Do You Really Need Unlimited Data in Bali? (We Did the Math)
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The 30-Second Answer
Almost nobody needs unlimited data in Bali.
Here is the part most people miss. Unlimited plans are not unlimited. Every single one slows you down after you use 2 to 5GB in a day. Airalo slows you at 3GB. Nomad slows you at 2GB.
So the person who really does use a lot of data is the exact person unlimited fails.
The math for a 14-day trip: the average unlimited plan costs USD $43.74 and gives you about 42GB at full speed. Our 45GB plan costs USD $26 and lasts 30 days.
More data. Less money. Twice the validity.
The Rule of Thumb
Under 5 days — buy a small roaming eSIM. 3GB or 5GB is plenty.
5 to 7 days — your call. Buy local if you will use Gojek or Grab.
Over one week — buy local. You will need more than 5GB, and that is where local plans get cheaper.
💵 Every price on this page is in US dollars (USD). Not Australian, Singapore, Canadian, or New Zealand dollars. When you check out on our site, you will see your own currency automatically.
Written by the Balitel team in Kuta, Bali. We are an authorized Telkomsel retailer and we set up eSIMs for travelers every day. All prices and fair-use rules checked 22 August 2026 from each company's own policy page.
"Unlimited" Does Not Mean Unlimited
Every unlimited travel eSIM has a rule called a fair use policy.
It works like this. You get fast internet up to a daily limit. After that, they slow you down for the rest of the day. The next day you start fresh.
They do not hide this. But they do not put it on the buy button either. You have to go looking.
We went looking. Here is what we found.
| Provider | Fast data per day | Then you drop to |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad | 2 GB | about 512 kbps |
| Airalo | 3 GB | 1 Mbps |
| Maya | 3 GB, then again on heavy use | 10 Mbps, then 1 Mbps |
| Holafly | about 2 to 5 GB | 256 kbps to 1 Mbps |
| Saily | 5 GB | 1 Mbps |
| Sim Local | 10 GB | slowed |
| Ubigi | no daily limit | 2 Mbps after 60GB total |
Sources: each company's own fair use page. Airalo and Maya publish exact numbers. Holafly does not tell you the number before you buy, and it changes by country.
What does 1 Mbps actually feel like?
Airalo says it plainly on their own website. At 1 Mbps you can still send messages, open simple web pages, and use maps. Video streaming, games, and big downloads will be slow.
So it is not a disaster. But you paid for unlimited and now you cannot watch a video.
Maya is a special case, and it confuses people
Maya slows you down in two steps, and this is worth understanding.
Their own policy says you drop to 10 Mbps after 3GB in a day. Then to 1 Mbps if heavy use continues.
Here is the thing. 10 Mbps is still fast. You can stream HD video at 10 Mbps. So most travelers never notice the first step at all.
What they notice is the second one. That is why you will see travelers online saying Maya's limit is around 5GB, not 3GB. Both are true. 3GB is where the throttle starts. Around 5GB is where you start to feel it.
We think this is a fairer way to run an unlimited plan than dropping someone straight to 1 Mbps. But it does mean the number on the policy page is not the number you will experience.
Credit where it is due. Ubigi does not use a daily limit at all. You get a large pot of full-speed data for the whole plan and only slow down once it is gone. That is the most honest version of unlimited we found.
One catch, though. Ubigi runs on Indosat, not Telkomsel. Indosat covers about 90% of Indonesia against Telkomsel's 97%, and that gap is almost all rural and eastern. Fine for Seminyak and Canggu. Thin for Nusa Penida, Amed, and the Gilis. 👉 We checked which network every Bali eSIM really uses.
How Much Data Do You Actually Use in Bali?
This is the question nobody asks. So let us answer it.
Here is roughly what things cost in data:
| What you are doing | Data used |
|---|---|
| Google Maps, one hour of driving | about 5 MB |
| WhatsApp messages, all day | under 20 MB |
| WhatsApp voice call, one hour | about 30 MB |
| Instagram, 30 minutes of scrolling | about 150 MB |
| TikTok, one hour | about 840 MB |
| YouTube in HD, one hour | about 1.5 GB |
| Netflix in HD, one hour | about 3 GB |
Look at the top of that table. Maps and WhatsApp are almost free. They are also the two things you will use most in Bali.
