The one you can test before paying
GigSky in Costa Rica
GigSky is the only brand here that lets you check the signal at your lodge before spending anything. Below 5GB it is a good buy. At 10GB it is the most expensive plan on the site.
The free trial is the actual product and it solves a real Costa Rica problem
Costa Rica is the destination where "will my eSIM work here" has the least predictable answer. Three networks, sharp rural drop-offs, and lodges whose own staff will tell you conflicting things about which operator reaches them. Every other brand on this site asks you to pay first and find out second.
GigSky hands you 100MB for seven days with no card and no commitment. That is enough to install the profile at home, land, and confirm you get a usable signal at your hotel, on the road to Monteverde, or at the rental desk in Liberia, before you decide how much data to buy and from whom.
Used that way, it is worth more than its price suggests, and it is worth using even if you end up buying Airalo or Yesim afterwards. A free coverage test on the exact networks travel eSIMs use is the cheapest insurance available for a Costa Rica trip.
The GigSky Costa Rica plans USD, checked September 2026
| Plan | Price | Per GB | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100MB / 7 days | free | — | Take it, no card needed |
| 1GB / 7 days | $6.99 | $6.99 | Fine for a resort week |
| 3GB / 15 days | $16.49 | $5.50 | Yesim does 3GB/30d for $9.04 |
| 5GB / 30 days | $21.99 | $4.40 | Cheapest 5GB from a brand with an intact score |
| 10GB / 30 days | $39.99 | $4.00 | Do not buy this. Airalo is $34.00, Yesim $24.35 |
| 3.5GB per day, 1 day | $4.99 | $1.43 | Daily bundles. The 7-day at $26.49 is the best hotspot value on this site. |
| 3.5GB per day, 3 days | $14.49 | $1.38 | |
| 3.5GB per day, 7 days | $26.49 | $1.08 | |
| 3.5GB per day, 15 days | $36.49 | $0.70 |
GigSky's pricing is two different companies stapled together. The fixed-data ladder is unremarkable and gets bad at the top. The daily 3.5GB bundles are the best value per gigabyte anywhere in this comparison, by a wide margin, and almost nobody mentions them because they sit behind a different tab.
The daily 3.5GB bundles are the hidden good deal 52.5GB for $36.49
Fifteen days at 3.5GB a day is 52.5GB of allowance for $36.49. The nearest fixed-data equivalent on this site is Yesim's 20GB for $36.52, which is less than half the data for the same money. Even if you use only two thirds of the daily allowance, you are ahead.
Two honest caveats. The allowance is per day and does not roll over, so a light traveler wastes most of it and should buy a small fixed plan instead. And it is not marketed as unlimited, which is exactly why it does not appear in "best unlimited eSIM" roundups, including some that would have to admit it beats their top pick. We put it in ours.
Who this is for: anyone hotspotting a laptop from Santa Teresa, Nosara or Tamarindo for a week or two. 3.5GB a day covers a full working day plus evening video, and $26.49 for seven days undercuts Airalo Unlimited by $10.01 while giving you half a gigabyte more per day.
GigSky against the other four strong at both ends, weak in the middle
| GigSky | Yesim | Airalo | Saily | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free trial | 100MB / 7 days | no | no | no |
| 1GB | $6.99 / 7d | $4.99 / 30d | $7.50 / 3d | $7.99 / 7d |
| 5GB / 30 days | $21.99 | $15.07 | $26.50 | $26.99 |
| 10GB / 30 days | $39.99 (worst) | $24.35 | $34.00 | $36.99 |
| Best daily allowance | 3.5GB/day | no cap published | 3GB/day | none |
| 7 days of heavy use | $26.49 | $40.58 | $36.50 | n/a |
| Trustpilot | 4.3 · 6,084 | suspended | 4.1 · 41,238 | 4.7 · 30,290 |
Two rows in bold for the right reasons and one for the wrong one. GigSky wins the free trial and the heavy-use week outright, and loses the 10GB row so badly that it drags the brand's reputation down with it. Buy the ends of this range, never the middle.
Buying and activating GigSky trial first
- Start with the free 100MB. Install it at home on wifi, no card required, and leave the line switched off until you land.
- On arrival, switch it on and walk around. Check the signal at the hotel, at the rental desk, on the first stretch of road. This is the test the other four do not let you run.
- Then buy the size that matches: 1GB or 5GB fixed if you are light, a 3.5GB daily bundle if you are hotspotting. Skip the 10GB.
- If nothing attaches, set network selection to manual and pick Claro, then Liberty. In the Osa or Sarapiquí neither may appear, which is the Kölbi gap, not a GigSky fault.
Buy it or skip it the honest split
Buy GigSky if
You want to test coverage before paying. Nothing else here offers that, and Costa Rica is the country where it matters most.
You are hotspotting for a week or two: 3.5GB a day for $26.49 over seven days is the best heavy-use price on this site.
You need a small plan from a brand with a clean record: $6.99 for 1GB, $21.99 for 5GB.
Skip GigSky if
You want 10GB fixed: $39.99 is indefensible when Airalo is $34.00 and Yesim is $24.35.
You want 20GB or more: GigSky does not sell it for Costa Rica.
You want the absolute floor price at small sizes: Yesim undercuts it, caveats and all.
Questions on GigSky in Costa Rica
Is the GigSky free trial really free?
Yes: 100MB valid for seven days, no card details required. It is a real eSIM profile on the same Claro and Liberty networks as the paid plans, which is what makes it a valid coverage test rather than a marketing gesture.
Which network does GigSky use in Costa Rica?
Claro and Liberty, listed under Liberty's former Movistar name in some documentation. Like every travel eSIM here it does not roam on Kölbi, so the rural gaps apply.
Are GigSky daily plans unlimited?
No, and that honesty is why they are good. You get 3.5GB per day at full speed, it does not roll over, and it is the highest daily allowance sold for Costa Rica. Seven days costs $26.49, which is $10.01 less than Airalo Unlimited at 3GB a day.
Why is GigSky 10GB so expensive?
We do not know, and it is a genuine outlier: $39.99 against Airalo's $34.00 and Yesim's $24.35 for the same size and validity. Our advice is simply not to buy that row. The 5GB plan and the daily bundles on either side of it are competitive.
Can I hotspot with GigSky?
Yes, on both the fixed and daily plans, drawing from the same allowance. On the daily bundles the full 3.5GB is available to tethering, which is what makes the seven-day plan the best laptop option in this comparison.
GigSky or Airalo for a two-week trip?
Depends on how you use data. Light to moderate, GigSky 5GB at $21.99 wins on price. Ten gigabytes or more, Airalo at $34.00 wins clearly. Hotspotting daily, GigSky's 15-day 3.5GB bundle at $36.49 beats everything.
Test Costa Rica coverage for free
100MB for seven days, no card, on the same Claro and Liberty networks the paid plans use. Then buy the size that fits, here or elsewhere.
See GigSky's Costa Rica plansSources & freshness: Prices via esimdb.com and gigsky.com, September 2, 2026, in USD. Trustpilot score checked August 31, 2026. Compare all five: best eSIM for Costa Rica.