Yesim China eSIM review: Plans, Pricing & Real Speeds (Tested in China,July 2026)

As part of testing the main eSIM for China on the ground, I bought Yesim’s China plan and used it in Sichuan — on an iPhone12 mini, the way most travelers would: walking around, on public transport, and in hotels. Here’s how each plan works, what it costs, and how it actually performed.

Plans and pricing

Yesim splits its China offering into two plan types, unlimited plans and prepaid plans. Unlimited plans are priced by the day, with unlimited data: 1 day — $4.80 7 days — $28.80 ($4.11/day) — Yesim’s “most popular” 15 days — $43.20 ($2.88/day) 30 days — $67.20 ($2.24/day) The longer you go, the cheaper each day gets — the 30-day plan works out about 53% cheaper per day than the 1-day.

Prepaid plans give you a fixed amount of data, all valid for 30 days: 1 GB — $3.36 3 GB — $8.40 ($2.80/GB) 5 GB — $13.20 ($2.64/GB) 10 GB — $22.80 ($2.28/GB) 20 GB — $31.20 ($1.56/GB) — “most popular” 30 GB — $40.80 ($1.36/GB) Here the pattern is bulk pricing: the more you buy, the less each GB costs — 30 GB is about 60% cheaper per GB than 1 GB. Every prepaid plan runs for 30 days regardless of size, so what you’re really choosing is how much data, not how many days. Coverage is China only. If your trip covers several Asia-Pacific countries, Yesim also sells a single regional card — more on that below.

Visiting more than one country in Asia? If China is just one stop on a bigger trip, Yesim also offers a single Asia Pacific regional eSIM that covers 15 countries on one card— so you can move between, say, China, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam without buying, installing and juggling a separate eSIM at every border. It’s priced the same two ways as the China plans: unlimited by the day (from $8.40 for 1 day down to about $2.45/day on the 30-day plan) or fixed data buckets (from $2.40/GB at 5 GB down to $1.40/GB at 30 GB, each valid for 30 days). The per-day cost is only a shade higher than Yesim’s China-only unlimited plan — roughly 9% more — but you’re covered across the whole region instead of a single country. For a multi-country itinerary, that trade usually pays off: one purchase, one install, one shared data pool, and no scramble for a new SIM every time you cross a border.

Using it day to day

I bought the 1 GB for 30days plan. I used it on an iPhone 12 mini the way most travelers would — while walking through the airport, riding the metro, staying in hotels, and moving through crowded malls at peak hours.

On the daily plan, I recorded speeds of 82.9 Mbps download and 51.3 Mbps upload. It also worked well with most of the everyday apps travelers need.

Buying and activation

To buy it, simply search for “China”, choose the plan you need, and complete your purchase. To activate it, the confirmation page displays a simple One Tap button. Tap it, follow the prompts, and the eSIM installs and activates automatically. A QR code is also available if you prefer the manual setup method, though I didn’t need it.

From start to finish, it takes about 60 seconds.

Who should buy it — and who shouldn’t

An unlimited plan makes sense if you:

• Don’t want to think about data at all — no tracking, no topping up, no running out mid-trip.
• Expect heavy or unpredictable use (video, hotspot, lots of uploads).

A prepaid plan makes sense if you:

• Have a rough idea of your data use and it’s moderate — messaging, maps, some browsing rather than constant streaming.