I've just switched my top NBN 500 plan recommendation to this surprising provider – here's why

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Less than a week after cherry-picking my top-rated NBN plans for February, an unexpected change has made me question everything.

As Tom's Guide's local NBN expert, I regularly collect and analyse prices for the best NBN plans, and in my monthly selections, I gave Kogan Internet the top spot for its NBN 500 plan, at just AU$74.90p/m for the first 12 months. However, the telco has now undercut itself, dropping the plan to just AU$71.90p/m for the first year.

This new introductory rate makes it the cheapest 500Mbps plan available right now — and it's a mere AU$13 less in the first year than Dodo's similarly priced AU$72.99p/m competing offer. Previously, Dodo took the top spot in my best NBN 500 plans guide, but now Kogan Internet is reigning supreme as my first-choice recommendation this month.

What's even more impressive is that the ongoing price after the first year is just AU$85.90p/m, which is a whole lot less than the AU$94.54p/m average for the tier. It's even cheaper than what I pay for my own broadband plan — and has 5x the speed! Seeing as this deal will expire on March 1, 2026, there's no time like the present to make the switch to Kogan Internet.

Kogan Internet | NBN 500 | Unlimited data | No lock-in contract | AU$71.90p/m (for 12 months, then AU$85.90p/m)

Kogan Internet’s Gold Plus Unlimited NBN 500 clocks in with evening speeds of 500Mbps and 42Mbps uploads, which is pretty typical across this newer speed tier. However, thanks to this initial discount offer, you'll save AU$14p/m in the first 12 months — that's AU$168 total — before the price increases to AU$85.90p/m ongoing.

The plan's first-year cost of AU$898.80 is now the cheapest available on the NBN 500 tier. What makes it even better, though, is that Kogan also offers an Internet Price Pledge, so if you find a better price on a same-speed NBN plan, the telco will give you back double the difference.

Total minimum cost: AU$71.90 | Total first-year cost: AU$862.80 | Yearly cost after discount: AU$1,030.80

To sign up for Kogan Internet's plan, you'll need a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) connection at home. As per NBN Co's HY26 financial report, more than 1 million customers have upgraded from copper to full-fat fibre, making up 35% of the national network's connections. And around 31% of customers are now on NBN 500 plans, which is pretty huge considering the tier is less than six months old. If you've yet to take up the NBN's free fibre upgrade, you can check your eligibility on NBN Co's website.

Currently, it's rather unlikely that you'll find a better price on the NBN 500 tier, given that Kogan Internet's offer is the cheapest in market. That said, all good things must come to an end, so when this current introductory price disappears when we welcome March (assuming it doesn't get extended), if you can find a better deal from an approved provider, Kogan Internet will pay you back double. (the T&Cs state that eligible providers include Telstra, Optus, Dodo, iiNet and iPrimus).

It's worth noting that Kogan Internet's NBN plans run on a no-lock-in contract basis and come with unlimited data. However, Kogan Internet's plans don't include a Wi-Fi modem as standard, so you'll need to pay upfront for one. As with most NBN plan recommendations, I typically suggest picking up an Amazon eero 7 router, as it can support broadband speeds up to 2.5Gbps. And if you decide Kogan Internet's plan isn't right for your household, you can always switch providers as you see fit without needing to post back a telco-supplied modem — you can view my regularly updated guide to the best NBN deals for more options.

Kogan Internet's outstanding value doesn't stop short of its NBN 500 plan, though, as the telco is currently offering 12-month introductory discounts across all of its speed tiers. Another one of my recommendations is the telco NBN 1000 Diamond Unlimited plan, now just AU$94.90p/m for the first 12 months. With advertised plan speeds of 845Mbps, if you're in the market for turbocharged internet, Kogan Internet's ultrafast plan is hard to beat.

Want to check out what else Kogan Internet has to offer? You can view its current discounts in the widget below.

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Lucy Scotting is a digital content writer for Tom’s Guide in Australia, primarily covering NBN and internet-related news. Lucy started her career writing for HR and staffing industry publications, with articles covering emerging tech, business and finance. In her spare time, Lucy can be found watching sci-fi movies, working on her dystopian fiction novel or hanging out with her dog, Fletcher.

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