Kiwi Mobile Review
Our review covers Kiwi Mobile's flexible plans, key benefits and features, roaming options and more to help you decide on whether it's the right choice for your mobile needs.
Updated 9 October 2024
Our review covers:
Know This First: Kiwi Mobile Offers a Unique Approach to Data Plans. Benefits and features include:
Important: This is our initial review of the newly launched Kiwi Mobile service. If you're a customer and would like to share your experience, please email our research team.
Advertising Disclaimer: We have partnered with Kiwi Mobile through an affiliate program, meaning we may receive a commission when you sign up via the link to Kiwi Mobile on this page. This helps support our efforts to provide unbiased, thorough reviews. Our commitment to delivering accurate and comprehensive information remains unchanged, and we do not let this relationship influence our findings or recommendations.
- Understanding Kiwi Mobile’s Plans and Prices
- Benefits and Features of Kiwi Mobile
- Roaming Options
- Our Conclusion
Know This First: Kiwi Mobile Offers a Unique Approach to Data Plans. Benefits and features include:
- Maximum flexibility: With Kiwi Mobile, you are not tied to a minimum contract or data limits. The plan is unlimited and you can choose to browse at Max Speed and pay more per day or Slow down and have “endless data” at slower speeds.
- First 3 months free: Kiwi Mobile offers 3 months for free to test-drive their service.
- You can use eSIM technology: If your phone supports eSIM, you can choose to have a Kiwi Mobile eSIM. You can read more about this technology in our comprehensive eSIM guide. At the moment, Kiwi Mobile only supports eSIM for phones, not for wearable devices or tablets.
Important: This is our initial review of the newly launched Kiwi Mobile service. If you're a customer and would like to share your experience, please email our research team.
Advertising Disclaimer: We have partnered with Kiwi Mobile through an affiliate program, meaning we may receive a commission when you sign up via the link to Kiwi Mobile on this page. This helps support our efforts to provide unbiased, thorough reviews. Our commitment to delivering accurate and comprehensive information remains unchanged, and we do not let this relationship influence our findings or recommendations.
Understanding Kiwi Mobile's Focus and Point of Difference
Having spoken to Kiwi Mobile's team, they clearly aim to provide an alternative to traditional mobile plans by offering maximum flexibility. According to Kiwi Mobile, their unique pricing model allows customers, particularly medium to high data users and those with varying data needs month to month, to save significantly compared to more rigid offerings from larger providers.
The offering aims to prevent customers from overpaying for unused data, unlike traditional plans, which often require committing to the same amount of data each month, which is often higher than required, or come with data that eventually expires. Kiwi Mobile claims that these inflexible data thresholds cost New Zealanders hundreds of millions annually in wasted data.
The "Choice Plan" is designed to let customers pay for data as they use it, offering a flexible, month-to-month pricing structure. The team believes that this approach will ensure customers only pay for what they actually need without the burden of traditional high-speed data allowances deliberately set too high by larger providers. Kiwi Mobile insists that its plan gives Kiwis more control and helps them avoid paying for data they won't or don't use.
The offering aims to prevent customers from overpaying for unused data, unlike traditional plans, which often require committing to the same amount of data each month, which is often higher than required, or come with data that eventually expires. Kiwi Mobile claims that these inflexible data thresholds cost New Zealanders hundreds of millions annually in wasted data.
The "Choice Plan" is designed to let customers pay for data as they use it, offering a flexible, month-to-month pricing structure. The team believes that this approach will ensure customers only pay for what they actually need without the burden of traditional high-speed data allowances deliberately set too high by larger providers. Kiwi Mobile insists that its plan gives Kiwis more control and helps them avoid paying for data they won't or don't use.
Our View:We appreciate that Kiwi Mobile wants to disrupt the market and offer a flexible option for people whose data needs change monthly. It's reassuring for customers to know they will never have to pay for unused data.
However, we believe that Kiwi Mobile's minimum cost remains rather high for anyone looking for cheap prepaid or lower-end plans. The lowest price for a Kiwi Mobile plan is around $40 (for 5GB at maximum speed), whereas users with low data needs can find plans offering up to 4GB for $25 from other providers. However, Kiwi Mobile delivers fast speeds, and allows hotspotting, whereas some cheaper plans from other providers don't. Kiwi Mobile offers competitive prices in the low to medium consumption range of 5 to 10 GB per month, particularly when adding buddies to your plan. For an estimated consumption of 10 GB with two additional buddies, you would pay approximately $38, which is on par with Warehouse Mobile or 2degrees and much cheaper than Skinny's offering in this data consumption segment. Overall, Kiwi Mobile offers an interesting alternative for those seeking flexibility, particularly if you have varying data needs month to month. However, for users with either very low or very high data consumption (e.g. use over 100GB most months), other options in the market may provide better value for money. Nonetheless, we welcome Kiwi Mobile to the market and appreciate its flexibility. |
Christopher Walsh
MoneyHub Founder |
Understanding Kiwi Mobile’s Plans and Prices
Kiwi Mobile is part of Electric Kiwi and as a challenger in the mobile market, it aims to do things differently. They have found that many kiwis overpay for unused data on their mobile plans and have designed a flexible mobile plan where you start out with a moderate amount of data (5GB) and after that is used up, you can choose to use more data at high speed for a small increase in price per day or continue using data at lower speeds paying the original rate. We explain exactly how this works below.
