Yahoo Finance Travel Wifi Router Rental Guide (2019) – ChangiWiFi vs KLOOK & More
Since the rise of millennials and our strange need to document everything online, overseas wifi router rental services like ChangiWiFi and Klook have had a huge surge in popularity.
I mean, I get it. A huge part of the modern travel experience is spreading wanderlust and envy throughout social media. What’s a vacation without that dopamine spike that comes with each Instagram like, right?
So if you’re planning for an upcoming vacay, here’s a useful price comparison of the top 5 travel wifi router rental services in Singapore.
Travel wifi router rental services in Singapore – which is the cheapest?
I’ve shortlisted some popular travel destinations, and singled out the cheapest travel wifi vendors for it.
Destination country | Cheapest price | Wifi router rental company |
Malaysia | $5 / day | KLOOK, Roaming Man, Ready to Travel by SATS |
Thailand | $4 / day | KLOOK |
Hong Kong | $4 / day | KK Day, KLOOK |
Taiwan | $1 / day | KK Day |
Japan | $5 / day | All |
Korea | $4 / day | KK Day |
China | $4 / day | KLOOK |
Australia | $9 / day | ChangiWiFi, Roaming Man |
NZ | $9 / day | KLOOK |
Europe | $9 / day | KLOOK, ChangiWiFi |
America | $9 / day | KLOOK, ChangiWiFi |
These overseas wifi rental services charge by the day, and in general, prices are around $4 to $5 for destinations in Asia, and $9 to $12 for Australia, New Zealand, Europe and America.
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KK Day
If you look at the individual prices, KK Day would seem to be the cheapest. It offers an unbeatable rate of $1 per day for Taiwan, and rock-bottom prices of $4 per day for Hong Kong and Korea.
Destination country | KKday |
Malaysia | – |
Thailand | – |
Hong Kong | $4 / day |
Taiwan | $1 / day |
Japan | $5 / day |
Korea | $4 / day |
China | – |
Australia | – |
NZ | – |
Europe | – |
America | – |
Delivery / pickup | Pick-up & drop-off at overseas airport |
The only catch is that KK Day doesn’t offer wifi routers for many destinations – it is limited to Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
Also, instead of the usual local self-collection or courier service offered by competitors, KK Day requires you pick up and drop off your router at the overseas airport of your destination.
I don’t think it’s that a big a deal because you have to pass by the airport anyway, but things can get problematic if you need to clarify anything with the staff and you don’t speak the local language.
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KLOOK
Klook is super established in the travel scene, because not only do they offer travel wifi routers, they also sell day tours and overseas attraction tickets. Their prices are very competitive, and are the lowest in the market (aside from KK Day’s $1 / day rate for Taiwan, of course).
Destination country | KLOOK |
Malaysia | $5 / day |
Thailand | $4 / day |
Hong Kong | $4 / day |
Taiwan | $4 / day |
Japan | $5 / day |
Korea | $5 / day |
China | $4 / day |
Australia | $12 / day |
NZ | $9 / day |
Europe | $9 / day |
America | $9 / day |
Delivery / pickup | Free doorstep delivery |
In fact, KLOOK is the cheapest for most destinations except Taiwan and Australia. As mentioned, for Taiwan you should go for KK Day. For Australia, the cheapest is Changi Recommends and Roaming Man ($9 instead of $12 per day).
KLOOK actually requires pick-up and drop-off at their office in the CBD, otherwise it’s $14 for 2-way courier. However, since its partnership with Roaming Man, the courier fees are absorbed, giving you even more bang for your buck.
I personally prefer courier to pick-up, because I’m usually bogged down with work and last-minute preparations the few days before my flights.
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Roaming Man
For some strange reason, it’s cheaper to book Roaming Man routers via KLOOK.
Destination country | Roaming Man |
Malaysia | $5 / day |
Thailand | $5 / day |
Hong Kong | $5 / day |
Taiwan | $5 / day |
Japan | $5 / day |
Korea | $5 / day |
China | $5 / day |
Australia | $12 / day |
NZ | $12 / day |
Europe | $12 / day |
America | $12 to $16 / day |
Delivery / pickup | Free doorstep delivery or pick-up & drop-off at Roaming Man office in CBD |
If you book directly via Roaming Man, the $4-per-day destinations are $5, and the $9-per-day countries are $12. (shrugs)
You can pick self-collection at their office in the CBD, or opt for courier – either way, both are free.
