4 November 2022 - Moving to Croatia can be stressful, with many hurdles to negotiate. A new TCN section to ease the pain, Moving to Croatia, starting with how to get connected and the mobile phone package options.
In 2022, there are three main mobile service providers in Croatia: T-Mobile (098, 099), A1 (091), and Telemach (095), and two virtual networks, Tomato (092; operated by A1) and bonbon (097).
There are two great sites for comparing prices of mobile phone and Internet services, Kompare and Procjenitelj troškova, but both are available only in Croatian.
As in most other countries, you have two options: prepaid and postpaid SIM cards. If you like the feeling of not having to worry about topping up your credit, postpaid option is the one for you, even though the deals are not as cheap as they are with prepaid tariffs. On the other hand, if you want to spend less and you like being more in control and having fixed limits when it comes to your monthly mobile phone bills, prepaid is the thing for you, even though there’s a possibility that you won’t have enough credit when you have to make a phone call.
You can buy prepaid SIM card on any Tisak, iNovine or any other newsstand that can be found all over the country, at most larger convenience stores (such as Konzum, Spar, Tommy or others) at the cash registers, or at the operators’ retail stores (mostly found in bigger towns and in shopping centres). They usually cost around 25 kn and include the same amount of credit for you to spend. You can top up you credit with various amounts, usually from 11 to 200 kn, at the same places where you can buy SIM cards, and some ATMs also give you the option to top up your phone. These days, most operators also give you the option to purchase or top up their card online. Don’t forget to activate a tariff after you’ve topped up your phone, because that way you don’t get charged for every single call you make and SMS you send, but you get a package deal and get different number of minutes, SMS texts, and GB of Internet included in the fixed tariff price. Some networks charge an additional fee of about 0.30 kn for each call you make. The tariff is valid for a month, but if you spend everything included in it, you can activate it again before a month has passed.
The best prepaid deals you can get are, at the time of this writing (Sept 2022):
- 30 kn/month (1000 units (minute of call, SMS or 1 MB) at Tomato
- 45 kn/month (2 GB, 200 minutes, 200 SMS) at Telemach
- 50 kn/month (2 GB, 450 min, 400 SMS) at bonbon
- 59 kn/month (3 GB, 2000 units (minutes or SMS)) at VIP
- 69 kn/month (4 GB, 2000 units (minutes or SMS)) at Simpa/T-mobile
Postpaid options usually range from 50 to 500 kn a month, and, based on the price, include different amounts of minutes, texts, and Internet that you can use over a month. Some costs are not included in your chosen monthly postpaid option, like SMS parking or international calls, so bear in mind that the price you pay per month is probably going to exceed that amount. Most postpaid options include having to sign a contract for a period of 12 or 24 months, which also means you get a discount on mobile phones (the longer the contract and the higher the price, the bigger the discount). You sign a contract and choose your preferred method of payment in special stores for each operator, and the information on store locations can be found on their websites. If you wish to end your contract before its expiry, you will have to pay additional fees both for the remaining number of months for the postpaid option that you chose and for the phone, if you decide to buy it. Also, the phone you buy is usually compatible with that operator’s SIM card only, so if you wish to use it with a different operator later, you will have to unlock it. The postpaid tariffs are valid for a month, and if you spend everything included in your tariff, you’re going to be charged extra. There’s also an additional fee of 10 kn for network access.
The best postpaid deals you can get at the time of this writing (Sept 2022) are:
- 50 kn/month (2 GB, 450 min, 400 SMS) at bonbon
- 82 kn/month (6 GB, unlimited minutes and SMS) at Telemach
- 105 kn/month (5 GB, unlimited minutes and SMS) at A1
- 135 kn/month (10 GB, 5000 minutes or SMS) at T-mobile
- 89 kn/month (9000 units (MB, minutes or SMS) at Tomato
Even though we live in a mobile phone era and we don’t need phones to connect to the Internet anymore, most people still like to have a good old landline phone in their home, so getting a package deal including phone and the Internet is the best choice. There are several options to choose from in Croatia, including A1, HT (including the brand they also own, Iskon), Terrakom, Optima and Telemach.
Most operators require signing a contract for a period of 12 or 24 months, which sometimes gets you an additional discount over a certain period of months. Your options also depend on the place where you live, because an operator’s infrastructure might not cover your neighbourhood, especially if you live in the countryside. When you visit each operator’s website, you’ll find the maps showing you whether your neighbourhood/apartment is covered. Broadband speed also varies depending on the operator and the location.
You can compare what they offer and their prices at a site we already mentioned, Procjenitelj troškova.
The options are numerous, include various combinations of services, such as different internet speeds, TV packages (including HBO or similar promotions), various landline phone options, discounts for longer contracts etc. We’ll just show you the options given at the time of writing (Sept 2022) for the flat Internet by each of the providers:
- A1 – 179 kn/month, download speed up to 200 Mbit/s
- HT – only offers a package with landline included, 239 kn/month, download speed up to 200 Mbit/s
- Iskon – 159,90 kn/month, download speed unspecified
- Terrakom – 99 kn/month, download speed 100 Mbit/s
- Optima – 149 kn/month, 4 Mbps download
- Telemach – 139 kn/month, optical internet, download speed up to 300 Mbit/s
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What is it like to live in Croatia? An expat for 20 years, you can follow my series, 20 Ways Croatia Changed Me in 20 Years, starting at the beginning - Business and Dalmatia.
Croatia, a Survival Kit for Foreigners is now available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.
Additionally, in recent years the so-called „portable Internet connection“ options have become popular, and most providers have them. Those are usually not flat rate and the prices depend on the amount of traffic a month included in the package, so if you want those, check the providers' websites for details.
