Best unlimited NBN plans: our expert picks based on speed, price and service

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Best Unlimited NBN 25 Plan
Best Unlimited NBN 50 Plan
Best Unlimited NBN 100 Plan
Best Unlimited NBN 250 Plan
Best Unlimited NBN 1000 Plan
NBN FAQ

Searching for the best unlimited NBN plans isn't as simple as you’d think, since you’ll find that the majority of the best NBN providers include unlimited data as standard with their plans. What this means is that you’ve essentially got to sift through the sea of NBN providers to find the best NBN plan for your needs.

Even if you don’t think you’ll use a huge amount of data each month, having unlimited data on your NBN plan at home will help you avoid any extra charges or slower download speeds if you were to exceed your monthly data cap.

For us here at Tom’s Guide, the best unlimited NBN plans are those that offer the full download speed of their respective speed tier, for the lowest monthly price. We’ve also factored in if any NBN providers include any extra perks, such as free subscriptions, to determine which truly are the best.

If you know which speed tier you're after, simply click the quick links below 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.

Flip | AU$44p/m (for 6 months, then AU$54.90p/m)

The best unlimited NBN 25 plan in our opinion is this one from Flip. Not only does it offer unlimited monthly data usage, but it's also the cheapest NBN plan to claim the maximum 25Mbps download speeds during the busier evening hours, coming in at under AU$600 for the first 12 months. Online reviews also paint a relatively positive picture for Flip, so it's certainly well worth considering if you're looking for an affordable 25Mbps NBN plan.

Total minimum cost: AU$44 | Total cost for first 12 months: AU$593.40 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$658.80

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.

Flip | AU$54p/m (for 6 months, then AU$64.90p/m)

Flip once again takes the crown for the most affordable 50Mbps NBN plan to offer unlimited data. Typical evening speeds are advertised as the maximum 50Mbps and, as is the case for the vast majority of internet service providers (ISPs) there's no lock-in contract, so you are free to leave whenever you wish — just make sure you read the cancellation terms and conditions!

Total minimum cost: AU$54 | Total cost for first 12 months: AU$713.40 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$778.70

Tangerine | AU$54.90p/m (for 6 months, then AU$69.90p/m)

Tangerine also offers one of the more affordable NBN 50 plans, whilst also offering the full 50Mbps download speed. It is a little more expensive compared to Flip over the first 12 months, but you do get a 14-day free trial as an added bonus to test out the service before committing to a month-to-month contract. Do note that Tangerine isn’t the cheapest when it comes to purchasing a required modem, although with the rather excellent Amazon eero6+ router offered as the default option, we think it's worth the investment.

Total minimum cost: AU$54.90 | Total cost for first 12 months: AU$748.80 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$838.80

Exetel | AU$53.95p/m (for 6 months, then AU$74.95p/m)

This Exetel NBN 50 plan also comes with unlimited data and does work out to be around AU$30 more expensive over the initial 12 month period compared to Tangerine, but we reckon the inclusion of Speed Boost days makes it entirely worth it.

Exetel’s Speed Boost days allow you to boost your plan to the next tier (NBN 100 in this case) if your NBN connection type can support it, for free, five times each month. You can also choose to bank your free days, up to a total of 30, potentially giving you an entire month of 100Mbps download speeds.

Total minimum cost: AU$53.95 | Total cost for first 12 months: AU$773.40 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$899.40

Best Unlimited NBN 100 Plan

In order to be eligible for the NBN 100 plan, you’ll need to make sure you have either a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) NBN connection (you can find out more about connection types in our explainer article). Most NBN providers will offer the NBN 100 speed tier, but not all are able to promise the full 100Mbps download speeds.

Flip | AU$69p/m (for 6 months, then AU$79.90p/m)

There are currently two other 100Mbps NBN plans cheaper than Flip, from Dodo and Southern Phone. But, the former says its plan is only available to customers with certain connection types, and the latter only advertises 96Mbps typical evening speeds. So, for our money, Flip offers the best overall value.

The maximum 100Mbps download speeds are advertised during the busy hours and you'll be spending less than AU$900 over the first 12 months. A bargain, if you ask us.

Total minimum cost: AU$69 | Total cost for first 12 months: AU$893.40 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$958.80

Exetel | AU$68.95p/m (for 6 months, then AU$84.95p/m)

Exetel is one of only a handful of NBN providers to advertise the full 100Mbps download speed, with Optus, Telstra and Spintel being the others. We disregarded Optus because it applies a compulsory charge for the modem and Telstra is the most expensive (although you do get free access to a selection of streaming services).

