Best Unlimited Data Mobile Plan NZ: Compare Costs & Providers

Key facts at a glance

Six rows, one pattern: the label says “unlimited” but the price and the throttle tell the real story.

What is the best unlimited data plan in NZ?

Key factors to compare: price, speed, throttling

• Price per month — and whether you are prepaying or signing up for a postpaid bill.
• The max-speed data allowance before throttling starts.
• The throttle speed after the allowance — One NZ publishes a 1.2 Mbps floor.
• Hotspot and tethering rules, plus whether roaming data is included.
• The fair-use policy, which decides whether your “unlimited” plan is actually unlimited.

The honest answer to “which plan is best” is that it depends on where your usage sits. Aggregator Glimp’s plan database counts 21 live unlimited-data plans from $30/month, and the top of that market splits between Spark’s Unlimited Data at $95/month for the first line and One NZ’s Endless Unlimited at $99/month. Heavy streamers and tethering households get the most value from that top tier; moderate users who mostly use apps, maps, and music can pay far less.

The factor most people miss is the speed after the ceiling. Consumer research site MoneyHub’s comparison of NZ mobile plans puts the typical throttle at around 1 Mbps after 40–50GB — fine for messaging, visibly slow for HD video. The best plan for you is the one whose ceiling lines up with how you actually use data. There is no point paying $99/month for a plan that never gets a chance to throttle.

How much does unlimited data cost One NZ?

One NZ sells its speed-capped range under the “Endless” name. Pricing runs from $49/month for Endless Lite up to $99/month for Endless Unlimited, with mid-tier options in between, per One NZ’s plan pages (network operator).

• All Endless plans include unlimited NZ and Australian calls and texts.
• After the max-speed allowance, the plan continues at a reduced speed — One NZ’s published figure is 1.2 Mbps, cited in the Quick snapshot above.
• Data is for personal use on the One NZ New Zealand network only.
• Prepay plans exist too, with flexible top-ups and extra data rather than a fixed contract.

The price difference within the range is really about the max-speed allowance. A light user on Endless Lite will rarely notice the throttle; a household that streams video every evening will hit the 1.2 Mbps floor quickly and feel the difference on every buffering screen.

What this means: One NZ’s Endless range is priced by how much fast data you want before the slow lane begins. The gap between $49 and $99 is a bet on how disciplined you are with video streaming.

Who has the cheapest unlimited data mobile plan?

The cheapest way to buy unlimited data in New Zealand is to pay a year in advance. Mobile Compare’s prepaid unlimited plan costs $399 for 365 days — the equivalent of $33.25/month — and includes unlimited NZ/AU calls, plus hotspot data (Mobile Compare (prepaid plan marketplace)). There is no credit check and no monthly bill.

On the postpaid side, 2degrees reportedly prices its unlimited campaign at $5/month for the first six months, then $40/month on the entry tier and $75/month on the full unlimited tier. Kiwi Mobile’s two sub-$50 plans, tracked in Canstar’s cheap mobile phone plans NZ comparison, cap out at 1.2 Mbps after their data thresholds and let you move up a tier instead of staying slowed.

• Mobile Compare prepaid: $399/year ($33.25/month), unlimited NZ/AU calls, hotspot included.
• 2degrees: $5/month for 6 months, then $40–$75/month (promotional pricing).
• Kiwi Mobile: two sub-$50 endless plans, per-day billing, throttled to 1.2 Mbps (Canstar, linked above).
• Mighty Mobile: 365-day prepay unlimited at max speed, subject to fair use (Mighty Mobile prepay terms).
• Glimp’s plan database lists 21 live unlimited-data plans starting from $30/month (Glimp’s plan database).

The pattern: the cheapest plans save you money precisely because they assume you will hit the ceiling quickly and stay in the slow lane.

Which mobile plans offer unlimited data?

Main providers offering unlimited data

• One NZ: the Endless range — Lite, Standard, and Unlimited — with a 1.2 Mbps speed cap after the max-speed allowance (pricing covered in the One NZ section above).
• Spark: Unlimited Data at $95/month for the first line and $47/month for additional companion lines.
• 2degrees: the Unlimited plan with campaign pricing at $5/month for six months, then $40–$75/month.
• Skinny: prepay “endless” plans that run at max speed for the first 10GB per 28 days, then reduce speeds (Skinny (prepay plan pricing)).
• Mighty Mobile: 365-day prepay plans with unlimited data at the plan’s max speed; all plans are prepay.
• Kiwi Mobile: per-day endless plans under $50 with a 1.2 Mbps cap after the threshold.
• Zeronet and Mighty Mobile: named in MoneyHub’s comparison of NZ mobile plans as plans that keep their chosen speed through the month.

