Short answer: a hosted eSIM store is the fastest and cheapest way to start: about five minutes of set-up, no developers and no maintenance, for a monthly fee. Building your own website on the API gives you total control over the experience, but costs weeks of development and ongoing upkeep. Selling by hand from the partner panel costs nothing extra and suits agents with a few orders a day. Many resellers start hosted and add the API later.
All three routes sell the same eSIMs, from the same partner account, at the same wholesale prices. What changes is who builds and runs the shop.
Option 1: a hosted eSIM store
With Build Your Own Store, the shop is ready the minute your package is paid. You configure it rather than build it: brand, prices, Stripe, email, domain. Hosting, SSL, updates and eSIM delivery are handled for you.
Strengths
- live in about five minutes, with a preview link straight away,
- no developer, no server, no plugins,
- free domain with Growth and Unlimited, and hosting included in every package,
- customers pay into your own Stripe account; no commission,
- new features arrive by themselves.
Trade-offs
- a monthly package fee,
- the design is configurable (colours, fonts, layouts, pictures, texts) but not a blank canvas,
- each package has a monthly sales allowance, except Unlimited.
Option 2: your own website on the API
With the eSIM API you can build exactly the experience you imagine: inside your app, inside a booking flow, or as a standalone site. Our API integration guide shows what is involved.
Strengths
- total control of design and user journey,
- the eSIM can be sold inside an existing product, such as a booking confirmation or an app,
- no monthly package fee; you pay only for the eSIMs you sell.
Trade-offs
- weeks of development before the first sale,
- you build and maintain the checkout, emails, QR codes, accounts, top-ups and refunds,
- hosting, security and updates are your responsibility,
- every change needs a developer.
Option 3: selling by hand from the partner panel
The partner panel lets you buy an eSIM for a customer in a few clicks and send it with a white-label QR code and install page. It is perfect for travel agents who add an eSIM to a booking, or a phone shop serving walk-in customers.
Strengths: free, immediate, nothing to set up. Trade-off: every order is manual, and customers cannot buy on their own at three in the morning before a flight.
Side by side
- Time to first sale: hosted store, about five minutes; API website, weeks; partner panel, minutes.
- Monthly fee: hosted store, a package fee; API and panel, none.
- Coding: hosted store, none; API, yes; panel, none.
- Customers buy on their own: hosted store, yes; API website, yes; panel, no.
- Maintenance: hosted store, done for you; API website, yours; panel, none.
How to decide
Ask yourself three questions:
- Do you have developers and a product to put eSIMs into? If yes, the API is likely right, and you may not need a store at all.
- Do you have customers who would buy from you on their own? If yes, and you do not have developers, a hosted store pays for itself quickly.
- Do you sell a handful of eSIMs alongside other services? Start with the partner panel; move to a store when customers start asking to buy on their own.
There is also no wrong first step. A hosted store and the API run on the same account and the same balance, so you can run both: a store for your customers today, and an integration in your app next year.
The hidden cost of "we will build it ourselves"
Custom builds rarely fail on the first version. They fail on the second year: the developer moves on, a payment library changes, an update breaks the checkout. If selling eSIMs is a side line for your business, ask whether you want to own that risk. A hosted store moves it to us. To see the set-up in practice, read how to build an eSIM store in 5 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Is a hosted eSIM store cheaper than building my own website?
For most resellers, yes. A custom build costs weeks of development plus ongoing hosting and maintenance; a hosted store is a monthly package fee with everything included.
Can I use both a store and the API?
Yes. They run on the same partner account and balance, so you can sell from a store and integrate the API whenever you are ready.
How much can I customise a hosted store?
Your logo, colours, fonts, layout, homepage texts and pictures, featured destinations, pages, prices and language are all yours to set. The structure of the shop is ready-made.
Do I need my own website to have a store?
No. The store is a complete website on its own domain. If you already have a site, link to the store or put it on a subdomain.
Which option has no monthly fee?
Selling through the API or by hand from the partner panel. You pay only the wholesale price of the eSIMs you sell.