Cheap NBN plans: best picks from AU$39p/m to lock in affordable and reliable internet

The best cheap NBN plans prove that you don't have to spend an arm and a leg each month to get a good internet connection.

As Tom's Guide's resident NBN expert, I believe the best cheap NBN deals combine affordability, reliable coverage and award-winning customer service — all without a high-end price tag. It's also important to me that the best internet plans offer maximum theoretical speeds for each tier, as when it comes to speeds, faster is always better.

Some of the best NBN providers deliver attractive and highly competitive ongoing costs, let alone offer excellent introductory discounts, with prices starting at AU$39p/m for an NBN 12 (Basic I) plan. But for some, 12Mbps may not feed your internet demands, but you may still get a kick out of switching to a cheaper plan that delivers (or perhaps, overdelivers) on its high-speed download promises.

I've researched stacks of NBN plans across the top providers to find the most inexpensive options for you. All of these plans below work on a no-lock-in contract basis, which means you're free to chop and change NBN providers as you see fit. Keep in mind, though, that the most cost-effective way of changing ISPs is having a modem that you can reuse with any new provider you switch to.

As always, I'm here to help find a great home internet plan that works for you and your budget. So, without further ado, here are the cheapest NBN plans I've found, starting from just AU$39p/m.

Handpicked by

Handpicked by

Lucy Scotting

Meet Lucy - Tom's Guide Australia's resident expert in all things internet and NBN plans. She curates this page every month with the best cheap NBN plans from Australia's top providers. She loves to keep tabs on all the NBN speed data and pricing research so you don't have to!

Best NBN plans under AU$50

Realistically, the cheapest NBN plans start anywhere from AU$39p/m to AU$45p/m thanks to six-month introductory offers. However, considering these plans are so few and far between — and only offer speeds of 12Mbps — they're hard to recommend, especially if you want more out of your internet than just checking your emails.

Moving up the budget scale a little further to AU$50 per month does present you with a few more options, although only for the first six months of the service. For less than AU$50 each month (for the first six months), you're able to move up to the NBN 25 tier, with maximum download speeds of 25Mbps and uploads of 4Mbps.

25Mbps NBN is enough to support a one or two-person household who wishes to browse the web, engross themselves in social media, and stream video content in up to HD quality.

With this in mind, I would recommend an NBN 25 plan at a minimum. You get double the speed and a greater capacity to support a small household. Realistically, an NBN 25 plan will still only be good for a household of just one or two users. Any more, and you might want to consider a 50Mbps NBN 50 plan.

There are a few plans that meet the under AU$50 threshold on this tier, and I've picked out the best below.

Flip | NBN 25 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$39p/m (for 4 months, then AU$57.90p/m)

For this attractive introductory offer, Flip arguably has the best NBN 25 plan. It advertises the maximum 25Mbps download speeds during the busy evening hours of 7pm to 11pm and is the cheapest 25Mbps plan in Australia.

It costs the same as the telco's NBN 12 plan, so you score double the speeds for the same price, which is pretty damn good value.

However, I would recommend 25Mbps downloads at minimum, so this plan could be perfect for a couple or single-person household that wants moderate browsing capability for a decent price.

Total minimum cost: AU$39 | Total first year cost: AU$619.20 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$694.80

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Mate | NBN 25 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$40p/m using code FUTURE30 (for 6 months, then AU$70p/m)

Mate’s Crikey NBN 25 plan is a mammoth deal for an NBN 25 connection. You’ll save AU$30 a month over your first six months — that’s AU$180 — before the price increases to AU$70p/m. With no activation, exit, or change fees, this deal is a steal, especially with a low minimum cost of AU$40.

And if you’re not completely satisfied with your connection, Mate will provide a full refund of your plan fee within the first month.

Total minimum cost: AU$40 | Total first year cost: AU$660 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$840

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Best NBN plans under AU$70

If your monthly budget can stretch to at least AU$60p/m, then you're able to go up another speed tier to NBN 50, with maximum download speeds of 50Mbps and maximum upload speeds of 20Mbps. However, once again, you can only spend AU$60p/m for the first six months on a select few NBN plans. I've chosen to skip out on the under AU$60p/m category for that reason alone, as most introductory offers for NBN 50 plans start around AU$65p/m.

That said, AU$70 edges closer to the average cost of an NBN 50 plan (currently AU$76.36 based on the regular monthly costs of the NBN providers we monitor), but it can also get you a faster 100Mbps NBN 100 plan... for the first six months.

With this in mind, I've picked out plans from both the NBN 50 tier and the NBN 100 tier as the best NBN plans under AU$70. You can get either an NBN 50 plan full-time or an NBN 100 plan part-time.

Dodo | NBN 50 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$68.90p/m (for 12 months, then AU$83.90p/m)

This Dodo NBN 50 plan is currently the cheapest in Australia, with a saving of AU$15p/m for the first year — that's 180 total. Not only does it come in at under AU$900 for the first year, but Dodo's plan also advertises the maximum 50Mbps typical evening speeds.

