Prepaid mobile plans
Get more for your money and control your spending with a flexible prepaid mobile plan.
Last updated:
Compare prepay mobile plans
What is a prepaid mobile plan?
- They require regular upfront payments, versus postpaid plans, which are billed at the end of each contract period.
- Prepaid plans have expiry periods that range from as little as 10 days up to 365 days, though most are around 30 days.
- Prepaid plans work on a recharge basis, where you pay for an allotment of calls, texts and data to use within a period of time. Once you have used your call credit, or reached your expiry date, you buy another recharge.
- Recharges can be purchased directly from your phone, by calling your provider or using its website, with some larger providers also offering prepaid top up vouchers at supermarkets and other retail outlets.
Pros
- Fully control your mobile spending
- Never be hit with bill shock or unexpected spending
- Less commitment – switch carriers easily
- Retain your mobile number with our guide on how to port your mobile number.
Cons
- Service is cut off unless you recharge or top up on time
- Data is usually more expensive when compared with postpaid plans
- Expiry periods can be misleading – e.g. 28 days vs 1 month plans
- If you don’t have a device, buying one outright can be an big upfront cost
A prepaid plan can also be a money saver compared to a contract plan. The total cost of buying a handset outright and then paying for a prepaid service across 24 months can be cheaper than a contract deal.
Can I get a phone with my prepaid plan?
The typical answer to this question is no, because prepaid plans are configured for those who already have their own phone. If you want a new mobile phone to go with a prepaid service, you’re going to have to shell out for its entire cost upfront.
That said, there are a number of handsets that are sold as “prepaid” phones. These are usually cheap phones and are often locked to a given provider, so if you do want to switch providers at some point an unlocking fee may apply.
How should I compare prepaid plans?
- Cost of recharge: If your usage varies, it makes sense to use the flexibility of a prepaid plan by altering your monthly recharge amount, which you can typically do without penalty. However, you need to be aware of the minimum recharge amount required to maintain your phone service.
- Data charging: Different prepaid plans come with different levels of data, and with the rise of “unlimited” call/texts packages, this is a key differentiator. If you’re busy on your smartphone, go for a plan with plenty of data, but also make sure you can easily buy data top-ups and that your provider counts data charges per KB block, rather than a larger amount as this will eat up your data quickly.
- Network coverage: While there are many prepaid providers, they’re all using one of just three networks, run by Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees. Not all providers have access to those carrier’s 4G networks, or the full network map. While network coverage maps are largely indicative rather than entirely accurate, they’re a good gauge of overall coverage that can help you decide which provider to choose.
- International coverage: If you regularly make overseas calls, or travel a lot, it’s worth reading the fine print on any prepaid plan. Some providers specifically target international callers with attractive rates to call overseas or even included calling minutes to popular destinations. However, if you head overseas, it’s a different story; many prepaid SIMs don’t offer any roaming functions for use overseas. Even if they do, the rates for prepaid roaming are generally high, so choose carefully.
Read more:
Read more on this topic
-
Tweak your apps to use less data when you're on the move It's easy to eat up your data with apps like Spotify, Instagram and Netflix, but there are ways to use less data on your smartphone.
-
Kogan Mobile Plans With unlimited calls and texts across NZ and Australia and a range of prepaid plans, check out what else Kogan Mobile has to offer.
-
Pay monthly mobile plans If you’re looking for a new mobile plan and provider, consider the benefits and what to look for when comparing pay monthly plans.
-
Unlimited Mobile Data Plans Having an unlimited mobile plan means not having to worry about keeping track of your data usage. But there are some catches. Find out more here.
-
What is 5G? And just how fast is it? Confused about what 5G really means? Check out our guide on what you need to know about 5G in NZ.
-
Spark Mobile Plans Find out how you can get exclusive benefits, bonus data and more when you sign up for one of Spark’s mobile plans.
-
Warehouse Mobile Plans If you’re looking for great value and flexible plans, we’ve got the rundown of Warehouse Mobile phone plans.
-
2degrees Mobile Plans With carryover data, useful add-ons, shared data and pooled plans, 2degrees mobile plans have something for everyone.
-
Skinny Mobile Plans If you don’t want to be tied into a contract, a flexible plan from Skinny could be just what you’re after.
-
Slingshot Mobile Plans Find out how you can get a monthly discount for bundling your broadband and mobile phone plans together at Slingshot.