The short answer
Airalo and Holafly are the two names most people ask about for New Zealand. We priced both on the same day, for 3 days, a week, two weeks and a month, read what each one means by unlimited, and checked which network each rides. Then we put our own Ringo Light next to them, because for two weeks or a month it is the cheaper option, and said plainly where it is not.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $25.99 or 30 days at $48.99, nothing renews, no app. Airalo asks $48 and Holafly $51.50 for 15 days. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan and no buckets.
$48 for 15 days of unlimited against Holafly's $51.50, $71 against $76.50 for the month, and 10 GB for 30 days at $24 if you want a fixed amount. Full speed stops at 3 GB a day.
Unlimited days on Spark with no daily cap stated for the phone itself; sharing is limited to 1 GB a day. $11.90 for 3 days, $27.50 for a week. The dearest of the three at every length.
Prices read on 25 October 2026: Airalo, Holafly on their own sites or listings, Ringo Light from its catalogue. All in US dollars unless stated. Treat every number as a snapshot.
See the full price index for every country.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 25 October 2026. Airalo and Holafly sell 15 days, Ringo Light 2 weeks. Airalo is 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Airalo is 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone.
Holafly sells no buckets, so it has no bar. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days. For a fixed 10 GB that lasts a month, Airalo is the cheaper buy.
Side by side
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Airalo vs Holafly in one paragraph
Airalo is cheaper than Holafly at every length in New Zealand, by $0.40 for 3 days, $0.50 for a week, $3.50 for 15 days and $5.50 for a month, and it is the only one of the two that sells a fixed bucket. Holafly costs more and in return states no daily cap on your own phone, where Airalo slows you to 1 Mbps after 3 GB a day. Both ride Spark. If you stream, upload or tether a laptop every day, Holafly's unlimited is the more honest one; if you use a phone the normal way, Airalo is the better buy of the pair. For two weeks or a month, Ringo Light undercuts both: $25.99 against $48 and $51.50, $48.99 against $71 and $76.50.
Price: the same trip at each
Three days: Airalo $11.50, Holafly $11.90. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan, so for a stopover in Auckland pick between the two.
A week: Airalo $27, Holafly $27.50. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan either, but its 2 weeks of unlimited data at full speed costs $25.99, which is less than either brand's week. You simply have days left over.
Two weeks: Airalo sells 15 days at $48, Holafly at $51.50. Ringo Light sells 2 weeks at $25.99, $22.01 less than Airalo and $25.51 less than Holafly.
A month: Airalo $71, Holafly $76.50, Ringo Light $48.99.
A fixed bucket: only Airalo sells one, 10 GB for 30 days at $24 and 20 GB at $38. Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells no buckets either; if 10 GB that lasts a month is all you want, Airalo at $24 beats our 2 weeks at $25.99, and its 20 GB at $38 beats our 30 days at $48.99. Buy Ringo Light for unlimited, not for a bucket.
What unlimited means at each
Airalo gives 3 GB a day at full speed on its unlimited plans, then 1 Mbps until the next day. That is enough for maps, messages, photos and some video; it is not enough for a day of streaming or a laptop on the hotspot.
Holafly states no daily cap for your own phone. It limits sharing to 1 GB a day, so a tethered laptop or a second phone gets 1 GB and then stops. Holafly also sells no buckets at all: days are the only thing you can buy.
Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole trip. Fair use policy, see Terms.
Networks and coverage in New Zealand
Airalo and Holafly both ride Spark in New Zealand, so the two give you the same signal in the same places. New Zealand has three networks, Spark, One NZ and 2degrees, and all three cover the cities, the towns and the main state highways well. Between towns, in the national parks and on the alpine passes, there are long stretches with no signal on any network, and no eSIM changes that.
The road from Te Anau to Milford Sound has no mobile signal for most of its length, and the same goes for large parts of the West Coast, Arthur's Pass and the tracks in Abel Tasman and Aoraki. Whichever of the three you buy, download offline maps for each day's drive before you leave the motel Wi-Fi.
Ringo Light uses a local partner network in New Zealand.
Installation, app and support
Airalo needs its app: you buy, install and top up in it, and it shows your balance. Holafly installs from a QR code and uses its app for the data balance. Neither plan renews; when the days are up, you buy again.
Ringo Light needs no app. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan. Nothing renews; the trip ends when it ends.
The cheaper third option: Ringo Light
Ringo Light is our own data eSIM, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it. For New Zealand it sells two trips, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $25.99 and 30 days at $48.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email and installs in one scan, no app.
What it does not do: it sells no buckets, no 3-day and no 7-day plan, it is data only, so it gives you no phone number, and nothing renews. If you want a short plan or a fixed amount of data, Airalo is the better buy and we would rather you read that here than at checkout.
Saily, Nomad and Ubigi also sell New Zealand plans. All six brands, priced the same day, are in our full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-new-zealand. The card to buy Ringo Light is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Which to pick
A stopover or a long weekend: Airalo at $11.50, or Holafly at $11.90 if you will tether or stream all day. Ringo Light sells no 3 days.
A week: Ringo Light 2 weeks at $25.99 costs less than Airalo's week at $27 or Holafly's at $27.50, with no daily cap.
Two weeks or a month: Ringo Light, $25.99 or $48.99. Between the two big names, Airalo at $48 or $71 unless you need Holafly's uncapped phone data at $51.50 or $76.50.
A fixed 10 GB or 20 GB: Airalo, $24 or $38. Holafly and Ringo Light sell no buckets.
Pick by trip
Airalo unlimited, 3 days, $11.50. Holafly is $11.90. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $25.99, less than Airalo's week at $27 or Holafly's at $27.50.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $25.99. Airalo asks $48 and Holafly $51.50 for 15 days.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $48.99. Airalo asks $71 and Holafly $76.50.
Airalo 10 GB for 30 days at $24. Holafly and Ringo Light sell no buckets.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Holafly, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Holafly and Ringo Light for New Zealand on 25 October 2026, all on the same day, in US dollars. Each rival's price comes from its own website where it showed dollars, otherwise from an esimdb.com listing, and every source and its date is listed below. Ringo Light's prices come from the catalogue our checkout charges.
We compare the trips people actually book: a week, two weeks and a month of unlimited data, and a 10 GB bucket. We read each brand's fair use and speed rules and quote them as the brands state them. We did not run speed tests, so this page makes no speed claims for any brand.
Ringo Light is our own product. We put it in the table on the same terms as everyone else, and where a rival is the better buy the page says so.
Left out: Maya Mobile. We could not read its own prices for this country on the day, so it stays out rather than being guessed.
- Airalo: www.airalo.com/new-zealand-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars on the site, network Spark, read 25 October 2026; fixed data from the esimdb listing dated 4 October 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-new-zealand/, prices in dollars from its own page, read 25 October 2026
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 25 October 2026.
Written and priced by the Ringo team. Prices change often; if you spot one that has moved, tell us through the contact page and we will update the table.
