The best no contract NBN plans in Australia

Historically, broadband plans used to come with serious strings attached – and we’re not just talking about the strings that used to hold some of the copper together back in the ADSL or dial-up days. Just in order to get online not only would you have to pay some hefty connection fees, but you’d also have to agree to stay with a provider for a period of years, with penalty rates if you wanted to switch providers or had to cancel the service.

Frankly speaking, that sucked. The good news here is that you don’t have to sign away your life to a restrictive contract for the vast majority of NBN plans. Most NBN contracts are offered on a rolling month-to-month basis from most providers – with a few potential catches, which we’ll get into shortly – which gives you superb flexibility to take advantage of special offers, move when you need to or cancel services with minimal fuss.

Strictly speaking, these aren’t “no contract” plans, because there is a term of use that applies here. But when it’s only a calendar month and it basically rolls over uninterrupted, it essentially equates to the same thing.

Outside of a possibly complimentary modem-router – and you typically only ever need one of those – there’s really no benefit for most consumers with going to an ISP that wants to sign you up for a longer-term contract. While some may tout that you’re getting a “discount” on their broadband plans if you sign up for a longer period or bundle other services such as power or gas, most of those plans aren’t that competitive in the first place. They look like discounts on their rates, but as is always the case, the smart play is to shop around for the best possible value.

This brings with it the single best primary bit of advice we can give in relation to no-contract NBN plans: Check your plan at least twice a year. There’s no impetus for your NBN ISP to particularly note other or better rates if they already have you hooked, but seasonal deals from other providers may represent a serious discount to your monthly NBN bill.

Switching from one NBN provider to another should in most cases be a seamless prospect, given it’s all the same network underneath the billing, and being willing to switch can reap rich discounts. At the very least, talking to your NBN ISP a couple of times a year and casually mentioning that you might jump ship could lead to them offering you a temporary discount – which represents real money staying in your bank account rather than flowing to theirs.

If you’re looking to maximise your savings and minimise your spend, then the low end of the NBN speed pool is where you’ll often find the best no-contract deals. Here’s a selection of plans that omit setup fees and offer great value at the NBN 50 and NBN 100 tiers.

If you have a serious need for speed – and if you’re on the FTTP or HFC parts of the NBN – then what you need is a no-contract, no strings-attached NBN plan at the higher NBN 250 and NBN 1000 tiers. Here’s a selection of great value plans that skip over setup fees and give you maximum flexibility – and speed: