The short answer
I read Telstra's page for this one. The International Day Pass lets your own mobile plan work in New Zealand for A$5 a day (about $4), charged only on the days you use the phone there. From a third day of use I would buy Ringo Light, $9.99 for 7 days, $25.99 for 2 weeks and $48.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed. On a day or two the Day Pass is the cheaper of the two, and it also wins on your own number, calls and texts, and nothing to install.
You get unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $25.99 or 30 days at $48.99, paid once, nothing renews. Telstra charges A$5 for every day you use the phone in New Zealand, so by my reading Ringo Light pulls ahead from about the eighth day of use.
At A$5 a day the pass costs little for a day or two. It runs on your own plan, so calls and texts keep working on your own number. Nothing to install, and the cost lands on the Telstra account you already pay. A phone with no eSIM slot works too. Ringo Light is data only.
Prices read on 31 October 2026: Telstra, Ringo Light, European Central Bank 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, 31 October 2026. Telstra is charged only on days the phone is used, so 14 days is the most it can cost for the fortnight. Telstra's A$70 is converted at the ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026, A$1 = $0.70. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole 2 weeks.
Telstra's page shows no monthly pass for New Zealand, so 30 days is 30 times the daily price, A$150 at the ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026, A$1 = $0.70. Ringo Light is one payment for 30 days.
Side by side
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Head to head
Get Ringo Light for New Zealand, from $9.99.
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- 7 days $9.99
- 2 weeks $25.99
- 30 days $48.99
- 90 days $68.99
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Telstra International Day Pass vs Ringo Light in one paragraph
New Zealand is the cheap end of Telstra's roaming, and that changed my answer. The Day Pass is about $4 a day (A$5) and Ringo Light's 7 days is $9.99, so Ringo Light wins from the third day of use. Two weeks is $25.99 at Ringo Light against A$70 (about $49) of Day Pass, and a month is $48.99 against A$150 (about $105). On a day or two the Day Pass costs less, and it wins on convenience too. Calls and texts work on your own number, nothing needs installing, the cost sits on the Telstra bill you already pay, and it works on a phone with no eSIM slot. For a day or two in Queenstown I would take the pass. For three days or more, or a laptop on the hotspot, I would buy Ringo Light.
Price: the same trip at each
I read Telstra's roaming page on 31 October 2026. It lists New Zealand in Zone 1 at A$5 a day, charged on days the phone is used for calls, sent texts or data, background data included. Two weeks of use is A$70 (about $49) and 30 days is A$150 (about $105), because the page shows no monthly pass for New Zealand. I converted the Australian prices at the European Central Bank reference rate of 30 October 2026, A$1 = $0.70.
Ringo Light is priced in US dollars, and the checkout shows the amount in the buyer's currency before paying. Trips are $9.99 for 7 days, $25.99 for 2 weeks and $48.99 for 30 days, one payment. The gap is $23.01 on two weeks and $56.01 on a month. Ringo Light sells no 3-day trip for New Zealand. For two days of use or fewer the Day Pass costs less than the 7-day trip, and I would only switch to Ringo Light from the third day of use.
Data and speed at each
Per Telstra's page, the Day Pass includes 2 GB of data a day, with unlimited standard calls and SMS, and what you do not use expires at the end of each day. The page states no roaming speed, so I will not guess one. Beyond the 2 GB Telstra sells a data top up of 2 GB at A$10 (about $7), valid for 31 days. Two gigabytes covers maps, messages and photos. A day of video or a laptop on the hotspot can pass it, and a top up costs more than a day of the pass itself. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole trip. Fair use policy, see Terms.
Calls, texts and your own number
This is the row Telstra wins outright, and I say so plainly. With the Day Pass your phone behaves as it does at home. The same number rings, texts arrive as usual, and verification codes sent to your Australian number keep reaching you. Ringo Light is data only. Calls go over apps that use data, and your own SIM stays in the phone for calls, with your number staying on your own SIM next to it. If your bank texts a code to your Australian number, I would keep your own SIM active whichever you choose.
Setup and billing
The Day Pass needs nothing from you. A day is charged when the phone makes a call, sends an SMS or uses data in New Zealand, and it lands on your Telstra account. Ringo Light arrives by email after you pay and installs in one scan of the QR code. I would do that at home on Wi-Fi before the flight and switch the eSIM on for data when you land in Auckland or Christchurch. The phone must support eSIM, and the Day Pass has no such requirement.
What Ringo Light is, and what it is not
I write for Ringo, so you should know what Ringo Light is. It is Ringo's own data eSIM, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere. For New Zealand it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 7 days at $9.99, 2 weeks at $25.99 and 30 days at $48.99. One payment, nothing renews.
What it is not: it has no phone number, so it does not replace your Telstra service for calls and texts, and it needs a phone with an eSIM slot. Telstra is simpler and keeps everything on one bill. On a day or two it is also the lower price, and I would take it there. Ringo Light is the lower price from the third day in New Zealand.
My comparison of the travel eSIM brands for New Zealand is 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
- ✓Ringo Light, for a holiday of two weeks or more. It is $25.99 for 2 weeks or $48.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed, against A$5 for every day of use at Telstra.
- ✓Telstra Day Pass, for a day or two. Nothing to install, calls and texts on your own number, A$5 per day used. It is cheaper than Ringo Light for a day or two.
- ✓Telstra Day Pass, if your phone has no eSIM slot. It works on the plan already in the phone.
- ✓Both, for a long stay with a work line. Ringo Light carries the data and your own SIM keeps the calls and texts your number needs.
Pick by trip
I would take the Telstra Day Pass, A$5 a day, nothing to install.
I would buy Ringo Light, 2 weeks, $25.99, if you will use the phone most days. Fourteen days of the Day Pass is A$70 (about $49).
My pick is Ringo Light, 30 days, $48.99, unlimited at full speed for maps and streaming. The Day Pass would be A$150 (about $105).
The Telstra Day Pass, or Ringo Light for data with your own SIM left in the phone for calls.
The Telstra Day Pass is the only one of the two I would suggest. Ringo Light needs an eSIM-capable phone.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Telstra, Ringo Light, European Central Bank, Ringo Light
We priced Telstra and Ringo Light for New Zealand on 31 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: Other eSIM brands. Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad and Ubigi sell New Zealand too and are priced in the full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-new-zealand. This page answers one question, Telstra or Ringo Light. Left out: Telstra prepaid. Telstra's page points prepaid customers to separate Pre-Paid International Roaming Packs and gives no prices for them, so this page prices the Day Pass only.
- Telstra: www.telstra.com.au/international-roaming, International Roaming Day Pass zones, A$5 a day for Zone 1 with New Zealand listed, the 2 GB a day allowance, billing on days used and the A$10 2 GB top up, read 31 October 2026
- Ringo Light: ringoesim.com/new-zealand, the catalogue the checkout charges, read the same day
- European Central Bank: www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml, euro reference rates of 30 October 2026, the latest published on 31 October 2026, used for the dollar figures (A$1 = $0.70)
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 31 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.
