Canstar NZ

10/05/2026

There’s been a lot of changes in the telco and power market over the past month. One NZ and Spark have each tweaked some of their mobile phone plans and prices. And in the power market, the latest wave of increases to electricity transmission costs kicked in.

As a result, many Kiwi households will be facing increased utility bills this month. But that doesn’t mean you have to suck up the hit to your finances. There are also some great new deals out there across mobile, broadband and power, which have the potential to save you hundreds of dollars.

Check out Canstar’s May round-ups of the best deals across: 💵📱

Broadband https://www.canstar.co.nz/internet/best-broadband-deals/

Mobile https://www.canstar.co.nz/mobile-phone/best-mobile-phone-deals/

Electricity https://www.canstar.co.nz/energy/best-power-deals-in-nz/

Looking for the best broadband deals in New Zealand? Canstar wraps the best current broadband deals from all the big broadband providers.

29/04/2026

🏆Canstar’s 2026 Innovation Excellence Awards🏆

ASB Bank , One New Zealand and Tower Insurance – delivering a new wave of innovation reshaping banking, telco and insurance , One NZ and Tower – delivering a new wave of innovation reshaping banking, telco and insurance.

Canstar has announced its 2026 Innovation Excellence Award winners, recognising five standout products and services – from three providers across banking, insurance and telco – that are changing how Kiwis manage their money, homes, and everyday lives.

🏆2026 Innovation Excellence Award Winners🏆

🏆ASB🏆

This year ASB scores a hat-trick of wins, thanks to a trio of innovations that make banking safer, easier, and more sustainable:

Caller Check: Caller Check is a first-of-its-kind security feature that allows customers to verify a bank caller’s identity instantly through the ASB Mobile Banking app.

Joint Home Loan Application: ASB's Joint Home Loan Application system is designed to simplify and speed up the home-lending journey for co-borrowers.

Smart Solar: ASB's Smart Solar is a two-part solution that offers a five-year, 0% interest loan of up to $150,000 for solar power that combines with the high-tech Power My Farm solar toolkit, which uses laser mapping to find the best spots for solar panels.

🏆One NZ🏆

Satellite TXT: In a global first, One NZ became the first company to launch a nationwide satellite service that allows compatible off-the-shelf mobile phones to communicate directly with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, offering communication outside of conventional terrestrial mobile networks.

🏆Tower🏆

Landslide and Sea Surge Insurance: Tower’s risk-based insurance pricing harnesses the latest technology to the benefit of Kiwi home-insurance customers, by giving them access to property-level risk factors that were previously hidden. And, importantly, for over 90% of Tower’s customers, it translates into a reduction in the natural hazards portion of their premiums.

For more information about Canstar’s Innovation Excellence Awards click here.

Canstar’s Innovation Excellence Awards celebrate groundbreaking financial products launched in NZ over the past year.

23/04/2026

🏆 Canstar's Home Loan Awards 2026 🏆

As fixed-term mortgage interest rates creep back up, Canstar’s latest Home Loan Awards reveal the lenders that offer Kiwi home owners outstanding value mortgages.🏠 🏛

This year, BNZ is the winner of Canstar’s Bank of the Year Home Loans Award, for delivering mortgage products that combine the best features with the lowest costs, alongside great customer service at every stage of the mortgage journey.

In addition to the BNZ, three other mortgage providers receive Outstanding Value Awards, across residential and investment lending:

· ASB

· The Co-operative Bank

· Westpac

For full details of Canstar’s 2026 Home Loan Awards, click here.

ASB is NZ's best mortgage lender: winner of Canstar's Bank of the Year | Home Loans Award, for its great rates, value and customer service.

01/04/2026

Households across the country are feeling the sting of rising power prices. Over the past year, electricity costs have risen by well over 15% in some areas. And further increases are on the cards, due to the double whammy of rising transmission costs and the scrapping of the low-user tariff. 📈

But by shopping around and comparing power prices, it is possible to find better deals. To help you discover if you’re paying too much for your power, check out Canstar’s region-to-region review of average power prices, and its consumer rankings of the power providers that deliver 5-Star value for money.

Your power bill's size isn't about just how much electricity you use. Where you live has a big effect. Canstar reveals power prices around NZ.

26/03/2026

Canstar’s 2026 Outstanding Value Credit Card Awards reveal the best rewards, cashback, Airpoints and low-rate credit cards for all budgets.

And for the fourth year in a row, TSB New Zealand is the winner of Canstar’s Bank of the Year Credit Cards Award, for its Low Rate Mastercard & Platinum Mastercard, which together deliver Kiwi card users the best low-rate and rewards credit cards.

