tap visible but not tested; Android direct not confirmed | No named Thai network documented |
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“Not observed” does not mean an option is unavailable everywhere. A visible iOS link is not an iPhone test. No manually entered APN was needed for any of the six historical campaign profiles on this Android phone; that observation is not a newly tested DriftAsia installation.
Approximate reception times and pre-payment steps
| Provider | Journey started, Thailand time | eSIM available / email |
|---|---|---|
| Airalo | About 08:30 | About 08:35 |
| Saily | About 13:16 | About 13:21 |
| Nomad | About 15:12 | About 15:15 |
| Ubigi | About 14:16 | 14:21 |
| Yesim | About 13:37 | About 13:41 |
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| Provider | Steps before payment |
|---|---|
| Airalo | Account, eSIM-compatible / unlocked-phone confirmation, payment |
| Saily | Account, payment |
| Nomad | Payment from the final plan-selection page |
| Ubigi | Terms acceptance, payment |
| Yesim | Signup, payment |
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The competitor profiles became available about three to five minutes after the recorded start of each purchase journey, with the plan already chosen. These were approximate notes, not stopwatch measurements from the payment event or a delivery guarantee.
Part 2. The current DriftAsia purchase and installation flow
Thailand Performance · 10 GB / 30 days
USD 11.90
The current public plan lists AIS, dtac and TrueMove H. That commercial list is different from a network attachment measured in the field.
The current web flow can be used without creating an account or downloading a dedicated app. It collects customer details and consent before hosted payment. The delivery instructions offer QR installation and direct links for Android and supported iPhones when the activation information is available.
Purchase on the website
Choose the plan and enter the required customer details. This is the current documented flow, not a timed September purchase.
Use the delivery instructions
QR and direct-install options are supplied in the delivery email. The iPhone link is offered for iOS 17.4+; QR is the fallback.
Manage the plan
The email’s secure Manage my eSIM link provides access to remaining data, validity and top-ups.
Current installation and activation details
| Feature | Current documented functionality |
|---|---|
| QR installation | QR in the delivery email when available |
| Android direct installation | An Android setup link when activation information is available; QR fallback |
| iPhone direct installation | Link for iOS 17.4+ when available; not an end-to-end iPhone test |
| Manual setup | Settings-based QR instructions are documented. A separate manual activation-code section was not found in the inspected email. |
| Validity | For this Performance plan, validity begins at first network connection at the destination |
| Tracking | Secure Manage my eSIM link, without a new account or dedicated app |
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We examined the current product cards, purchase flow and delivery instructions rather than placing another paid order. No DriftAsia purchase-to-email time is claimed here. The DriftAsia amount is the public price checked for this update; the competitor amounts above remain historical payments.
Before enabling the profile, check when validity begins
Installation and the plan clock did not coincide for every historical profile. Airalo, Yesim and the historical Performance profile have retained starts on 22 September; Saily, Nomad and Ubigi on 23 September. Saily’s precise timestamp is 04:07 UTC, or 11:07 in Thailand. The validity study explains the sources and why a start date does not isolate the technical trigger.
How to read the comparison fairly
One plan per competitor, one Android phone, purchase journeys on 22 September 2026 and subsequent observations in the campaign. The tester used email or the website when that was sufficient; some apps were installed later for management. Installation times were not measured in a standardised way, and the first connection states were not identical.
Interfaces and rules can change. Prices paid, supplier statements, visible interface options and actions actually followed are kept separate. The current DriftAsia section describes offered functions, with no claim that they were purchased or timed in the historical panel.
Read the next step, not just the purchase button
The practical differences appeared after the order: whether an account or app was needed, where the installation link lived, and how the plan could be tracked. Keep the full delivery email, follow the specific activation conditions and allow for a different management path from the installation path. Those observations are more useful than an overall ease-of-use score.
More from the Thailand eSIM field campaign
This study is part of our Thailand eSIM field campaign.
Speed & networks
Speed, latency and Thai networks, compared across six common locations.
Read the study →
eSIM support
What five support teams said about top-ups and Internet routing.
Read the study →
Real-world validity
A two-day timeline separates installation, validity and first data use.
Read the study →All studies · Data Index · Programme methodology · Press and corrections
For journalists and researchers
Five competitor purchase journeys in September 2026 differed in account requirements, apps and installation routes. The current DriftAsia flow is documented separately and was not timed in that historical comparison.
Citation: DriftAsia, Buying a Thailand eSIM: five real journeys, then the current DriftAsia flow. Published 8 October 2026; editorial revision 9 October 2026. Keep the sample, historical dates and evidence qualifications when quoting these findings.
Source field record: the final French-language campaign report published by our sister site. This English edition keeps the historical observations separate from current DriftAsia offers.
Adapted original text and tables: CC BY 4.0 with attribution and a link to this article. Third-party documents, screenshots and trademarks retain their own rights.