Whether you’re connecting to the NBN for the first time or looking for a new plan, you’ll want to make sure you go with a reputable internet provider.
There’s plenty to consider when comparing NBN plans, including the type of connection your home is capable of and the speed tier that best suits your needs, but thankfully we’ve done the heavy lifting in weighing up all of Australia’s internet major providers and coming up with the current best options.
We’ve taken a look at the big names like Telstra, Optus and TPG, and compared them with smaller providers like Tangerine, Spintel and Aussie Broadband to see which of them offers the best value service.
In this guide, we’ll go through the strengths and weaknesses of our choice telcos, and offer our expert opinion on which NBN provider offers the best value plans across the board.
What’s the best NBN provider in Australia?
When it comes to the most popular speed tier, NBN 50 is in the lead by a long way, (with over half of all NBN connections on this tier) and for 50Mbps connections Spintel continues to beat out Tangerine as the best NBN provider around at the moment, offering great value overall and particularly excellent deals for new sign-ups.
For a little more each month, this telco’s faster NBN 100 plan is also the best going at the moment, and while Spintel isn’t the apex NBN 25 plan at present, it’s close behind Tangerine in second place.
While each plan offers the choice of bringing your own modem, if you go with the Spintel-provided option you’ll pay a total of AU$158 upfront for the ISP’s standard modem (including postage and gateway fees). This is more than some other providers, but quickly comes out in the wash thanks to all the savings on plan prices.
Spintel NBN 50 plan
Spintel’s NBN 100 plan
Compare all Spintel NBN plans
What’s the best high-speed NBN provider?
While Spintel is sitting pretty for the best NBN provider overall, the telco doesn’t offer NBN 250 and NBN 1000 speed tiers, but thankfully, there’s one telco we recommend above all others in this category.
Telstra is the best high-speed NBN provider in Australia, overtaking Aussie Broadband to offer the highest typical evening speeds available on both NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans while also offering up decent introductory discounts.
It’s worth mentioning that, even with these introductory offers, Telstra’s Superfast and Ultrafast plans are the most expensive in the industry, but we wager those seeking these connections are willing to pay the extra AU$20 or so per month to secure the best speeds and go with a trusted provider.
If you don’t mind slightly lower typical evening speeds and going with a smaller provider, check out Superloop’s NBN 250 plan for AU$99.95p/m (for first six months, then AU$119.95p/m) or the Superloop NBN 1000 plan for AU$119.95p/m (for first six months, then AU$139.95p/m). This telco is third behind Telstra and Aussie Broadband for typical evening speeds on both tiers, but offers better pricing.
As is always the case with these faster plans, your premises will need to be able to support the connection. For NBN 250, you’ll need either an FTTP (fibre to the premises) or HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coaxial) connection, and for NBN 1000 you’ll likely need FTTP, although a small percentage of HFC households can also get these gigabit speeds, but check with your telco before signing up.