The data goes to video. That is it. Video is the whole story.
So what does a real day look like?
A light day — maps to the beach, WhatsApp with your villa host, a bit of scrolling. About 0.5 GB.
A normal day — all of that, plus photos to family, some Instagram, a bit of video. About 1.5 GB.
A heavy day — video calls home, streaming at the villa, working from a cafe. About 3 GB.
Notice something? A heavy day is 3GB. That is exactly where Airalo and Maya start slowing you down.
The Math for a Two-Week Trip
Say you are in Bali for 14 days. Here is what you need, and what it costs.
| Type of traveler | Data you need | Balitel plan (USD) | Average unlimited plan (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light user | 7 GB | $13 (10GB) | $43.74 |
| Normal user | 21 GB | $17 (21GB) | $43.74 |
| Heavy user | 42 GB | $26 (45GB) | $43.74 |
That USD $43.74 is the real average of 13 unlimited plans we priced on 22 August 2026. The cheapest was Maya at $27.99. The most expensive was Quibity at $52.80.
Now look at the heavy user row again. This is the important one.
A heavy user on an unlimited plan gets 3GB a day. Over 14 days that is 42GB at full speed.
Our 45GB plan gives you more data, for USD $17.74 less, and it lasts 30 days instead of 14. You also get a real Indonesian phone number, which no unlimited plan includes.
And the daily limit is a cage
Here is the part that annoys people most.
With unlimited, your data does not carry over. Use 0.5GB on Monday and you do not get 5.5GB on Tuesday. You get 3GB again. The unused part is gone.
With a normal plan, it is all yours. Use nothing for three days, then download a whole season of something on day four. Nobody stops you.
The Bigger Your Plan, the Bigger Our Advantage
We want to be straight with you here, because you will see this claim made badly elsewhere.
Big roaming eSIM brands do give you a discount for buying more. Airalo drops from USD $2.10 per GB at 10GB to $0.98 per GB at 50GB. That is a real discount.
But we start lower and drop faster. So the gap grows:
| Plan size | Balitel (USD) | Market average (USD) | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 GB | $13 | $20.50 | 37% |
| 20 to 21 GB | $17 | $35.27 | 52% |
| 45 to 50 GB | $26 | $46.32 | 44% |
| 83 GB | $37 | nobody sells this | — |
At 10GB we are cheaper. At 21GB we are half the price. That is the honest picture.
When Unlimited IS the Right Choice
We sell data plans. But we are not going to pretend unlimited never makes sense.
Buy an unlimited plan if:
- You truly cannot guess your usage and the worry would ruin your holiday. Peace of mind is worth paying for.
- You are hopping between countries. One unlimited plan across Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam is simpler than three local ones.
- Your trip is short and you will stream a lot. Maya at USD $27.99 for 14 days is priced well below the rest of the market, and their two-step throttle is the gentlest we found.
- You want zero thinking. Some people will pay USD $20 extra to never look at a data counter. That is a fair trade.
How Long Is Your Trip? That Decides It
Forget brands for a minute. The honest answer comes down to two things: how long you are staying, and whether you need Indonesian apps to work.
Under 5 days — buy a small roaming eSIM
Do not buy from us for a short trip.
A 3GB or 5GB roaming eSIM will be cheaper and it will be enough. Sheila, who runs Balitel, does exactly this herself. When she travels to Malaysia or Thailand for under 5 days, she buys a 3GB or 5GB travel eSIM on Klook rather than a local eSIM in those countries. It is the right tool for a short trip.
Four days in Bali is different from two weeks. You will not bother setting up a Gojek account. You will be out most of the day, not streaming at the villa. And 3GB to 5GB covers your maps and messages easily.
Buy the cheap thing and enjoy your holiday.
5 to 7 days — it depends on Gojek
This is the middle ground, and the answer is not about price. It is about whether you want ride-hailing to work.
Gojek, Grab, Shopee, Tokopedia, and most Indonesian banking apps send a verification code by SMS. They often refuse to send that code to a foreign number.
Roaming eSIMs are data only. No Indonesian number, no SMS, no code, no account.
So ask yourself one question. Will you be getting scooters and cars every day?
