Our top pick, reviewed properly
Airalo in Costa Rica
Airalo sells Costa Rica under the name Hot Telecom, and it is the one brand here that will tell you which local network you are actually buying.
The Airalo Costa Rica plans USD, checked September 2026
Airalo brands its Costa Rica eSIM Hot Telecom. The Hot Telecom+ line is the same data with a Costa Rican phone number attached, for one to four dollars more.
| Plan | Price | Per GB | With +506 number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1GB / 3 days | $7.50 | $7.50 | $8.50 |
| 3GB / 7 days | $19.00 | $6.33 | $20.50 |
| 5GB / 30 days | $26.50 | $5.30 | $28.50 |
| 10GB / 30 days | $34.00 | $3.40 | $36.50 |
| 20GB / 30 days | $40.50 | $2.03 | $44.00 |
| Unlimited / 7 days | $36.50 | — | 3GB per day at full speed, then throttled until midnight. Data-only. |
| Unlimited / 15 days | $49.00 | — | |
| Unlimited / 30 days | $89.00 | — |
The shape of this ladder matters more than any single number. Below 10GB, Airalo is expensive: $19 for 3GB over a single week is poor value against Yesim's $9.04 for 3GB over thirty days. From 10GB up it is competitive, and at 20GB it is $7.49 cheaper than Saily. Buy Airalo at the top of the range, not the bottom.
Airalo against the other four where each one wins
| Airalo | Yesim | Saily | GigSky | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10GB / 30 days | $34.00 | $24.35 | $36.99 | $39.99 |
| 20GB / 30 days | $40.50 | $36.52 | $47.99 | none |
| Names its network | yes, Claro + Liberty | Claro + Liberty | no | Claro + Liberty |
| Unlimited cap | 3GB/day, published | none published | no unlimited | 3.5GB/day plans |
| Trustpilot | 4.1 · 41,238 | suspended | 4.7 · 30,290 | 4.3 · 6,084 |
| +506 phone number | yes, Hot Telecom+ | no | no | no |
| Free trial | no | no | no | 100MB / 7 days |
Read it column by column and Airalo wins nothing on price and everything on disclosure. Yesim is cheaper at every size and cannot show you a Trustpilot score. Saily has the best review record and will not say whose towers you are renting. GigSky lets you test free and then charges $39.99 for the 10GB Airalo sells at $34.00. Airalo is the compromise with the fewest unknowns, which on a country like Costa Rica is worth paying for.
What Airalo actually reaches in Costa Rica place by place
| Where | What to expect on Airalo |
|---|---|
| San José, Alajuela, Heredia | 5G on Claro or Liberty in parts of the Central Valley, solid 4G everywhere else. No complaints here on any brand. |
| Liberia, Tamarindo, the Guanacaste strip | Liberty is genuinely strong here, which is the one region where the travel-eSIM network pair is the best pair. |
| La Fortuna, Monteverde town, Manuel Antonio | Reliable in town. The signal fades on the access roads and dies inside the reserves, on every network including Kölbi. |
| Nosara, Santa Teresa, Sámara | Fine in the village, unreliable on the dirt roads between villages. Remote workers report carrying a second SIM. |
| Uvita south, the Osa, Sarapiquí, Tortuguero | The Airalo limit, and every travel eSIM's limit. These areas lean on Kölbi, which Airalo does not roam on. Expect one bar or none. |
Airalo lists both Claro and Liberty for Costa Rica, and which one your line lands on depends on the package and the handset. That is still one more fact than three of its four rivals will give you. What it does not change is the underlying map: no travel eSIM covers the Kölbi-only pockets, and the Kölbi page explains what to do about that.
Hot Telecom+ and the +506 number the feature nobody else has
Almost every travel eSIM sold for Costa Rica is data-only. Airalo's Hot Telecom+ packages are the exception in this lineup: they include a Costa Rican number on the +506 dialing code, with inbound and outbound calls and SMS.