Total minimum cost: AU$68.90 | Total first year cost: AU$826.80 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$1,006.80

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Flip | NBN 100 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$69p/m (for 4 months, then AU$83.90p/m)

If you crave even faster speeds, Flip's NBN 100 plan also comes in under the AU$70 budget for the first six months of the service.

The only downside here is that Flip doesn't advertise the maximum 100Mbps speed during the busy evening hours of 7pm to 11pm. But at 97Mbps it should still be plenty quick enough for households of four or more.

Total minimum cost: AU$69 | Total first year cost: AU$947.20 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$1,006.80

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Best NBN plans under AU$80

AU$80 is, on average, how much most Australian households will need to pay to get connected to the NBN if they want a fast, reliable service. For AU$80 you can comfortably get an NBN 50 plan for as long as you've got the right connection type. A couple of NBN providers are still more expensive — Vodafone and Telstra, I'm looking at you.

There are also a few NBN 100 plans that come in under AU$80p/m following any introductory discounts, which I've included below.

Dodo | NBN 100 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$65.90p/m (for 6 months, then AU$88.90p/m)

Dodo currently offers the cheapest and one of the most attractive NBN 100 plans, although there is a very minor caveat. Dodo's NBN 100 plan is only available for customers with FTTC, FTTP and HFC connection types.

Other providers offering NBN 100 plans are available to all connections. But if you fall into the required category, you will only be paying AU$928.80 for your first 12 months, which is pretty impressive for an NBN 100 plan.

That said, this current introductory offer in partnership with WhistleOut slashes a mammoth AU$23 off the first six months — that's AU$138 — before the price increases.

Total minimum cost: AU$65.90 | Total first year cost: AU$928.80 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$1,066.80

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Superloop | NBN 100 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$75p/m (for 6 months, then AU$95p/m)

Slashing AU$20p/m off for the first six months — a saving of AU$120 — before the price increases, this Superloop plan offers great value, considering the average for this tier is AU$91.34p/m.

Again, this plan will reach into the above AU$80 bracket post-introductory offers, so it might not be the best for every household — but you can always drop down a tier to NBN 50 after the first six months are up if you find you don't require fast speeds. You can request to change your speed tier once per month, at any time, for no extra cost until your next billing cycle.

Like other Superloop offerings, you can boost your plan to the next speed tier — that's 250Mbps — by using your five free Speed Boost Days every month. You’ll just need to make sure your NBN connection type will support the faster speeds.

Total minimum cost: AU$75 | Total cost for first 12 months: AU$1,020 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$1,140

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Best NBN plans under AU$90

AU$90p/m is pretty much the sweet spot to get connected to the NBN. At this price point, you can sign up for the majority of NBN 100 plans and virtually all NBN 50 plans (except for Telstra) after any introductory discounts.

Signing up for an NBN 50 or NBN 100 plan will mean your entire household can comfortably connect to the internet at the same time. The faster download speeds will also be beneficial for gamers wishing to download large files, and 100Mbps NBN 100 plans are also good for those wishing to stream 4K content in the comfort of their own home. In this regard, the plans mentioned above fit the bill perfectly.

It is also possible to sign up for a faster NBN 250 plan, with theoretical maximum download speeds of 250Mbps, although only for the first six months. I've included our favourite options on the 250Mbps speed tier below. They do only meet the threshold for the first six months, so at the very least, I would recommend you sign up for this introductory period to see if you need the faster speeds. You may find that an NBN 100 plan will service your household just fine.

And, it could even be possible to sign up for NBN 1000 now too, with SpinTel's latest discount seeing its ultrafast plan cost AU$90p/m ongoing. Read on below to find the best cheap NBN plans under AU$90.

Flip | NBN 250 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$79p/m (for 4 months, then AU$94.90p/m)

Flip once again features at this price point. There's just very little to fault the telco on, and it's a testament that it's able to deliver well-reviewed NBN for much less than most of the competition, and Flip's NBN 250 plan is indeed the cheapest you can get in Australia.

Typical evening speeds are only 241Mbps and not the full 250Mbps, but only a select few NBN providers do promise the maximum, so I'm not going to mark Flip down on this occasion.

Total minimum cost: AU$79 | Total cost for first year: AU$1,075.20 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$1,138.80

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Superloop | NBN 250 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$85p/m (for 6 months, then AU$99p/m)

This NBN 250 plan from Superloop is well worth considering in our view. Quoting full speeds of 250Mbps and 100Mbps uploads, the other plans on this speed tier that are cheaper advertise slower speeds, so in essence, Superloop provides some damn good value.

With this Superloop plan, you're also able to temporarily boost the speed of your plan to the NBN 1000 tier five times a month. Superloop quotes typical evening speeds of 860Mbps here, which is among the fastest in the country.

Total minimum cost: AU$85 | Total cost for first 12 months: AU$1,104 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$1,188

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