Holafly eSIM in New Zealand Evaluation (+Speedtests)

Having spent over six months in Australia, the urge to revisit New Zealand became undeniable. Proximity played a significant role in this decision, given that New Zealand is essentially just a stone's throw away, unlike the extensive travel time required to reach it from Europe, which can easily exceed 24 hours.

There's an indescribable magic about New Zealand, a sentiment challenging to convey to someone who hasn't experienced the country firsthand (a sentiment I struggled to comprehend when others attempted to describe it to me). Nevertheless, the allure of New Zealand is undeniable, particularly if you find yourself in the vicinity, be it in Australia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, or other Pacific islands.

My expedition to New Zealand involved testing four travel eSIMs, including Holafly's New Zealand eSIM, alongside five New Zealand SIM cards and a versatile travel SIM card. The cost for this comprehensive review series amounted to approximately 500 NZD – an endeavor that might be considered eccentric by some

In numerous countries, acquiring a local SIM card remains the most economical means of staying connected. However, the convenience of a travel eSIM becomes apparent in regions where dealing with the often-stringent SIM card registration requirements is a hassle. Interestingly, in a select few countries, travel eSIMs prove to be more cost-effective than local SIM cards, and New Zealand falls into this category.

Undoubtedly, data-featured prepaid plans in New Zealand come with a hefty price tag, ranking as the fourth-most expensive in Oceania. This prompts questions about the Holafly New Zealand eSIM – is it a viable option? Is it economical? What about its reception quality? And, crucially, how does it perform in terms of speed?

Which Smartphones are Compatible with Holafly eSIMs?

Before delving into the specifics of using Holafly's eSIM in New Zealand, it's crucial to determine if your phone is compatible with Holafly's eSIM technology. While your phone might have eSIM support, it must undergo certification by both the local mobile operator and the travel eSIM provider, such as Holafly, before users can effectively utilize their products.

Now that we've addressed this preliminary consideration, let's explore further details about the Holafly New Zealand eSIM!

What's the Price of the Holafly New Zealand eSIM?

The Holafly New Zealand eSIM is available at two price points:

1. 10 GB for 30 days: $34 USD
2. 20 GB for 30 days: $44 USD

Additionally, as of mid-June 2022, Holafly introduced unlimited data plans for several regions, excluding New Zealand and Oceania. However, there are plans to roll out unlimited data options for New Zealand in the near future, so stay tuned for updates.

If the same pricing structure is applied to Holafly New Zealand eSIMs, you can anticipate the following rates:

1. Unlimited data for 5 days: $19 USD / €19 EUR / £19 GBP / $27 AUD / $24 CAD
2. Unlimited data for 10 days: $34 USD / €34 EUR / £29 GBP / $49 AUD / $44 CAD
3. Unlimited data for 15 days: $47 USD / €47 EUR / £44 GBP / $67 AUD / $55 CAD
4. Unlimited data for 20 days: $54 USD / €57 EUR / £49 GBP / $84 AUD / $74 CAD
5. Unlimited data for 30 days: $64 USD / €69 EUR / £59 GBP / $99 AUD / $89 CAD
6. Unlimited data for 60 days: $84 USD / €87 EUR / £77 GBP / $127 AUD / $114 CAD
7. Unlimited data for 90 days: $99 USD / €99 EUR / £87 GBP / $144 AUD / $129 CAD

If your credit/debit card incurs foreign exchange fees, consider obtaining a Wise Borderless Account and Debit Card. Wise offers significantly lower fees compared to traditional banks and credit card companies, and they maintain transparency regarding their charges. Many travelers have saved substantial amounts in foreign exchange fees when using Wise abroad, especially when dealing with Australian Dollars and Euros as their primary currencies.

It's important to note that, unlike some other eSIM providers like Airalo and Nomad (which were also tested in New Zealand), Holafly does not currently offer the option to top-up or add extra data. However, Holafly has plans to introduce this feature in the future, although it has been pending for several months.

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

During my time in New Zealand, I had the opportunity to use my Holafly New Zealand eSIM in three cities on the North Island: Auckland, Lower Hutt (Hutt City), and Wellington. Rest assured, my travel plans include a visit to the South Island as well, specifically Christchurch and Queenstown.

Before delving into my experiences, let's briefly understand how travel eSIM providers like Holafly operate. It's simply not feasible for any single mobile operator to have a presence in every country, so they establish roaming agreements. Now, don't let the term "roaming" set off alarm bells – roaming with Holafly or many other travel eSIM providers won't lead to exorbitant $5000 roaming bills.