While Exetel's 100Mbps NBN plan isn't the most affordable, it's the inclusion of the five free Speed Boost days each month — which will see your service increase up to 250Mbps download speeds — that earns it a spot on this list.

Total minimum cost: AU$68.95 | Total cost for first 12 months: AU$923.40 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$1,019.40

Best Unlimited NBN 250 Plan

Through our partnership with WhistleOut, we can determine there are only three NBN providers that offer the full 250Mbps download speeds on an NBN 250 plan: Telstra, Aussie Broadband and Southern Phone.

But, while we're all for achieving the fastest speeds possible, there are some good deals to be had if you're happy to decrease the speed a little.

Telstra | AU$125p/m (for 6 months, then AU$140p/m)

There's no getting around the fact that Telstra is an expensive provider to go with. However, Australia's largest telco is currently throwing in a wealth of included extras that we feel goes some way to justifying the extra premium.

Not only does Telstra’s NBN 250 plan come with a six-month introductory discount, but also gives you two months of access to Binge, three months of Apple TV Plus, 12 months of Kayo Basic and four months of Spotify Premium, representing more than AU$460 in value.

Total minimum cost: AU$125| Total cost of first 12 months: AU1,590 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$1,680

Flip | AU$84p/m (for 6 months, then AU$94.90p/m)

If you can access the NBN 250 speed tier but are more concerned about spending as little as possible, then this plan from Flip is our pick. It does only advertise 236Mbps download speeds during the busier hours, but this will still be more than enough for most households.

On top of this, Flip's 250Mbps plan is the cheapest we can currently find and so offers great bang for your buck.

Total minimum cost: AU$84 | Total cost of first 12 months: AU$1,073.40 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$1,138.80

Optus | AU$99p/m (for 6 months, then AU$119p/m)

We have seen Optus charging AU$10p/m less for this NBN 250 plan over the first 6 months, but the initial 12 month cost is still one of the cheapest around, especially when you consider the 240Mbps advertised typical evening speed.

The notorious telco has also been found to deliver on those advertised speeds, according to the Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in its latest April 2023 broadband performance report. The particular plan we've selected here doesn't come with any entertainment inclusions, but for an extra AU$20p/m (on top of both the introductory offer and regular price) you can get a Netflix subscription, Wi-Fi extender and security software.

Total minimum cost: AU$341 (inc. modem) | Total cost of first 12 months: AU$1,308 (excl. modem) | Yearly cost after discount: AU$1,428 (excl. modem)

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. Through our WhistleOut partnership, we’ve determined that Origin and Aussie Broadband are the two best options, both of whom claim to offer 600Mbps typical evening speeds.

Aussie Broadband | AU$149p/m

Aussie Broadband is our top pick for the most affordable NBN 1000 plan to deliver the best possible speeds. The Australian-owned telco advertises 600Mbps download speeds during the busier evening hours, which is only bettered by Telstra (which charges AU$31 more each month for the privilege).

Not only are you potentially getting incredibly fast speeds, then, but ABB has also been lauded for its customer support. The majority of customer reviews we've seen simply cannot fault it, and sometimes, that's priceless.

Total minimum cost: AU$149 | Yearly cost: AU$1,788

Superloop| AU$114.95p/m (for 6 months, then AU$134.95p/m)

For a good balance between price and performance, this unlimited NBN plan from Superloop is worth checking out. Typical evening speeds are advertised at 500Mbps, which should still be plenty fast enough for even the busiest of homes. Superloop was also found to have the lowest latency speeds in the ACCC's most recent Measuring Broadband Performance report, making it a great option for gamers.

Total minimum cost: AU$114.95 | Total cost of first 12 months: AU$1,499.40 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$1,619.40

NBN FAQ

What is the NBN?

The NBN (National Broadband Network) is Australia’s national infrastructure for phone and internet services. A government initiative, it was first proposed in 2007 and as of 2020, NBN Co. had completed 90% of 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.

Max is a digital content writer for Tom’s Guide in Australia, where he covers all things internet-related, including NBN and the emerging alternatives, along with audio and visual products such as headphones and TVs. Max started his career in his homeland of England, where he spent time working for What Hi-Fi? and Pocket-lint, before moving to Australia in 2018.