An eSIM shop live for 10 days outranks Airalo: how Simaya exploits Apple's Top Grossing chart
What it is An iPhone travel data shop built by a small Israeli company, covering 200 destinations, paid through the Apple account with no sign-up, and installing eSIMs in the app with one tap.
Why it took off It sells each plan as an Apple in-app purchase, so every sale counts toward the Top Grossing chart. Airalo and other big players use their own payment systems and don't get onto that chart. Small storefronts like Armenia and Lebanon have very low thresholds, so a few sales land it in the top 10. Its real users are only in Israel, and the volume is small.
DHow you could follow it Don't copy the in-app purchase trick. What you can learn is to pick a small market the big players haven't localized for, take payment via web or Apple Pay, state the start-of-timer and throttling rules before checkout, and start with expat and travel-agency communities.
- Data (updated daily) · first shipped 2026-10-27 · Israel rating 10 · charted in 11-08 stores 11
iOS · best category chart rank · by store SpainGermanyCanadaData 2026-11-02 → 2026-11-08 (7 days, 7 observations). Lower rank is higher; gaps mean it wasn't charted that dayiOS · rating count · Israel Data 2026-10-29 → 2026-11-08 (11 days, 11 observations). Apple doesn't publish download counts; rating growth is a proxy for downloads.
A small Tel Aviv company, Oct 27, launched an iPhone travel eSIM shop. Ten days later it charted in the travel Top Grossing lists of 9 countries, reaching #9 in Israel and #5 in Pakistan and Lebanon. Airalo and Holafly, the big players, aren't on any of those charts. The reason isn't that the product is better; it's how it takes payment. It sells eSIMs through Apple's in-app purchase, which the big players don't use because Apple's rules say they shouldn't. This piece explains what it is, how many real orders sit behind the chart, what you can take from it, and why we don't recommend copying it.
"Setup is easy, connects fast"
On Oct 30, the first review of Simaya appeared on the App Store Israel store: 5 stars, titled "Great Experience!": "Great service, easy setup, fast connection, everything works smoothly, highly recommend." On Nov 3, another one came in, just two words: "Very good".
By Nov 6 it had 10 ratings in total, all 5 stars, all in the Israel storefront. The same day, it ranked #10 on Armenia's travel Top Grossing chart, #14 in Lebanon, and #18 in India, and its rating count in each of those storefronts was 0 (App Store regional charts, 10-29 to 11-06).
An app nobody has reviewed reaching the top 20 grossing means someone paid. But the category's leaders aren't on the chart, so it isn't competing with anyone.
What it sells
Simaya sells prepaid travel data: pick a country, region, or global plan, pay with your Apple account, and install the eSIM in the app with no sign-up. It covers 200 destinations, with the cheapest plan at $2.99. The developer is Esperanes LTD, an Israeli company in Tel Aviv with this single app to its name. iPhone only, in English and Hebrew.
The prices aren't high, and they aren't the cheapest either. Greece as an example (official site, 11-06):
| Plan | Simaya | Airalo |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest tier | 1GB / 7 days $2.99 | Starting at $4.00 |
| 10GB / 30 days | $16.99 | — |
| 50GB / 30 days | $40.99 | — |
| Unlimited daily | 3GB of high speed per day, then 1Mbps, $4.99 | Unlimited plans from $11.50 |
Where it really puts in effort is making things clear before you buy. Each plan states the data amount, number of days, when the timer starts, and which carrier it uses (Vodafone and Wind for Greece, AT&T and Verizon for the US). "Unlimited" is explicitly daily, with how much high speed you get per day and what speed you drop to after that. These address the two complaints travel eSIM users hit most: days being deducted before they land, and "unlimited data" that is actually throttled.
The version from Nov 4 (1.0.2) added a refer-a-friend deal (the friend's first order gets $5 off, you get $5), 10% of each order credited back to the balance, and alerts at 80% usage and when data runs out. It even includes a line saying "the Hebrew version is now fully in Hebrew."
