The big picture
Almost everyone is on the wrong NBN tier
Almost every home internet plan in Australia rides on the same wholesale NBN, so the thing that really decides your bill and your experience is the speed tier you pick and the technology at your address. Most households are on the wrong tier: paying for NBN 100 they never touch, or stuck on NBN 25 while four people stream 4K and game at once. Tell the tool on the right how your home actually uses the internet, then explore the providers and guides below.
The idea that explains your bill: because nearly every retailer resells the same wholesale NBN, the brand on your invoice matters far less than the speed tier you bought and the technology already wired to your home. Pay for NBN 100 in a two-person flat and you fund headroom you never use; sit on NBN 25 with four people streaming 4K and gaming and the network buckles every evening. The win is not the cheapest plan or the fastest plan, it is the tier that fits your household.
Before you compare
What actually decides your speed
Three things set the speed you really get, and only one of them is the number on the plan you buy.
The speed tier
The tier (NBN 25, 50, 100, 250 or 1000) is the ceiling on your download speed. Buying more than your household uses is pure waste; buying too little means a slow connection no provider can fix.
The technology at your address
Fibre to the premises is the fastest and most stable; fibre to the node, HFC and fixed wireless each cap and vary differently. Your address, not your retailer, sets what is physically possible.
Evening congestion
At 8pm everyone is online at once. Your real speed depends on how busy your local point of interconnect is and the typical evening speed your retailer chooses to provision.
Start by checking the technology at your address, then compare the typical evening speed, not just the tier, when you compare providers.
Explore internet & NBN
Everything you need to choose and connect
Independent guides to how the NBN works in practice, plus the providers you can compare and switch to today.
Compare & connect
Compare internet providers
Browse every NBN and home internet retailer in one place, from the big telcos to the challenger brands.
Internet speed test
Test the speed you actually get, then learn what is throttling it and how to fix it.
Best NBN deals
How to read an intro price, spot the revert cost and tell a real deal from a teaser.
No-contract broadband
Month-to-month plans that let you switch freely, and the real lock-in that hides in the modem.
Understand the NBN
NBN points of interconnect
Why your real speed is set locally at your POI, not by the tier on your invoice.
5G home internet
When fixed 5G beats the NBN, and why its speeds swing so much through the day.
Home wireless broadband
4G and 5G modems as an NBN alternative: who they suit and who they do not.
Satellite internet
How Sky Muster and low-orbit satellite keep rural and regional homes connected.
Starlink vs Sky Muster
The real difference in speed, latency and price for the bush.
Unlimited broadband
Why unlimited data is rarely the feature that matters, and what to weigh instead.
HFC NBN explained
Pay-TV cable repurposed for the NBN: its speeds, its sharing and its real value.
Top providers
Telstra
The biggest network and the premium price: where it earns its keep and where it does not.
Optus
NBN, 5G and 4G home internet from the number-two telco, plus its fixed-5G coverage.
Tangerine
A consistently cheap challenger with strong speeds on the Telstra mobile network.
Superloop
Fast NBN and fixed-wireless from a network-owning challenger, often on sharp intro deals.
Exetel
Budget NBN and home fibre with a long record of value pricing.
MATE
An Australian-owned telco with simple NBN plans and local support.
Belong
Telstra-owned budget brand running on the Telstra wholesale network.
Vodafone
NBN, 5G and 4G home internet, with no-modem-needed wireless options.
Keep exploring
Sort the rest of the household while you are here
The same right-size logic that picks your NBN tier also trims your mobile, streaming and moving bills.
Mobile plans
Compare SIM-only and mobile plans, and bundle them with your internet to shave the bill.
ExploreStreaming
Work out which streaming services are worth keeping once your fast connection is sorted.
ExploreMoving home
A step-by-step plan to connect power, internet and the rest the day you move in.
ExploreCommon questions
A Selectra expert answers your internet questions
For one or two people who browse, email and stream in standard definition, NBN 25 is usually plenty. A typical family of three or four streaming HD and doing the odd video call is well served by NBN 50. NBN 100 and above only earns its price when several people stream 4K, game online and upload large files at the same time. The recommender at the top of this page sizes it to your home in a few clicks.
Because the tier is only the ceiling. Your real speed depends on the technology at your address (fibre to the premises is fastest, fibre to the node slowest), how busy your local point of interconnect is in the evening, and the typical evening speed your retailer chooses to provision. Two NBN 50 plans can feel very different at 8pm.
Sometimes. Fixed 5G can be faster than mid-tier NBN and it is plug-and-play with no technician visit, but its speed swings with how busy the local tower is and how good your signal is indoors. It suits renters and homes with strong 5G coverage; for a guaranteed, stable connection a fibre NBN plan is still the safer pick.
Almost every NBN plan worth buying already includes unlimited data, so it is rarely the feature to chase. The things that actually shape your experience are the speed tier, the typical evening speed and the price after any intro discount ends. Unlimited matters more on home wireless plans, where data caps still appear.
Yes. Most NBN plans are now month-to-month, so you can compare and switch with little more than a few days notice and no break fee. The real lock-in is usually the modem: if it was bundled or paid off over the contract, leaving early can mean paying out the device. Check that before you move.