Compare Internet Plans in Australia

We’re all relying on home internet a little bit more these days. whether it’s to work from home, stay connected to friends and family, or just fight boredom. With all of us staying home more, and therefore using more internet, it’s more important than ever to make sure we have a fast, reliable, and affordable connection. If you’re looking to learn more about broadband in Australia, and discover the best internet providers, continue reading below.

Compare types of home internet 

The technology used to connect to the internet is changing, with the rollout of the NBN across Australia, the phasing-out of ADSL, and the installation of 5G. There are so many different ways, old and new, to make sure you stay connected, and if you’re not sure about their differences keep reading below.

NBN broadband

NBN is the latest high-speed internet technology that has rolled out across Australia. While there are different types of NBN connections depending on where you live, the basic idea is the NBN will connect homes to the internet with high-speed fibre optic cables allowing for download speeds of up to 100Mbps, or even more in some instances.

Home wireless broadband in Australia

Unlike other home broadband technologies, home wireless broadband relies on the mobile phone network to connect your home to the internet. A wireless broadband modem connects to whichever mobile network you choose (Telstra, Optus, or Vodafone) and allows for multiple devices including computers, phones, or tablets to connect to it at the same time. While traditional home wireless broadband speeds can get up to 24Mbps, new 5G home broadband can reach well over 100Mbps, making it a faster alternative even to most NBN plans.

Cable broadband in Australia

Cable broadband is an alternative to NBN and ADSL, which uses an exclusive network of fibre and copper cables to deliver data to households. While faster than traditional ADSL, it’s less reliable than new NBN technology. Telstra and Optus are the two main cable broadband providers, and as NBN becomes more popular, cable is less readily available.

ADSL and ADSL2+ in Australia

Now obsolete, ADSL and ADSL2+ was the older technology used to deliver home internet via the copper telephone wires connected to a house. Since the rollout of NBN, most internet providers have pulled their ADSL plans from their websites and no longer offer them to new customers. If you still have ADSL it’s important to switch over to a different type of broadband soon to avoid losing service.

Compare internet: Fastest NBN providers

When choosing an NBN plan, speed is one of the most important things to consider. NBN plans are divided into different download speeds, to better fit different household sizes and needs.

• Basic (NBN12): Maximum download speeds of 12Mbps, suitable for 1-2 low internet users
• Standard (NBN25): Maximum download speeds of 25Mbps, suitable for 1-2 people
• Standard Plus (NBN50): Maximum download speeds of 50Mbps, suitable for 2-4 people
• Premium / Fast (NBN100): Maximum download speeds of 100Mbps, suitable for HD streaming and multiple devices
• Superfast (NBN250): Maximum download speeds of 250Mbps, suitable for households with multiple high-internet users
• Ultrafast (NBN1000): Maximum download speeds of 1000Mbps, the fastest speeds available if you can find it

However, these speed standards only outline the maximum speeds possible. Most internet service providers display their NBN plans with the average evening speed, this is the estimated average download speed you will actually get during peak busy hours during the evening. Some of the best internet providers have a higher average evening speed than others.

Check your broadband speed Use the Internet Speed Test to find out how fast your internet is, and learn tips and tricks that might speed up your connection.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) releases their quarterly report Measuring Broadband Australia, which details advertised vs actual download speeds from the biggest internet service providers in Australia. Below you can find a table of the top internet providers in Australia, along with the download average percentage of plan speed for all hours, and peak busy hours. This means, for example, if you choose an Optus NBN50 plan, during peak busy hours your download speeds would only be 98.5% of 50Mbps while overall, you would experience download speeds at 99.4% of 50Mbps.

Internet providers are now offering Superfast and Ultrafast NBN speeds to their lineup of broadband plans. These impossibly fast download speeds are only really available if you have an FTTP or HFC connection to your premises, but can deliver speeds of up to NBN250 or even NBN1000 to your home. Plans for Superfast and Ultrafast NBN start around $100 per month, and all come with unlimited data. These providers offering NBN250 and NBN1000 include:

• Aussie Broadband
• Mate
• MyRepublic
• Superloop
• Telstra
• Tangerine
• Kogan
• Internode
• iiNet
• Optus

Compare internet deals & cheapest NBN plans

If you’re less concerned about getting the fastest internet available, and instead want to find the cheapest NBN plans to suit your needs, you can find some of the cheapest providers with no lock-in contract below.

Cheapest NBN plans with unlimited data

Maybe you don’t need the fastest plan, but still want a good broadband speed for your household. Here are some of the cheapest NBN plans with unlimited data, meaning that even if you don’t game or stream Ultra 4K video frequently, you can enjoy unlimited broadband without needing to worry about data caps or reduced download speeds.

Cheapest NBN plans with limited data

If you’re not a big internet user, you might not want to pay the extra cash for unlimited data. Maybe you just use the internet to browse social media and check your emails, in which case here are the cheapest NBN plans with limited data, so you never need to pay for more than you need.

Compare internet: Home wireless broadband plans

If you’re looking for an alternative to the NBN, home wireless broadband is a good choice. Rather than a fixed wireless network (like the NBN or ADSL), home wireless broadband uses the mobile broadband network to connect the devices in your home to the internet. While 4G home wireless broadband speeds aren’t quite as fast as NBN, new 5G home wireless broadband plans perform as well as, if not better than, the NBN.

4G home wireless broadband: Plans with 200GB of data and less

If you’re not a huge internet user, you probably only need a little bit of data every month. Most home wireless broadband plans are available with either 200GB of data or 500GB of data per month, and below you can find a comparison of plans with 200GB of data or less.

4G home wireless broadband: Plans with more than 200GB of data

If you need a bit more data, home wireless plans with 500GB of data usually have enough data for social media, browsing the web, and light streaming. Below, you’ll find home wireless broadband plans with 500GB of data per month.

Compare 5G home wireless broadband

While it’s slowly getting rolled out across the country, 5G isn’t available everywhere just yet. But if you’re one of those who already live in a place with 5G access, you might be able to get 5G home wireless broadband. Currently, only Optus, and Spintel on the Optus 5G Network, offer 5G home wireless but their 5G plans are comparable to even some of the fastest NBN plans.