eSIM marketplaces seem to be popping up left and right in the last few years. This boom has certainly made getting coverage abroad much easier for anyone—particularly those folks who have modern phones. If you want to have more options when you travel, then you may benefit from getting a new phone.
Setting that aside, today we wanted to talk about Maya Mobile. This eSIM marketplace literally sells itself as being a better alternative to Airalo. That’s the headline that you’re going to find on their Google Ad, which you’re likely going to see at the top of the page if you’re looking for a foreign eSIM or a relevant keyword.
Is Maya Mobile better than Airalo, or is that just a line that it definitely wants people to believe? We’re going to be exploring some of the ins and outs of the platform. There are quite a few things that stuck out to us about Maya Mobile that we feel people should know before buying an eSIM from them. In comparison, we are getting a sense that Airalo may need to come up with a better plan to keep up with the competition.
Since Airalo was essentially the first mainstream eSIM marketplace, it was able to blow up quickly and garner a loyal fan base. Now, it seems that other options, like Holafly, are catching up. Does Maya Mobile have what it takes to put itself in the mix?
Main Difference Between Maya Mobile & Airalo
On the surface, these options can seem identical. If that were the case, then all that you’d have to do is look for the one that’s offering a better price and buy that one. There’s one main difference, though, that could alter your experience as a user. It’s worth noting it so that you don’t get stuck in a bad situation or so that your decision process can run smoothly.
Airalo is an app, and Maya Mobile is technically not. You can think of Maya Mobile precisely more as a wireless service provider while Airalo again is an app. That means that with Airalo, you technically have a bit more flexibility, particularly if you’re looking for eSIM cards for different regions.
As things stand, however, what could be Airalo’s leg up is still not active. When you want to get an eSIM from Airalo, you’re still going to have to unlock your phone. Some people think that because Airalo is an external app they are going to be able to bypass the restrictions that their regular wireless service provider has added to their phones. This is not the case.
You could still argue that the Airalo app is a better way to shop for coverage than the Maya Mobile website. That’s kind of splitting hairs, though. If you find a better deal with Maya, you’re likely going to be tempted to take it.
Does the Airalo App Really Provide Tangible Benefits?
This is not something that we’re saying just to prop up Airalo. We genuinely believe that the app offers a set of benefits that you don’t get with Maya Mobile and even other options. Maya Mobile, for example, is going to ask you to set a date for the eSIM to be active, and the validity will be limited to the days that you’ve set. There’s not a lot of flexibility in that regard.
With the Airalo app, what you can do is purchase the eSIMs that you’re going to need for your trip and activate them as you. There’s more flexibility in the amount of coverage that you can get. Let’s say that you decided to stay one more day in a particular country during your trip. You may have to pay for that extra day of coverage, but that won’t hurt your eSIM for the next country that you’re going to visit.
The problem with Maya Mobile in this regard is that if you make any alteration to your trip, then you could be losing out on some of the coverage that you already paid for. You could make the argument that this is a bit of a minor benefit, and it’s hard to dispute that. However, it is one of the advantages that you’re going to have with the app.
Maya Mobile Has Interesting Prices & Credit Validity Options
The thing that Airalo may have over Maya Mobile is again flexibility. Airalo is going to allow users to buy one or even three day passes. With Maya Mobile, you’re going to have to purchase, at the very minimum, a 5-day pass. The good thing is that these passes are regional. That means for example, if you’re going to Europe, you can purchase the pass for however long you’re going to be in Europe, and you should be covered.
These eSIMs are also considerably cheaper than what you’ll get from Airalo. Maya promises about a month’s worth of coverage in Europe for example, for about 15 dollars. That gets you 5GB of coverage, which, if you’re careful with how you’re spending your data, should be enough to get you through the trip.
There is one issue that we see with Maya Mobile, and it’s one that Airalo, in particular, can help you navigate. If you’ve read through some of the other articles on the site, you’ll know that we’re typically not too fond of regional SIM cards. This is because the signal that you get in one country or city may not be equal to what you get in the other. If this was your only way to get coverage and it’s lagging in a particular country, that can get very frustrating.
Having an Unlocked Phone is a Must With Maya Mobile
We can’t act too surprised here. The fact is that with all of these eSIM and SIM card options that you can access when you’re going to travel abroad, you have to have an unlocked phone. This is something that doesn’t seem to be changing soon. Even in apps like Airalo that could seemingly bypass the situation, you’re still stuck in the same dilemma.
Is it worth it to unlock your phone before you travel so that you can access these eSIM options? If we’re being honest, the fear of unlocking your phone should be less intense now than it was, maybe even five years ago. The problem with making these changes to your device is that you could experience data loss in the process. That’s still a possibility today, but you have the advantage that you can keep your data stored in the cloud.
All that you have to do is make sure that you have all of your files, or at least the important ones, up in the cloud before you unlock the phone. It’s important to point out that you won’t necessarily lose data in the process. However, it’s still a good idea to back up those files. The process can be a bit unpredictable in that regard. It really helps to have an unlocked phone if you’re into traveling internationally. This may be a process that you’re going to have to go through sooner or later.
So, Is Maya Mobile Better than Airalo?
Maya Mobile did a good job in tapping into some of the blind spots that Airalo has. That’s evident in their unlimited eSIM plans. People who have unlimited plans on their local cell phone coverage are less accustomed to worrying about how many GBs they are actually using up. Where we see Maya Mobile really crushing it is with the younger demographic.
Let’s say that you’re taking your kids on an international trip. Sure, there can be a lot of things for them to see, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to break their habit of staring at their phones completely for the time that they’re abroad. Getting limited coverage can result in you having to pay a lot more in just a few days because your kids are going to use up the GB.
Maya Mobile may be quite a bit more expensive on the surface than Airalo, but you know that if you pay for an unlimited plan that covers the entire length of your stay, that’s all you’re going to pay for cell phone coverage. That’s just not going to be the case with Airalo or some of the other options that are available.
Why Things Can Change Quickly
We wouldn’t be surprised if Airalo dropped the prices of their unlimited plans if options like Maya Mobile start taking up some of their market share. As we mentioned, the Airalo app is still a cool asset that the brand offers. Is that enough to pull people away from the chance of getting unlimited coverage? We’ll have to see about that.
What we have seen is a massive uptick in the number of international eSIM carriers that are popping up left and right. We’re going to try and do our best to get through all of them in the coming months. That way, all of you who come to Using My Phone Abroad are going to be able to find first-hand information on all of these options.
It’s hard to declare an outright winner in this particular battle. The unlimited plans that Maya Mobile offers may very well allow them to take some of the market share from older international wireless service providers like Airalo or SIM Options.