You don’t have to sacrifice a fast internet connection with a cheap NBN plan. Most internet providers offer introductory discounts that last for the first six months of your connection, which means you can pick up a fairly fast connection for cheap. Depending on which speed tier you go with, these cheap plans include congestion-free download speeds.
If you want to keep your internet bill as low as possible, we recommend swapping NBN plans every six months to take advantage of these discount deals.
Here are the cheapest NBN providers across every speed tier, many of which include introductory discount offers.
Table of contents
Cheapest NBN 1000 plans in Australia
“Cheap NBN 1000 plans” is a bit of an oxymoron. Unsurprisingly, you have to pay for the privilege of a gigabit internet connection. If you do plan on signing up for an NBN 1000 plan, make sure your home has the right connection to support it. NBN 1000 plans are only available to customers with Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) or Hybrid-Fibre Coaxial (HFC) connections.
Southern Phone has the cheapest NBN 1000 plan at the time of writing, where you’ll pay $95 per month for your first six months and $105 per month after that. Even at full price, this is one of the cheapest options available. Southern Phone is reporting typical evening speeds of 650Mbps.
Superloop is up next, which is running an introductory offer where you’ll pay $99 per month for your first six months and $109 per month after that. As far as download speeds go, Superloop has the second fastest NBN 1000 plan available, with typical evening speeds of 811Mbps. If you want an NBN 1000 plan that’s relatively cheap and quite fast, this one from Superloop is good value.
If you stay connected for at least 18 months, Superloop will chuck in a free Amazon eero 6+ router. If you leave before those 18 months end, you’ll need to pay a modem clawback fee that’s equal to $8 per remaining month (to a total of $144).
Thanks to an EOFY deal, Optus has an NBN 1000 plan that’s $99 per month for your first six months. After this introductory period, the cost of this plan will jump up to $129 per month. Optus is reporting slightly slower typical evening speeds of 780Mbps, making it the third fastest NBN 1000 plan.
However, there is a slight catch with Optus. You’ll need to stay connected for at least 36 months or you’ll be required to pay a one-time modem clawback fee. This works out to be $8.50 per remaining month, to a total of $306.
The provider iiNet is also offering an EOFY deal where you can pick up its NBN 1000 plan for $99.99 per month. This discount price will last for the first six months of your connection, before increasing to $109.99 per month after that. As for downloads, iiNet is reporting typical evening speeds of 671Mbps.
Cheapest NBN 250 plans in Australia
NBN 250 plans aren’t exactly cheap, but there are still cheaper options if you want to get download speeds as fast as 250Mbps. It’s also worth noting that NBN 250 plans are only available to customers with FTTP or HFC connections.
Spintel currently has the cheapest option, where you’ll pay $75 per month for your first six months and $85.95 per month thereafter. Spintel has typical evening speeds of 211 Mbps, so it’s a bit slower compared to some of the cheaper NBN 250 plans.
If you connect to Exetel‘s NBN 250 plan, you’ll only pay $83.99 per month for the first six months, before it jumps up to $98.99 per month. The provider is currently reporting typical evening speeds of 220Mbps. Exetel’s NBN 250 plan also includes five daily speed boosts each month, which will let you up your connection to NBN 500 speeds.
Swoop is also running an introductory offer where your first six months with the provider will set you back $84 per month. Swoop is reporting typical evening speeds of 250Mbps, which makes this plan the cheapest congestion-free option available at the time of writing. However, once this introductory period ends, the cost of Swoop’s NBN 250 plan will increase to $119 per month.
Southern Phone is a hair more expensive than Swoop initially, it works out to be cheaper in the long run. You’ll pay $85 per month for the first six months and then $95 per month after that. Southern Phone is also reporting typical download speeds of 250Mbps as well, which makes it a good congestion-free option in the long run.
Cheapest NBN 100 plans in Australia
NBN 100 is the fastest widely available speed tier, with download speeds of up to 100Mbps. Most NBN 100 plans have upload speeds of 20Mbps, but some providers still offer NBN 100 plans with 40Mbps of upload. Aussie Broadband, Exetel, Mate, More, Swoop and Superloop have 100/40 plans, but these tend to cost extra per month.
