If you have bought an eSIM for Thailand and then look at the price for the United States, the gap will stop you. Here is the real reason.
Why it costs more
Travel eSIM prices follow the wholesale price the operators in that country charge. The three big US networks — Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile — sell wholesale at noticeably higher rates than operators in Southeast Asia.
The deeper causes: the US market competes less on price, infrastructure costs more per subscriber across a large country, and American consumers are used to high mobile bills.
This is not something a reseller adjusts. Everyone selling US plans buys in at a similar level.
Choosing without overpaying
Count your days properly. Longer plans are always cheaper per day. If you are travelling 12 days, a 15-day plan is usually cheaper than a 10-day plan plus a separate 3-day one.
Do not overbuy data. Wifi is available in most US hotels, cafés, malls, and many cities have public networks. 2 GB per day suits most visitors.
If you are visiting both the US and Canada, look for a North America plan rather than two separate ones.
Coverage in the US
This surprises first-time visitors: coverage in the US is less even than in Asia.
- Major cities (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago): good.
- Interstate highways: mostly covered, but there are long gaps, especially in the western states.
- National parks: many have none. The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Death Valley all have large dead zones.
- Rural areas: depends heavily on the network.
If your trip involves long drives or national parks, offline maps are not optional.
Phone calls in the US
A travel eSIM is data only — no US phone number. That matters here because many US services still make real calls: restaurants ringing to confirm, delivery drivers calling, some services requiring a US number to sign up.
The usual workaround is an internet calling app, plus giving your hotel's number when a local contact number is required.