Holafly eSIM in New Zealand Review (+Speedtests)

After being in Australia for more than half a year, I felt the need to visit New Zealand again.

Mostly because New Zealand is basically next door (as opposed to Europe, where getting to New Zealand will take at least 24 hours).

There is something magical about New Zealand that is hard to explain to someone who has never visited the country (and I could not understand what people were talking about when they tried explaining it to me).

But it is certainly worth visiting if you are nearby (aka in Australia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, or other Pacific islands).

When I went to New Zealand, I tested out four travel eSIMs, including Holafly's New Zealand eSIM, five New Zealand SIM cards & one travel SIM card to be used here.

So I spent about 500 NZD for my New Zealand SIM card and eSIM review series – yeah, I am crazy 🤪.

In many countries, getting a local SIM card will be the most cost-effective way to stay connected.

But in the same countries, getting a travel eSIM will be much more convenient because you do not have to deal with SIM card registration requirements (which can be stringent).

In a handful of countries, travel eSIMs are cheaper than local SIM cards… and New Zealand is one of them.

Yes, data-featured prepaid plans are (crazy) expensive – the fourth-most expensive in Oceania.

So, is the Holafly New Zealand eSIM a good option? Is it cheap? How is its reception? And is it fast?

I will answer all those questions in this review. Let's do this.

Original publication: 20^th of December 2022. Last updated: 15^th of January 2024.

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Table of Contents

Which Phones are Compatible with Holafly eSIMs?

Before discussing the Holafly eSIM to be used in New Zealand specifically, you must know whether your phone can even support Holafly's eSIMs.

Sure, your phone may support eSIM, but the local mobile operator and travel eSIM provider, like Holafly, first needs to certify a phone before the users can use their products.

As of August 2023, the phones shown in the infographic below are compatible with Holafly eSIMs:

With that out of the way, let's talk more about the Holafly New Zealand eSIM!

>>> Get your Holafly New Zealand eSIM and use code “PHONETRAVELWIZ” for 5% off! <<<

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How Much Does the Holafly New Zealand eSIM Cost?

You can get the Holafly eSIM to be used in New Zealand for 34 USD for 10 GB (30 days) or 44 USD for 20 GB (30 days).

Very straightforward, is it not? And you can save 5% on your Holafly New Zealand eSIM with code PHONETRAVELWIZ.

Just to let you know, you can use this code on any other Holafly eSIM you wish to purchase, so the discounts can be greater.

Also, as of mid-June 2022, Holafly introduced unlimited data plans for most of Europe (all of the European Union, except for Liechtenstein), Indonesia, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States & Vietnam.

As you can see, New Zealand and Oceania have been excluded for now.

But I have been informed that Holafly is also planning on introducing unlimited data plans in New Zealand soon, so stay tuned!

If the same pricing strategy is implemented, you can expect to pay the following for Holafly New Zealand eSIMs:

1. Unlimited data for 5 days for 19 USD
2. Unlimited data for 10 days for 34 USD
3. Unlimited data for 15 days for 47 USD
4. Unlimited data for 20 days for 54 USD
5. Unlimited data for 30 days for 64 USD
6. Unlimited data for 60 days for 84 USD
7. Unlimited data for 90 days for 99 USD

And, of course, you can save 5% if you use code PHONETRAVELWIZ when these plans get introduced in New Zealand.

Be aware that unlike some other eSIMs, like Airalo and Nomad (which I also tested in New Zealand), you cannot top-up or add extra data if needed (for the time being).

Holafly is planning on adding that feature soon, but it has been months…

>>> Get your Holafly New Zealand eSIM and use code “PHONETRAVELWIZ” for 5% off! <<<

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My Holafly eSIM in New Zealand Experience (in Auckland, Lower Hutt City & Wellington)

I used my Holafly New Zealand eSIM in Auckland, Lower Hutt (Hutt City) & Wellington – all cities on North Island (worry not, I will visit South Island soon too – aka Christchurch and Queenstown).

Before we continue, I do want to let you know how travel eSIM providers like Holafly work.