Dodo has the cheapest NBN 100 plan available, which is priced at $64 per month for the first six months of your connection. Once this discount period ends, you’ll be paying $85 per month, which is a pretty standard price for this speed tier. Dodo is reporting typical download speeds of 100Mbps.
Tangerine has an NBN 100 plan available at $64.90 per month for the first six months you’re connected. After this discount period ends, Tangerine’s monthly price will jump up to $84.90 per month. Tangerine is reporting congestion-free evening speeds of 100Mbps.
Southern Phone is currently offering a similar deal where your monthly bill will be $65 per month for the first six months, and then $85 per month thereafter. Southern Phone is also reporting typical evening speeds of 100Mbps.
With Kogan, you’ll be paying $68.90 per month for the first six months you’re connected and then $78.90 per month. This makes Kogan the cheapest full-price NBN 100 plan. However, Kogan is reporting slightly slower typical evening speeds of 90Mbps. That’s not bad per se, but if you also want a congestion-free plan, there are better options here with decent prices.
Cheapest NBN 50 plans in Australia
NBN 50 plans tend to be the best value NBN plan option, offering much faster speeds than ADSL at a price that’s a bit more reasonable than NBN 100. Expect download speeds of up to 50Mbps, and upload speeds of up to 20Mbps.
Kogan has the cheapest plans available in this speed tier at $58.90 per month for the first six months, before increasing to $68.90 per month. This also makes Kogan the cheapest full-price option for an NBN 50 plan. This plan is contract-free, so you’re able to jump to another provider once that discount period ends.
Dodo is up next; you’ll pay $59 per month for your first six months for an unlimited plan, and $80 per month thereafter.
Tangerine comes in at just $59.90 per month for your first six months, and then $79.90 per month after that.
Exetel is a hair more expensive than Tangerine at $60.99 per month for the first six months, but the full post-deal price is $78.99 per month. Exetel also offers five speed boosts per month on this tier as well.
All of these aforementioned NBN 50 plans are reporting typical evening speeds of 50Mbps, making them ostensibly congestion-free, with upload speeds of 17Mbps.
Cheapest NBN 25 plans in Australia
NBN 25 plans boast download speeds of up to 25Mbps. That’s a far cry slower than NBN 50, but NBN 25 plans are still more than enough for most online activities – including streaming Netflix in 4K. The main way you’d stretch an NBN 25 plan thin is if you’ve got more than two people in your household trying to stream at the same time or if you’re regularly downloading large files.
The slower speeds do mean that NBN 25 plans are cheaper. Better yet, pretty much every NBN 25 plan now has unlimited data. Going for a more affordable plan doesn’t mean you’ll miss out on downloading to your heart’s content.
The biggest catch with NBN 25 is upload speeds. These are capped at 5Mbps, although some providers are reporting higher upload speeds. In any case, this isn’t great if you’re uploading large files regularly.
For the best value NBN 25 plan, Spintel is the provider you want to pay attention to. It’s offering its NBN 25 plan for $49 per month for your first six months and $59.95 per month thereafter. This also makes Spintel the cheapest full-price NBN 25 plan, so if you want to maximise your savings, you may as well stick with this connection.
While Tangerine’s introductory price ($49.90 per month) is practically the same as what Exetel is offering ($49.99 per month), when it comes to savings, you’re better off going with the latter. Once this introductory six-month discount period ends, you’ll be paying $59.99 per month with Exetel, while Tangerine’s plan is priced at $64.90 per month.
Kogan is up next, with an NBN 25 plan that’s $53.90 for the first six months of your connection. Once that discount period ends, you’ll be paying $63.90 per month, making this the cheapest full-price NBN 25 plan.
All of these providers are currently reporting typical evening speeds of 25Mbps across their respective NBN 25 plans.
Image: 20th Century Studios