If you’re in charge of picking an NBN plan for your family it can be a daunting task. The last thing you want is your Zoom call dropping out, or another excuse for why your kids can’t do their schoolwork.
Our homes all look different now than they did at this time last year. A significant number of Aussies are still working from home, distance learning is more prominent than ever, and with that comes a shift in the kind of internet connection you’re going to need in order to accommodate all of that.
Which NBN speed tier you pick will depend on the size of your household and how you use your internet connection. Small families who are back at the office won’t need anything near as speedy as those who are running a business from their garage.
In this guide we give you a step by step guide to picking the right NBN plan for your family.
- Know your technology type
- How many people are in your household?
- How do you use your internet?
- What's your budget?
Know your technology type
Our National Broadband Network is comprised of seven different technology types which unfortunately, you don’t get to pick. Which technology you have been assigned depends on the dwelling you live in and where you are located.
Each of these technology types have their own limitations, some can achieve up to 1000Mbps download speeds while others cap out at 25Mbps. This is due to how the NBN was built.
These are the available technology types and their maximum speeds.
NBN speeds
| Abbreviation | Max Download Speed | Notes | |
| Fibre to the Premises | FTTP | 1000Mbps | |
| Fibre to the Building | FTTB | 100Mbps | |
| Fibre to the Curb | FTTC | 100Mbps | |
| Fibre to the Node | FTTN | 100Mbps | Only available if you are less than 400m from the Node |
| Hybrid Fibre Coaxial | HFC | 1000Mbps | Only 7% of HFC connections can achieve 1000Mbps |
| Fixed Wireless | - | 75Mbps | |
| Sky Muster Satellite | - | 25Mbps |
To find out which technology type you are connected to, input your address into our WhistleOut search engine below and you will see what kind of NBN connection your home has.
Read more about how to find out your technology type here.
How many people are in your household?
When choosing your speed tier it’s important to note that your NBN speed is a shared resource. Whatever speeds you are getting at the time will be distributed amongst the users and the devices on the connection. More people generally means more devices with which you will need to share these speeds, therefore bigger households usually require faster connections.
Just how much real estate each person will take up entirely depends on how you use your connection, but be aware that single person households tend to require lower speeds than larger families. More on this below.
How do you use your internet?
Everything you do online takes up download and upload speeds, and with more people on the connection it has a compounding effect. In order to estimate how quick your connection will need to be you can add together the average Mbps required for activities you do online.
Note that if multiple users are engaging in the same activities simultaneously you’ll need to count them twice.
Speed requirements
| Activity | Speed required |
| Streaming Netflix, Stan etc | 5Mbps |
| Streaming music | 1Mbps |
| Online gaming | 1Mbps |
| Browsing social media | 3Mbps |
| Video conferencing | 2Mbps |
| Surfing the web | 2Mbps |
Let’s assume that you have a three person household, and in the evenings you might game while listening to music, another person works online after hours and has Zoom calls, and another browses social media while they stream Netflix. All of these activities at once will use about 22Mbps, meaning you’ll need at least an NBN 25 plan in order to keep up.
Read our full guide about choosing your NBN speed here.However, there are a couple of other factors to take into account;
- Just because your maximum speed is 25Mbps, doesn’t mean that you will actually achieve those speeds. The typical evening speed of an NBN 25 plan is usually closer to 20Mbps without taking into account any further congestion on your home network.
- There could be many other factors at play that may slow down your internet speed within your house. This could be old wiring, inopportune placement of your modem, or out of date firmware on your hardware.
Although an NBN 25 plan seems like it may work on the surface there isn't much leeway in our example for any additional devices using the network. Plus, you're all going to be fighting for speed supremacy.
A good rule of thumb is to round up to the next fastest plan. Most of the time this will set you back just $10 per month which is a reasonable price to pay for a comfortable online experience.
What’s your budget?
Budget is always a significant factor when it comes to picking an NBN plan for your family. There are affordable options out there, but generally they all require a sacrifice of some sort. It may be a data allowance, or dropping down a speed tier, the choice you make will very much depend on what your priorities are.
Some people are happy to pay a bit more for a better quality of connection, others prefer to stick to a strict budget. It will entirely depend on your personal circumstances. In saying that, here are the best budget options available. We have sorted these by the most popular plans in our database under a specific price. Scroll through to see your best options. If you don't find something for you, our editor's review the best nbn plans each month, check out this month's picks and you may find the right plan for your family.
NBN plans under $50
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#1
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SpinTel 
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#2
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amaysim 
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#3
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amaysim
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#4
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Dodo 
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#5
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Flip 
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#6
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Tangerine Telecom 
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#7
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amaysim
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#8
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Kogan Internet 
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#9
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Belong 
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#10
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Moose NBN 
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Link not supplied
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NBN plans under $60
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#1
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SpinTel
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#2
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Tangerine Telecom
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#3
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Dodo
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#4
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amaysim
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#5
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amaysim
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#6
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Dodo
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#7
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Flip
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#8
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Tangerine Telecom
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#9
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Belong
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#10
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amaysim
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NBN plans under $80
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#1
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Dodo
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#2
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SpinTel
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#3
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Tangerine Telecom
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#4
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Superloop 
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#5
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Dodo
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#6
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amaysim
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#7
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TPG 
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Link not supplied
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#8
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amaysim
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#9
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Dodo
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#10
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Dodo
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Anula Wiwatowska
Offsite Editorial Lead | Instagram
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