Kolet and Airalo both sell eSIMs for the United States. That's roughly where the similarity ends.

Airalo is a marketplace. It aggregates plans from multiple local and regional providers, which means pricing, network quality, and customer support can vary depending on which underlying carrier ends up powering your connection. For casual travellers who just want something functional, that's fine. For frequent flyers who want consistency, it can get complicated fast.

Kolet is a French eSIM startup built specifically for international travellers. Founded in January 2024 and already serving 500,000+ travellers across 190+ countries, it runs on T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon in the United States. All three networks. Full LTE/4G/5G coverage. You don't have to guess which carrier you'll land on.

The more important difference is structural. Kolet is embedded inside the Air France-KLM travel ecosystem, which means it's designed for the kind of person who already has a Flying Blue number and books long-haul flights several times a year. Airalo is transactional. You buy a plan, you use it, you move on. No loyalty layer, no airline integration, no miles accumulating in the background while you navigate Manhattan.

Kolet's US plans are fixed-data, which means you choose your gigabyte allowance upfront. Every plan runs for 30 days from your first connection, not from purchase, so you don't waste days while still packing at home.

Here's the current pricing:

No throttling. No fair-use caps. Full speed until the last megabyte drops. If you buy 10 GB and use 7 GB by the time you fly home, the remaining 3 GB converts to Koins in your wallet. Those Koins can fund your next plan. Nothing disappears.

Airalo's US pricing depends on which provider you select within the marketplace. Plans are broadly competitive at entry level, but the full-speed guarantee and unused-data policy are not standard features. You use what you use, and what you don't use is gone.

For a week in New York, 5 GB covers maps, Instagram, occasional video calls, and Uber without stress. Two weeks across multiple cities? The 10 GB plan at $22.49 is the pragmatic call.

This is the part that changes the calculation for a specific traveller: anyone holding an Air France, KLM, or Transavia frequent flyer number.

Kolet earns 10 Flying Blue miles per euro spent. Buy a €19.99 plan for your US trip: 200 miles land in your Flying Blue account automatically. Pay with accumulated miles instead of cash. Refer a friend and collect 250 miles yourself while they get a free plan. Some Air France and KLM passengers even receive 1 GB free directly through the airline partnership.

Airalo does not integrate with Flying Blue. Or with any major airline loyalty programme.

If you're already flying Air France-KLM to the US several times a year, your eSIM spending compounds into real rewards over time. It's the same logic as booking hotels through an airline partner: individually small, cumulatively meaningful.

Kolet also accepts Etihad miles and plans to expand airline integrations. The direction of travel is clear.

Kolet also offers unlimited plans for the United States — and in their most popular destinations, unlimited is throttle-free until 5 GB. Buy by the day, no data calculations required.

Here's what unlimited actually means, because most brands bury this. Kolet states it plainly: full speed up to 5 GB per 24-hour window, then reduced to 1 Mbps until the window resets. That's a significantly higher full-speed threshold than Airalo's unlimited plans, which throttle well before that point. At 1 Mbps, messaging, maps, and email keep working without interruption. The full-speed allowance refreshes automatically on a rolling 24-hour basis.

That's transparent. Holafly applies comparable throttling on its unlimited plans but does not clearly communicate the threshold upfront. Knowing the rules before you buy is not a small thing when you're mid-trip in San Francisco trying to stream a presentation.

Unlimited plans earn Flying Blue miles too. They can be paid with Koins. They cannot convert unused days to Koins, and data cannot be shared. Those are the trade-offs, stated plainly.

In January 2026, Kolet became B Corp certified with a score of 99.7 out of 200. It is the only major travel eSIM to hold this certification. Airalo, Holafly, and Saily are not B Corp certified.

B Corp certification is not a marketing badge you apply for online. It requires verified performance across governance, workers, community, environment, and customers. A score of 99.7 places Kolet well above the median for certified companies. No plastic SIM card production, no hidden fees, and a stated mission of "internet access for all" are part of the same commitment.

For travellers who factor ethics into purchasing decisions, this is a verifiable differentiator. Not a claim. A certification with public audit data behind it.

The global travel eSIM market reached $1.75 billion in 2026, and 51% of eSIM users first adopted the technology specifically for travel. The category is maturing fast. Standards are starting to matter.

Airalo works. It's a broad, functional marketplace with competitive pricing. If you want choice across many providers and have no loyalty programme to leverage, it does the job.

Kolet works differently. It runs on T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon simultaneously. It is transparent about what unlimited means — including a 5 GB full-speed threshold that beats Airalo's unlimited offering. It rewards you in Flying Blue miles every time you buy. Unused fixed-plan data never disappears. It is B Corp certified, fully honest about its pricing, and built for people who travel internationally more than once a year.

You can install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi before you fly, keep your original SIM active to hold your number, and activate data the moment you land. No airport Wi-Fi queues. No roaming shock on your operator bill.

The simple rule: if you have a Flying Blue number and you're flying to the United States, Kolet pays you back for the data you buy. Airalo does not.