It is impossible for Holafly, or any other mobile operator, to operate in every country (and do not trust any company saying otherwise), so they set up roaming agreements.

And do not get worried by the word roaming yet – roaming can be expensive, but roaming with Holafly or many other travel eSIM providers, will not result in a 5000 USD roaming bill.

What Holafly does, and basically all (actual) mobile operators do, is partner up with a local mobile operator so that their customers can still stay connected when abroad.

In the case of New Zealand, the Holafly eSIM uses the One NZ (formerly Vodafone) network.

Note: in some countries, Holafly uses multiple local networks.

Although the Holafly New Zealand product page claims it also uses the Spark network too.

That is probably if you get the 10 GB variant – I used the 20 GB version.

So, is this One NZ network any good? Yes… and no.

Just like how I tested the Holafly eSIM on my New Zealand trip, I also tested all the local New Zealand SIM cards (Spark, One NZ, 2degrees, Skinny Mobile (Spark MVNO) & Warehouse Mobile (2degrees MVNO) and various other eSIMs (Airalo Nzcom eSIM, Airalo Discover Global eSIM & Nomad New Zealand eSIM) + the Orange Holiday World Travel SIM Card.

Yeah, I went all out 😏.

Because of this, I could also assess how One NZ performed compared to its competitors.

And… One NZ was the worst performer among Spark and 2degrees (the other two mobile operators – MVNO, Mobile Virtual Network Operators, use the networks of the mobile operators).

But the competition was fierce, I have to say.

On paper, One NZ has the worst 4G/LTE availability (an availability score of 98.2%. Behind 2degrees (98.7%) and Spark (99.2%)).

But with a score of more than 98%, all New Zealand mobile operators have excellent availability anyway.

In terms of speed, One NZ has the second-best download speed, with a median download speed of 62.97 Mbps, ahead of Spark (59.51 Mbps) but behind 2degrees (63.81 Mbps).

As you can see, the margin between those numbers is minimal, so you cannot make a solid conclusion based on them.

Okay, that is enough background information – let's compare the Holafly New Zealand eSIM to One NZ in Auckland, Lower Hutt & Wellington.

>>> Get your Holafly New Zealand eSIM and use code “PHONETRAVELWIZ” for 5% off! <<<

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Holafly New Zealand eSIM Speed Test Results in Auckland

Auckland, or Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland's Māori name), is New Zealand's largest city.

It is often confused with being the nation's capital, but that would be Wellington (which I visited too on this trip).

The main gateway to New Zealand is through Auckland Airport, so there is a big chance you will visit the city – even if you do not plan on staying.

Anyway, as I am not a regular travel blog, I do not have must-sees for you for Auckland (that would be a blog on its own 🤪), but I am sure you will not be bored in this city.

Let's see how the Holafly New Zealand eSIM performed in Auckland:

>>> Get your Holafly New Zealand eSIM and use code “PHONETRAVELWIZ” for 5% off! <<<

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Holafly New Zealand eSIM Speed Test Results in Lower Hutt (Hutt City)

Lower Hutt, or Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai (Lower Hutt's Māori name), is one of the four cities part of the Wellington metropolitan area (or Greater Wellington).

The reason why I separated Lower Hutt, administrated by Hutt City, from the Wellington results is (1) I did quite some tests in Lower Hutt and (2) most mobile operators, excluding One NZ (formerly Vodafone), do not have 5G NR access in Lower Hutt (yet), while Wellington does have 5G NR.

Should you visit Lower Hutt? You could – the nature is stunning there.

And being in Hutt Valley, also referred to as The Hutt, is remarkable too (if you can go on one of the hiking trails, you should!).

But if all of that sounds too boring to you, you can go to Queensgate Shopping Center, which may be the largest shopping mall in greater Wellington.

Let's see how the Holafly New Zealand eSIM performed in Lower Hutt:

>>> Get your Holafly New Zealand eSIM and use code “PHONETRAVELWIZ” for 5% off! <<<

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Holafly New Zealand eSIM Speed Test Results in Wellington

Wellington, or Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington's Māori name), is New Zealand's capital.

