How we test and get paid

What we actually check. The Costa Rica plans of the five providers we can monetize, plus the names we cannot: Holafly, Sim Local, HelloRoam, Ubigi and the kölbi SIM Turista. For each one we open the brand's own Costa Rica page and record the price in USD, the Costa Rican network exactly as the brand names it, the fair-use wording, hotspot rules and validity. Trustpilot scores and review counts come from trustpilot.com on the same day. When a page will not load for us, or shows a price only in another currency, we say the figure is from an earlier check rather than re-dating it. Prices are refreshed monthly.

The one test that runs this site. Our default pick is Airalo, which pays us the lowest commission of the five providers we link. GigSky pays the most and is recommended only for short trips and free trials. Yesim pays more than Airalo and is the cheapest at every size, which we say on every page. If the ranking followed the money it would look completely different, and you can check that claim against the commission order rather than taking our word.

What we do not claim. We have not published our own speed tests yet: no Mbps or ping figures on this site come from us, and none will appear until we have run them with a place and a date attached. We have not driven every road on the coverage table either, and we say "traveler reports" where that is the source. Our coverage claims rest on three things we can name: Opensignal's Costa Rica Mobile Network Experience report from April 2026, SUTEL's 2025 road-based speed evaluation, and the operators' own published coverage maps. Where a brand publishes no fair-use cap, we write "not published" rather than inventing a number. Where a purchase flow is reported broken, such as buying a Kölbi eSIM from abroad, we say travelers report it rather than claiming we tried.

How the ranking is built, in order. First, does the provider name which Costa Rican network it uses, because on this country that is the fact with the most consequences. Second, does it publish its fair-use cap. Third, price per gigabyte within those constraints. Fourth, the review record. That order is why Airalo sits above cheaper Yesim and above better-reviewed Saily, and it is written down here so you can disagree with it specifically rather than vaguely.

How the money works. Links to Airalo, Saily, GigSky, Yesim and Drimsim earn a commission through the Travelpayouts network when you buy. Your price is identical either way. Holafly is not in that program, so we review it, list it in every table, and link nothing. Sim Local, HelloRoam and Ubigi are not in that program either, so they appear unlinked. Kölbi pays us nothing and never will, and it has an entire page telling a share of our readers to buy it instead of the products we are paid for.

Who writes this. One independent researcher. Not a mobile operator, not owned by or affiliated with any eSIM brand or Costa Rican carrier, and selling nothing directly.

Corrections. A stale price, a wrong network claim, or a coverage experience that contradicts ours: email hello@bestesimforcostarica.com. Verified corrections ship in the next update and we say what changed.