Prices in this rundown come from the provider rate cards and aggregator sources cited in this article. Notice the labels while you read them: One NZ says “Endless,” Skinny says “endless,” and Spark and 2degrees say “Unlimited.” All of them describe the same product architecture — an allowance of full-speed data, then a slower connection that never cuts you off.

The trade-off: visible speed caps (One NZ, Kiwi Mobile, Skinny prepay) are easier to plan around than invisible fair-use policies (Spark, 2degrees, Mighty Mobile). Know which one you are buying.

Which prepaid plan is best for 365 days of data?

If your goal is one payment and a year of data, two options are worth the prepay commitment — and both are prepay by design.

• Mobile Compare’s prepaid unlimited plan: $399 for 365 days ($33.25/month), unlimited NZ/AU calls and hotspot included.
• Mighty Mobile’s 365-day plans: unlimited data at the plan’s max speed, with a fair-use policy that applies to all plans (Mighty Mobile prepay terms).

The wider prepaid market is thinner than it looks. One NZ’s prepay plans offer flexible top-ups and extra data as needed, but there is no true 365-day unlimited plan in the lineup. 2degrees prepay runs on monthly top-ups, and Skinny’s endless prepay works in 28-day cycles rather than an annual window. MoneyHub’s research on cheap SIM-only plans adds the key data point: annual pre-paid plans can save more than 10% versus the same plan paid monthly in instalments.

For seniors, the appeal is predictability. A single $399 payment removes bill shock, late fees, and the mental load of a monthly renewal — and the speed floor on these plans beats a hard cutoff. Mighty Mobile’s terms also confirm a fair-use policy, so “unlimited” still means “reasonable personal use.”

The pattern: if you can put $399 down today, prepaid 365-day plans reset the economics of unlimited data in New Zealand — you lock a rate, skip monthly billing, and swap a hard cutoff for a speed floor.

Unlimited data plans compared side by side

Nine plans, one pattern: the monthly price mostly buys more high-speed data before the slow lane begins. Every figure below comes from the provider and comparison sources cited in this article — confirm the current rate before you switch.

The trade-off: visible speed caps are easier to plan around than invisible fair-use policies. If a provider will not tell you the fair-use threshold in writing, assume the slow lane arrives sooner than advertised.

Pros and cons of unlimited data plans

The trade-off: unlimited data in New Zealand is never free of limits. It is a choice between a visible speed cap and an invisible fair-use cap — read the terms to know which one you are signing up for.

What’s confirmed and what’s unclear

Confirmed facts

• One NZ reduces speeds to a maximum of 1.2 Mbps once the max-speed data allowance is used — its own plan pages say so, linked in the Quick snapshot above.
• Skinny’s prepay endless data slows after 10GB per 28 days (Skinny (prepay plan pricing)).
• Mighty Mobile’s 365-day plans are prepay only and carry a fair-use policy (Mighty Mobile prepay terms).
• Kiwi Mobile sells two sub-$50 unlimited plans capped at 1.2 Mbps after their data thresholds (Canstar’s cheap mobile phone plans NZ comparison).

What’s unclear

• Whether 2degrees’ $5/month promotional pricing is still open to new customers.
• The exact fair-use thresholds on Spark’s and 2degrees’ unlimited plans.
• Whether any provider’s “unlimited” truly has zero speed management or traffic shaping.
• How long Mobile Compare’s $399 annual prepay rate will hold.
• Whether One NZ’s 1.2 Mbps floor is practical for a whole household or only a single phone.

The takeaway: the marketing is clearer than the contracts. Ask the provider for the fair-use threshold in writing before you switch — the answer tells you more than the plan name.

What users and providers are saying

Once your Max Speed data allowance is exceeded, your speeds are reduced to a maximum of 1.2Mbps.

— One NZ, plan description (network operator)

Just need a cheapish unlimited mobile plan — One NZ’s prices keep going up.

— r/newzealand user, community discussion on mobile plans

The pattern: users and providers describe the same product differently. The provider sells “endless” freedom; the user asks when the slowdown hits.

The takeaway: match the ceiling to your usage

New Zealand’s “unlimited” market runs on a shared assumption: you will not use as much data as the marketing allows. One NZ and Skinny publish their speed floors, Spark and 2degrees keep fair-use thresholds quieter, and prepaid annual plans quietly offer the best rate for anyone who can pay a year up front. For anyone in New Zealand shopping on a fixed budget, the decision is clear: prepay once at $399 and skip monthly billing, or accept that a $95+ postpaid “unlimited” plan will eventually leave you on the 1 Mbps slow lane.

Related reading: Compare mobile plans NZ unlimited data · Cheap mobile phone plans NZ comparison

Frequently asked questions