Finding an internet plan can be a complicated process. There are plenty of internet providers out there, and the range of plans you can get depends on the connection type at your home.
Knowing your connection type is an important first step if you want to switch internet providers and find a new internet plan. In this guide, we'll look at the internet connections types available in Australia, and the types of plans available for each.
To find out which NBN connection type you have, enter your address and select how much data you need to start comparing internet plans:
Fixed-line NBN
Fixed-line NBN connections are what you might expect – connections that rely on physical cables for the entire journey between you and your internet provider. At the time of writing over 95% of addresses that are connected to the NBN network are fixed-line connections.
Fixed-line NBN plans come in a range of different speed tiers outlined below.
| 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 |
NBN 50 is the most common choice for many Australian homes, but larger households might need to consider an NBN 100 plan.
Only FTTP and HFC customers can sign up to plans that offer speeds over 100Mbps.
From September 2025, NBN 100 and NBN 250 customers have seen their speeds boosted to new NBN 500 plans and new NBN 750 plans. A completely brand new speed tier for NBN 2000 plans has also been introduced.
As for NBN 12 plans, they're often the same price (or more expensive) than faster NBN 25 options, so you can safely disregard this slowest category. Once you determine which NBN speed best suits your household, it's time to choose a provider.
Have a look below at some of the cheapest plans in our database across different speeds:
There are five different fixed-line NBN connection technologies, and the type you have will decide what speed tiers are available to you, as well as the performance you should receive.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| FTTN | Fibre to the Node relies more than the rest on twisted-pair copper wiring landline phones used to run on. It's the slowest of the five, and you can be hundreds of metres or more from the nearest fibre node, giving you a worse connection. The maximum speed on FTTN is 100Mbps (if you're 400m or less from the node). |
| FTTB | Fibre to the Building runs optical fibre cables right to an apartment building's telco room. After that, the building's internal wiring takes over. This short distance usually means faster speeds than FTTN. Some newer buildings also use better-quality wires than copper telephone cables, but not all. The maximum speed on FTTB is 100Mbps. |
| FTTC | Fibre to the Curb is like FTTN, but the fibre cable runs right to the telco pit close to your home. This usually means the copper wiring is only around 50 to 100m, so it's faster than FTTN and (usually) FTTB. The maximum speed on FTTN is 100Mbps. |
| HFC | Hybrid Fibre Coaxial is the second-fastest NBN technology. It's an upgrade and repurposing of the old Telstra 'cable' networks to deliver faster speed than FTTN, FTTB and FTTC. The maximum speed on HFC is 2000Mbps. |
| FTTP | Fibre to the Premises is peak performance NBN. With speeds approaching close to 1Gbps, this connection type runs fibre right into your home. The maximum speed on FTTP is 2000Mbps. |
If you're on an FTTN or FTTC connection, then you may be eligible for a free upgrade to FTTP to take advantage of the faster speeds NBN offers.
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NBN Fixed Wireless
Fixed Wireless NBN uses a similar kind of 4G and 5G network technologies as the ones that connect your phone to the internet. The NBN broadcasts the signal from the nearest transmission tower to your home, and you receive the signal with an antenna installed on your roof – courtesy of NBN Co.
Around just 3.5% addresses in the NBN network are connected via Fixed Wireless. While Fixed Wireless NBN has had a bad rap for unstable speeds during peak hours, the situation has improved thanks to recent upgrades.
Not everyone can get the faster speeds; however, around 80% of households can get up to Fast Fixed Wireless speeds, while around 90% of households can get the Superfast Fixed Wireless speeds.
Here's a look at the cheapest Fixed Wireless plans in our database:
5G Home Wireless internet
Home wireless, or wireless internet, is a home internet connection delivered using the same networks as your smartphone.
5G home internet utilises the trusty old mobile networks to get you online (just like 4G home wireless). But the difference between 4G and 5G home wireless is staggering when it comes to speed.
Nowadays, 5G home internet comes in three different speed tiers – capped to 50Mbps, capped to 100Mbps, and uncapped. In comparison, 4G home internet will generally get you a maximum of 20Mbps, but likely less than that.
While 5G networks can achieve speeds of over 1Gbps, your actual 5G download speeds will depend on a few factors.
