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Slingshot Broadband Review

We review Slingshot broadband's plans and outline the pros and cons of each, benefits and how to get the best price.

Updated 1 October 2023
​Summary:
  • Slingshot in a Nutshell: Slingshot is one of New Zealand's leading broadband, power and mobile service providers, whose main strength is concentrating its efforts on offering the best bundle price for its services.
  • Coverage: Slingshot 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 Slingshot broadband plan: 
  1. New Customers: Plans with Slingshot are cheapest when you bring your own modem, pay weekly or fortnightly, sign up for 12-months and bundle broadband with Slingshot's mobile plan and don’t plan to change providers for at least 6 months (therefore avoiding the early exit fee).
  2. Renewing: If you're happy with Slingshot and would like to continue, the best approach is to compare the pricing when your contract comes up for renewal. If Slingshot offers a better deal than the renew rate, contact their support team and ask for them to apply it to your account.

Our review: 
This guide details the pros and cons of each plan, compares them side-by-side and outline how to choose the best Slingshot 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.
  • Unlike other broadband comparison websites, we have no relationship with any broadband company, and we're proud that our guides are 100% independent.

Slingshot Broadband Plans, Setup Charges and Add-ons

Plan
Monthly Price
Download / Upload Speed (Mbps)
Contract Type
Standard Broadband 150GB  [ADSL]
$ 84
ADSL: 8.8 / VDSL: 38
Fixed
Standard Broadband Unlimited [ADSL]
$ 77
ADSL: 8.8 / VDSL: 38
Fixed
4G 300GB Wireless Broadband
$ 55
27.5
Fixed
4G Unlimited Wireless Broadband
$ 60
27.5
Fixed
Fibre broadband 150GB [UFB]
$ 82
318
Fixed
Fibre broadband Unlimited [UFB]
$ 77
318
Fixed
Fibre broadband Unlimited Gigantic [MAX]
$ 89
869
Fixed
Know this first: When comparing broadband providers, service setup charges are an essential part of the deal. In the case of Slingshot, there is little difference between ADSL/VDSL, Wireless and Fibre plans. 
  1. Installation cost: In most cases, you won’t have to pay any installation charge, that is, assuming your household already has a phone line and/or ADSL connection, and the fibre access point is within 200 meters from your house.
  2. Modem cost: There are different options for Modems, depending on what plan you’re on. Wireless plans include a modem free of charge (you just have to return it at the end of the plan or you’ll be charged $199 for it). For Standard Broadband (ADSL/VDSL technology) and Fibre Plans, you can rent a modem for $5 per month, and you’ll have to pay $100 if you don’t return it at the end of your plan. In all cases you will be charged a fee of $14.95 for the shipping of the modem. Finally, Slingshot offers a BYO option for Fibre plans, so you can save on the shipping and monthly rental if you have a modem you can use.    
  3. Exit Fees:  An exit fee of $250 is applied if you terminate your plan early. However, Slingshot operates under what they call a “No Dramas Contract”​, which means that the fee might be waived if you have a legitimate reason for terminating the contract, like network underperformance, consistent issues with billing, etc.
  4. Data caps: If you are on a Standard (ADSL/VDSL) or Fibre Plan that is capped and run out of data, you can purchase an additional 5GB for $5. If you are on a G4 Wireless plan that is capped, you won’t have to pay extra when you reach the limit, but you will see the speed diminished to 1.5MBps. The speed will go back to normal when your next bill cycle starts.
  5. Discounts:
  • Some of the plans offer a joining credit when you commit to a 12-month term.
  • If the plan you select offers the option to pay weekly or fortnightly, this can save you up to 8% compared to the monthly cost
  • If you have an eligible Pay Monthly mobile contract with Slingshot, you can save $5 per mobile plan on your broadband bill.
  • You can save $20 per month on your broadband bill when you add Power to your plan.
  • You can also save $5 per month on your Slingshot Broadband bill when taking out an Insurance Policy (House, Contents, Landlord and House and Content insurance options available).
6. Add-ons:
  • A Home phone connection can be included for $10 per month, you will have to purchase individually-priced calling packs on top of this connection fee. You can also add Easy Phone capabilities like call waiting and caller ID for an extra $5 per month.
  • You can add a Protection Plan for $3.95 in case there are issues with your home wiring or broadband hardware
  • A Family Filter can be purchased for $5 per month make internet browsing more kid-friendly. The first 12 months are currently provided for free.