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ChangiWiFi by Changi Recommends
Back when its competitors charged for courier fees, ChangiWiFi had the edge because the pick-up point is well, Changi Airport. Now that courier is free for everyone else, having to pick up your router 1.5 to 2 hours before your flight is actually a bit of a hassle… at least to me.
Destination country | ChangiWiFi |
Malaysia | $8 / day |
Thailand | $5 / day |
Hong Kong | $5 / day |
Taiwan | $5 / day |
Japan | $5 / day |
Korea | $5 / day |
China | $8 / day (w/o VPN), $10 / day (VPN) |
Australia | $9 / day |
NZ | $12 / day |
Europe | $9 / day |
America | $9 / day |
Delivery / pickup | Pick-up & drop-off at Changi Airport |
ChangiWiFi’s prices are average, but slightly more expensive for Malaysia and New Zealand. If you’re driving up to Malaysia, you’re better off choosing another vendor because you won’t pass by Changi Airport, and ChangiWiFi doesn’t offer courier.
That said, it is the cheapest for Australia, Europe, and America, and since those are already quite expensive (compared to Asia rates), the price difference can easily add up.
For instance, 14 days in Europe will be $126 via ChangiWiFi (and Klook) but a whopping $168 via Roaming Man or ReadyWIFI – that’s over 30% difference!
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Ready to Travel by SATS
Ready to Travel by SATS also offers pocket wifi rentals.
Destination country | ReadyWiFi |
Malaysia | $5 / day |
Thailand | $5 / day |
Hong Kong | $5 / day |
Taiwan | $5 / day |
Japan | $5 / day |
Korea | $5 / day |
China | $5 / day |
Australia | $12 / day |
NZ | $12 / day |
Europe | $12 / day |
America | $12 / day |
Delivery / pickup | Free doorstep delivery |
Their prices are pretty standard – $5 per day for Asia, and $12 per day for everywhere else. It’s slightly more expensive than the rest, except for Japan, which is $5 per day across the board.
They’re not the cheapest, but I have personally booked routers from them before and enjoyed their service. The booking process was seamless from start to finish, from the moment I started asking kiasu questions on Facebook to the day they collected the router after my trip.
Their prices include pick-up and drop-off.
Overseas wifi routers vs data roaming
These travel wifi router rentals have forced local telcos to price their data roaming services more competitively, and although prices are indeed a lot lower than they used to be, they’re not quite as cost-effective as travel wifi router rentals.
Let’s have a look at some of the telcos’ offerings:
M1 Data Passport
The M1 Data Passport service lets you use your local data “allowance” overseas for $10 to $25 per month (single destination).
Starhub DataTravel
The Starhub DataTravel add-on bundles 1GB to 3GB for $5 to $50, depending on your destination and travel destination. The cheapest option is $5 for 1GB of data over 3 days, for selected countries in Asia.
Singtel ReadyRoam
Singtel ReadyRoam packages the destination countries into 4 categories – Malaysia ($5/GB), 9 Destinations ($12/GB), 18 Destinations ($20/GB) and 56 Destinations ($35/GB).
As you can see, all data roaming plans put a cap on your data consumption. (Okay, so there are unlimited usage plans too, but those are even more expensive so I’m not even going to include them.)
If you’re planning to use the internet to route your way around and upload photos and videos to social media, that 1GB will be used up in no time. Travel wifi routers offer unlimited data, which is more cost-effective.
Furthermore, 1 device can be shared among up to 5 to 6 devices so you can split the cost with your friends and family.
Granted, for certain countries the unlimited data clause may be subject to the provider’s fair usage policy – which is a data cap to prevent abuse – but technically you still get unlimited internet, it’ll just be dramatically slower.
If it even applies, the fair usage policy limit is usually quite generous anyway (think 500mb to 1GB per day), so if you’re just sharing between 2 to 4 pax, you should be fine.
Are you a fan of travel wifi routers? Tell us your experience in the comments below.
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