Why it's charting when the big players aren't
Apple's grossing chart only counts money that goes through Apple's in-app purchases. Simaya sells each plan as a one-time in-app purchase, and every order from $3 to $68 counts toward the chart. Airalo (up to 102k ratings in a single store), Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Yesim and Maya Mobile, the big players, don't rank in the top grossing list in any store we've seen. In the travel top-25 grossing charts for the Israel, Armenia and Lebanon stores 11-06, Simaya is the only one selling travel data.
Big players avoid in-app purchase for more than the commission. Apple's App Review Guidelines 3.1.3(e) say that apps selling physical goods or services consumed outside the app must use payment methods other than IAP, such as Apple Pay or card. Travel data is a service used outside the app, so read literally, Simaya's payment setup shouldn't pass review. It did, possibly because the reviewer treated it as a digital good, or because no one has flagged it yet (inference).
The Travel Top Grossing chart is also very easy to get onto in small stores. Around Armenia's Travel Top Grossing #10, the apps are small ones like translators and cameras, and a handful of sales is enough to chart. So "charted in 9 countries" sounds impressive, but in orders it probably means single digits to a few dozen a day (estimate).
Where users come from
Almost all of it comes from Israel. All 10 ratings are in the Israel store. In Israel's Travel Top Free chart it ranks only #108 to #207, with few downloads, yet its Top Grossing rank peaks at #9. That fits eSIM: few buyers, high price per order. The company is based in Tel Aviv and has Hebrew localization, so its likely starting point is the founder's network and local word of mouth (inference).
Other channels are almost silent. Google and Meta ad libraries show no ads from it. Searching its name on TikTok returns Maya Mobile creator promo-code videos. No one has mentioned it on X in the last 30 days. No media outlet has written about it beyond its website and automatically indexed app-store pages. The website has landing pages for every country and region, and download buttons carry source parameters, so they plan to rely on search traffic. Results aren't visible yet.
Who it's competing with
Travel eSIM is a red ocean. Airalo has been around for 2019 years, Holafly floods TikTok with creator commissions, Saily has NordVPN behind it, and Maya Mobile collected over 1800 ratings in half a year. In Israel itself there are Hebrew web shops like Simbo, SimTLV, and SIMGO. Simaya differs from them in three ways: no account signup thanks to Apple IAP, transparent plan details, and Hebrew. The first is why it charts and also its most fragile point. The last two can be copied by anyone.
There's also the math. Apple takes 15% to 30% of each order, and eSIM resale margins were thin to begin with. At Simaya's Greece 1GB for $2.99, Apple keeps roughly 40 to 50 cents, and the rest must cover wholesale data, refunds, and support. At low volume this model hardly sustains a team (inference).
If it were you
In one line: don't copy "sell eSIM through Apple IAP." It works only because review hasn't blocked it. It could be forced to switch to external payment at any time, and then its chart presence disappears with it.
Who it suits: people who already have an eSIM wholesale API and a small language community to start from (an expat group for one country, or one travel-type audience). Borrow the other two parts: native-language localization, and showing the timer start and throttle limits before payment.
Who it doesn't suit: anyone who wants this category as their main indie income without their own traffic. You can't outspend big players on ads and creator commissions, and the margins are thin.
How to do it: take payment via web or Apple Pay, not IAP. Pick a market where big players haven't localized, build one landing page per destination that clearly explains the carrier, timing, and throttling, and use expat groups, travel communities, and referral cashback to get the first users.
Window: there's no clear window. This category won't suddenly empty out, and it won't suddenly shut down.
Signs you're reading it wrong: if in three months Simaya is still using IAP and still on the Top Grossing charts, and its ratings start showing up outside Israel, Apple is tolerating this path. Then the Top Grossing chart really is open ground worth taking, and it's worth another look.
