If you’re travelling to New Zealand, chances are you’ll want to buy a prepaid SIM card to message friends and family (and spam them with your pretty pictures...aren’t we all guilty of this) and find your way around the country. But what is really the best New Zealand SIM card for tourists? And how can you score 4GB mobile data for free? Read on.

This post was first published on 17 January 2020 and updated in November 2021!

I’ve lived in New Zealand for a few years now and have experimented with several New Zealand SIM cards before I found my absolute favourite.

The short answer on what’s the best New Zealand SIM card for tourists (and locals):

Skinny Mobile

But let me explain to you why I love them so much, where you can buy them, how you get 4GB of free data and who their competition is so you can compare them yourself (just in case you don’t believe me).

By the way, this article’s in no way sponsored by Skinny. I just really genuinely like them best. But if anyone at Skinny is reading this, you’re very welcome to sponsor this post ;-)

What I love about the Skinny SIM

• They’re cheap: I haven’t come across an operator who offers 4-week prepaid plans as cheap as Skinny’s.

• Coverage: We’re in New Zealand, so there will always be places where reception is patchy or non-existent. But Skinny had most of the places I visited covered where I previously struggled to get even one reception bar.

• Flexibility: you can up- or downgrade your plan on a monthly basis. If you have a lot of data rolling over, just downgrade to a cheaper plan for a while

• Great customer service: You can easily chat them on Facebook, their website or give them a call and they’ll help you instantly.

The one thing I don’t like about Skinny…

Their SIM cards are not dual SIM slot compatible! It’s a pity but having 2 SIM cards in your phone (one or both of them being Skinny) can actually break some functions. In my case, everything works fine apart from one issue: I can’t receive any SMS from Vodafone SIMs. Calls from Vodafone are fine and I have no issue with anything else, I’m just not receiving Vodafone texts!

It’s completely random and it took me forever to find out that having 2 SIM cards in one phone was what caused the issue! The Skinny staff tried to help where they could and together, we figured it out after a while.

It looks like since my issue, other customers had the same problem. As in the meantime, Skinny mentions the dual SIM issue on their website.

So, if you’re planning on having 2 SIM cards in the same phone, Skinny’s not for you. Everyone else, go for Skinny!

Who are the competitors?

You can also buy prepaid SIM cards by one of Skinny’s competitors, Vodafone, 2Degrees and Spark. 

Spark: Skinny uses their mobile network, so the coverage is the same for both. Their prepay plans are just more expensive.

2Degrees: In my personal experience the network became quite patchy as soon as I left the city or town centres. 

Vodafone: I believe their network is the biggest of all operators. However, Vodafone are famous for their unfriendly customer service. So as long as you don’t have issues you’re probably fine.

Why is Skinny cheaper than everyone else?

Skinny Mobile works with a different business model than the other operators: They don’t have stores. SIM cards can be ordered online or bought at petrol stations and supermarkets. The way to contact them is only via phone, Facebook, website chat or e-mail. This model saves them a ton of money which they give back to their customers.

These are the Skinny mobile plans

The cheapest version you can buy will only set you back NZD 5 per week (plus NZD 2 for the SIM card). For 7 days, you’ll get 60 minutes of calls, 750 texts (both to all New Zealand phones) and 100MB of mobile data.

That’s great to occasionally update your Social Media and send a few messages. But if you’ll use Google Maps to get around you’d probably run out of data sooner rather than later.

My suggestion is to use one of these options (updated rates November 2021):

By the way: Rollover means that any unused calling minutes or mobile data will roll over to the next month (and the next and so on).

To see all available Skinny plans, click here.

Where can I buy Skinny?

Since they don’t have their own stores, you can buy their SIM cards at supermarkets, petrol stations, designated dairies and a lot of other stores (see exactly where to buy Skinny SIM cards here). 

You can also order the SIM card online and have it sent to your first accommodation so that it’s waiting for you when you check in. This also seems to be the cheapest option as ordering a Skinny SIM only costs you NZD 2 (no shipping fees) while I paid NZD 5 at the petrol station.

Quite sweet, hey? All you have to do is entering my Skinny promo code when you activate your SIM

Skinny Promo Code: 2ULBTXV

To get the 4GB of free data, you’ll have to buy either a $16 or $26 rollover plan and redeem the promo code within 30 days of activating your SIM via the Skinny app or website. If you use the promo code for 4GB of free mobile data for yourself, I’ll get NZD 20 Skinny credit.
And once you’re signed up to Skinny, you can do exactly the same for your friends. It’s called Skinny Buddy Rewards.

Is there a Skinny Store at Auckland Airport?

Nope, since they don’t have stores, they’re also not available at the airport. If you desperately need a New Zealand travel SIM card straight away, you can pre-purchase the Vodafone travel SIM and pick it up at the Vodafone store in the arrival hall (after you go through customs, they’re located on the left-hand side).

Skinny Mobile Coverage

To see their current coverage on the New Zealand map, click here. Unless you’re planning to go off-grid, you should be mainly fine (and isn’t the best thing about being off-grid to be unavailable for a while anyway?)

Skinny Travel SIM

There’s also a designated Skinny Travel SIM you could buy. In my honest opinion, the value for money is less than the regular 4-weeks plan. 

Important to know before purchasing a New Zealand SIM card for tourists

Make sure your phone doesn’t have a SIM lock, in which case none of the New Zealand travel SIM cards will work.

Skinny is compatible with most mobile phones. To be on the safe side, just enter your phone’s MEI number here.

But wait, there’s more!

As if this all wasn’t awesome enough already, a reader messaged me that there’s an even bigger advantage for the ones of you who own multiple phones. If you want all your devices on Skinny, you can use your own referral code, making use of the $20 phone credit as well as the free 4GB data.

Here’s how it works: Device one uses ones own referral code. If you buy a $16 plan you get $20s back which Skinny allows you to send to the 3rd sim to buy its $16 Dollar plan so from the 3rd device onwards is free and you get 4GB of data for each device.

So is Skinny really the best New Zealand SIM card for tourists (and locals)?

In a nutshell, yes! They simply offer the best value for money.

Other questions about NZ SIM cards you might have

Is there a New Zealand SIM card with unlimited data?

Yes and no. Most operators offer plans with unlimited data but only the first so many GB (depending on your plan) come at full speed. Once you reached your limit, you won’t completely be out but it will only operate at reduced speed. I wish there was a reasonably priced plan that comes with unlimited data at full speed. Other countries do it, I don’t know why we can’t have it here…

Got more questions about New Zealand SIM cards? Just flick me a message or write in the comments below and I’ll be happy to help.