Important: 
  • Slinsgshot offers flexible billing terms on some of their plans, you get the choice to pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly and paying weekly or fortnightly might save you money.

Slingshot Broadband Customer Service and Outage Support

  • Slingshot's Customer Support Hours are from Monday to Friday, 8 am - 8 pm, Saturday, 8 am - 5 pm, Sundays and Holidays, 10 am - 5 pm via email, chat, phone, help center or social media.

Choosing the Right Slingshot Plan - Standard Broadband vs Wireless Broadband Plans vs Fibre Broadband Plans

Slingshot's plans are geared toward the typical New Zealand family looking for reliable broadband service at a reasonable price. The possibility of combining broadband with the other services offered by Slingshot (electricity and mobile) and obtaining a discount on each of them might be an advantage over other providers. In this sense, choosing the best Slingshot broadband plan has a lot to do with your home or work bandwidth requirement and the type of service available in your area.
 
1. Connection Speed: In general terms:
  • Slingshot’s Standard Broadband Plans: These plans are not intended for households using bandwidth-intensive applications such as 4k video streaming or gaming. This is especially true in the 150GB plan, which is, in our opinion, a rather limiting plan. Since the price difference to the unlimited plan is only a couple of dollars, we really don't see the point in having a capped plan.
  • Slingshot’s Fibre Broadband Plans: Both the 150GB and the Unlimited Fibre Broadband plans, offer speeds that are more than enough to satisfy the most demanding kiwi household. However, in our opinion, the 150GB plan is very limiting, considering that it will not allow you to enjoy multiple Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Disney+ screens at once without exceeding the monthly data allowance. Again, the better choice would be to go for the Unlimited version of this plan.
  • Slingshot’s Unlimited Gigantic Broadband Plan: This is a step up over Standard Fibre Broadband and is currently the fastest broadband plan offered by Slingshot. From a speed/bandwidth perspective, this is hands down the best choice since it allows you to stream multiple 4k screens and other bandwidth-intensive applications simultaneously.
 
2. Flexibility:
  • One of Slingshot broadband’s biggest disadvantages is that it does not offer open term plans, so you will have to sign up for 6, 12, or 24-month fixed term.
  • A positive aspect of the plans offered by Slingshot is the possibility to choose between weekly, fortnightly, and monthly payments, which provides additional savings.
  • If you can bundle broadband with power and/or mobile, then you could save a bit of money during those two years.
 
3. Set-Up Charges:
  • Something that makes Slingshot stand out from the rest is its low setup fees. In most cases, the only thing you will have to pay is the modem shipping costs.

4. Monthly Costs:
  • Slingshot is one of the few broadband providers that offer the ability to choose how to make your payments. The way to get the lowest price is by making weekly or fortnightly payments.

Slingshot Broadband Frequently Asked Questions

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

Is Slingshot available at my address?

There is a good chance that broadband service is available at your address as Slingshot 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 Slingshot page.

Does Slingshot offer a free modem?

Slingshot only offers a free modem on their 4G Wireless plans. For their Fibre and ADSL/VDSL plans you can either rent the modem or Bring Your Own. To set up your own modem, you can follow the Modem Setup Guides in Slingshot’s help page.

Does Slingshot offer additional perks?

From time to time, Slingshot offers sign-up bonuses.

Does Slingshot offer an open term contract?

No, you must sign up for a minimum term of 6 months.

Does Slingshot offer discounts for broadband plans?

Yes, Slingshot offers discounts when you bundle broadband with some other of their services like electricity, mobile or insurance. 

Who owns Slingshot?

Slingshot broadband is a subsidiary of the Vocus Group, an Australian-based telecommunications company.

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

Yes, Slingshot offers the option to add a home phone with a broadband plan.
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