Airalo Alternative for India

Last updated: 2026-06-10

Why You Can't Find the Airalo App in India

If you're searching the App Store or Google Play from India and the Airalo app simply isn't there, you haven't missed it. It was removed. In early January 2024, India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) directed Apple and Google to delist Airalo, Holafly and several other foreign eSIM apps from their Indian storefronts, because those providers had not obtained the licensing and No Objection Certificate (NOC) required to sell SIM-type services into the Indian market. The same directive told Indian internet service providers to block the providers' websites too — so travelers report that the Airalo and Holafly sites also fail to load on an Indian connection, not just the apps.

This is a licensing and distribution matter, not a ban on using travel eSIMs. The plans those companies sell are bought for use abroad — you load one for, say, Thailand or the UAE before you fly. What changed is that, from inside India, you can no longer download their app or reliably reach their purchase site to buy one. A licensing and KYC framework for selling international eSIMs in India is still working its way through TRAI and DoT consultation as of 2026, so the situation may evolve.

The reliable fix is the same one that applies in Turkey, the UAE and other markets that restrict foreign eSIM sites: set up your eSIM before you travel. Buy your destination plan while you're on home WiFi or your Indian carrier, scan the QR, and you're done — an eSIM that's already installed keeps working regardless of which provider sites are reachable on the ground.

What the Removal Actually Affects

It helps to separate two things people often conflate.

Travel eSIMs (for use abroad). These are what Airalo and Holafly sell — a data plan for the country you're visiting. The DoT order makes the apps hard to install from India and the providers' websites unreliable to reach on an Indian connection, but it doesn't make the eSIMs illegal to own or use. Crucially, an eSIM you bought and installed before the order — or before you arrived in India — generally keeps delivering data normally; the restriction is on reaching the providers to buy or top up, not on a profile already loaded on your phone.

Local eSIMs for use inside India. This is a completely separate lane and it is fully supported. India's three major carriers — Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vi (Vodafone Idea) — all offer eSIM provisioning on a compatible phone. The catch is that activating an Indian line requires KYC: an Indian resident typically needs Aadhaar, and a foreign visitor needs a passport and visa, often processed in person at a carrier store. That paperwork is exactly why many short-trip visitors skip a local Indian eSIM and use a travel eSIM instead.

So the honest summary: if you live in India and travel abroad, you want a travel eSIM bought from a website. If you need a number inside India for the long term, a Jio/Airtel/Vi local eSIM with KYC is the right tool — and those are unaffected by the foreign-app removal.

How to Buy a Travel eSIM Before You Leave India

The simplest, most reliable path is to buy and install while you're still on a connection that can reach any provider — your home WiFi or your Jio/Airtel/Vi data — and not depend on reaching a foreign eSIM site once you're at the airport.

1. Open the provider's website before you travel, while you're on home WiFi or your Indian carrier data. Setting up early means you never have to find out whether a given provider's site is reachable on the ground.
2. Choose the plan for your destination, not for India — a UAE plan for a Dubai trip, a Thailand plan for Bangkok, and so on. Browse all eSIM plans here.
3. Pay and receive the QR code by email. Cards work; crypto is available if you'd rather not put it on a card.
4. Scan the QR right away, while you still have that working connection. Install it before the flight so there's nothing left to set up at the airport.
5. Land at your destination and the eSIM connects to the local network automatically. Keep your Indian SIM in the phone for OTPs and calls.

This is the same setup process Airalo's app would have walked you through — it just happens in a browser tab, before you go. For the full list of the best destination plans and pricing tiers, see our Airalo alternative guide.

A Note on "How to Buy Airalo in India"

People search this a lot, so here's the plain answer. You can't install the Airalo app from an Indian app store today because of the DoT delisting, and the Airalo website is unreliable to reach on an Indian connection for the same reason. Switching your Apple ID or Google account to a different country's store region is fiddly, can break other apps, and may conflict with the store's terms — and it still leaves you depending on a foreign eSIM site loading in-country. The cleaner route is to sort out your eSIM before you're on an Indian network at all: buy and install while you're on home WiFi or your Indian SIM's data, so reachability on the ground stops mattering.