Kiwi Mobile offers a single plan, called “The Choice plan” which is a flexible, pay-monthly mobile plan that allows you to pay your bill weekly, fortnightly, or monthly. This plan offers a unique approach to mobile data usage by enabling you to pay only for what you use, providing greater control and potential cost savings.
Each month begins with 5GB of high-speed data for $1.30 per day, totalling $39.54 per month - that is the minimum price you will be billed per month, without buddies being factored in (it will be higher if you use more than 5GB of data and want to stay at the fastest speed possible). By default, you are set to “Max Speed”, if you exhaust your fast data, the app allows you to easily upgrade to the next data tier for a small daily rate increase, the thresholds are set at 5GB, 10GB, 20GB, 40GB, and 100GB. You will only pay the increased rate for the number of days you are on that particular tier.
You can also choose to “Slow down” the speed of data at the end of any tier to manage costs. In Slow Down mode, you can set your maximum speed data tier limit. Once you reach your tier limit, you will continue to have unlimited data at a reduced speed of 1.2 Mbps, without any increase in your daily rate. These adjustments can be automated through the app. Please note, once you have chosen to pay the premium for Max Speed on a tier, you can’t choose to slow down to lower speeds while on that same tier.
The plan includes unlimited calls and texts to New Zealand and Australian numbers, as well as free hotspotting. New users can currently (until 30 November 2024) enjoy the first three months free, including all five data tiers. You can also add up to four additional users to your plan, with discounts available for adding one or more buddies. For adding one “buddy” to your account, you each save $0.15 per day ($4.56 per month), for adding two or more buddies, you each save $0.30 per day ($9.12 per month). There are no additional savings for adding more than 2 buddies to your account. Each user gets their own plan and can choose their own fast data tier cap each month, eliminating the need to agree on a shared data cap. This is a benefit many other providers do not offer.
The table below shows the price tiers and approximate monthly charges, also including the potential savings of including one or two buddies to the account. Kiwi Mobile has designed this calculator to show estimated costs per month depending on your data usage at max speeds.
Kiwi Mobile offers a single plan, called “The Choice plan” which is a flexible, pay-monthly mobile plan that allows you to pay your bill weekly, fortnightly, or monthly. This plan offers a unique approach to mobile data usage by enabling you to pay only for what you use, providing greater control and potential cost savings.
Each month begins with 5GB of high-speed data for $1.30 per day, totalling $39.54 per month - that is the minimum price you will be billed per month, without buddies being factored in (it will be higher if you use more than 5GB of data and want to stay at the fastest speed possible). By default, you are set to “Max Speed”, if you exhaust your fast data, the app allows you to easily upgrade to the next data tier for a small daily rate increase, the thresholds are set at 5GB, 10GB, 20GB, 40GB, and 100GB. You will only pay the increased rate for the number of days you are on that particular tier.
You can also choose to “Slow down” the speed of data at the end of any tier to manage costs. In Slow Down mode, you can set your maximum speed data tier limit. Once you reach your tier limit, you will continue to have unlimited data at a reduced speed of 1.2 Mbps, without any increase in your daily rate. These adjustments can be automated through the app. Please note, once you have chosen to pay the premium for Max Speed on a tier, you can’t choose to slow down to lower speeds while on that same tier.
The plan includes unlimited calls and texts to New Zealand and Australian numbers, as well as free hotspotting. New users can currently (until 30 November 2024) enjoy the first three months free, including all five data tiers. You can also add up to four additional users to your plan, with discounts available for adding one or more buddies. For adding one “buddy” to your account, you each save $0.15 per day ($4.56 per month), for adding two or more buddies, you each save $0.30 per day ($9.12 per month). There are no additional savings for adding more than 2 buddies to your account. Each user gets their own plan and can choose their own fast data tier cap each month, eliminating the need to agree on a shared data cap. This is a benefit many other providers do not offer.
