Cheap home WiFi deals in Australia (that are worth every penny)

Australians tend to use the terms WiFi, broadband, internet, modem, and router interchangeably. While each is technically an apt description for the mysterious box where glorious internet emits from, there are still plenty of differences and caveats among WiFi connection types.

In this guide, we’re rounding up the cheapest WiFi plans available, covering everything from the NBN to the increasingly popular home wireless broadband.

Note: For our top picks that are updated every month, head over to our guide to the best NBN plans available.

If you live in a house or apartment building that’s already switched over to the NBN, it will be your most likely choice for a home internet connection. It suits most users as pretty much every NBN plan comes with unlimited data.

There are different types of NBN connections depending on where you live and your type of dwelling (e.g., apartment, house), but for most Australians, the plan below is our current pick for the best way to get online.

Without any further ado, here's our top pick this month for the best cheap WiFi for NBN internet in Australia.

Here's something to keep in mind if you're in the market for the best WiFi plan. In any given month, many of Australia's NBN providers will offer regular limited-time deals and savvy discounts on their plans to try and snag he attention and money of potential consumers. As such, you rarely have to look far to find a good deal.

These discounts typically last between 6 and 12 months. After that point, your monthly bill jumps up to full price. Fortunately, and unlike the world of postpaid mobile plans, most NBN plans are no-contract. This means that those willing to deal with a little bit of paperwork can jump from promotion to promotion and save a lot of money in the process. 

Mate is no stranger to these kinds of customers, but the thrifty provider really shines is in its pricing structure. Mate's Fast NBN 100 plan comes in at a generous $79 per month, and its Standard NBN 50 at a tidy $69 per month.

The idea here is that by competing with the competition on regular pricing, you'll stick around rather than jump ship. For that reason and if you’re not interested in switching up your NBN provider every six months, Mate Broadband is our current choice for the best cheap WiFi plans. The combination of great value, and top-tier customer service makes it a great option for getting hooked up via the NBN.

If you're not convinced or keen to see what else is out there, be sure to check out the widget below for a round-up of comparable NBN plans.

If you’re not eligible for the NBN or you’re just not happy with your service, there are some excellent alternatives available. Dubbed home wireless broadband, this new connection type utilises 4G and 5G mobile networks to deliver super-fast speeds and reliable broadband without the need for an NBN installation.

Typically, data-only plans are too expensive to fathom relying on them for your home broadband needs, but home wireless WiFi modems are used in the home, exclusively. Home wireless data pricing also tends to be more generous than what you find with mobile broadband. For that reason and others, a home wireless WiFi plan like the one below might be worth a try if you're not located in an area serviced by the NBN or unsatisfied with the technology type of your current setup can do.

Here's our current top pick for the best home wireless broadband WiFi plan.

If you're committed to cutting the cord and ditching Australia's NBN but need faster speeds than 4G can offer, then a 5G home wireless broadband solution like the Telstra 5G Home Internet plan is the best choice right now.

The Telstra 5G Home Internet plan comes with 1TB of data with typical evening download speeds of between 50Mbps and 600Mbps while typical upload speeds fall between 10Mbps and 90Mbps. If you use up your monthly allowance, your connection speed will be slowed, but  there aren’t any extra data charges.

This plan also comes with two months of Binge Standard (for new Binge subscribers), which is great if you're keen to check out award-winning HBO series like Euphoria, House of the Dragon and The White Lotus.

It doesn't hurt that Telstra's flagship 5G home internet plan is more than just cheaper than the closest plan available from Optus. Compared to the Optus Superfast 5G Internet plan, Telstra's one-size-fits-all approach to 5G WiFi boasts faster speeds and greater network coverage.

For a better sense of how Telstra's flagship 5G home wireless broadband offering compares to the other options in the market, check out the widget below.

Lastly, there’s the trusty mobile broadband solution. People who tend to use most of their data on the go, away from home WiFi, need a portable solution for their mobile lifestyle. The best option for travelling broadband users is typically a reliable pocket WiFi hotspot or WiFi dongle (a USB with SIM-card slot).