Research notes: competitor table, acquisition evidence, full research report
- Competitors
Name Where Launched Scale How it differs from this one Airalo iOS 2019-10 Largest single store 102k ratings, charted in 83 stores, not on Top Grossing Own payments, requires signup, both platforms; Simaya uses Apple IAP, no signup, iPhone only Holafly iOS 2022-12 Spanish version 69.7k ratings, English version 17k Pitches unlimited data, driven by creator commissions; Simaya states the unlimited plan's throttle limits before purchase Saily(NordVPN) iOS 2024-03 13.9k ratings Backed by a big brand's ad spend; Simaya has neither brand nor ad spend Nomad / Ubigi / Yesim / Roamless / MobiMatter / Simly and others iOS 2018 to 2024 A few hundred to 23k ratings Undifferentiated, own payments, revenue doesn't show on Apple's Top Grossing Maya Mobile iOS 2026-04 1820 ratings, lots of TikTok creator promo codes Acquires users through creator content; Simaya has no content ads Simbo / SimTLV / SIMGO / Simsima (Israel local) Web Not verified Not verified Web ordering, scan a QR code to install; Simaya pays inside the app with Apple, one-tap install Carrier international roaming packages / iOS eSIM feature Big-company features — — Apple doesn't sell travel data, and carrier roaming is expensive - Where users come from
- Inference Local Israeli network / word of mouth: all 10 ratings are in the Israel store; full Hebrew localization; company is in Tel Aviv
- Inference Small-store Top Grossing exposure / store search: Travel Top Grossing in 9 countries, where ratings count is 0; the name includes the keyword eSIM for Travel Data
- Inference SEO: the website has landing pages for every country and region (simaya.app/esim/israel etc.), and download links carry source parameters
- Verified Referral / cashback: 1.0.2 (11-04) adds a $5 invite-a-friend bonus and 10% cashback
- Inference Paid ads: googleads library status no_ads; no records in metaads
Simaya: eSIM for Travel Data (iOS 6816163502) research report
2026-11-06. Data sources: our appstore library (chart_rank / app_profile, 2026-10-29 to 11-06), googleads / metaads libraries, Apple lookup API, simaya.app website, AppInsider, Jina / Exa / Brave search, TikHub TikTok search, x-radar.
Bottom line
Simaya is a new iPhone travel eSIM store from the small Israeli company Esperanes LTD, launched 2026-10-27. It charted on the Travel Top Grossing list in 9 countries. The main reason is that it takes payment through Apple IAP. Big players like Airalo, Holafly, and Saily use their own web or card payments, so their revenue never reaches Apple's Top Grossing chart, and they're absent from it. On top of that, Travel Top Grossing in small stores like Armenia, Lebanon, and Pakistan is very easy to chart, a few sales are enough. The chart signal shows real people are paying, but the volume is probably tiny. It hasn't taken off yet, it's still cold-starting, and its early users are concentrated in Israel.
1. What it is
- Sells prepaid travel eSIM data across 200+ destinations, with single-country, regional, and global plans from $2.99. Pay with your Apple Account (App Store in-app purchase), no signup, install the eSIM right in the app (Apple lookup; the simaya.app homepage says "Pay once with Apple… we never see your card").
- Selling points: before buying each plan, it spells out the data amount, number of days, when the timer starts, and which carrier network it uses. "Unlimited" plans state how much high-speed data per day and what speed you drop to afterward. You can top up, get alerts at 80% usage and when data runs out, and there's 10% cashback and "invite a friend, each get $5" (simaya.app; 1.0.2 update notes, 2026-11-04).
- iPhone only, no Android version. Languages are English and Hebrew. Developer Esperanes LTD, Israeli company number 517155115, address Menachem Begin Road 144, Tel Aviv (simaya.app/support). This is the only app under the developer's name.
2. Data (appstore library)
- Release date 2026-10-27, version 1.0.2 (11-04).
- Ratings grew from 10-29 at 0 to 11-06 at 10. All 10 are in the Israel store; the other stores have 0. That's a small number, only enough to show the first few dozen users came from Israel.
