Resources

Short, practical guides for choosing and switching to travel eSIM tools, plus links to good documentation elsewhere.

How to read the stats on each tool page

Stars: how many people have bookmarked the project on GitHub or GitLab. It is a rough signal of popularity, not of quality, and projects hosted on SourceForge, Savannah or Bitbucket have no star count at all.
Last commit: when code was last pushed to the project's repository. A recent date means someone is actively working on it. An old date isn't always bad: some mature tools change slowly.
Licence: the terms you get the software under. Copyleft licences (GPL, AGPL, LGPL, MPL) keep the code open when it's shared; permissive licences (MIT, BSD, Apache) allow almost any use. "Free, proprietary" tools cost nothing but you can't see or change the code, and some limit commercial use.
Not open source: shown when a tool has no public source code, so there is nothing to count.

Start from the job: list the handful of things you actually do in the paid tool every week, and test those first.
Check files in and out: make sure the free tool can open your existing files and export what your colleagues, supervisor or supplier needs.
Check where it runs: Windows, macOS, Linux or the browser, and whether your organisation lets you install it.
Look at activity: the last-commit date and recent releases tell you whether bugs get fixed.
Read the licence: especially for business use: some free proprietary plans are for non-commercial use only.
Trial it on real work: run one real but low-stakes project in both tools and compare the results before switching fully.
Find the help: official documentation, forums and community chat matter more than a feature list when you get stuck.

Is your phone unlocked and eSIM-capable?: Check your phone’s settings or your network. A locked phone may not accept another provider’s eSIM.
Data only or calls too?: Most travel eSIMs are data-only. Keep your home SIM active for calls and texts if you need them, and check roaming charges with your network.
Hotspot limits: Some unlimited plans cap hotspot sharing. Check the plan page if you will tether a laptop.
Install before you fly: Most providers let you install the eSIM at home over Wi-Fi and switch it on when you land.

Your phone’s own usage: Enter your usual monthly mobile data from your phone’s settings. We divide by 30 and multiply by your trip days.
Streaming, music and calls: We add hours of video, music and calls using Netflix, Spotify and Zoom’s published figures.
Safety margin: You choose a margin on top. Then we show the cheapest listed plan from each provider that covers your days and GB.

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