It is the third-largest city in the country (behind Auckland and Christchurch).

While I believe Wellington is more exciting than Australia‘s capital, Canberra (yes, not Melbourne or Sydney), it is certainly not New Zealand's most exciting city.

It does remind me a little bit of Melbourne, Australia… but significantly smaller (and with way fewer trains 🗿).

Let's see how the Holafly New Zealand eSIM performed in Wellington:

>>> Get your Holafly New Zealand eSIM and use code “PHONETRAVELWIZ” for 5% off! <<<

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My Overall Experience with the Holafly eSIM in New Zealand – Is It Any Good?

I would recommend the Holafly New Zealand, but it would not be one of my top recommendations for anyone wanting to buy a New Zealand travel eSIM.

Getting the Holafly New Zealand eSIM, and any other Holafly eSIM for that matter, is easy and straightforward (even though I did not spend any time on how to install Holafly eSIMs – you will manage… promise!).

The Holafly New Zealand eSIM was, at the time, the travel eSIM with the most generous data allowance among all the eSIMs I tested in New Zealand.

It also uses the One NZ (formerly Vodafone) network, which has, on paper, the worst 4G/LTE availability.

But the score is still 98.2%, so you can expect 4G/LTE reception basically anywhere if you are on the One NZ network.

But unlike the Airalo eSIMs I tested, the Nzcom and Discover Global ones, the Holafly New Zealand eSIM did not randomly disconnect from the One NZ network.

When looking at speeds, your speeds will often be fast enough for general data browsing and video streaming, you should not expect too much.

Especially because the Holafly New Zealand eSIM had the slowest speeds of all the travel eSIMs using the One NZ network (almost half the speed of the Airalo Nzcom eSIM… surprisingly).

Taking all 37 speed tests into account, I had an average overall download speed of 23.60 Mbps and a median download speed of 14.27 Mbps with the Holafly New Zealand eSIM.

When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 8.04 Mbps and a median upload speed of 6.50 Mbps with the Holafly New Zealand eSIM.

So if you are an avid live streamer, be aware that your stream quality will be low, or you will be better off not doing so at all.

As One NZ offered 5G NR access for free to prepaid customers already, I did not expect the Holafly New Zealand eSIM to perform (significantly) better than One NZ itself.

But that is not always true.

In some countries, like Austria (Europe, not New Zealand's brother Australia), actively and effectively throttle the speeds of prepaid customers (to as low as 20 Mbps download).

Fortunately, this is not something you have to worry about in New Zealand… except for upload speeds with the Holafly New Zealand eSIM – they were significantly slower than One NZ's (19.17 Mbps average and 9.47 Mbps median).

By using an extensive 4G/LTE network, offering affordable data plans, but relatively slow download speeds, you should have a smooth browsing experience with the Holafly New Zealand eSIM.

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Other New Zealand eSIM Reviews (Airalo and Nomad)

As mentioned earlier, I also tried out the Airalo Nzcom eSIM, Airalo Discover Global eSIM & Nomad eSIM + Orange Holiday World SIM card when I was in New Zealand.

You should read those reviews too.

>>> Airalo Nzcom eSIM Review | Airalo Discover Global eSIM Review | Nomad New Zealand eSIM Review | Orange Holiday World Travel SIM Card in New Zealand Review <<<

I also tried out various local New Zealand SIM cards: One NZ (formerly Vodafone), 2degrees, Skinny Mobile (Spark MVNO) & Warehouse Mobile (2degrees MVNO).

If your phone does not support eSIM (but felt like reading this Airalo review in full anyway – awesome) or want to have the best network experience possible, you want to go directly with the local mobile operators instead of roaming on their networks (as you do with travel eSIMs).

So I encourage you to read the New Zealand SIM card reviews too.

>>> Spark Review | One NZ (formerly Vodafone) Review | 2degrees Review | Skinny Mobile Review | Warehouse Mobile Review <<<

Check out my reviews page if you want to read all the other reviews I have written, including other Oceanian SIM cards.