Our methodology
How BesteSIMs compares eSIM plans
Our goal is to turn provider listings into a consistent comparison without hiding how prices, rankings or outbound links work.
Methodology reviewed August 1, 2026.
01
Where plan data comes from
BesteSIMs compares listings published by multiple eSIM providers. Yoho Mobile data comes from its provider API, GigSky from its official product feed, and Airalo, Holafly, Nomad and Ubigi from each provider’s public product pages or catalog.
The Yoho Mobile catalog is processed in twelve shards, one every five minutes, completing a catalog cycle each hour. Providers collected from public pages or catalogs are refreshed daily. A failed provider update is recorded and does not silently replace the last successful catalog with an empty result.
02
Making different listings comparable
Provider fields are validated and converted into one canonical plan model. We preserve the original price and currency, convert prices to USD using the exchange rate fetched during synchronization, and calculate price per GB and price per day where those metrics are meaningful.
Unknown features remain unknown. We do not turn missing information into claims such as “no hotspot,” “no 5G” or “no top-up.” Network, phone number, SMS, tethering and top-up facts are shown only when the source supplies them.
When an official feed explicitly supplies a promotion code and discount percentage, we show that evidence separately. We do not use an unverified discounted total for ranking or structured-data pricing; comparisons continue to use the provider’s base listed price. Confirm code eligibility and the final charge at checkout.
03
How sorting and badges work
Recommended
Plans are ordered by price per GB within each provider, then providers are alternated so discovery is not dominated by one catalog.
Best value
Limited-data plans are ordered by USD price per GB, then total price and validity.
Lowest total
Plans are ordered by the amount paid upfront, regardless of package size.
Price per day
Total USD price is divided by validity days so short and long packages can be compared.
Unlimited
Only unlimited plans are included and ranked by price per day.
Cheapest is assigned only when at least two providers have plans in the same data and validity bucket. Best value marks the lowest price per GB among limited plans with at least 3 GB. Best unlimited marks the unlimited plan with the lowest daily price. Near-equal prices within one cent are treated as ties.
Affiliate commission and provider compensation are not inputs to these calculations. BesteSIMs does not currently implement paid ranking or sponsored placement.
04
Freshness and accuracy
Automated checks reject invalid currencies, non-positive prices, missing coverage and contradictory unlimited-plan fields. Raw provider responses are retained for investigation, and price history records changes to the provider’s original quote rather than exchange-rate movement alone.
Provider catalogs can still change between refreshes, and taxes, promotions, availability or checkout conditions may differ by location. Always confirm the final price and plan terms on the provider’s website before purchasing.
05
Affiliate links and click measurement
Some outbound links are affiliate links. BesteSIMs may earn a commission when a qualifying purchase is made, without adding a fee to the displayed provider price. Each outbound click receives a unique attribution ID so we can measure which comparisons are useful.
Click records include the selected plan, provider, destination context, referring page, a hashed browser user-agent and the visitor country supplied by Cloudflare. Raw IP addresses are not stored in the click table.