Best NBN 250 plans: Superfast internet deals compared

NBN 250 is a great option for those who want faster internet than your average household, but don't necessarily need to fork out for NBN 1000. 

NBN 250 plans aren't too hard to find and the big name providers like Telstra and Optus aren't the only game in town. We track more than 20 NBN 250 providers in our comparison engine, with promotional intro pricing usually starting at around $80 per month and standard pricing at around $100.

We'll cover our monthly pick for the best NBN 250 plan in Australia, as well as compare plans based on price (intro discounts and long-term spend), speed, and suitability for gamers.

Dodo is our pick this month for the best NBN 250 plan. Thanks to a special deal, new customers get $25 per month off for the first six months – meaning you only pay $74.99 per month during that period. 

But even if you're not a new customer, Dodo only charges $99.99 as standard, which is still relatively cheap for this speed tier. Pricing aside, it's worth noting this plan has 250Mbps reported typical evening downloads and upload speeds of 21Mbps.

Our data experts track the prices and speeds attached to NBN 250 plans from among the 30 different internet providers in our database. When it comes time to make our monthly pick for the best NBN 250 plans, we favour plans with the lowest price, unlimited data, no contract and a minimum of 200Mbps for typical evening download speeds.

Our comparison of NBN 250 plans also highlights introductory deals because that's usually the most effective 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 the cost of most plans changes every July, which makes longer term judgements less useful.

For a snapshot of how our current pick for the best NBN 250 plan compares to the most popular alternative plans in our database, check out the widget below.

Not all NBN 250 providers offer the same level of performance during peak hours, but spending more doesn’t always directly translate into better service or faster downloads. And even a slower NBN 250 plan is still a significant download speed upgrade vs. NBN 100. 

NBN 250 plans in our database start at around the $100 per month mark in terms of standard pricing, and intro discounts can be even cheaper. Of course, you can end up paying much more than this. Sometimes the extra costs mean special perks or more customer support, but not always. So it's worth having a think about what it is you value in a plan.

If you're in the market for a cheap NBN 250 plan, note that the price when you sign up isn't necessarily the price you'll end up paying over the long run. Most NBN 250 providers give your first handful of months at a discount before bumping you up to the regular price – usually about six months.

Barring paying off included hardware, such as a "free" modem, lock-in contracts are also few and far between, as are exit fees. Plus, it's easy to change providers, meaning you can stick with intro discounts by changing it up a couple of times per year. But not everyone is keen on this approach.

To account for that difference, we divide our recommendations for the best NBN 250 plans into two tiers. The first covers the plan with the cheapest monthly intro price. The second covers the cheapest NBN 250 plan in our database, based on standard pricing. If you want to save money in the short term, the former might be a better fit. Looking for a more term solution you can set, forget and save money with? Then our second choice is going to be the way to go.

Southern Phone is currently the cheapest game in town when it comes to NBN 250 plans. Its NBN Superfast plan doesn't come with any  many perks, but new customers will score a $20 per month discount for the first 12 months. After that, you're looking at $95 per month.

Since most NBN 250 plans come with promo pricing that only sticks around for half that amount of time, that makes this one a great option for those looking to pay less for their internet over the next year. It doesn't hurt that this plan comes with typical evening speeds of up to 250Mbps and upload speeds of 23Mbps either

For a sense of how this plan compares to other cheap NBN 250 plans when it comes to intro costs, check out the table below.

Flip is currently tied with Kogan when it comes to the cheapest long term pricing on NBN 250 plans. Both providers have a narrow lead over the Southern Phone deal listed above, but we're going to give Flip the edge here thanks to its deeper up-front discount.

The Flip Super Speed NBN 250 plan comes with typical evening speeds of up to 241Mbps and upload speeds of up to 21Mbps. New customers who sing up before 31 July 2025 will pay just $79 for the first four months. After that, they'll revert to the standard rate of $94.90 per month. 

For a sense of how this plan compares to other cheap NBN 250 plans, check out the widget below.

