Best NBN 1000 Ultrafast plans

While NBN 1000 plans in Australia used to be a rare offering from a select few providers, nowadays, there are more than a dozen NBN providers that offer the fastest available consumer speed tier. The best bit is that all of the NBN 1000 plans we track in our database include unlimited data, so you can put those zippy download speeds to full use.

Read on for our guide to the best NBN 1000 plans in Australia.

The TPG nbn Home Ultrafast Unlimited Plan is a good place to start when it comes to NBN 1000 comparisons. While it’s not the fastest or the cheapest overall, it strikes a good balance between intro discounts, ongoing monthly fees, and typical evening speeds.

Normally priced at $109.99 per month, new customers who sign up before July 22  get a $20 per month discount for the first six months.

As far as performance goes, you're looking at a respectable 800Mbps typical evening download speeds and 40Mbps upload speed. This is faster than most plans, but not at the front of the pack.

Our database tracks the prices and speeds attached to NBN 1000 plans from 33 different providers. When it comes time to make our monthly pick for the best NBN 1000 plans, we favor the plan with the lowest price, unlimited data, no contract and a minimum of 200Mbps for typical evening download speeds.

Our comparison of NBN 1000 plans also tends to focus on and highlight introductory deals because that's the easiest way to save money when choosing any NBN plan. The other reason we compare NBN plans this way rather than over a longer period of time is that the cost of NBN tends to change every July, which makes pricing predictions less reliable and useful.

For a snapshot of how our current pick compares to the most popular NBN 1000 plans in our database, check out the widget below.

Just because you want the fastest consumer NBN speed tier in Australia, doesn’t mean you want to pay the highest price for it.

Not all NBN 1000 plans offer the same level of performance and while a higher cost per month typically translates into faster typical evening speeds that trade-off might not make sense for every household. For some Aussies, the difference in download speeds that seperate a cheaper NBN 1000 plan from one that offers faster speeds might be easier to live with than the difference in price. After all, even a slower NBN 1000 plan is still a step up on the internet speeds that NBN 250 and NBN 100 offer. When it comes to the NBN 1000 plans tracked in our database, typical evening download speeds range from as low as 650Mbps to as high as 900Mbps. 

The other thing that you'll want to keep in mind if you're in the market for a cheap NBN 1000 plan is that the price when you sign up isn't necessarily the price you'll end up paying over the long run. Most NBN 1000 providers will give your first handful of months at a discount before bumping you up to the regular price.

However, the cost of wholesale NBN internet usually goes up (or down) every year around July. For that reason, we typically focus on first year pricing when it comes to picking and choosing the cheapest NBN 1000 plans because longer term comparisons aren't necessarily going to be as accurate or useful as those covering the twelve months after you sign up.

While it’s not the fastest NBN 1000 plan Southern Phone's plan is certainly up there with its 860Mbps typical evening speeds. But its real draw card is the current intro discount of $20 per month, which lasts a full year after signing up.

Normally priced at $105 per month – which is already pretty cheap for NBN 1000 – the plan is $85 per month for the first 12 months. The one catch here is that you have to be a new Southern Phone customer to get the discount. There's also no contract or set up fee here, so you're free to switch away at any time if you're unhappy, or if a better deal pops up elsewhere.

For a sense of how this plan compares to other cheap NBN 1000 plans, check out our comparison table below.

In addition to being the winner when it comes to promo pricing, the Southern Phone NBN 1000 plan is also the current champ when it comes to the total cost over the first year after signing up.

In addition to savings, this NBN 1000 plan also offers typical evening download speeds of up to 860Mbps, which is among the fastest plans out there. There are also no contracts or set-up fees, so you can swap to another plan whenever you like without worry.

For a sense of how this plan stacks up to other cheap NBN 1000 plans, check out the widget below.

If you’re going to sign up for an NBN 1000 plan, you might as well take full advantage of the gigabit internet speeds that the technology allows for. For most homes in Australia, an NBN 1000 plans is as fast as high-speed internet connections get. 

