Finding a reliable NBN plan when living alone can be challenging, especially when you're the only one footing the bill.
Fortunately, living by yourself doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll need to compromise service and quality with your NBN plan. Several of the best NBN providers offer fast and secure home internet plans for singles that won’t break the bank.
For most single-person households, an NBN 25Mbps plan will be your best bet where budget is concerned, but we’ve also seen some NBN 100 plans offering attractive introductory discounts and monthly prices as of late.
We’ve teamed up with WhistleOut to collect our recommendations for the best NBN plans for one person. All of the plans below are sure to give you the most bang for your buck and deliver some seriously fast speeds.
We’ve also included some NBN alternatives that singles may want to consider, such as 5G home internet, and we’ve listed any extra perks you may get if you sign up for one of these plans.
Best overall NBN plans for singles
Let’s face it, if you live alone, then the chances of you wanting to binge watch the latest and greatest TV shows are going to be pretty high. It’s for this reason that you’re going to need a decent NBN speed, and an NBN 50 plan (at a minimum) will help to provide the best buffer-free streaming experience.
But that doesn’t mean you have to dig deep into your back pocket, as there are a number of affordable NBN 50 plans all vying for your attention.
Cheapest NBN plans for singles
Best fast NBN plan for singles
You’re unlikely to need an NBN 100 plan living by yourself, but if you are going to be working from home a lot and you want to stream video content in glorious ultra high definition, then the 100Mbps download speeds will serve you well. It will cost you a fair bit more, of course, but if you can afford it, then it’s a worthwhile investment.
You may be able to boost to the new NBN 500 tier if you have the right connection type (FTTP or HFC), as most providers have kept the costs the same as the 100Mbps tier.
NBN alternatives for singles
5G home internet
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If you’re living alone, then we’d wager that you’re living in an apartment building. If this is you, and you live in a city, then you may want to consider a 5G home internet plan as an alternative to a fixed-line NBN connection.
A 5G home broadband plan can sometimes be more affordable than the NBN equivalent and is much easier for you to install at home. All you need to do is plug the supplied router into a power socket, wait for it to connect to the 5G network and you’re done.
Of course, 5G home internet does rely on you living in an area with good network coverage, however, the provider you want to go with will be able to tell you using their address checker feature.
Wireless internet
If you live in a regional or rural part of Australia, then you may not be able to get a fixed-line NBN connection. If this is the case, then you’ll need to sign-up for a wireless internet plan, such as NBN fixed-wireless or satellite internet services.
Fixed-wireless internet plans can often be more expensive than their fixed-line counterparts, and some plans also come with a maximum data allowance. But for people who are unable to get a fixed-line NBN connection, and who live in an area with poor 4G or 5G network coverage, wireless internet plans offer the only way to get online.
NBN for singles FAQ
Which speed is right for me?
If you're by yourself, an NBN 25 plan should provide enough speed to carry out essential daily tasks. It's designed to be used by just 1 or 2 people, although it will likely have a tricky time streaming HD video content from the plethora of streaming services.
We recommend an NBN 50 plan as the best option for most people, so that you will be able to stream and download content with ease, and be able to connect a number of devices: TV, phone, tablet, laptop, smart speaker etc.
Which NBN provider is best for a single person?
We think the NBN provider that gives the best overall value for one person is Flip. The telco's plans aren't the outright cheapest, but they're still pretty affordable and offer consistently good speeds and an all-around reliable service.
We'd also consider Exetel, as it gives customers on NBN 50 plans and above five free Speed Boost days each month, which increases the speed of your plan to the next tier. If you're on an NBN 50 plan, you can boost your speed to 100Mbps tier.
Which NBN provider is cheapest?
The cheapest NBN provider can differ depending on the speed tier you're looking at. The cheapest NBN provider on the NBN 25 tier currently is Flip. The cheapest NBN provider on the NBN 50 speed tier is Buddy, closely followed by Flip at AU$2 extra p/m.
