How Do eSIM Refund Policies Compare? Airalo, Holafly, Saily, co:sim

Airalo, Holafly and Saily each publish a different refund window and a different rule for what counts as "used," and none of the three match co:sim's own policy exactly. Airalo's right of withdrawal is 14 days and ends the moment the eSIM is activated; Holafly allows up to 6 months with a $3.50 fee on an activated plan; Saily allows 30 days, full refund if unused; co:sim's own window is 30 days from purchase, capped by the plan's install deadline, and applies only while the eSIM is still uninstalled. This guide compares each provider's own published terms, verified directly against their current pages, so you know what to actually expect before you need a refund, not after.

#How do Airalo, Holafly and Saily's refund policies actually differ?

Read each provider's own current terms before relying on this table for a real request: refund policies are the kind of page that changes without much notice, and the exact wording is what a support team will actually apply.

#Where does co:sim's own refund policy fit in?

co:sim's refund eligibility is install-based, not usage-based: an eSIM is refundable within 30 days of purchase, but that window is capped by the plan's own install deadline if that deadline falls sooner, and it applies only while the eSIM has not yet been installed. Once installed, a co:sim eSIM is no longer eligible for this self-service refund route. Plans that bill immediately at purchase, rather than from first connection, are excluded from refunds entirely, and free items are non-refundable (cosim.io/en/policies/refund).

That makes co:sim closer to Airalo's model than Holafly's or Saily's in one specific way: all four require the eSIM to still be unused in some form, but co:sim and Airalo both gate on installation/activation rather than on how much data is left, while Holafly and Saily's policies each have a path to a partial refund on an already-activated plan under specific conditions. None of the four promises a refund on a plan that's simply been used up or expired.

#What should you actually expect if you request a refund?

Across all four providers, the same two behaviors show up repeatedly: the window closes faster than travelers expect, and "activated" or "installed" is treated as the line that matters far more than how much data is actually left. Practically, that means the safest way to keep a refund option open on any of these providers is the same regardless of brand: don't install the eSIM until you're actually about to need it, and don't assume a generous-sounding window (Holafly's 6 months, or co:sim's 30 days) survives contact with the plan's own install deadline or your own decision to activate early.

If a trip gets cancelled or changes, checking the specific provider's own current refund page immediately, rather than relying on a review site's summary of last year's terms, is the only way to know which of these conditions actually applies to your specific purchase. That's true even for a plan bought for a single, well-documented destination like a Japan eSIM: the general policy above still comes down to that specific plan's own install deadline and activation status, not the country it covers.

#FAQ

#Which provider has the longest refund window?

On paper, Holafly's 6-month window is the longest of the four compared here, well ahead of Saily's and co:sim's 30 days and far beyond Airalo's 14 days (esim.holafly.com/refund-policy). But a long window only matters if the underlying condition is still met: Holafly's full refund still requires the eSIM to be unactivated, and an activated Holafly plan is reviewed case by case with a possible $3.50 fee rather than an automatic refund. co:sim's window is shorter at 30 days and is capped further by that specific plan's own install deadline, which for a short-validity plan can be well under 30 days. In practice, the provider whose window looks longest on a comparison table isn't necessarily the one that actually pays out fastest or most predictably for a specific situation.

#Does installing an eSIM always kill the refund, on any provider?

Mostly, but not identically across all four. Airalo's right of withdrawal ends the moment the eSIM is activated, with no partial-refund path back in through that specific route once that happens (airalo.com/legal/terms-of-use). co:sim's self-service refund is also install-based: once the eSIM is installed, it's no longer eligible through that route either, regardless of how little data has actually been used (cosim.io/en/policies/refund). Holafly and Saily are less absolute about it: both describe a case-by-case partial refund on an already-activated plan if data use was minimal or there was a verified service problem on their side. So installation functions as close to a hard line on Airalo and co:sim, and as a softer one, still subject to individual review, on Holafly and Saily.

#What if I never used the eSIM at all?

This is the case every one of these four policies is actually built to protect. If the eSIM was never installed or activated, Airalo, Holafly, Saily and co:sim all describe a path to a refund, provided the request lands inside each one's own window: 14 days for Airalo, 6 months for Holafly, 30 days for Saily, and 30 days, or sooner if the specific plan's install deadline is shorter, for co:sim. The practical risk isn't the policy itself, it's timing: a plan bought weeks before a trip and then forgotten about can drift past its provider's window before anyone requests anything.

Every provider in this comparison protects an unused eSIM more reliably than a used one, but the exact line, days, activation, or data remaining, is different enough on each that assuming one company's terms apply to another is a real way to lose a refund you were otherwise entitled to. Check the specific policy for the specific provider you bought from, and do it before the window closes rather than after.