Most travelers do not need it. Costa Rica runs on WhatsApp, and your tour operator, your lodge and your driver will all message you there. Where the +506 number earns its two to four dollars is narrower and real: booking systems that send an SMS code to a local number, a rental car company that wants to reach you, or a long stay where you need to be callable by a Costa Rican business that will not use WhatsApp.
The premium is small. 10GB with a number is $36.50 against $34.00 without, so the number costs $2.50. If there is any chance you will need it, buy the plus version and forget about it. The phone number page compares all three ways to get a local number.
Buying and activating Airalo the four-minute version
- Buy on the Airalo website at home on wifi. Our links go to the web checkout on purpose; the app tracking does not credit this site, and the price is identical either way.
- Install the profile before you fly. The plan does not start counting until it first connects to a Costa Rican network, so buying a week early costs you nothing.
- On landing at SJO or LIR: switch the Airalo line on for data, leave your home line on for calls with its data roaming off.
- If nothing connects within five minutes, go to network selection, set it to manual and pick Claro, then Liberty if Claro fails. Full setup and symptom fixes.
Buy it or skip it the honest split
Buy Airalo if
You want to know which network you are buying before you pay, which on a country with Costa Rica's coverage gaps is the single most useful fact available.
You need 10GB or more: this is where Airalo's ladder becomes competitive and where 20GB at $40.50 beats Saily by $7.49.
You want unlimited with a number on it: 3GB a day, printed, at $36.50 for a week.
You might need a +506 phone number: nobody else in this lineup offers one.
Skip Airalo if
You need 3GB or less: $19.00 for 3GB over seven days is bad value against Yesim's $9.04 over thirty.
Price is the only thing that matters: Yesim is cheaper at every size, caveats included.
You want to test before paying: only GigSky gives you 100MB free.
Your route is Osa, Sarapiquí or Tortuguero: no travel eSIM fixes that, only a Kölbi chip does.
Questions on Airalo in Costa Rica
Which network does Airalo use in Costa Rica?
Airalo publishes Claro and Liberty as its Costa Rica partners. Which one your line attaches to depends on the package and your handset, and you can switch manually in network settings. It does not roam on Kölbi, and neither does any other travel eSIM sold for Costa Rica.
What is Hot Telecom?
It is simply the name Airalo gives its Costa Rica eSIM, the way it names every local eSIM after something local. Hot Telecom is the data-only line, Hot Telecom+ is the same data with a +506 phone number attached.
Is Airalo unlimited really unlimited in Costa Rica?
No, and Airalo says so. You get 3GB per day at full speed, then the speed drops until midnight. That is the highest published cap among the unlimited plans sold for Costa Rica, and the only one written down at all. The unlimited comparison works out the price per usable gigabyte.
When does the Airalo plan start counting?
On first connection to a Costa Rican network, not at purchase. Install at home on wifi, land, switch the line on, and the clock starts then.
Can I hotspot on Airalo in Costa Rica?
Yes, on the fixed-data plans, and it draws from the same allowance. On the unlimited plans, tethering counts toward the 3GB daily full-speed cap.
Airalo or a Kölbi SIM?
Different problems. Airalo gets you connected before you land, on Claro and Liberty, with no shop visit. A Kölbi chip gets you the network that reaches the rural south and the northern lowlands, at the cost of finding a shop with your passport. On a Pacific-south road trip the honest answer is both, for about $58 total. The Kölbi guide has the full comparison.
Airalo Costa Rica · 10GB · $34.00
Claro and Liberty, published on the product page. 30 days. A +506 number for $2.50 more if you want one.
See Airalo's Costa Rica plansSources & freshness: Prices via esimdb.com and airalo.com, September 2, 2026, in USD before promo codes. Network partners from Airalo's own Costa Rica product page. Trustpilot score checked August 31, 2026. Compare all five: best eSIM for Costa Rica.