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Mercury Broadband Review

We review Mercury broadband's plans and outline the pros and cons, benefits, and how to get the best price
Updated 18 July 2024

Summary: 
  • Mercury in a Nutshell: Mercury has recently acquired Trustpower and is one of the largest broadband, power, and gas provider in New Zealand and is focused on delivering convenience to its customer base by including all household services in one easy-to-understand bill.
  • Coverage: Mercury broadband services are not available in all areas. To find out what type of service is available in your area, visit their website and enter your address.

How to get the best price on a Mercury broadband plan: 
  1. New Customers: Plans with Mercury are the cheapest when you sign up for 24-months and bundle broadband with a power plan. This works if you don’t plan to change providers for at least 24 months (therefore avoiding the early exit fee).
  2. Renewing: If you're happy with Mercury and would like to continue, the best approach is to compare the pricing when your contract comes up for renewal. If Mercury offers a better deal than the renewal rate, contact their support team and ask for them to apply it to your account.
 
Our review: 
This guide details the five plans pros, and cons compare the plans side-by-side and outline how to choose the best Mercury broadband plan for you. We cover:

Christopher Walsh, Founder of MoneyHub, shares his views on comparing broadband providers:

  • Broadband plans have never been cheaper or faster, thanks to a nationwide fibre rollout, more competition and better technology.
  • That being said, we believe what matters is reliability, speed, price and support.
  • Our best broadband providers guide and this review help you make an informed choice. Our research team is committed to keeping everything up to date so you can easily find the best deal. 
  • We don't publish complicated tables or tools for comparing broadband. Instead, we focus on making you aware of the best deals where the pricing is fixed for at least 12 months.
  • If you have something we need to know about, please contact our research team - we would love to hear from you.
Christopher Walsh
MoneyHub Founder

Mercury Broadband Plans, Setup Charges and Add-ons

Plan
Monthly Cost
Download Speed (Mbps)
Contract Type
Wireless broadband 120 GB
$
23

Wireless broadband 300 GB
$
23

Wireless broadband 1000 GB
$
23

Unlimited FibreClassic [UFB]
$
314

Unlimited FibreMax [MAX]
$
870

Know this first: When comparing broadband providers, service setup charges are an essential part of the deal. In the case of Mercury, the installation cost will depend on the type of plan you choose – Wireless Broadband, or the Fibre broadband plans (Ultra-Fast Broadband or FibreMax). You should check Mercury's website for their latest plans, discounts and fees.

Mercury Broadband Customer Service and Outage Support

  • Mercury's Customer Support Hours are from Monday to Friday, 8 am - 6:30 pm via their free number (0800 10 18 10). Also, you can chat online in real time with a member of their customer service team from Monday to Friday, 8 am - 6:30 pm, and weekends from 8 am - 5 pm. 

Comparing Mercury Plans - Wireless Broadband vs Fibre Classic vs FibreMax Plan

Mercury offers various broadband plans: Capped and Unlimited Wireless Broadband Plans, and the Unlimited Fibre Classic and FibreMax Plans. We outline the offering of each, as well as the pros and cons.

Mercury Wireless Broadband Plan Review

Summary: Mercury's Wireless Broadband plans offer a relatively inexpensive alternative for households with basic internet needs where fibre connections are not available.  

Mercury Unlimited FibreClassic Plan Review

Summary: The FibreClassic Plan provides an excellent cost-benefit ratio along with enough bandwidth to meet the demands of large families, content creators, and home-based professionals.  

Mercury FibreMax Broadband Plan Review

Summary: This plan offers super-fast speeds and allows you to enjoy multiple 4K video streamings and the convenience to work with applications that require high bandwidth.  

Which Mercury Broadband Plan is the Best?

Our view is that the Unlimited FibreClassic Plan is good for those who seek the best value. However, for large families and professionals requiring above-average bandwidth in their homes, the Ultra-Fast FibreMax Broadband Plan is a good alternative.

Choosing the Right Mercury Plan

Mercury's broadband plans are not the fastest or cheapest on the market. However, when combined with other services such as power, gas, home phone, and mobile, they give you the convenience of having all your services on a single bill. Moreover, by combining all these services, you obtain additional savings not only on your broadband bill but also on gas and electricity services, which is an advantage that few other providers can offer. Concerning broadband, though, given the similarity of prices and rewards between different plans, choosing a plan has a lot to do with the connection speed you need.
 
1. Connection Speed: In general terms:
  • Mercury’s Wireless Broadband Plans: These plans are not intended for households that want to use multiple Netflix screens or run bandwidth-intensive applications as they offer lower speeds. These are plans designed for couples and families who are just looking for a quick solution to meet their basic needs, such as checking email, browsing the web, or watching occasional YouTube videos.
  • Mercury's FibreClassic Broadband Plan: This is a good plan for large families who consume lots of data; think of multiple HD streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Disney+ used at once.
  • Mercury’s FibreMax Broadband Plan: In our view, the 900/450Mbps speed offered by this plan is ideal for developers, content creators, and families looking for a service capable of streaming multiple 4k Netflix screens simultaneously. Keep in mind, though, that this plan is not available in all of New Zealand yet.
 
2. Flexibility:
  • Mercury offers open-term plans but to get the most out of the prices and rewards, you must sign a 24-month contract. This can be a real drawback for many Kiwis who do not want to commit to a broadband provider for 2 years. However, if it is okay with you to contract power and broadband with Mercury, then you could save some money during those two years, in addition to taking advantage of the incredible rewards for new customers.
 
3. Set-Up Charges:
  • Unlike many other broadband providers, Mercury offers almost zero setup costs. If your home already has a connection or you only require a standard connection, then the only thing you will have to pay is the modem shipping costs.
 
4. Monthly Costs:
  • From the point of view of monthly costs, deciding on a plan is really easy. The difference between Mercury's various broadband plans is relatively small, with Mercury's Wireless and Fibre plans being in a very narrow price range. In other words, it doesn't make much sense to subscribe to Wireless if the Fibre or FibreMax services are available in your area.
 
5. Additional perks:
  • Mercury offers interesting promotions that often change, visit their website for the latest deals.

Mercury Broadband Frequently Asked Questions

To help you decide if Mercury is right for your home, we've included several frequently asked questions to help you know more about the service.

Is Mercury available at my address?

There is a good chance that broadband service is available at your address as Mercury is one of the top service providers in New Zealand. To verify what type of plans is available in your area, you just have to enter your address on the Mercury page.

​Does Mercury offer a free modem?

Yes, on some of their plans. Mercury offers  a free modem for Wireless but you have to rent a modem for their Fibre plans. Alternatively, you can bring your own modem (BYO) as far as it’s compatible with the service. To set up your own modem, you can follow the Configuring your modem settings FAQ on Mercury ’s website.

Does Mercury offer additional perks?

Check Mercury's website for their latest offers.

Does Mercury offer an open term contract?

Yes, Mercury offers open-term contracts on their plans but access to discounts and perks are exclusive to fixed-term contracts.

Does Mercury offer discounts for broadband plans?

Mercury offers a discount on their plans when bundling broadband and power. Additionally, you can opt for additional perks depending on the type of broadband service you choose.

Who owns Mercury?

51% of Mercury is owned by the New Zealand Government

Does Mercury offer a home phone add-on with its broadband plans?

Yes, you can add a homeline to any of Mercury's broadband plans.​
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