What Holafly, along with actual mobile operators, does is partner with local mobile operators in foreign countries. This enables their customers to stay connected seamlessly while abroad. In the case of New Zealand, Holafly's eSIM utilizes the One NZ network, previously known as Vodafone. Although Holafly's New Zealand product page mentions the Spark network as well, this might be applicable primarily to the 10 GB variant, whereas I used the 20 GB version.

Now, to the crucial question: Is the One NZ network any good? The answer is somewhat nuanced. Similar to how I tested the Holafly eSIM during my New Zealand trip, I also put local New Zealand SIM cards (Spark, One NZ, 2degrees, Skinny Mobile - a Spark MVNO, and Warehouse Mobile - a 2degrees MVNO), as well as various other eSIMs (Airalo Nzcom eSIM, Airalo Discover Global eSIM, and Nomad New Zealand eSIM), and the Orange Holiday World Travel SIM Card to the test. I really went all out on this one.

Consequently, I was able to gauge how One NZ performed in comparison to its competitors. The verdict? One NZ fell behind Spark and 2degrees (the other two mobile operators – MVNOs that utilize the networks of the primary mobile operators).

In terms of 4G/LTE availability, One NZ had the lowest score on paper, with an availability rate of 98.2%, trailing 2degrees (98.7%) and Spark (99.2%). Nevertheless, it's important to note that all New Zealand mobile operators boast excellent availability scores, all exceeding 98%.

Regarding speed, One NZ ranked second in download speed, with a median download speed of 62.97 Mbps, surpassing Spark (59.51 Mbps) but trailing behind 2degrees (63.81 Mbps). As you can see, the differences in these numbers are quite marginal, making it challenging to draw definitive conclusions based on speed alone.

With this background information in mind, let's proceed to compare the Holafly New Zealand eSIM's performance in Auckland, Lower Hutt, and Wellington to One NZ.

My Comprehensive Assessment of the Holafly eSIM in New Zealand – Is It Worth Considering?

In evaluating the Holafly New Zealand eSIM, I would recommend it, albeit it wouldn't be my top pick for those seeking a New Zealand travel eSIM. The acquisition process for the Holafly New Zealand eSIM, and any other Holafly eSIM for that matter, is notably uncomplicated and user-friendly, making it an accessible option for travelers (even though I won't delve into the installation process – you'll manage just fine, I promise!).

At the time of my evaluation, the Holafly New Zealand eSIM stood out as the travel eSIM with the most generous data allowance among all those I tested in New Zealand. Utilizing the One NZ network (formerly Vodafone), which, on paper, boasts the lowest 4G/LTE availability score at 98.2%, the Holafly eSIM ensures reliable 4G/LTE reception virtually anywhere within the One NZ network coverage.

A notable positive aspect is that, unlike the Airalo eSIMs I tested (Nzcom and Discover Global), the Holafly New Zealand eSIM demonstrated stability, avoiding random disconnections from the One NZ network. However, when scrutinizing speeds, it's essential to temper expectations. While the Holafly New Zealand eSIM offers speeds sufficient for general data browsing and video streaming, it falls short in comparison to its counterparts.

Surprisingly, the Holafly New Zealand eSIM recorded the slowest speeds among all the travel eSIMs utilizing the One NZ network, registering nearly half the speed of the Airalo Nzcom eSIM. Across 37 speed tests, I observed 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 it comes to upload speeds, the average was 8.04 Mbps, with a median upload speed of 6.50 Mbps.

For avid live streamers, it's worth noting that the Holafly New Zealand eSIM may not provide the optimal streaming experience due to lower upload speeds. Despite One NZ offering 5G NR access for free to prepaid customers, the Holafly New Zealand eSIM did not consistently outperform One NZ itself.

While some countries may actively throttle the speeds of prepaid customers, a concern prevalent in places like Austria (Europe), this is not a significant issue in New Zealand. However, it's important to highlight that upload speeds with the Holafly New Zealand eSIM were notably slower than those of One NZ, recording an average of 19.17 Mbps and a median of 9.47 Mbps.

In summary, with its extensive 4G/LTE network coverage and affordable data plans, the Holafly New Zealand eSIM provides a smooth browsing experience. However, users should be mindful of relatively slower download and upload speeds, particularly if high-quality live streaming is a priority.