These include:
- Your coverage
- Any obstacles between you and the nearest 5G tower
- Congestion
- Your plan's speed cap
Coverage for 5G varies considerably between telco networks, depending on your area, but that doesn't mean that you should count it out entirely. Take a look at our mobile coverage checker to see if your home falls in any of the 5G coverage areas.
Here's a comparative breakdown of how much each 5G speed tier will cost you per month:
If you choose a plan with speeds up to 25Mbps, you'll get the equivalent of an NBN 25 plan. Speeds may be slower during peak hours. These plans may not be the best value in the long term as they're quite expensive for the speeds you get. It is worth noting Vodafone's plan has a maximum speed of 20Mbps.
Here's pricing for 5G home internet plans with speeds up to 25Mbps:
If you decide to choose a plan capped at 50Mbps, this means it's the equivalent of NBN 50, however, you may experience slightly slower speeds during peak hours. This is a great option if you're either conscious of the price or you know you won't use over 50Mbps.
Here's pricing for 5G home internet plans capped at 50Mbps:
If you choose a plan capped at 100Mbps, this means it's the equivalent of an NBN 100 plan, however, you may experience slightly slower speeds during peak hours. This is a great option for households with multiple members who regularly connect to the internet at the same time.
Here's pricing for 5G home internet plans capped at 100Mbps:
Three telcos currently offer uncapped plans. These can go as fast as network conditions allow but exact speeds will depend on your coverage and congestion. Generally, though we have found 200Mbps is a pretty safe average.
4G Home Wireless internet
4G home internet is currently the most widely available form of home wireless, but it's often not a viable alternative to an NBN connection, thanks to its relatively slow speed caps of 20–25Mbps (which you might not even hit).
You can get a 4G home wireless internet connection at any home where there's a decent mobile signal. And unlike the NBN, which initially needs to be installed by a technician, home wireless doesn't require any setup. You just get your wireless WiFi modem and your 4G home internet plan, switch it on, and you should have instant internet.
There are plenty of home wireless plans to choose from. Here are some of the cheapest plans in our database:
Satellite internet
Sky Muster
NBN's Sky Muster
Satellite service is used to connect Australians in regional and remote areas where no other
NBN connection technology is practical. Ground stations across the country beam internet to a satellite, which then beams it down again to a dish attached to your home.
Only a small percentage of addresses are in the Satellite NBN footprint, around 0.7%.
Here are a few of the cheapest Satellite NBN plans in our database:
Starlink
Starlink is a satellite internet system owned by SpaceX that hopes to deliver high-speed internet across the globe.
It's pitched toward areas where building networks has been challenging, such as rural and regional Australia. The major difference between Starlink satellites and traditional geostationary satellites is they're more than 60 times closer to Earth. This means Starlink can (potentially) deliver faster, more-responsive connectivity than you'd typically expect from a satellite internet service, based on the location of its satellites.
When will Starlink internet be available, you ask? It already is. Starlink currently delivers service Australia wide, if you're willing to pay for it. When you add up the per-month residential plan price ($139 for unlimited data), hardware ($549), and shipping and handling, Starlink is priced pretty steeply compared to Satellite NBN plans.
Here's a look at Starlink's Residential plans:
Private Fibre
A private fibre connection is a fibre network that's owned by a private company, instead of NBN Co. It usually refers to an FTTB-style connection, such as TPG's FTTB network, which is offered through TPG and iiNet
Another example is from Opticomm. Like NBN Co, Opticomm doesn't sell plans directly, but instead allows internet providers to pay for access on its networks and resell it to their customers.
If you're looking for an alternative to the NBN, private fibre may be the answer. But private fibre isn't available everywhere and relies on your building's address being within the provider's footprint. Have a look at some private fibre plans below.
Cable
Cable internet is a broadband technology where the coaxial cable connects a fibre optic network, and eventually the internet. In Australia, cable has also been used to deliver digital Pay TV services, such as Foxtel.
Internet plans labelled as 'cable' are vanishingly rare these days, as the Telstra cable network is now the backbone of NBN's HFC connection type, and the Optus cable network has been shut down. But cable internet plans are still available in a few select areas, such as iiNet's private cable internet available in Geelong, Mildura, and Ballarat.
Dylan Crismale
Digital Content Editor
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