HONEST Flexiroam Review (After Testing eSIMs in 5 Countries)

Travel eSIMs are the bee’s knees.

It makes getting data on your phone while traveling 100x easier.

After testing out different travel eSIM companies for 12+ months on 5 continents, the idea of using a physical SIM feels like going back to the stone age.

That said, during my research, I discovered that not all travel eSIM companies are created equal.

So, in this Flexiroam review, I gave their service a hardcore test drive in Egypt, Denmark, the US, Colombia, and Brazil to see how it stacks up against the other providers.

I even took it to the extreme and tested it at the Great Pyramids of Giza (to see how that went, check out the video below).

Through these experiments, I found that Flexiroam eSIMs are my top choice for THREE distinct travel scenarios.

If you don’t fall into one of these three scenarios, I recommend other options.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s make sure you understand what Flexiroam actually is.

What is Flexiroam?

For anyone new to Flexiroam and travel eSIMs, they’re basically a super easy way to get a data plan on your phone when traveling.

They solve the hassle of:

1. International data roaming charges, and
2. Having to hunt down a physical SIM card when you arrive at a new destination.

The best eSIM providers allow you to have your data ready to go as soon as you land. 

No more hassle calling an Uber or finding your hotel without data. 

No more hassle trying to figure out how to buy a SIM in another language. 

And no more opportunities for scams, like what happened to us once in Cambodia.

In theory, it’s super convenient. But let’s look at how it actually works in practice.

How to set up Flexiroam eSIMs in 2 minutes

Step 1: Search for the country and plan you want on the website or app. 

Step 2: If you buy through the website, they’ll email you a code that you enter or scan in the app to link your eSIM to the app. 

If you buy directly through the app, simply follow the prompts to activate. 

You can buy the plan early, but make sure to wait to activate the plan until you’re ready for your time to start. 

There are a couple extra steps compared to other eSIMs I’ve tested, but overall it’s just a matter of following the directions that pop on your screen.

If you do that…..BAM….you’ll have working data on your phone from the second you arrive to your destination.

Flexiroam review: How it actually worked

Let’s start with pros, then some cons.

Coverage from multiple providers

Overall, it worked everywhere I went (where you’d expect to have a cell signal).

Flexiroam works with various providers in each country, and it seemed to do a good job automatically connecting to the strongest signal. 

This is handy compared to some other eSIM providers where you’re stuck with just one provider who may or may not have strong coverage in the area you’re traveling in.

Solid tethering and decent data speeds

Tethering to my computer worked like a charm when we had crappy internet at every single accommodation we stayed at in Egypt. This allowed me to continue working online. 

If you don’t have a hotspot for travelers, this Flexiroam setup works just dandy.

That said, I wouldn’t call it blazing-fast data speeds or anything.

It was enough to get the job done, which is all that really matters, but sometimes you have to have a little patience.

It was actually a bit tough to test in Egypt, because cell service was a bit sketchy in the places we traveled to begin with.

Sometimes you don’t know if the eSIM is slow, or if the service just sucks in that area. 

I did notice that my wife, who had a physical local SIM card, had a bit faster speed than me, even when we were connected to the same provider.

That said, the hassle we went through to get that physical SIM card in Egypt was NOT worth the tiny difference in speed…

Helps avoid scammers and headaches

Turns out, the OFFICIAL cell phone carrier store in town kept trying to scam us, so we actually ended up getting a physical SIM from an Egyptian friend we made, who had an extra.

If the official provider’s store was trying to steal from us, I can’t imagine what the unofficial stores would try to charge. 

We also fell for a SIM scam in Cambodia, but that’s a story for another day.

In any case, all this is just to say that my Flexiroam eSIM was worth it purely based on the headaches I avoided from scammers. 

All I had to do was pop online, choose the data plan I want, follow the setup instructions, and get connected within minutes.

FlexiStart is handy

Another thing I liked about Flexiroam is their “FlexiStart” feature, which allows you to buy a plan now, and wait 3 months to activate it.

