Best eSIM for New Zealand

Prices in New Zealand

Saily and Airalo are a cent apart; Holafly costs the most and warns about coverage in Fiordland and on Stewart Island. How the three providers compare across all fifteen destinations is in our main eSIM comparison.

Which network you get

Spark carries two of the three:

• Airalo shows Spark as its network, with 365 days from purchase to start. No 5G or hotspot statement.
• Holafly lists Spark, with 5G where available and hotspot sharing capped at 1 GB a day. Its page says coverage may be limited or unavailable in mountainous regions and national parks, naming Fiordland National Park and Stewart Island.
• Saily does not name its network; it states 5G depending on the local provider and limitless hotspot sharing.

Buying a local SIM instead

Two of the three New Zealand operators publish travel SIMs on their own sites.

• One NZ Travel SIM or Travel eSIM: NZ$29 for 30 days, NZ$49 for 60, NZ$69 or NZ$99 for 90; the page does not state the data allowance. Sold online as an eSIM, at One NZ stores, and at its airport stores in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown; the Auckland airport store on Ray Emery Drive is open 5 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. One NZ warns that phones bought outside New Zealand may not be able to make 111 emergency calls.
• 2degrees Unlimited Travel SIM: unlimited NZ data, hotspot, calls and texts, NZ$50 for 10 days with 3 to 30-day options, sold at “select airports”, tourist destinations and 2degrees stores, and activated online with a credit card. Fair use applies.
• Spark also sells travel packs and has an Auckland airport kiosk, but every Spark page we tried sat behind a bot check, so we quote nothing from it.
• Neither One NZ’s nor 2degrees’ travel SIM page mentions an identity document.

Before you land

Either route works from the airport; the travel eSIM is the one that is on before you reach the arrivals hall.

• Install on Wi-Fi at home; Airalo allows 365 days from purchase to start, Saily 180.
• These are data-only plans. Keep your home SIM active for the text messages your bank and your airline send, with data roaming switched off on it.
• Carry your onward reservation in a form that opens without a connection: the check-in desk asks for it before the eSIM is on. New Zealand’s onward-ticket rules are on their own page, and the free checker covers your passport.