Best eSIM for France with reliable tethering? (Skyalo vs MobiMatter vs Bnesim)

I use Holafly unlimited packages. France for two weeks only about USD$50.

What about an actual Orange esim? 100gb for $57

Keep in mind that regardless of the third-party service providing your eSIM, it will use one of the four main French network providers:

Orange

SFR

Bouygues

Free

Therefore, connection quality and network coverage do not depend on Skyalo, Airalo, MobiMatter, Bnesim, or any other seller, but on one of these four French providers anyway.

In case it's helpful, here's a map of network coverage in France:

https://monreseaumobile.arcep.fr/?page=couverture-theorique&lang=en

Note that this map only covers the mobile network. If you use Wi-Fi, you can be connected to a fiber optic box , but it will still be provided by one of these four operators.

Thanks everyone, this is really helpful!
It’s interesting to see how different the approaches are - unlimited plans like Holafly vs local options like Orange.
From what I understand now, the main differences are not really coverage but more about pricing, data limits and especially hotspot usage, which is actually important for me since I’ll be working remotely.
I’ll probably keep comparing a bit more, but definitely leaning towards something flexible rather than “unlimited” with potential restrictions.

As mentioned, when you evaluate a vendor, you need to find out what networks they use.

An option to consider is the Pay As You Go providers. They sell data (with hotspot), that doesn't expire. For each country, they charge a fixed price per Gb. No monthly charge. You just give them $10 or more to start. A big advantage for most folks is that your "digital wallet" doesn't expire and you use any left-over money for your next trip, to whatever country. They can be easily topped up as needed. The two below cover some 200 countries, with various data prices. I looked up France prices:

Roamless charges $3.95/Gb, and shows 4 networks, including Orange
Bcengi charges $1.26/Gb., and is on the Orange network

You should read the excellent description that Bcengi has for the French cell coverage.

Bonus: If you type: https://www.bcengi.com/esim/france and replace "france" with "switzerland" for example (all lower case), you get all that coverage info for other countries.

Have you considered tmobile? It is a German company, and you are from there. We have tmobile and did nothing to do all e-biz - just kept the phone on - texts, emails, phone calls all work. As to the 20G, have you considered working in an external network like your hotel? No limit to those environments.

Paul, I have Tmobile, and am very happy with their International coverage. But it depends on the plan one has. Some plans have no International coverage. Ours is an old Magenta plan, which gives us 5 Gb. of high speed data in 11 countries, and 256k (very slow) in 203 countries. But we do get free texting and very cheap calling.

HOWEVER, the newer plans have now switched to high speed data in all countries, and I don't know if I will be getting the high speed data or the slow data when I go to Ireland next month. If I am just getting 256k data, I will be using Roamless data when needed.

-Travelerguy from frozen north Michigan

Do you have a German mobile phone? There surely shouldn't be any need to buy any of these tourist-oriented SIMs when you'd have roaming right across the EU with a German provider, at more of a "domestic" cost.

I recommend Orange Travel eSIM. It’s honestly one of the best options for France they offer plans with unlimited data and unlimited hotspot sharing. Plus, Orange is one of the largest networks in France, so the coverage is reliable for your needs.

You might also check with Youtube travel vloggers like Paul Lucas, they are always sponsored by eSIM and VPN companies and offer discount codes.

As noted, there are only a few providers and others repackage and resell their airtime.

I believe Nomad eSIMs all provide tethering access, and they're priced reasonably. None has call or text capabilities so far as I know, however.

I will be traveling solo in England for three days and France for 11 days at the end of September. It will also be my first time in either country (heck, my first time in Europe). I’m completely lost on what to do for phone coverage. The word eSIM intimidates me. Do I have to pull something out of my phone? However, it just seems so expensive to do the easy thing and add an international plan. Maybe someone has a link to a comprehensive guide to figuring this all out?

phx115,
I am like you. Many of the terms used here are a bit intimidating to me. I do believe when one refers to an esim, it means something you download (correct term?) to your phone, the way you do apps. (The "e" in front suggests this to me.) The physical item you put into your phone is, I think, referred to as a sim card. I don't think my phone even has a place to insert one. And it is an android, if that makes any difference.
When traveling overseas, I have taken the easy way out, and just signed up for Verizon's plan (It was $10.00 per day only on the days it was used for phone/text.) If I have read recent posts correctly, that plan is now a flat $100.00 for a period of time. Being a troglodyte, I just ask my son (whose phone plan I am on) what is the simplest thing for me. In my case, the plan I mentioned works. When traveling I use my Chromebook for Internet searches and emails, when I can use the hotel's internet. I rarely make calls to home, but do make a few to hotels, restaurants, transportation companies, etc. in my location. Likewise texting. My US phone # stays, I know what my fee will be, and I don't have to fiddle around with a different phone #, etc. I use my phone just like I do at home. (And I do take photos.)
Those who need or want to do more with their phone will surely have better solutions for themselves that are more economical and useful. The simple Verizon plan works for an old lady like me! Best of luck in finding a solution that works for you!

@phx114, this is one instance in which posing your questions and uncertainties to an AI tool could be helpful, whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot or something else. I wouldn't necessarily trust their answers completely, but I think they would help clarify matters for you.