That means you don’t have to remember to do it last-minute when you’re stressed getting ready for your trip. 

FlexiShare is also neat

FlexiShare allows you to share your data with other people who have the app.

It’s better than tethering because:

1. You can share the exact amount of data that you want to share (so someone doesn’t eat up all your data).
2. It doesn’t kill your battery like tethering does.
3. You can share with people anywhere in the world — they don’t have to be right next to you.

This feature is handy if you’re traveling with a partner or group. Instead of every person buying a smaller individual eSIMs, you can just buy one bigger (and better value) eSIM, then divvy up the data.

More complex than other eSIMs

My biggest con with Flexiroam is that the setup process seems a bit more complex than other eSIMs I’ve tested. 

The first time I set mine up, I just followed the directions on the screen and it worked fine. 

The problem is, sometimes I needed to switch between eSIMs in my phone. And when I switched back to the Flexiroam eSIM, I often had trouble getting it to reconnect. I’d have to tinker with restarting my phone, toggling airplane mode, and refreshing their app. 

That said, if you’re just planning to turn it on once and use it for a short trip, then you might not run into this issue. 

Pay attention to details

I guess this isn’t technically a con, per se. But it’s important to note that you have to be really careful when setting your eSIM up. 

It’s not hard, but if you aren’t paying attention and forget to toggle on one of the settings, it might not work well or at all. So just follow their instructions step by step.

When you’re setting it up for the first time, it’s best to choose a time when you can dedicate your full attention. If you’re multitasking, you might miss a step (been there, done that).

Flexiroam eSIM review: Is it worth it?

That brings me to the THREE scenarios where Flexiroam shines over competitors like Airalo and Holafly. 

The first is mini trips. 

Flexiroam has data plans as short as 3 days. So if you’re just going on a weekend getaway or wanna go exploring during a long layover, Flexiroam makes more sense than Airalo or Holafly, which only offer longer plans.

The second is if your phone isn’t eSIM compatible.

That’s because they have an alternative option to send you a physical SIM or SIM sticker in the mail that you attach over your current SIM. I haven’t tried this yet though.

If I do, I’ll make sure to create a Flexiroam SIM card review.

The third scenario is if you want a global eSIM plan for a round-the-world trip. 

This is because as I write this, Flexiroam’s global plan covers 150+ countries, while Airalo’s only covers 84. Holafly doesn’t offer a global plan at all yet.

Flexiroam’s global plan is normally more expensive than Airalo’s, but not if you use the trick I discovered.

The Flexiroam discount trick I discovered

Go to this link, download the app, and turn on notifications.

By doing this, you’ll get notified whenever Flexiroam throws a ginormous sale on their global plans, which usually happens every few months. 

We’re talking 60-80% off.

And since you can wait to actually activate your plan, you can buy during a huge sale even if your trip is a few months out.

This blowout sale is exactly how I bought my 365-day global plan for one of our phones — a plan that is normally quite expensive. 

Flexiroam prices vs. the competition

As far as prices go, it’s hard to give a blanket statement on how Flexiroam compares to others.

After researching many different countries and plans, I found that…it just depends.

Some eSIM providers are cheaper in some countries than others. There is no one company I found that is ALWAYS the cheapest.

Each company also offers plans with different time periods and data amounts (depending on the country), so it’s hard to compare apples to apples.

Because of this, I recommend popping open a few windows with different eSIMs to price shop for the country, trip length, and data amount you’re looking for. 

• eSIM I recommend for heavy data users. (Extra discount built into this affiliate link).
• eSIM I recommend for light data users. (Use code MITCH9827 for extra free credit. Very user-friendly).
• Flexiroam (Good for global plans, but only if you wait for big discounts. Also not super user-friendly.)

It shouldn’t take more than 2 minutes to compare, and you’ll know exactly which one makes the most sense for your trip.

For more in-depth reviews of other travel eSIMs, check out my Holafly review and Airalo review.

Hope you found this Flexiroam X review helpful!