- Travel category Top Grossing chart history (genre 6003):
- Israel (il): debuted at #10-29 46, then #71, #85, #109,11-02 through #20,11-03, peak #19,11-05 9,11-06 #23. In the same period it ranked only #108 to #207 on Travel Top Free, with few downloads, but its Top Grossing rank was high. That fits the category: few buyers, high price per order.
- Other stores: Pakistan peak #5 (11-02), Lebanon peak #5 (11-04), Armenia peak #6 (11-05), Ukraine #12, UAE #27 to #60, Spain #32, India #18 (11-06 new entry), Switzerland #54 to #174, and briefly in the top 200 in the Netherlands, Germany, and Canada.
- In these stores its ratings count is 0. Around Armenia's Travel Top Grossing #10 are small apps like Go Translate and TerraCam (11-06 chart in the library), so the bar is low and a sale or two is enough.
- Control group: among all eSIM-named apps in the library, Airalo (up to 102k ratings), Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, Yesim, Maya Mobile, Roamless, and MobiMatter have no Top Grossing ranking in any store, nor on the Travel Top Grossing category chart. 11-06 Among the Travel Top Grossing top 25 in the Israel, Armenia, and Lebanon stores, Simaya is the only eSIM app. The "eSIM" apps that do chart in Top Grossing are mostly subscription virtual-number apps like eSIM Plus and Numero.
- Inference (payment methods of each player not directly verified): big eSIM apps process checkout with their own payments (card, Apple Pay, PayPal), not IAP, so their revenue doesn't enter Apple's Top Grossing chart. Simaya uses IAP and sells eSIMs as consumable in-app purchases, so every order counts toward the chart.
3. Competitors
| Product | Where | Launched | Scale (largest single-store rating count in the library / other) | Difference from Simaya |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airalo | iOS/Android/web | 2019-10 | 102k ratings, charted in 83 stores (Top Free) | Category leader, own payments, requires signup, both platforms |
| Holafly | iOS/Android/web | 2022-12 | Spanish version 69.7k, English version 17k | Pitches unlimited data, heavy creator commissions |
| Saily (owned by NordVPN) | iOS/Android | 2024-03 | 13.9k | Backed by the Nord brand and ad spend |
| Nomad(LotusFlare) | iOS/Android | 2020-12 | 17.2k | Own payments |
| Maya Mobile | iOS/Android/web | iOS 2026-04 | 1820 | Lots of TikTok creator promo codes (TikHub search for "simaya esim" mostly returns Maya creator videos) |
| Yesim, Ubigi, Roamless, MobiMatter, Simly, Kolet, eSIMo, GigSky, and others | iOS/Android | 2018 to 2024 | A few hundred to 23k | Undifferentiated, relies entirely on own payments |
| Israel local: Simbo (simbo.co.il), SimTLV, SIMGO, Simsima (all with Hebrew pages) | Mostly web | Not verified | Not verified | Also localized in Hebrew, but web ordering and QR-code install |
| Apple's built-in features | Big-company features | — | — | iOS supports quick eSIM transfer and carrier international roaming plans, but Apple itself doesn't sell travel data |
This category is packed with competitors, a true red ocean. Simaya differs from them in three ways: first, the whole purchase runs on Apple IAP, no sign-up, no card number stored; second, plan details are written out transparently; third, it's localized into Hebrew.
4. Growth tactics (evidence)
- Paid ads: In the googleads library Simaya is on the tracking list, status no_ads (no Google ads found); the metaads library has no related Page. No evidence of paid acquisition found, but not showing up in an ad library doesn't mean they never ran ads.
- TikTok / X / Reddit / media: A TikHub search for "simaya esim" returns nothing about it; x-radar shows 0 mentions of "simaya" in the last 30 days; in search engines, apart from the official site, App Store page and auto-generated AppInsider pages, there are no media reports or reviews.
- SEO: The official site has landing pages for every country and region (e.g. simaya.app/esim/israel, the South Asia eSIM page), already indexed by Exa. The site's download button carries source parameters (
/go/website?s=simaya.app&m=web), suggesting they're doing channel attribution. Whether it has brought in traffic is unverified. - Starts in Israel: All 10 ratings are from Israel, there's a Hebrew version, and the company is in Tel Aviv. The most likely source is the founder's network in Israel and local word of mouth (inferred).
