If you’ve been researching eSIMs for Australia, there’s a good chance Saily has come up in your search. It’s one of the newer players in the travel eSIM space — built by the same team behind NordVPN — and it’s been making waves for its clean app, transparent pricing, and solid network performance in Australia specifically. I tested it on a three-week trip that included Sydney, Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road and a stretch of Queensland’s coast, and this is my honest verdict.
The short version: Saily is genuinely excellent for Australian travel. It’s not always the cheapest option on the market, but it earns its price with a smooth experience and data that actually works when you need it.
📋 TL;DR — the quick version
- ✅ Very easy to set up — the app walks you through everything in under 5 minutes.
- 📶 Solid network coverage in Australian cities and along major highways.
- 💰 Competitive pricing — plans start from around $3.99 USD for 1GB; larger plans offer better value.
- 🌐 Data-only eSIM — calls and SMS go through your home SIM (which stays active alongside).
- 📱 Works on iPhone XS+ and most flagship Android phones — check compatibility before buying.
- 🔄 Easy top-up — add more data mid-trip without changing your eSIM profile.
- 🔴 Not suitable for the deep outback — no mobile network eSIM covers truly remote Australia.
📱 What is Saily and who makes it?
Saily is a travel eSIM service launched by Nord Security — the company behind NordVPN and NordPass. That background matters: Nord Security is a well-funded, reputable company with a track record of building apps that are actually pleasant to use. Saily benefits from that DNA — the app is clean, the onboarding is smooth, and the customer support is responsive.
Unlike some eSIM providers that feel like reseller operations with cobbled-together interfaces, Saily feels like a proper product. The pricing is transparent, the data usage tracking is accurate, and there are no nasty surprises hiding in the terms.
💰 Saily Australia pricing: what do you actually pay?
Saily’s Australia pricing is tiered by data allowance, with plans available for 7, 15 and 30 days. As of writing, typical pricing looks like this:
- 1GB / 7 days: Around $3.99 USD — good for a short city break where you’ll rely mainly on hotel Wi-Fi.
- 3GB / 30 days: Around $8.99 USD — suitable for a two-week trip with moderate use.
- 5GB / 30 days: Around $13.99 USD — the sweet spot for most travellers; covers maps, messaging, social and occasional streaming.
- 10GB / 30 days: Around $22.99 USD — good for digital nomads or anyone who uses their phone heavily.
- 20GB / 30 days: Around $39.99 USD — for heavy users or those who need to hotspot a laptop.
These prices compare favourably to buying a local prepaid SIM on arrival, particularly when you factor in the convenience of setting up before you fly. The savings over international roaming charges from most home carriers are enormous — international roaming in Australia can cost $10–$30 per day from European or North American carriers.
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⚙️ Setting up Saily: step by step
This is where Saily genuinely shines. The setup process is the most polished I’ve used in any travel eSIM app. Here’s exactly what happens:
Download the Saily app (available on iOS and Android) and create an account — takes about 60 seconds. Select Australia as your destination, choose a plan, and pay. You’ll receive your eSIM QR code immediately within the app. Follow the in-app instructions to install the eSIM profile — the app guides you to the exact settings screen for your specific phone model. Set the eSIM as your data line and keep your physical home SIM for calls and texts. Done.
The whole process takes under 5 minutes. The app also detects when you arrive in Australia and prompts you to activate if you haven’t already — a small touch that removes the worry of forgetting to turn it on.
📶 How is the actual coverage and speed in Australia?
In my testing, Saily performed excellently in Australian cities. In Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, speeds were consistently fast enough for maps, streaming music, video calls and social media without any noticeable lag. I had no dropped connections in the CBD areas of either city.
On the Great Ocean Road — a coastal drive through regional Victoria — coverage was good through the main tourist towns (Lorne, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell) but patchy in between. This is pretty typical for any non-Telstra plan in regional Australia; the road passes through areas where only Telstra has infrastructure.
Along the Queensland coast from Brisbane to Cairns, coverage was solid through the major stops — Noosa, the Whitsundays, Townsville, Cairns — with gaps in the unpopulated stretches between them. If you’re staying on the main tourist trail, you won’t have connectivity problems.
One important note: Saily is a data-only eSIM. It does not support calls or SMS through the Saily number. Your home SIM handles calls and texts, while Saily handles data. This is standard for most travel eSIMs and isn’t a limitation in practice — most communication while travelling happens through WhatsApp, iMessage or other data-based apps anyway.
🔄 Topping up mid-trip
If you run out of data, topping up through the Saily app is quick and painless. You can add more data without changing your eSIM profile — it simply adds to your existing allocation. The app shows your remaining data clearly and sends a notification when you’re running low, which means you won’t suddenly find yourself offline in the middle of navigating an unfamiliar city.
This is a significant advantage over buying a physical SIM card, which often requires visiting a store to top up if you didn’t buy enough credit upfront.
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🆚 Saily vs competitors: how does it stack up?
Saily vs Airalo: Airalo has been around longer and has a slightly larger market presence. Pricing is very similar. Airalo’s interface is good but Saily’s is marginally more polished. Both are solid choices — go with whichever has the better price on your specific data needs when you check.
Saily vs Holafly: Holafly offers “unlimited” data plans which sound appealing. However, Holafly throttles speeds after a certain usage threshold and their plans are generally more expensive. For most travellers, Saily’s fixed-data plans deliver better real-world value.
Saily vs buying a local Australian SIM: A local prepaid SIM (Telstra, Optus or Boost) gives you better value for money on pure data quantities and usually includes calls and SMS. The trade-off is the inconvenience of buying on arrival and the need to swap SIM cards. If you’re staying in Australia for more than 2–3 weeks, a local SIM is likely the better value choice. For shorter trips, Saily’s convenience and competitive pricing make it the smarter option.
⚠️ Who should NOT use Saily for Australia?
Saily is a city and tourist-area eSIM. It’s not the right tool for:
Deep outback travel — if you’re driving the Stuart Highway, the Gibb River Road, or any genuine remote track, no consumer eSIM provides coverage. You need a satellite communicator. See our guide to outback safety for what to carry instead.
Very long trips (4+ weeks) — at this length, buying a local prepaid SIM (particularly Telstra’s prepaid range) gives significantly better data value and includes local calls. The eSIM convenience advantage diminishes on longer trips.
Travellers needing a local Australian number — if you need to receive calls on an Australian number (for Airbnb check-ins, rental car pickup, etc.), Saily won’t provide this. A local SIM does.
🏆 Final verdict: should you use Saily for Australia?
Yes — for most visitors to Australia doing a standard city and tourist-area itinerary, Saily is an excellent choice. The app experience is the best in class, pricing is competitive, and the coverage in cities and along the main tourist trail is solid. The setup takes less than 5 minutes before you fly, and you’ll step off the plane in Australia with working data immediately. For a trip that follows Australia’s best cities and major tourist regions, Saily is hard to beat.
