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Compare prepaid SIM cards for New Zealand
Buy a local SIM card for domestic and international texts and calls when visiting New Zealand.
New Zealand draws in tourists at a rapid rate, more than 3 million per year. Because of this huge influx of people, competition among SIM card providers is fierce. This is good news if you are visiting New Zealand for pleasure or business, as you will be able to choose from many options. A prepaid SIM card can cut down on expenses instead of incurring charges from your home network.
What's in this guide?
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Cell phone carriers in New Zealand
There are three major cell phone networks in New Zealand:
Together, the trio covers 98% of the population with either 2G, 3G or 4G/LTE as of 2015. There are a few smaller services that resell the big three’s services in different packages. These include:
- Skinny mobile
- Skinny direct
- Warehouse Mobile
- Bluesky
An American tourist visiting New Zealand can get a 30-day prepaid SIM card with 200 minutes, 200 text messages and 1GB of data for NZD$29 (US$21.05).
Vodafone
As of 2015, Vodafone’s 4G market covered 84% of New Zealand’s population, with its 3G market covering 97.5% of the population. Vodafone has three packages available for prepaid SIM cards, which all last 28 days. They are:
My Flex Prepay: This plan allows you to combine any number of minutes, texts and data you want, starting with a minimum of 50 minutes, 50 texts and 100MB of data for NZD$11. During your stay in New Zealand, you can bump the data up as high as 3.5GB, the minutes to a maximum of 500 and the texts to an unlimited amount. At the high end, this package costs NZD$47.
A Kiwi Favorite: This plan gives you 750MB of data, 150 minutes to New Zealand and Australian numbers, and unlimited texts to those same two countries for NZD$19.
Big Data Bundle: If you’re ravenous when it comes to data, you can double it to 1.5GB per month along with 200 minutes and unlimited texts for NZD$28.
Additionally, Vodafone offers four 4G Prepay Data Plans and three Prepay Mobile Broadband Boosts to give you even more data.
The Broadband Boosts are for 30 days and cost as follows:
| Data | Rate |
|---|---|
| 2GB | NZD$45 |
| 5GB | NZD$75 |
| 10GB | NZD$140 |
The 4G Prepay Data Plans range in length from 30-180 days and in cost between NZD$20 and NZD$80. They include:
| Plan name | Data | Valid for | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data 20 | 500MB | 30 days | NZD$20 |
| Data 30 | 1GB | 30 days | NZD$30 |
| Data 50 | 3GB | 90 days | NZD$50 |
| Data 80 | 5GB | 180 days | NZD$80 |
NZ Travel SIM
Vodafone offers three SIM card packages aimed directly at tourists. They contain minutes and texts not only in New Zealand but also “back home” – a list of 19 countries including the US. A breakdown of the three plans follows:
| Minutes | Texts | Data | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | 200 | 1GB | NZD$29 |
| 200 | 200 | 3GB | NZD$49 |
| Unlimited (NZ) | 200 | 8GB | NZD$99 |
To activate your NZ Travel SIM card, call 777. Your services are good up to 30 days on the NZD$29 packages and up to 60 days on the NZD$49 and NZD$99 packages.
Three levels of data boosts are available.
| Data | Rate |
|---|---|
| 2GB | NZD$45 |
| 5GB | NZD$75 |
| 10GB | NZD$140 |
Additional information on Vodafone
If you’re 25 years old or younger, Vodafone offers a special data offer. By confirming your age via Facebook or by showing a photo ID at any Vodafone store, you get 500MB every time you spend at least NZD$20 on a top-up.
Vodafone’s APN: vodafone, and website: https://www.vodafone.co.nz/
Spark
Spark New Zealand has 97% coverage on 3G but does not have a 2G fallback. Spark has opened its 4G/LTE capability in many cities as well. Spark has three value pack offers on prepaid SIM cards for visitors and tourists. Two of them come with a free subscription to Spotify. Here’s a comparison:
| Plan details | 19VP | 19MUSIC | 29VP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data | 750MB | 750MB | 1.5GB |
| Talk | 150 minutes | 100 minutes | 200 minutes |
| Text | Unlimited (NZ) | Unlimited (NZ) | Unlimited (NZ) |
| Activation code | Buy19VP | Buy19MUSIC | Buy29VP |
| Bonus material | 1GB Wi-Fi/day | 1 month Spotify | 1 month Spotify |
Spark also has two special offers if you need more data than minutes or texts during your stay in New Zealand.
| Plan details | 20DATALOVER | 40DATALOVER |
|---|---|---|
| Data | 1.5GB +1GB Facebook, Twitter, Spotify | 4.5GB +1GB Facebook, Twitter, Spotify |
| Talk | NZD$0.49/minute | NZD$0.49/minute |
| Text | NZD$0.20/text | NZD$0.20/text |
| Activation code | BUY 20DATALOVER to 258 | BUY 40DATALOVER to 258 |
| Extras | 1GB Wi-Fi/day 1 month Spotify | 1GB W-iFi/day 1 month Spotify |
Like Vodafone, Spark has specific SIM card plans if you are likely to be making calls and texts both domestically and internationally. The list of countries includes: Australia, UK, US, India, China and more. Here’s a breakdown:
| Plan details | NZD$29 Card | NZD$49 Card |
|---|---|---|
| Length of validity | 1 month | 2 months |
| Data volume | 1GB | 3GB |
| Domestic minutes | 200 | 200 |
| International minutes | 100 | 200 |
| Domestic texts | 200 | 200 |
| International texts | 50 | 100 |
Spark also offers a number of straight data packages that are ideal for travelers who find their trip extended by a week, a month or more. Data add-ons for prepaid SIM cards are as follows:
| Volume | Validity | Price | Activation code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100MB | 7 days | NZD$3 | BUY DATA100 |
| 300MB | 7 days | NZD$10 | BUY DATA300 |
| 1GB | 30 days | NZD$20 | BUY DATA1GB |
| 3GB | 30 days | NZD$50 | BUY DATA3GB |
| 5GB | 90 days | NZD$90 | BUY DATA5GB |
Any of these packages can be updated by texting the code to 258. To cancel them, replace “BUY” with “END” in each package code.
Spark also has a “social” package available in which you can get 1GB/month of data spread across Facebook, Twitter and Spotify for NZD$9/GB. Activate this package by texting “BUY 9SOCIAL” to 258. To check your credit balance, text “bal” to 333.
Spark’s APN: internet, and website: https://www.spark.co.nz/
2degrees (2°)
2° joined the market in 2009. 2° cards are most commonly found at grocery stores in major cities. The starter price is a flat NZD$5 and is known as the Prepay Plus. It can be topped up with vouchers sold in stores or online with a credit card. The default rate on data is NZD$0.05/MB, but there are better deals to be had with the following data packages:
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