- Referral: 11-04's 1.0.2 added "invite a friend $5 / you get $5", plus 10% cashback, to drive repeat purchases and word-of-mouth referrals. Just launched, results not visible yet.
- Store search: The name contains "eSIM for Travel Data", targeting keywords. Charting in the small-region Travel charts may bring some organic traffic as a side effect.
5. Why it "looks like it's taken off"
- It takes money via IAP, and every order of $3 to $50 counts toward Apple's Top Grossing chart, where big-company eSIMs don't compete. Simaya has almost no same-category rivals on the Travel Top Grossing chart (library comparison, see section 2).
- The bar for charting in small-region Travel is very low: it hit the top 10 to 15 in Armenia, Lebanon and Pakistan, yet those storefronts show 0 ratings.
- There are real early users in Israel: Israel Travel Top Free ranked #108 to #207, and the highest-ranked Top Grossing entries with 9,10 ratings are all 5 stars.
- The product experience has real highlights (inferred reasons users would pay): no sign-up, one-tap Apple Pay, Apple refunds available, prices shown upfront. For travelers afraid of being scammed or of "unlimited" data that's throttled, that's appealing.
6. Differentiation, and why it broke out
- Differentiation: the whole purchase runs on Apple IAP (no sign-up, no card number given, Apple refunds available), plus fact-first plan presentation and Hebrew localization.
- IAP is decisive for chart visibility: it's what puts Simaya on the Top Grossing chart, and also why we recalled it. It is not decisive for real scale. The cost is that Apple takes 15% to 30%, while eSIM resale margins are already thin, so whether the unit economics can hold long-term is an open question. Also, Apple's App Review Guideline 3.1 restricts whether services consumed outside the app can use IAP. For now Apple is allowing it; whether they tighten this later is unverified.
- Verdict: it hasn't really taken off yet. The recall signal comes mainly from the payment method and the low bar in small regions; actual volume may be a single-digit to a few dozen orders a day (inferred).
7. Visibility and copycats
- Revenue isn't public, no media coverage, no discussion on X, only automatic indexing by AppInsider. It's still unknown to most people.
- Copycats: none. The category is crowded, but the play of selling eSIMs through IAP is almost unique in the library.
8. What to borrow
- Using IAP to sell goods or services that would normally run on in-house payments earns Top Grossing exposure, Apple's trust endorsement, and sign-up-free conversion. In a category where the big players all avoid IAP, the Top Grossing chart is open ground.
- Start with localization into a smaller-language market (Hebrew), then use the low bar of small-region Top Grossing charts to get multi-country exposure.
- Turn users' biggest fears (when the clock starts, throttling on "unlimited" data) into clearly priced selling points.
9. Uncertain
- Actual order volume and revenue: Apple doesn't disclose it, it can only be inferred from charts, and it's likely very small.
- The payment methods of big-company eSIM apps are inferred from the fact that they don't chart on Top Grossing, not verified one by one.
- Whether Apple will long-term allow eSIM sales via IAP: unverified.
- Where the early Israeli users came from (networks, communities, WhatsApp groups): no public evidence found.
- Whether there's spend on untracked channels (Apple Search Ads, TikTok ads, Israeli local Facebook groups): unknown.
Sources
- App Store:apps.apple.com/app/id6816163502 (lookup,2026-11-06)
- Official site: simaya.app/, simaya.app/support (company info, address, refund policy)
- AppInsider:appinsider.io/app/simaya-esim-for-travel-data-6816163502
- Library: appstore.chart_rank / app_profile / v_chart (2026-10-29 to 11-06); googleads.watch (appstore:6816163502 = no_ads); metaads.advertiser (no related records)
- TikHub TikTok search for "simaya esim", x-radar search for "simaya" (0 results in the last 30 days), 2026-11-06