If you've been shopping around for a new plan you may have noticed that internet providers advertise their NBN plans' "evening speeds". Also known as "NBN peak hour speeds", these are often slower than the maximum you can expect on your plan and can vary greatly from provider to provider.
So what are NBN evening speeds, what do they mean for your connection and, most importantly, which providers have the fastest?
What are NBN typical evening speeds?

NBN connections can slow down when it gets busy. You can think of it like a traffic jam on the highway. However, instead of peak hour traffic when people are headed home at the end of the day it's everyone in the neighbourhood jumping online to browse, download and stream.
An NBN plan's typical evening speed is an indication of how fast your connection will be during the busiest period of the day. This is considered to be between 7pm and 11pm at night.
Just how much do NBN connections slow down during peak hours? It varies greatly from provider to provider. But as an example, here are the ranges of typical evening speeds you might experience on your NBN plan, based on 34 providers in WhistleOut's database.
| Speed tier | Maximum speed | Typical evening speed range | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBN 12 (Basic I) | 12Mbps | 11-12Mbps | |
| NBN 25 (Basic II) | 25Mbps | 22-25Mbps | |
| NBN 50 (Standard) | 50Mbps | 48-50Mbps | |
| NBN 100 (Fast) | 100Mbps | 90-100Mbps | |
| NBN 500 (Fast II) | 500Mbps | 400-500Mbps | See NBN 500 plans |
| NBN 750 (Superfast) | 250Mbps | 500-750Mbps | |
| NBN 1000 (Ultrafast) | 1,000Mbps | 700-900Mbps | |
| NBN 2000 (Hyperfast) | 2,000Mbps | TBC | See NBN 2000 plans |
Note: Megabits per second (Mbps) is a measure of the speed at which data can be transferred over the network. The higher the Mbps, the faster your connection will be.
Looking at this table, you can see there's not much difference between the providers with the slowest and fastest reported typical evening speeds on the majority of NBN plans.
In fact, the majority of providers on the NBN 12 to NBN 500 speed tiers report typical evening speeds that are in line with the maximum possible.
It's a different story at the other end of the table. There's more variance between the slowest and fastest reported typical evening speeds on NBN 750 and NBN 1000 plans. These are some of the fastest speed tiers you can get. You can click to see plans on each speed tier for a deeper dive. NBN 2000 plans are very new, so we don't have typical evening speeds for these yet.
While it’s now very easy for providers to deliver consistently great speeds on NBN 50 and NBN 100 plans, it’s more
challenging on faster speed tiers. Achieving high typical evening speeds on these tiers relies on a
combination of factors like a provider’s physical infrastructure, network optimisation, and their connectivity to
the broader internet.
Choosing the right NBN speed tier
As we've already outlined, the NBN comes in six main speed tiers. These cater to different budgets and lifestyles.
| Speed tier | Best for | Max. speeds |
|---|---|---|
| NBN 12 | Lone, low internet users | 12Mbps |
| NBN 25 | Budget pick for 1-2 people | 25Mbps |
| NBN 50 | All-rounder for small households of 2-4 people | 50Mbps |
| NBN 100 | For WFH and larger households | 100Mbps |
| NBN 250 | Faster speeds for WFH and larger households | 250Mbps |
| NBN 500 | Seamless internet experience when everyone is online | 500Mbps |
| NBN 750 | Even faster speeds for simultaneous use | 750Mbps |
| NBN 1000 | The fastest speeds you can get for less than $100 per month | 1000Mbps |
| NBN 2000 | The fastest speeds you can get right now, at a premium | 2000Mbps |
Most NBN plans come with no lock-in contract which means you don't need to stress if you sign up to a plan and later find you want to change.
As a rule of thumb, we actually suggest switching plans every six months. This means you can always be on a plan with a discount and avoid paying full price.
NBN SPEED TIER CHECK
Are you on the right NBN speed?
Most Popular Fixed Line NBN Plans
See the most popular fixed line NBN plans in WhistleOut's database.
NBN 12
NBN 25
NBN 50
NBN 100
NBN 500
NBN 750
NBN 1000
NBN 2000
Want more information about the NBN?
Got questions? We have answers. Whether you want to know what the NBN is, how to connect, if you have to connect, how much it will cost, what the alternatives are, or something else entirely, check out our complete guide to the NBN.
If you're already on a plan with good evening speeds but your connection seems slow, there might be other factors slowing down your connection, such as your connection type.
If you're looking for other ways to judge speed, the ACCC releases a quarterly report covering real-world download speeds in Australia.
Typical evening speed FAQs
What is a good typical evening speed for NBN?
As mentioned above, a good evening speed depends on your speed tier. If you're on an NBN 12 through to NBN 500 plan, a good evening speed is one that's close to the maximum. On NBN 1000, anything over 750Mbps is pretty good.
Do I need fast upload speeds?
The average Australian internet user is a lot more reliant on download speeds for the majority of their broadband usage. However, if you work from home, regularly use video chat, rely on cloud-based backup services such as Dropbox or Google Drive, or tend to send clients large files, you'll see big benefits from getting a connection with faster uploads speeds.
What's the difference between download speeds and upload speeds?
Your download speed refers to how quickly you're able to get files from the internet, while upload speeds relate to how fast you're able to send files to other places online. For example, your upload speeds will determine how long it takes to send an email with a large attachment, back your photos up to Google Drive, or plonk a big document on Dropbox.
Upload speeds can also affect video calls, Voice over IP, and gaming, as these use cases all require both sending and receiving data.
Why am I not getting my advertised NBN speeds?
While NBN plans are advertised with a theoretical maximum speed, your connection could be slower than what you're paying for.
If you've got an FTTN NBN connection, you may experience slower-than-advertised speeds due to your home's distance from the node. Customers within 400 metres of a node should be able to get speeds of up to 100Mbps, while customers further than 700 metres will start to see more significant speed degradation.
Congestion is another possible cause of slowdown. If you're only noticing slower speeds at certain times, it's probably because everyone else in your neighbourhood is trying to watch the latest Netflix hit simultaneously.
It's important to get the right modem for your high speed NBN plan. A faster modem may be required to properly utilise NBN 500 speeds and up.
A failing modem can also impact your internet speeds. If you're not sure what speeds you're actually getting, you can run a quick and easy speed test here.
Alex Choros
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