The best cheap NBN plans this month

100Mbps taste on a 12Mbps budget.

Some of us just want an internet connection for the most basic tasks; sending emails, checking Facebook and Googling people’s reactions to the latest TV show finale.

Before the age of the NBN, the most important choice you had to make when choosing a broadband plan was how much data it included. These days, your monthly spend is impacted most by the speed packs offered by Australian ISPs. It’s for that reason that the best NBN plans aren’t necessarily the best for everyone.

If you’re one of the many Australians that’s more interested in saving money than time spent downloading, there are plenty of cheap unlimited NBN plans to consider.

Cheapest NBN plan overall

Tangerine Standard Speed Unlimited

If you’re after a juicy deal on the NBN, you should give Tangerine a squeeze. This tropical telco consistently has some of the cheapest NBN plans on the market. There’s only one small caveat. Tangerine’s deals are rarely for the life of the plan. Instead, they are limited to a new customer’s first 6 months, after which the plan reverts to regular pricing ($59.90 per month in the case of the Tangerine plan above). With that said, even Tangerine’s regular pricing structure is quite competitive so even when it does return to regular pricing, you’re getting a decent deal.

If can’t be bothered switching plans every six months, you can also opt for Spintel’s 200GB NBN 12 plan, which is the next cheapest NBN plan available.

Take a gander at this week’s five cheapest fixed-line NBN plans below for comparison.

Cheapest NBN 50 plan (a little faster)

Belong NBN Starter Unlimited

If you’re after a little extra speed, Belong is offering its NBN Starter Unlimited for a very reasonable price. It’s not technically the cheapest NBN 50 plan, that honour goes to Spintel’s 200GB Plus plan. But at a difference of 5c per month, you’d be mad to take Spintel’s capped 200GB offer over Belong’s unlimited data deal.

The only downside to Belong is its 30Mbps typical evening speeds. That’s pretty slow as far as NBN 50 plans go. The next step up is Tangerine’s XL Speed Boost plan, which comes at a discounted price for the first 6 months.

Cheapest NBN 100 (way faster)

Tangerine XXL Speed Boost Unlimited

Once again, Tangerine wedges its way into our results with another six-month deal. It’s a damn fine deal for an unlimited NBN 100 plan, with typical evening speeds of 83Mbps. But again, that deal is only good for six months, after which you’ll be paying full price for a less competitive plan in this instance. Some people don’t mind switching NBN regularly to get the best deal (it is pretty easy these days, after all).

If you want a non-promotional deal on NBN 100, it’s hard to go past Mate Broadband’s NBN #soulmates deal. When you sign up to Mate, you know you’re getting a great deal for the life of the plan. You’re also getting award-winning customer service, and 83Mbps typical evening speeds (same as Tangerine). Kogan’s Gold Unlimited plan comes at a fraction cheaper than Mate’s NBN 100 plan, but do you really want to sacrifice customer service for 10c per month?

Here are the five cheapest NBN 100 plans this week for comparison.

Cheapest NBN 250 (superfast)

MyRepublic Unlimited NBN Superfast Flexi

With the advent of gigabit Internet in Australia, we’re connecting with unprecedented broadband speeds (at least in Australia). But going faster never comes cheap, and the first NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans have pricing that breaks the $100 barrier. So if you are one of the lucky few FTTP or HFC customers who are eligible for Superfast or Ultrafast NBN, finding a bargain has never been more important.

As it stands, MyRepublic’s Unlimited NBN Superfast Flexi plan is the cheapest entry point into NBN 250. Even if the results don’t live up to the hype, MyRepublic’s Superfast NBN plan is a low-commitment no-contract plan with $0 set-up, so there’s no harm in trying it out.

With any new technology rollout, it takes a while to work out the kinks, which is why you’ll see some conservative speed estimates listed in the tables below (e.g. 150Mbps typical evening speed) but in reality, you can probably expect faster speeds than that.

The second-cheapest NBN 250 plan comes from the reigning champ of cheap NBN deals, Tangerine. Tangerine’s XXXL Speed Boost Unlimited Plan will set you back $109.90 per month for the first 6 months (before reverting to $119.90 per month). Like MyRepublic, Tangerine’s NBN 250 plan is a flexible month-to-month arrangement, except Tangerine takes it one step further with its 14-day risk-free trial.

Cheapest NBN 1000 (ultrafast)

Kogan nbn1000 Diamond Unlimited

Compared to NBN 250, far fewer providers have dared to dip their toes into the pool of gigabit 1000Mbps broadband here in Australia. Of course, these plans aren’t cheap anyone’s standards, but these are your least expensive options if you are trialling ultrafast NBN.

Kogan Internet is currently running a deal on its nbn1000 Diamond Unlimited plan for the lucky few who can get it. At $134.90 per month, it’s a good deal cheaper than the competition, but that promotional cost will only last six months. After that, you’ll pay the full price of $148.90 per month for Kogan’s NBN 1000 dealio.

After that, the next cheapest NBN 1000 plan comes from customer-favourite Aussie Broadband. Aussie’s Home Ultrafast Unlimited Power House NBN plan will let you fly as close to the gigabit sun as possible without any contract or strings attached. It costs $149 per month, and considering Aussie Broadband’s outstanding reputation and award-winning customer support, it might be your best long-term NBN 1000 option if you are sticking around for longer than six months.