There are three main service providers in Croatia: T-Mobile (098, 099), VIPnet (091), and Tele2 (095), and two smaller ones, Tomato (092) 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 or iNovine news stands that can be found all over the city, or at special centres for each operator, which are also omnipresent, especially in the centre and in shopping malls. 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. Most options are valid for a month, but some (like 11 kn are valid for a shorter period). 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:
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29 kn/month (1GB, 250 SMS texts, 250 min of calls) at Tomato
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39 kn/month (1 GB, 1,000 units of calls and/or SMS texts) at Tele2
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45 kn/month (a total of 1,100 units of MB + SMS + calls) at Simpa/T-mobile
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50 kn/month (1.5 GB, 1,500 units of calls and/or SMS texts) at VIP
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50 kn/month (1.6 GB, 50 min, 150 SMS texts) at bonbon
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 (T-Mobile, VIPnet ,Tele2 , Tomato, bonbon). 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 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 are:
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50 kn/month (1.6 GB, 50 min, 150 SMS texts) at bonbon
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55 kn/month (300 units of calls and/or SMS texts) at Tele2 + an additional Internet fee, ranging from 20 kn for 512 MB to 110 kn for 10 GB
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75 kn/month (75 min of calls to other networks, unlimited calls and SMS texts to Vip numbers, 250 MB)
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89 kn/month (300 units of calls and/or SMS texts, 300 MB) at T-mobile
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99 kn/month (1.5 GB, 1,500 minutes, 1,500 SMS texts) at Tomato
