Comparison

GLOBUG APP vs Kiwi Central

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

GLOBUG APP

Manage your prepay electricity account easily. View your balance, top up using debit/credit card or internet banking, and track your remaining power days and spending habits.

Highlights
  • View account balance
  • Top-up with debit/credit card
  • Top-up with internet banking
  • Estimate remaining power days
  • Track daily, weekly, monthly spending
Features
Read full description

The GLOBUG app is a handy way to manage your GLOBUG prepay electricity account. The GLOBUG app allows you to view your account balance, Top-up your account with your Debit/Credit card or Internet Banking, see an estimate of how many days of power are remaining and to see how much you are spending on power; by day, week or month.

About

Kiwi Central

Manage your power, broadband, and mobile accounts in one place. Track usage, view plans, make payments, and get support. Offers choice deals and transparent service for New Zealand residents.

Highlights
  • Manage power, broadband, and mobile accounts
  • Track usage and spending insights
  • View plan details and rates
  • Make payments and set billing notifications
  • Add new services
  • Chat with customer support
Features
Read full description

The Kiwi Central app is your one-stop shop to manage your Electric Kiwi Power, Electric Kiwi Broadband, and Kiwi Mobile accounts. Our mission is to make mobile, broadband and power better for Kiwis. Choice deals, awesome service and no sneaky stuff. In the app, manage your free Hour of Power and Kiwi Mobile plan mode. Get crisp insights on your usage to help you stay on top of your spend. Chat with us when you need a hand. Check your plan and rates. Make a payment. Set up billing notifications. Add a new service. And so much more! Haven’t joined us yet? Go to www.electrickiwi.co.nz/join

Screenshots

GLOBUG APP4 screens
Kiwi Central4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Kiwi Central at every 11 days against GLOBUG APP's every 4 months. Kiwi Central also leads on review sentiment (22% vs 4%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GLOBUG APP ships an update every 4 months, Kiwi Central every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
GLOBUG APP versus Kiwi Central: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGLOBUG APPKiwi Central
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews3.6% of reviews21.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.113.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB110 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMercury EnergyElectric Kiwi Ltd

Customer experience

GLOBUG APP

Written reviews56 reviews
Positive3.6%
Neutral1.8%
Negative94.6%

Kiwi Central

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews74 reviews
Positive21.6%
Neutral25.7%
Negative52.7%

Bugs and requests

GLOBUG APP

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Kiwi Central

Reported bugs

53 issues
  • App broken, free hour time not changeable
  • Cannot see or change Hour of Power
  • Pages poorly displaying, tabs cut off, pages won't scroll
  • Cannot display average daily usage or estimate bill
  • Update added more bugs
Show 48 more
  • Payment through app never loads
  • App freezes all the time
  • App occasionally hangs
  • Cannot pay bill, app stuck
  • Payment setup broken, cannot choose week for payments
  • Manual payment never works
  • Blank page when trying to make payment in app
  • Hour of Power reminder constantly a pain, old reminders persist
  • No reminder when free power has started
  • App won't allow anything on iPhone, cannot make payments
  • App always asks to log in
  • Keeps logging out, needs sign in every time
  • Cannot figure out how to set Hour of Power
  • Cannot login to app, can login to browser
  • New wheel-based time changing is fiddly
  • Forced landscape orientation on iPad annoying
  • App doesn't work after update, says 'oops, something wrong'
  • Logging in every time is a pain
  • Too much crud on app (CO2, GREEN ENOUGH)
  • Broadband feature not loading
  • HOP notifications broken since redesign
  • Why do we have to log in all the time?
  • No daily usage in Insights
  • Power usage data disappeared
  • Unable to login since app update, password reset link doesn't work
  • Insight screen too small, unnecessary border
  • Everything crammed, smallest font imaginable
  • Background activity ruined battery life
  • Glitches regularly
  • No autocorrect in chat, weird formatting
  • App glitches out frequently
  • No deposits available for payment
  • App has glitches, never loads properly
  • No option to edit payment method on app
  • Cannot access app or website overseas
  • Login button does nothing
  • App glitches out frequently, changing HOP is a risk
  • Glitchy controls, data not loading or delayed
  • App won't even let me open the app
  • App is not native to iPad
  • Graphs could be clearer
  • App is unusable on iPad
  • Scrolling animation when setting HoP is awkward
  • App is no more starting
  • App is incredibly slow to load
  • Will not let me sign in with email and correct password
  • App does not allow me to sign in
  • App is not iPad friendly

Requested features

17 requests
  • Automate Hour of Power (HoP)
  • API or Siri shortcut for HoP
  • Display HoP status (green light)
  • Daily usage in Insights
  • Remove unused service tabs
Show 12 more
  • Forecasted usage alerts
  • Broadband usage tracking
  • iPad native app
  • Set HoP for each day
  • Clickable half-hour bars for usage
  • Improve HoP slider usability
  • Add 0800 THE KIWI number to outages tab
  • Ability to switch between multiple accounts
  • Make app native to iPad
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve graph clarity for HoP
  • Make HoP slider less awkward

In-app purchases

None

GLOBUG APP

No in-app purchases

None

Kiwi Central

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is GLOBUG APP free?
GLOBUG APP is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kiwi Central free?
Kiwi Central is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do GLOBUG APP or Kiwi Central have ads?
Neither GLOBUG APP nor Kiwi Central shows ads.
Which is updated more often, GLOBUG APP or Kiwi Central?
GLOBUG APP ships an update every 4 months, and Kiwi Central every 11 days. Most recently, GLOBUG APP was updated on October 5, 2026 and Kiwi Central on October 29, 2026.

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