If yes, get a local eSIM with a real +62 number. Gojek works, Grab works, QRIS payments work. If you are on a resort with airport transfers included, a roaming eSIM is fine.
Over one week — buy local
Past a week, the numbers stop being close.
A normal traveler uses about 1.5GB a day. Seven days is around 10GB. At that size the market average is USD $20.50 and our price is USD $13.
Go to ten days and you need about 15GB. Now you are comparing a $35.27 market average against our $17.
| Trip length | Data you need | Our price (USD) | Market average (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days | about 7 GB | $13 | $20.50 |
| 7 days | about 10 GB | $13 | $20.50 |
| 10 days | about 15 GB | $17 | $35.27 |
| 14 days | about 21 GB | $17 | $35.27 |
| 30 days | about 45 GB | $26 | $46.32 |
Our plans also run for 30 days. Most unlimited plans run for 14 or 15. If you are a digital nomad or spending a month in Canggu, this is not close.
One Thing Price Never Shows You
Whichever way you go, check what network you are actually buying.
Travel eSIM brands do not own networks in Indonesia. They rent them. Airalo puts you on Indosat and Tri. Ubigi puts you on Indosat. Holafly could be any of three. Nine of the thirteen big brands will not tell you at all.
Telkomsel reaches over 97% of Indonesia. Indosat reaches about 90%. That gap is exactly where you want to go — Nusa Penida, Amed, the Gilis, Flores.
👉 Which network does your Bali eSIM actually use? We checked all 13.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the prices on this page in US dollars?
Yes. Every price we quote is in US dollars (USD), not Australian, Singapore, Canadian, or New Zealand dollars. Our checkout will show you your own currency automatically.
How long does my trip need to be before a local eSIM is worth it?
About one week. Under 5 days, a small 3GB or 5GB roaming eSIM is cheaper and enough. Between 5 and 7 days it depends on whether you need Gojek and Grab to work. Past a week you will need more than 5GB, and local plans are cheaper at that size.
Is unlimited data really unlimited?
No. Every unlimited travel eSIM has a fair use policy. You get fast data up to a daily limit, usually 2 to 5GB, then your speed drops for the rest of the day. Airalo publishes 3GB. Nomad publishes 2GB. Saily publishes 5GB.
What is Maya's real daily limit, 3GB or 5GB?
Both, in a way. Maya's own policy says your speed drops to 10 Mbps after 3GB in a day, then to 1 Mbps if heavy use continues. Because 10 Mbps is still fast enough to stream HD video, most travelers never notice the 3GB step. The slowdown people actually feel arrives later, which is why you will see travelers report the limit as around 5GB.
How much data do I need for two weeks in Bali?
About 21GB for a normal traveler. Maps and WhatsApp use very little. Video is what uses your data. If you stream a lot, budget 3GB a day, so about 42GB for 14 days.
Is unlimited data worth it in Bali?
Usually not. The average unlimited plan costs USD $43.74 and caps you at about 3GB a day. A 45GB local plan costs USD $26, gives you more full-speed data, and lasts 30 days instead of 14.
What happens when I hit the daily limit on an unlimited plan?
Your speed drops, often to 1 Mbps, until the next day. At 1 Mbps you can still message and use maps, but video and downloads become slow. Airalo confirms this on their own fair use page.
Do unlimited eSIMs give me an Indonesian phone number?
No. Unlimited travel eSIMs are data only. You will not get a +62 number and you will not receive SMS. That means Gojek and Grab verification codes will often fail.
Does unused data carry over on an unlimited plan?
No. The daily allowance resets every 24 hours. If you use 0.5GB today you do not get extra tomorrow. On a normal data plan, all of the data is yours to use whenever you like.
What is the cheapest unlimited eSIM for Bali?
Maya at USD $27.99 for 14 days was the cheapest we found in August 2026. It sits well below the market average of USD $43.74, and its two-step throttle is gentler than most.
Our Honest Summary
Unlimited sounds safe. It feels like the responsible choice. But you are paying about USD $18 extra for a ceiling you will never touch, and if you do touch it, they slow you down anyway.
Work out what you actually use. It is probably 1.5GB a day. Buy a plan that covers it and keep the difference.
And if your trip is under 5 days, buy the small roaming eSIM. We would rather tell you the truth than sell you the wrong thing.