The table below shows the price tiers and approximate monthly charges, also including the potential savings of including one or two buddies to the account. Kiwi Mobile has designed this calculator to show estimated costs per month depending on your data usage at max speeds.
| Gigs per month | Daily Price | Monthly price (no buddies)* | Monthly price 1 buddy* | Monthly price 2 buddies* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 GB | $1.30 | $39.55 | $34.98 | $30.42 |
| 10 GB | $1.60 | $44.10 | $39.54 | $34.97 |
| 20 GB | $1.90 | $50.95 | $46.39 | $41.82 |
| 40 GB | $2.00 | $55.89 | $51.33 | $46.76 |
| 100 GB | $2.10 | $60.68 | $56.12 | $51.55 |
*Monthly plan costs are estimated assuming max speed data usage is spread equally across an average monthly data cycle (30.42 days). Actual consumption may differ, depending on when the user moves across various pricing tiers.
Kiwi Mobile in Action: Real-Life Scenarios Showcasing Plan Flexibility and Cost Benefits
User Example 1 - Varying Data Needs: Emma used 5GB of high-speed data in January, paying $39.54 for the month. She travelled for work in February and needed more data, reaching 20GB. Thanks to Kiwi Mobile's flexible plan, her monthly cost adjusts to $50.95, only charging for the days at the higher data tier without committing to a new plan.
User Example 2 - Managing Costs: James, a casual user, typically needs only 5GB of data per month but ends up needing 10GB in March. With Kiwi Mobile, his plan smoothly adjusts to the next tier, costing him $44.10 for that month instead of incurring overage charges or requiring a long-term upgrade. He returns to his usual 5GB in April and pays just $39.54 again.
User Example 3—Buddy Savings: Sarah shares her plan with two friends, adding them as "buddies." In a month, when each uses 10GB, they pay $34.97 instead of $44.10, saving $9.12 thanks to the buddy discount. This helps Sarah and her friends enjoy more data without committing to higher individual plans. Please note that each user gets their own plan and can choose their own fast data tier cap each month, eliminating the need to agree on a shared data cap. For example, one of Sarah's buddies stays at a 5GB cap, and the other goes up to 20 GB.
User Example 2 - Managing Costs: James, a casual user, typically needs only 5GB of data per month but ends up needing 10GB in March. With Kiwi Mobile, his plan smoothly adjusts to the next tier, costing him $44.10 for that month instead of incurring overage charges or requiring a long-term upgrade. He returns to his usual 5GB in April and pays just $39.54 again.
User Example 3—Buddy Savings: Sarah shares her plan with two friends, adding them as "buddies." In a month, when each uses 10GB, they pay $34.97 instead of $44.10, saving $9.12 thanks to the buddy discount. This helps Sarah and her friends enjoy more data without committing to higher individual plans. Please note that each user gets their own plan and can choose their own fast data tier cap each month, eliminating the need to agree on a shared data cap. For example, one of Sarah's buddies stays at a 5GB cap, and the other goes up to 20 GB.
Signing Up and Discounts
- When joining their plan, you can choose to have a physical SIM card sent to your address or, if your phone has the capability, use eSIM technology. If you are not familiar with the latter, you can read our comprehensive guide to eSims.
- Kiwi Mobile promises high-quality customer service through Electric Kiwi’s award-winning team. There are no penalties for leaving the plan, including no notice periods. Kiwi Mobile operates as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) on the 2degrees mobile network.
- At the time of this review going live, Kiwi Mobile was offering three months free (across all five tier prices) to try out their service.
Benefits and Features of Kiwi Mobile
Benefits:
What to watch out for:
Network coverage
Kiwi Mobile is serviced by the 2degrees network, which “has at least 3G coverage in 98.5% of the places Kiwis are based”. Their website offers a coverage checker where you can verify if you can get 3G, 4G or 5G at specific addresses, we suggest you check what signal you would get at home, work and other places where you spend regular time.
Customer service
The easiest way to contact Kiwi Mobile is through their online chat, available from 8am to 10pm on business days and from 10am to 8pm on weekends. You can also send an email or request a call back, as well as contact using Facebook messenger and Instagram. Additionally, they have a comprehensive FAQ and a troubleshooting guide.
Kiwi Central App
Kiwi Mobile’s app, called Kiwi Central, is available for iPhone and Android. From here you can manage your Kiwi Mobile account, see how much data you’ve used, go up in tiers or slow down your plan. If you have other services with Electric Kiwi, like power or broadband, you can also manage them from this app.
- Serviced by the 2degrees network, meaning an extensive network throughout New Zealand.
- You only pay for the data you use, and you pay the tier rate only for the days you were on that particular tier. For example, if you moved to the 10GB tier for the last 5 days of your billing cycle, you pay 25 days of the 5GB tier rate and 5 days of the 10GB tier rate.
