As Tom's Guide's resident NBN expert, the best cheap NBN deals to me 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 25 (Basic II) plan. But for some, 25Mbps 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.
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.
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 or a newly released 500Mbps NBN 500 plan... for the first six months.
With this in mind, I've picked out plans from both the NBN 100 tier and the NBN 500 tier as the best NBN plans under AU$70. Do note, though, for 500Mbps plans, you'll need either an FTTP or HFC connection at home.
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 100 plan or an NBN 500 plan 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 plans that come in under AU$80p/m following any introductory discounts, which I've included below.
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 plans, from NBN 100 to NBN 750 plans (except for Telstra) after any introductory discounts.
Signing up for an NBN 500 plan or more will mean your entire household can comfortably connect to the internet at the same time. It is also possible to sign up for a faster NBN 750 plan, with theoretical maximum download speeds of 750Mbps. I've included our favourite option on the 750Mbps speed tier below.
Read on to find the best cheap NBN plans under AU$90.
Cheap NBN plans FAQ
What is the cheapest NBN plan?
Determining the outright cheapest NBN plan can be tricky, since NBN providers regularly change their plan prices or introduce various offers. At the time of publishing, the cheapest NBN plan available through our partnership with WhistleOut is Flip's NBN 25 plan at a total 12-month cost of AU$718.80 following any introductory offers.
If you live in a single-person household, or if two people are requiring basic internet needs, it’s the best and cheapest option out there right now.
Who has the cheapest NBN plans?
Many of the popular retail service providers (RSPs) offer affordable NBN plans, but those that regularly come in at the lowest end of the budget spectrum include Tangerine, Spintel, Dodo and Mate.
How much should I spend on NBN?
The amount of money you spend on your NBN plan will be determined by the speed you need. If you live by yourself or in a two-person household, then you can most likely get by with an NBN 25 plan, which are some of the cheapest options around. If you regularly stream HD video content or you work from home most of the week, then you will probably need to upgrade to an NBN 50 plan or NBN 100 plan. If you have an FTTP or HFC connection at home, you may be able to get 500Mbps or 750Mbps speeds for the same price as an NBN 100 or NBN 250 plan. Fortunately, these can still be affordable and can cost under AU$900 for the first year.