Case in point: the Flip Unlimited Ultra Speed nbn1000 plan. This plan boasts impressive 900Mbps typical evening download speeds and 50Mbps upload speeds. But its high speeds aren't reflected in its price, which is downright affordable compared to much of the competition.

For comparison, here are the speediest NBN 1000 plans in our comparison engine, ranked by their reported typical evening download speeds.

The truth is you don’t need the fastest internet in Australia to have a quality offline or online gaming experience. That said, given the ever-growing size of digital game downloads and the subsequent multi-gigabyte game updates, the fastest internet means less time waiting and more time playing. An NBN 1000 plan typically offers better latency as well, which can make for a superior multiplayer gaming experience.

Our current recommendation when it comes to NBN 1000 for gamers is the Superloop Lightspeed NBN 1000/50 plan. Although Exetel and Launtel have scored better for latency in the latest ACCC Measuring Broadband Australia report, the former provider doesn't currently offer any NBN 1000 plans and the one that is available through the latter is more expensive than we'd like.

By comparison, the Superloop Lightspeed NBN 1000/50 plan offers great speeds and low latency at a competitive price. It's normally priced at $109 per month but new Superloop customers pay a reduced $99 monthly fee for the first six months. That’s a great price to pay for typical evening speeds of 860Mbps and 42Mbps upload speeds.

We based our pick for the best NBN 1000 plan for gaming on the latest available ACCC data from the Measuring Broadband Australia program, which ranks NBN providers in real-world conditions based on a range of metrics, including speed and reliability. Our comparison favored NBN provider that offered the lowest latency during peak hours. Latency values are measured in milliseconds, where lower is better. We also considered which provider had the highest percentage for download speeds during peak (7:00pm to 11:00pm) and off-peak hours. Upload speeds were also considered, but given less weight.

Below is a breakdown of these participating NBN service providers, which shows how they compare when it comes to download speeds, upload speeds and latency.

If you don’t need all that speed, you might want to consider one of the other gamer-friendly NBN plans from other low-latency providers below.

Since NBN plans tend to change in price every July, a longer-term comparison might not be as useful as one that compares first-year pricing so we've opted for that. The other thing to remember is that our database doesn't include plans for Leaptel so you won't find it in the widget below.

If you live in an FTTP or HFC home, all you need to do is sign up for an NBN 1000 plan. For those living in homes connected to the NBN via Fibre-to-the-Curb (FTTC) or Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN), the chances are good you’re currently able to sign up for a free FTTP upgrade or will be able to soon. According to NBN Co, over four million Australian households are now eligible to upgrade. This figure is expected to rise to five million by the end of the year.

FTTN customers in eligible homes should order an NBN 100 plan (or faster) to secure the free fibre upgrade. Those in FTTC homes will need to order an NBN 250 or NBN 1000 plan. As long as you stay connected to that upgrade-minimum speed for 12 months, there shouldn’t be any hidden costs. Note that the FTTP upgrade pathways are slightly different for individual premises vs strata-managed buildings.

Use the ‘Check eligibility’ option on the NBN Co website to see if your home is eligible for a full fibre upgrade. You’ll need to input your address then click ‘View results’ for more information. Those living in homes connected to the NBN via Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB), Fixed Wireless NBN or NBN Sky Muster satellite are not currently eligible for a free fibre upgrade but may be able to pay for an FTTP upgrade via the NBN Technology Choice Program.

Other homes may also be eligible for private fibre via Opticomm (from select internet providers), while more will be able to sign up for a home wireless broadband plan. There are 4G and 5G options available from participating internet providers and, outside of slower availability and less availability, home wireless broadband is a viable alternative to the NBN. Under best-case conditions, home wireless broadband plans can reach download speeds beyond 600Mbps and upload speeds beyond 85Mbps.

Have a look at the list below for an idea of the most popular home wireless broadband plans from our comparison engine.