Like mobile phone plans, mobile broadband plans use the 4G network (some lucky customers can also get 5G) and tend to have pricier data caps. It's also important to keep in mind that, unless you have a SIM-ready device (like a cellular iPad or laptop) or already own a pocket WiFi device, you may need to pay an upfront or ongoing monthly fee to buy or rent one from your provider.

Here's our top pick this month for the best WiFi plan with a mobile broadband users.

Telstra’s Upfront Data Plan Large provides a massive 400GB for a typical $85 monthly fee. Like Optus, Telstra caps speeds for its non-prepaid mobile broadband plans at 1.5Mbps if you go over. Still, that 400GB monthly cap works out to a very respectable 92GB of data per week.

Another plus is you’ll get access to Telstra’s expanding 5G network as well as data-free Apple Music and select sports streaming for selected services. You can also share your data with up to 10 eligible services on the same account.

Telstra also has $15 Extra Small, $25 Small and $55 Medium mobile broadband plans (in addition to a few prepaid options), so if you find you aren’t finishing your data balance at the end of the month, you can always consider switching to a lower data plan.

If you don’t already have a modem, you can purchase one through Telstra for as little $99, if you choose a 4G plan, or $358.56 for the 5G Wi-Fi Pro modem; any Telstra mobile broadband modem can be paid off over 12, 24 or 36 months.

For a sense of how this plan compares to the rest of the crowd, here's a quick round-up of the cheapeast mobile broadband plans on the market this month.

Sometimes, the thing you care the most about your WiFi plan is the cost on your monthly bill. If that's you, be sure to consider out our top pick this month for the best cheap WiFi plan.

Tangerine is one of only a handful of NBN providers that offer a WiFi plan that'll cost you less than $50 per month. However,  that ultra-low pricing will only last for your first six months with Tangerine. You'll pay $44.90 per month initially, but $59.89 per month if you stick around. 

Once that discount runs its course, you're free to switch it up and move onto the next best limited-time deal available. After all, doing so is easier than ever on the NBN and $60 per month is enough to get you an NBN 50 plan.

If you're curious what that sum might be able to get you, be sure to take a gander at this week's month's six NBN50 plans with unlimited data below.

If you can't put a number on your hunger for gigabytes, an unlimited WiFi plan might be the right choice. Here's our top pick this month for the best cheap unlimited WiFi plans.

When it comes to offering the best bang for buck, SpinTel is our pick for the top-dog in the NBN50 arena. While the provider's biggest claim to fame (having the cheapest NBN50 available) is contingent on promo pricing that'll expire after your first six months are up, the ongoing pricing that kicks in at that point is still a cut below most of the alternatives.

Throw in a solid customer service reputation and unlimited data, and it's not exactly shocking that Spintel manages to consistently emerge at the top of our monthly round-ups of the best NBN plans overall.

If you're not 100% sold, take a gander at the runners-up below to see how SpinTel compares.

If you're looking to sign up for a home WiFi plan, the best place to start is the technology involved.

Before digging into any of the details, it's worth double-checking that you're across the technologies available at your current address. Whether you have access to the NBN, and what kind of internet connection type that access

Once you're sure that you're getting the best speeds available to your connection type, the next thing you'll want to look for is data. As with mobile plans, the more the better. A good rule of thumb here is to break down the number of gigabytes you're paying per dollar and go from there.

Here at Reviews.org, we’re constantly keeping track of the best NBN providers and NBN plans in Australia. Our product team monitors the comings and goings of the Australian broadband market with eagle-eyed precision and feeds that data back to us, the editorial team, to help build out our recommendations.

We then update this page with the best WiFi, cheap and unlimited internet plans, based on what we find in our ever-changing database of NBN, 5G and mobile broadband plans. We consider things like price, perks, upload speeds and download speeds.

Don't know what to pick between the NBN, home wireless broadband and pocket WiFi? We've got the answers to all your home WiFi questions.