Save on Internet Bills
Most New Zealanders are on a broadband plan priced for someone who has never checked. Here is what switching actually involves and what it's worth.
Why your bill probably isn't the cheapest available
NZ's fibre network is wholesale - Chorus and the local fibre companies own the physical lines, and dozens of retail ISPs resell access over the same infrastructure. That means switching providers on the same address almost never means new cabling or a technician visit; you are just changing who bills you for the same connection. Providers know most customers never revisit their plan once set up, so headline pricing for new customers is often meaningfully better than what existing customers are quietly paying.
What NZ broadband actually costs in 2026
- Skinny: around $65/month for 100/20Mbps unlimited fibre - consistently one of the cheapest mainstream options, no lock-in contract.
- 2degrees: around $75/month for its Unlimited Fibre 100 plan - mid-range pricing, positioned between budget and premium providers.
- One NZ: Fibre Starter plans sit in the mid-$60s to $70s, with prices having risen through 2026.
- Spark: Broadband Lite-style capped plans and full unlimited fibre plans both sit in a similar mid-range band, with data caps and inclusions changing periodically.
- Smaller providers (Bigpipe, MyRepublic, Contact Broadband and others): often undercut the big four on headline price, particularly for naked fibre with no phone line or extras bundled in.
Across the market, the gap between the cheapest genuinely unlimited fibre plan and a big-name provider's equivalent plan is commonly $10-20 a month - $120-240 a year - for what is functionally the same connection speed over the same physical network.
What switching actually involves
Sign up with the new provider online, give them your address and preferred switch date. They handle the technical transfer with the existing provider - there is typically a short (often same-day to a few days) handover window, and you keep your existing router unless you want a new one. Cancel the old plan only once the new one is confirmed active, to avoid a gap.
Where the real savings hide
New-customer sign-up deals - a discounted rate for the first 6-12 months, a free router, or a gift card - are usually only available to people switching in, not people who already have a connection with that provider. This means the biggest single lever most households have is simply being willing to switch periodically rather than staying loyal to one ISP indefinitely. There is rarely a loyalty reward for staying, but there is consistently a sign-up reward for arriving.
Matching the plan to actual usage
Unlimited data has become close to the default across most NZ providers now, so the main lever left is speed tier and price, not data caps. If your household is mostly browsing, streaming SD/HD content and doing schoolwork, a 100Mbps plan is plenty - paying extra for a gigabit tier only makes sense with multiple simultaneous 4K streams, large file transfers, or serious gaming/work-from-home needs.
What to actually do
Check what you are currently paying against current market rates for the same speed tier - a quick search across Spark, One NZ, 2degrees, Skinny and smaller providers takes ten minutes. If a competitor beats your current price by more than about $10/month, switch. Set a reminder to repeat this check every 12 months, especially if you signed up under a promotional rate.
Compare routers and mesh Wi-Fi gear on Twisti
Switching plans is the biggest lever - but if your Wi-Fi coverage is the actual problem, compare router and mesh system pricing across NZ retailers here.
Compare prices now →