For this year’s awards, Canstar’s team of financial experts analysed 29 credit cards from 11 providers, across a range of card spending, from $1000 per month to over $10,000, to discover the cards that deliver the best features and value for money.

For the full breakdown of the best plastic for your pocket, compare credit cards with Canstar.

Compare 29 credit cards using our easy comparison service. View fees, interest rates, ratings, and features to find the best credit card for you.

18/03/2026

Suzuki NZ Wins Canstar's New Cars Award 2026 🏆🚗

On New Zealand roads, Suzuki’s in pole position, winning Canstar’s New Cars Award for the third year in a row.

The Suzuki Swift is New Zealand’s top-selling small car and, this year, Suzuki is again the top-rated car brand in Canstar’s New Cars Award, as decided by 882 new car buyers.

Over the past decade, Suzuki has won Canstar's New Car Award more times than any other car brand, which is a testament to the levels of customer satisfaction the Japanese car brand delivers to Kiwi consumers.

This is the seventh time that Suzuki has taken home Canstar’s New Cars Award, having achieved back-to-back wins in 2014-15, 2017-18 and now 2024-26.

Tom Slee, Canstar Group Manager – Wealth, Health & New Zealand says, “New Zealanders love their cars, and they love Suzuki, too.

“Suzuki is the only car marque to earn a perfect set of 5-Star reviews from its customers in our 2026 award ratings, covering: Driving Experience, Reliability, Service and Value for Money.

“Along with Suzuki’s decade-long dominance of our award, these results prove that in an extremely competitive and fast-changing car market, Suzuki continues to deliver Kiwis quality vehicles, great value for money and memorable driving experiences.”

11/02/2026

If you’ve not revised your phone, broadband and power plans recently, then you could be paying too much.

Providers are always tweaking their deals, especially their phone plans, which are updated regularly, usually to offer more data at cheaper rates.

And to help you take the first step to saving on your utility bills, each month Canstar rounds up the hottest deals in the market. It’s as easy as clicking on a link below:

Best power deals
https://www.canstar.co.nz/energy/best-power-deals-in-nz/

Best broadband deals
https://www.canstar.co.nz/internet/best-broadband-deals/

Best mobile deals
https://www.canstar.co.nz/mobile-phone/best-mobile-phone-deals/

10/12/2025

If you’re refinancing your mortgage, it could be time for a longer fix in ’26. Yes, the OCR has received another haircut, but the banks’ lending costs are up, and Westpac has already increased some of its rates. 📈🏠

In our latest market round-up, we look at what the big mortgage lenders are predicting for the OCR and mortgage rates over the next 12 months.

Click here to read our story Where Will Mortgage Rates Go in 2026?

When will interest rates go down? Canstar looks at what the big banks and mortgage experts are predicting for 2023.

09/12/2025

Purchasing travel insurance isn’t just about finding the cheapest deal, it’s about securing the right level of cover for your travel plans.

So, if you’re arranging your next overseas trip, alongside ensuring your passport is up to date, check out Canstar’s Travel Insurance Awards.

For our latest awards, our expert analysts rated 17 market-leading providers across four traveller profiles: International, Trans-Tasman, Cruise and Seniors. Importantly, policies were rated for their cover levels, as well as the customer service and value for money on offer.

This year, four insurance providers earn Outstanding Value Awards, and one provider, 🏆 Southern Cross Travel Insurance New Zealand 🏆, dominates our ratings, earning 5-Star Outstanding Value Travel Insurance Awards across all our award categories.

You can discover more about Southern Cross’s win, and the full details of our Travel Insurance Awards, here.

Compare travel insurance policies and providers for trans-Tasman and international destinations to discover some of the best, cheapest travel insurance.

27/11/2025

Whatever your age or fitness level, health supplements are great for giving your body a nutritional boost. Canstar’s latest research reveals over half of Kiwis (56%) think taking health supplements is an essential part of leading a healthy lifestyle, while 44% say health supplements make a real difference to their sense of wellbeing.

And based on Canstar’s research, involving over 1600 health-conscious Kiwis, NZ’s best health supplements brand is Clinicians.

Clinicians' products are rated 5-Stars for Effectiveness, Taste, Ease of Consumption and Overall Satisfaction, placing Clinicians ahead of the other 12 supplement brands in our consumer research, and earning Clinicians Canstar’s latest Health Supplements Award.

For more on Clinicians’ award win and the full results of our health supplements award research, check out the Canstar website.

Compare multivitamins in New Zealand at Canstar Blue.