We're not the only option here — any travel eSIM you set up before you go solves the same problem. What we offer is broad destination coverage, instant QR delivery by email, no passport upload or SIM-registration paperwork to buy, and a crypto payment option if you prefer to keep the purchase off a card. We'll be straight with you: the same regulatory wave that delisted Airalo and Holafly could in principle reach any foreign provider, including us, so we won't claim permanent immunity. That's exactly why the buy-before-you-travel approach is the dependable one — it doesn't hinge on any provider's site being reachable from inside India.

For Foreign Visitors Coming to India

If you're travelling to India rather than from it, your situation is the mirror image. You don't need a foreign eSIM app at all — you need data that works inside India. A local Indian SIM means KYC paperwork (passport + visa, usually in person), and an Indian carrier eSIM means the same. A travel eSIM for India sidesteps all of that: you buy it before you arrive and it connects on landing.

We cover that scenario in full — coverage by region, how much data you'll realistically use, and current prices — in our best eSIM for India guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why was Airalo removed from the app store in India? In early January 2024, India's Department of Telecommunications instructed Apple and Google to remove Airalo, Holafly and other foreign eSIM apps from their Indian storefronts because the providers lacked the licensing and No Objection Certificate required to sell SIM services in India. The same order directed Indian ISPs to block the providers' websites too. The plans themselves aren't banned — the apps were delisted and the sites made hard to reach from inside India.

Is it illegal to use a travel eSIM in India? No. Travel eSIMs are bought for use abroad, and the DoT action is a distribution and licensing matter — restricting access to the providers' apps and sites — not a prohibition on owning or using an eSIM you've already installed. The regulatory framework for selling international eSIMs into India is still in TRAI/DoT consultation, so this may change over time.

Can I still get a travel eSIM while I'm in India? The dependable approach is to buy and install before you're on an Indian connection — on home WiFi or your Indian carrier data — because the DoT order blocks foreign eSIM apps and makes their websites unreliable to reach from inside India. An already-installed eSIM keeps working regardless. If you do need to buy while in India, a WiFi connection or VPN can sometimes reach a provider's site, but setting up beforehand avoids the uncertainty entirely.

Do Indian carriers support eSIM? Yes. Jio, Airtel and Vi all support eSIM on compatible phones for use inside India. Activating a line requires KYC — Aadhaar for residents, or passport and visa for foreign visitors — usually completed at a carrier store. That's separate from foreign travel eSIMs.

Should I get a local Indian eSIM or a travel eSIM? If you need a long-term Indian number for OTPs, banking and local calls, get a Jio/Airtel/Vi eSIM and do the KYC. If you're an Indian resident travelling abroad, or a visitor who just needs data for a short trip, a travel eSIM bought online is faster and skips the paperwork.

How do I buy a travel eSIM if I'm an Indian resident going overseas? Buy a plan for your destination country from a website, install the QR before you leave, and keep your Jio/Airtel SIM in the phone for calls and OTPs. We walk through the whole process — destinations, roaming comparison, and dual-SIM setup — in our eSIM for travelers from India guide.

The Bottom Line

The disappearance of Airalo and Holafly from Indian app stores looks alarming if you stumble on it mid-trip, but the explanation is mundane: a licensing requirement those providers hadn't met, enforced by delisting their apps and blocking their websites from inside India. Travel eSIMs are still perfectly usable — the trick is to buy and install before you're on an Indian connection, so it doesn't matter which provider sites are reachable on the ground. Local connectivity inside India runs on Jio, Airtel or Vi with standard KYC and was never affected.

If you're planning a trip out of India, browse our eSIM plans, pick your destination, and install the QR before you fly — while you're still on home WiFi or your Indian SIM.