When packing for a trip abroad, you’re sure to double-check your passport, power bank and headphones, but sorting out your international data in advance is just as essential. Forget it, and your carrier roaming fees can add up to over $100 for a single trip – and it could be more if you use maps, Uber, streaming, or a lot of social media.
That’s where Saily comes in. Saily is a prepaid travel eSIM created by Nord Security, and it’s a smarter alternative to roaming. Available in 200+ destinations through a single app, Saily lets you buy local, regional, and global mobile data plans before you board your flight.
Instead of paying your US carrier a daily roaming fee, you buy a fixed-price data plan before you fly, while your physical SIM stays active for calls and texts. On a typical 10-day trip, that swap cuts the cost of mobile data by 82%.
TL;DR
- Verizon TravelPass and AT&T International Day Pass cost $12 per line, per day (as of October 2026), so a 10-day trip adds $120 to your bill
- A Saily 10GB plan for Italy costs $20.99, which is 82% less than either day pass
- There’s no bill shock as Saily plans are prepaid and contract-free, meaning there’s no surprise charges when you get home after your trip.
- Dual SIM keeps your usual number active for calls, texts and two-factor authentication codes while Saily handles all your data
US carriers vs. Saily
For most US travelers, carrier roaming costs around $12 per day, per line. Verizon TravelPass charges $12 a day plus taxes and fees, and AT&T International Day Pass charges $12 a day, with additional lines at $6. The T-Mobile International Pass costs $50 for 15GB over 10 days.
Here is how a 10-day trip to Italy compares, using prices published on October 2, 2026.
Option |
Price |
Cost of a 10-day trip |
Saily 10GB plan saves |
$12 per day |
$120 |
82% |
|
$12 per day |
$120 |
82% |
|
$50 for 10 days |
$50 |
58% |
|
$20.99 for 30 days |
$20.99 |
Baseline |
Is an 80% saving on roaming realistic?
Yes, on trips lasting a week or longer. A Travelers Today analysis from August 2026 found that on trips of seven days or more, a travel eSIM saves close to or more than 80% compared with a US carrier day pass. Families save even more, with two AT&T lines costing $180 for 10 days, against $41.98 for two Saily 10GB plans. The gap is smaller with T-Mobile and on one- or two-day trips.
How Saily's prepaid plans avoid hidden roaming surcharges
Saily removes surprise charges by charging the full price up front. You buy a plan in the Saily app, pay once, and the plan simply ends when the data or validity runs out.
Which carrier roaming charges does prepaid data avoid?
Prepaid data avoids fees that switch on automatically abroad. On Verizon and AT&T, any usage abroad, even a background data refresh, can trigger a full $12 day, billed per line.
T-Mobile's terms round roaming usage up to the nearest MB each session and charge $0.50 a minute for calls. With Saily, the money is spent before you land, and the app alerts you at 80% usage, so you can buy more data if you want to.
Do I need a contract or a subscription to use Saily?
No contracts or subscriptions are required to use Saily. Standard Saily plans are one-off purchases, starting from $3.99 for 1GB to $43.99 for 15 days of unlimited data (prices depend on the country). Each plan activates automatically when you arrive, within a 180-day window, and you install the Saily eSIM only once for every future trip.
Keep your phone number while Saily handles your data
With Saily, your physical SIM remains active on your primary phone number for incoming calls and texts, while Saily manages your international cellular data. You can also add a dedicated (+1) US phone line directly inside the Saily app if you need an extra phone line for travel.
As long as your smartphone supports Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS), as most recent iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and Google Pixel models do, your primary home number stays live seamlessly.
How do I set up Saily for data and my SIM for calls and texts?
- Install the Saily eSIM at home over Wi-Fi and buy a plan for your destination.
- On arrival, set Saily as your cellular data line (on iPhone: Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data).
- Turn on Data Roaming for the Saily line.
- Turn off Data Roaming on your primary line. Apple's Dual SIM guide confirms only one line uses cellular data at a time, so your carrier never carries your data.
- Leave your primary line active to receive calls, texts, and bank passcodes.
Will using my home number abroad still cost money?
Making calls or sending texts on your home line can start a $12 day pass on Verizon and AT&T, and T-Mobile charges $0.50 a minute for calls. The cheapest habit is calling over FaceTime or WhatsApp on your Saily data, while your primary number is just used for receiving calls and texts. Even if all your communication is done online over messaging apps, it's still useful to have your primary number on so you can receive security codes when logging into services.
Built-in security and data savings
Saily includes three built-in digital security tools, Ad Blocker, Web Protection, and Virtual Locations, backed by Nord Security. So, Saily isn’t just great value, it also includes built-in digital protections at no extra charge.
In independent testing conducted by West Coast Labs in March 2025 across 22 websites and five eSIM providers, browsing with Saily’s ad blocker on used 28.6% less mobile data on average by stripping out resource-heavy ads, pop-ups, and tracking scripts before they load. On a 5GB plan, that would mean around 1.43 GB saved.
Every Saily plan also includes Web Protection, which automatically blocks malicious links and redirects you away from phishing attempts. And you get Virtual Location control too, enabling you to choose from 115+ virtual locations to protect your digital footprint while travelling.
Saily plans for every trip
- Week-long city breaks: Saily is great for a week in Rome because a 3GB plan at $8.99 costs less than one Verizon TravelPass day.
- Multi-country trips: The Saily Europe plan is great for an interrail route because one plan covers 35 countries.
- Families: Saily is great for families because each traveler pays a fixed price instead of a per-line daily charge, and Saily shared plans let travelers split one data package.
- Remote and business travelers: Saily is great for working on the move because Saily plans have no hotspot restrictions.
Vykintas Maknickas, CEO of Saily, said in a May 2026 announcement: "Managing connectivity for traveling employees has long been a source of friction and unexpected costs for businesses." Saily makes the experience a lot simpler and cheaper, so you can use data without worrying about surcharges.
Is Saily worth it compared to carrier roaming?
Yes, Saily is worth it compared to international carrier roaming, especially on trips lasting seven days or longer.
Carrier roaming charges you for the day, not the data. Saily flips that model: you see the price before you fly, pay once, and keep your home number live for calls and texts. On a 10-day trip, that can mean about $100 back in your pocket.
Head over to saily.com or download the Saily app to find the right data plan for your next destination.