- If you add “buddies” to your plan, you can each save money on your mobile bills while having the same flexibility
- eSIM is available, you can choose to have a physical sim or an eSIM
- No contracts or notice periods
- Service wait times are under a minute, as reported by Kiwi Mobile
- 3 months of free service when you join
- You can keep your number or choose a new one
- Hotspotting included, even when roaming
- Unlimited calls and text to NZ and Australia
What to watch out for:
- Voicemail is not available at the moment, it is planned to launch in late October 2024
- Roaming is available but can be expensive (as outlined below)
- Premium SMS is available, but charged separately
Network coverage
Kiwi Mobile is serviced by the 2degrees network, which “has at least 3G coverage in 98.5% of the places Kiwis are based”. Their website offers a coverage checker where you can verify if you can get 3G, 4G or 5G at specific addresses, we suggest you check what signal you would get at home, work and other places where you spend regular time.
Customer service
The easiest way to contact Kiwi Mobile is through their online chat, available from 8am to 10pm on business days and from 10am to 8pm on weekends. You can also send an email or request a call back, as well as contact using Facebook messenger and Instagram. Additionally, they have a comprehensive FAQ and a troubleshooting guide.
Kiwi Central App
Kiwi Mobile’s app, called Kiwi Central, is available for iPhone and Android. From here you can manage your Kiwi Mobile account, see how much data you’ve used, go up in tiers or slow down your plan. If you have other services with Electric Kiwi, like power or broadband, you can also manage them from this app.
Roaming Options
Roaming is charged at $8 per day and available in 100+ destinations, less common destinations might require you to purchase a roaming data pack (500MB, priced at $57). This automatically applies when the data, text or call is used overseas. The offer is the same roaming deal as offered by 2degrees.
The $8 daily roaming includes data usage, unlimited texts and outgoing calls to the following countries and New Zealand:
Australia, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Cook Islands*, Costa Rica, Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji*, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guernsey, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Nauru*, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Papua New Guinea*, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga*, Turkey, Turks & Caicos, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu*, Vatican, Vietnam and Western Samoa*.
*Additional $1.15/min to receive calls
Destinations not listed above requires a $57 Roaming Add-On and the following charges apply:
No service destination countries:
American Samoa, Andorra, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Iran, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mayotte, Monaco, Netherlands Antilles, Niue, North Korea, Palau, Pitcairn, Reunion, Saint Helena, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Senegal, Somalia, Swaziland, Syria, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, US Virgin Islands, Venezuela, Wallis and Futuna, Western Sahara
Renewal: In $8 per day roaming destinations, the daily rate applies each day you use your phone, including to make or receive calls (including via voicemail), send texts or use data. 300kbps max speeds apply in some destinations. After 1GB of max speed data per day max speeds reduce to 128Kbps. A day is 00:00 to 23:59 NZ time.
The $8 daily roaming includes data usage, unlimited texts and outgoing calls to the following countries and New Zealand:
Australia, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Cook Islands*, Costa Rica, Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji*, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guernsey, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Nauru*, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Papua New Guinea*, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga*, Turkey, Turks & Caicos, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu*, Vatican, Vietnam and Western Samoa*.
*Additional $1.15/min to receive calls
Destinations not listed above requires a $57 Roaming Add-On and the following charges apply:
- $3.45 per minute to call anywhere in the world**
- $1.15 per minute to receive any call
- $0.91 a text sent to anywhere in the world**
No service destination countries:
American Samoa, Andorra, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Iran, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mayotte, Monaco, Netherlands Antilles, Niue, North Korea, Palau, Pitcairn, Reunion, Saint Helena, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Senegal, Somalia, Swaziland, Syria, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, US Virgin Islands, Venezuela, Wallis and Futuna, Western Sahara
Renewal: In $8 per day roaming destinations, the daily rate applies each day you use your phone, including to make or receive calls (including via voicemail), send texts or use data. 300kbps max speeds apply in some destinations. After 1GB of max speed data per day max speeds reduce to 128Kbps. A day is 00:00 to 23:59 NZ time.
Our Conclusion
Kiwi Mobile aims to challenge the Mobile industry in New Zealand with their flexible, no-frills plan:
- The Choice Plan – This is the only plan offered by Kiwi Mobile and allows users to only pay for the data they consume, by charging daily rates organised by tier. Adding “buddies” to your account can be a good option to lower your mobile bills (savings of up to $9 per user) while maintaining flexibility.
- New Zealand-wide coverage – Kiwi Mobile uses the 2degrees network, which “has at least 3G coverage in 98.5% of the places Kiwis are based”.
- Like with 2Degrees, a significant limitation for Kiwi Mobile are the roaming options. The data is expensive, and there are few countries covered with 'affordable' rates. A local SIM will almost always be a better option for any customer heading overseas for at least a couple of weeks. Read our data roaming guide for more information.
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