An honest review of Nomad eSIM (September 2023)

When you decide to purchase an eSIM, you are faced with a choice between multiple options.

While, generally, this is a good thing (after all – more options mean you can find a plan that fits your needs perfectly), it can be overwhelming too.

Some offer a great amount of data; others are praised for their good reputation or excellent connection. So, how can you pick the best plan?

I've decided to take an up-close look at the most popular eSIM providers.

This time, our focus is on Nomad (https://getnomad.app), which is described as a digital eSIM marketplace.

How easy is it to purchase and set up Nomad's eSIMs? What is the overall user experience like? Are their eSIM worth the price? You'll find answers to these and more questions below.

Nomad eSIM : purchase experience & price

Since I'm based in Riga, I've decided to test Nomad's plan specifically for Latvia after comparing multiple options on esims.io's Latvia page.

I decided to buy their package "Local Latvia - 7 days - 1GB", which costs $7 USD.

Data

1 GB

Validity7 day(s)

🇱🇻 Latvia

Data only

Network(s) : Tele2 (4G, LTE), Bite (4G, LTE), LMT Gsm (4G, LTE)

Special Offer: $1 OFF

Nomad - Local Latvia - 7 Days - 1 GB

$5.00

$6.00

$5.00/GB

Learn more ›

The package includes 1GB of data that should be used in 7 days (however, you have 30 days to activate the eSIM after you purchase).

Unfortunately, their plan isn't the cheapest. For Latvia, there are several other eSIM providers that offer the same amount or even more data for a lower price, but since I purchase a 1GB package, I did not get the best price / GB that Nomad offers for Latvia.

When ranked by cost per gigabyte, Nomad's offering is second only to Yesim for plans up to 40GB.

For reference & comparison purposes, here is an overview of the local plans (Latvia Only) offered by Nomad in Latvia :

Nomad discounts : for some mid-priced plans

On some plans (not the least expensive onces), using the voucher code 'ESIMSIO' will grant you a $1 discount.

The setup experience

Once I bought the plan, I received instructions in my email detailing how to set up Nomad's eSIM.

For iPhone users – it's easy. You just have to scan the QR code contained in Nomad's delivery email, or copy and paste the eSIM detailed provided by Nomad.

The approach is very similar for Android users (you can follow this guide).

The setup process was super straightforward and didn't take more than a few minutes.

However, I couldn't get the eSIM to start working. Although I had followed all the steps, I had no access to the internet. So, I reached out to customer support and asked them to fix the issue. In the end, their team member activated my eSIM manually.

All good in the end as Nomad's support was really responsive, but I wish things worked directly.

Using the eSIM – impression & speed tests

The eSIM plan by Nomad works on the BITE LV network in Latvia. Surprisingly, when I turned it on, it only offered a 3G connection (although typically, BITE has a good LTE connection). After using it for around ten minutes, the connection switched to LTE.

Generally, I have no complaints about using Nomad's eSIM. I was using Safari, reading news, watching TikToks, and Youtube, and scrolling through Instagram – all without hiccups. 

According to the speed test, my download speed was 23.83 Mbps, which is considered average for LTE.

Keep in mind I was using the eSIM only in Riga (Latvia's capital), which has excellent network coverage. When you move outside the city, it may be a different case, especially in North-East of Latvia.

In the east of the country, BITE has very little coverage.

That's why I'd rather choose an eSIM that operates on LMT or TELE2 networks. Of course, if you are just staying in Riga, this doesn't affect you.

Nomad's customer support review

Since I had trouble activating my eSIM, I reached out to Nomad's customer support.

Unfortunately, it's only possible to contact them through email. The upside – I received a response quickly – within just a few minutes.

That's definitely a bonus – sometimes you must wait days before someone responds, which is obviously frustrating when your goal is to use your product instantly.

Conclusion : my opinion about Nomad eSIM

At first, I felt a bit torn about my experience with Nomad.

On the one hand – the purchase process was easy, and, once activated, the eSIM worked seamlessly, but only after the customer support team did a manual action to set it up.

I heard that the provider has improved a lot recently, and my colleagues at esims.io did reviews of Nomad in Japan and in Thailand where everything appeared to be spotless from setup to network & speed tests.

If you with to discover more about Nomad's plans, you can do so on their website or on esims.io

Local Taiwan - 30 Days - 30 GB

Nomad

$19.00

Local Taiwan - 30 Days - 20 GB

Nomad

$14.00

Local Taiwan - 30 Days - 10 GB

Nomad

$8.00

Local Singapore - 30 Days - 20 GB

Nomad

$16.00

France 20 GB

Nomad

$17.00

Browse more prepaid eSIM plans for this provider

Browse more prepaid eSIM plans for this provider