Best NBN 500 plans: fast and reliable recommendations for the latest speed tier

From September, an NBN 100 plan on a fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connection will offer five times faster wholesale download speeds (500Mbps) and double the upload speeds (50Mbps), according to NBN Co.

If such speed boosts are passed on by RSPs — and there's no major reason why they shouldn't be, if you ask us — NBN 500 plans should provide theoretical download speeds of up to 500Mbps.

Do note that the 500Mbps figure is theoretical, as real-world speeds may vary due to factors like connection type, location, internet service provider and the speed of the service you're connecting to. However, given that most NBN 100 plans achieve speeds close to (or in some cases, over) their theoretical maximum, it’s likely that RSPs will increase their claimed typical evening speeds to something approaching 500Mbps, and pass the increase on to end users.

What we don't know yet is how these new speeds will impact international internet speeds that travel beyond the NBN, which as the 'national' in its name suggests, only connects directly to sites and services within Australia. Each service provider utilises international fibre pipelines connect Aussies to servers hosted in other countries, which can include things like online games servers and more niche streaming platforms. These speeds are largely dependent on each service provider's own capacity to handle international bandwidth, which can vary greatly.

Thankfully, major sites or web companies such as YouTube, Netflix and Meta (for Facebook and Instagram) have dedicated Australian servers, and the speed increase may help immediately deliver faster connections to these platforms. However, for other sites hosted in overseas locations, some RSPs may not have enough bandwidth to simultaneously handle thousands of customers suddenly downloading at 5x previous speeds — particularly during the peak evening hours.

With NBN Co providing these upgrades to RSPs at no extra cost, NBN 500 plans should theoretically be priced similarly to NBN 100 plans — which average AU$94.88p/m. And according to our research, that statement couldn't be more true, with 500Mbps plans averaging AU$95.85p/m this month — that's around AU$1 more than the slower plans.

NBN plan pricing does differ greatly between telcos, though, so it will undoubtedly pay off to shop around for the best NBN 500 deals.

As with all fixed-line NBN plans advertising over 100Mbps, NBN 500 will only be available to homes and businesses with either fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connection types.

If you’re on another NBN connection type, such as fibre to the node (FTTN), you’ll need to upgrade to a full fibre installation to access NBN 500 plans. Thankfully, many properties are eligible for NBN Co's free fibre rollout program. If you want to jump over to one of these new, faster plans but haven't upgraded yet, you can check your eligibility on NBN Co's website.

If you're considering switching to a NBN 500 plan, there are several factors to weigh. Firstly, the best NBN plan for your needs largely depends on your household's internet requirements and connection type. We've already discussed the connection types you'll need above, so what about speeds?

Well, if you're already on a 100Mbps plan and connect via HFC or FTTP, your plan should have been upgraded to NBN 500 with the speed boost. However, NBN 100 plans aren't the only ones that got a speed boost. NBN 250 plans scored a 3x maximum speed increase to 750Mbps, and at a wholesale level, NBN 1000 plans have increased to support a minimum speed of 750Mbps. (This could, in turn, help more providers finally offer ‘true’ gigabit plans that reach 1,000Mbps typical evening speeds.) Alongside these increases, NBN 2000 plans have been introduced for FTTP and HFC addresses.

So, post-September 14, all NBN 100 plans and above have been upgraded to faster speeds. You may find that manually switching to NBN 500 isn't necessary, especially if you're already on a NBN 100 plan and have an FTTP connection. If you're currently on a 250Mbps plan, you may even want to consider downgrading to 100Mbps, as the planned 5x speed boost to that tier will not only double your current 250Mbps speeds, but should also cost you less.

Now, 500Mbps is a lot of internet — it's 10x more than what's offered by NBN 50 plans, which continue to be the most popular speed with Aussie households according to the ACCC. That tier's 50Mbps top download speeds are often fine for households of up to four users. But, with data predicting that most homes will have over 40 internet-connected devices by 2030, you may want your speeds boosted after all. If you have the right connection type to sign up for an NBN 500 plan and were already considering an upgrade from a slower speed, we'd suggest giving it a go, and if you find the speeds aren't necessary, you can always drop back down to a slower plan.