Finding the best NBN deal that's worth your while can be quite tricky. You'll need to get everything sorted first, like preferred speed tier, monthly budget, and connection type, before diving into detailed NBN plan research.
But another factor of note — and one that most people forget about — is data, especially if you are an online gamer, heavy internet user or often take video calls or meetings from home. Thankfully, the best NBN providers include unlimited data in their home internet plans, especially if you're worried you'll exceed your monthly cap.
Here at Tom's Guide, we believe the best unlimited NBN plans offer full download speeds of their respective tier and come with the lowest monthly price tag. We've also factored in whether the ISPs provide extra perks, such as free streaming subscriptions or phone plan bundling, to determine their overall value.
Even if you don't think you'll use enough data to justify subscribing to an endless supply, an unlimited data plan will help you avoid extra charges or slower download speeds if you exceed your monthly cap.
If you know which speed tier you're after, click the quick links to the left to jump straight to that section.
Best Unlimited NBN 25 Plan
Most Australian homes connected to a fixed line NBN connection should be able to achieve speeds of at least 50Mbps. But some Australian NBN users will get by perfectly on a 25Mbps plan. Particularly good for single person households, NBN 25 plans tend to be among the most affordable.
Best Unlimited NBN 50 Plan
The NBN 50 speed tier accounts for nearly half of all active NBN plans in Australia. The 50Mbps option is more than capable of allowing multiple users to stream and download at the same time, and considering only certain NBN connection types are capable of supporting the faster NBN 100 speed tier and beyond, NBN 50 is the one to go for.
We’ve picked out a few options for the best unlimited NBN 50 plan, including those that are cheap and one that we think offers the best overall value.
Best Unlimited NBN 100 Plan
NBN 100 plans offer theoretical maximum download speeds of 100Mbps, and is the fastest achievable tier for all NBN connection types. The NBN Co is keen to get more Australians connected to 100Mbps NBN plans, and as a result, is still in the process of rolling out a free fibre upgrade program.
You'll find that not all NBN providers advertise the maximum 100Mbps download speeds during the busier evening hours, but most do come close. Of the ones that do come close, they can also be more affordable, and you may decide that the cost saving outweighs losing out on a few megabytes.
Best Unlimited NBN 250 Plan
Through our partnership with WhistleOut, we can determine several NBN providers offer the full 250Mbps download speeds on an NBN 250 plan, including Telstra, Superloop, Swoop, Origin and Southern Phone. However, these NBN plans are either incredibly expensive, the provider(s) have negative reviews or there are just better value alternatives, such as the plan from Spintel we've mentioned below.
Best Unlimited NBN 1000 Plan
Despite NBN making 1Gbps speeds available on the NBN 1000 speed tier, you’re unlikely to be able to get the full gigabit download speeds from your NBN provider. However, some providers are getting closer to that magic number, with several advertising speeds over 750Mbps, which is pretty astonishing.
NBN FAQ
What is the NBN?
The National Broadband Network (NBN) is Australia’s national infrastructure for phone and internet services. As a government initiative, it was first proposed in 2007 and as of 2020, NBN Co. had completed the rollout. NBN services are now available to virtually all Australians, although not all can access a fixed-line service. For those who can't, a fixed-wireless service, which uses towers emitting 4G signals should be available, or satellite internet services.
Which NBN speed is best for me?
NBN offers six main speed tiers for consumer connections. There are official names for these (ranging from ‘Basic 1’ to ‘Ultrafast’) but most providers refer to them as a number, relating to the expected download speed. The speed of internet service you can achieve at your property is determined by the physical connection type you have.
The six main NBN speed tiers available are:
NBN 12 (Basic 1): 12Mbps download | 1Mbps upload | All NBN connection types | 1 user | NBN 12 is best suited for a single-person household. Even then, the 12Mbps maximum download speed is only going to be good for browsing the internet, sending emails and watching video content in up to 1080p quality. If you want to stream 4K video content (or to multiple devices simultaneously) on services like Netflix, then NBN 12 likely won't be fast enough.
NBN 25 (Basic II): 25Mbps download | 5Mbps upload | All NBN connection types | 1-2 users | With NBN 25, up to two people can comfortably browse the internet at the same time and stream a range of music and video content in up to 1080p quality. You may be able to watch 4K streaming video, but only on a single device at a time.
NBN 50 (Standard): 50Mbps download | 20Mbps upload | All NBN connection types | 2-4 users | The most popular NBN speed tier, NBN 50 is designed to allow up to four users to browse, stream and download content with ease. NBN 50 is also a good speed tier for people needing to use video chat a lot at home. NBN 50 is the most popular NBN plan in Australia.
NBN 100 (Fast): 100Mbps download | 20Mbps upload | All NBN connection types | 5+ users | Well suited to 4K video streaming and allowing for multiple users to be online at the same time. While all NBN connection types are theoretically capable of achieving 100Mbps speeds, those with FTTN connection types may struggle, depending on the distance of the premises from the node.
NBN 250 (Superfast): 250Mbps download | 25Mbps upload | FTTP, HFC connections | 5+ users | Incredibly fast internet speeds that allows multiple users to stream 4K video content and download large files at the same time.
NBN 1000 (Ultrafast): 1000Mbps download | 50Mbps upload | FTTP, HFC connection | 5+ users | Currently the fastest possible NBN speed tier, although very few telcos actually achieve the full 1000Mbps download speeds, especially during the evening.
What does 'typical evening speed' mean?
You'll see the term 'typical evening speed' advertised against all NBN plans (we've mentioned it a lot in this article, too). This refers to the average download speed you can expect to realistically achieve during the identified peak evening hours of 7pm - 11pm.
Different NBN providers may advertise different typical evening speeds, so be sure to keep an eye out for this figure when searching for a new plan. On speed tiers ranging up to NBN 100, the typical evening speed figure is less important than it used to be, since most will deliver the full amount.
The speeds realistically achievable in Australia have improved in recent years, and you'll now find some internet service providers will advertise the maximum possible speed of the NBN tier you're on. In some cases, your evening speed could actually exceed the theoretical maximum limit of your tier.