Quite a few NBN 250 plans have report the maximum typical evening download speed of 250Mbps, with only a tiny variance in upload speeds of around 2Mbps. As such, we've picked a current favourite based on pricing and other inclusions. 

Exetel's new One Plan is technically competing against other NBN 1000 plans but the combination and price and speed you're getting here makes it compelling alternative to pretty much any NBN 250 plan going at the moment.

For a sense of how this compares to the competition, here's a look at NBN 250 plans in our database, ordered by typical evening download speed first, then introductory price:

While fast downloads are nice for gaming, the main consideration is latency – especially when you consider a "slow" NBN 250 plan should be delivering at least 200Mbps download speeds.

For that reason, we’re recommending the Exetel One Plan plan as the best pick for this category. Exetel NBN plans had the fastest average latency of the 10 providers included in the ACCC's most recent broadband report.

According to latest ACCC dataset, the average latency for Exetel is 7.9ms, which is comfortably below the rest, with the exception of Leaptel's 7.4ms.

We based our pick for the best NBN 250 plan on the latest data available for the ACCC’s Measuring Broadband Australia program. This quarterly report ranks NBN providers in real-world conditions based on a range of metrics, including speed and reliability.

Our comparison favored NBN providers 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 are 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 250 plans from other providers in the ACCC program, which you can compare below. Note that our database doesn't include plans for Leaptel, so you won't find it in the table.

To sign up to an NBN 250 plan, you need to have an HFC or FTTP NBN connection.

Head to the NBN Co website and enter your address to see which technology type is connecting your home. It’ll either be FTTP, HFC, Fibre-to-the-Curb (FTTC), Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB), Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN), Fixed Wireless NBN or NBN Sky Muster satellite on the results page (look under the ‘Technology used in your connection’ section). FTTP and HFC homes can sign up for an NBN 250 plan from a participating provider, but none of those other NBN technologies can at this stage.

That said, there are upgrade pathways for those technologies. Sky Muster satellite, Fixed Wireless and FTTB homes can upgrade via the NBN Technology Choice Program, but that can cost thousands. Requesting a quote for most homes is free, though.

The better news for FTTC and FTTN homes is NBN Co is currently in the process of upgrading those addresses without the exorbitant cost. But there is a catch. To nab the free upgrade to FTTP, eligible FTTN homes need to at least order an NBN 100 plan, while FTTC homes must order at least an NBN 250 plan. Note that strata-managed buildings are more complicated for the FTTP upgrade than individual premises.

If none of the above helps you out, there are other options to get internet that’s the equivalent (or faster) of NBN 250 plans. Eligible homes may be able to opt for Opticomm internet, which is an NBN competitor that effectively offers fibre to the home and similarly priced NBN 250-type plans from participating providers. Alternatively, those who live in areas with coverage can consider a home wireless broadband plan, where speeds can exceed 250Mbps on uncapped plans.

If you want the best possible download and upload speeds out of an NBN 250 plan, you need the right networking hardware, including:

• A WiFi 5, WiFi 6, WiFi 6E or WiFi 7 router, modem-router or mesh WiFi system with at least a gigabit WAN port – some routers label this port as "internet".
• The right type of ethernet cable connecting your router (mesh or standalone) to your NBN equipment. At a minimum, you need Cat5e (1Gbps) or Cat6 (1Gbps), but aim for Cat6a (10Gbps), Cat7 (10Gbps), Cat7a (10Gbps) or Cat8 (25–40Gbps).
• Good WiFi placement. Set up your WiFi centrally and with good line-of-sight to other areas of the house. Keep it free of obstructions and consider any obstacles such as dense walls, fish tanks, mirrors, and large appliances. And for your own sanity, don't hide it behind furniture or put it in a cupboard. If your home's layout precludes "good" placement, consider getting a mesh WiFi system to extend your network into hard to reach places.
• Wired devices need to be connected to at least gigabit LAN ports on your router, modem-router, mesh WiFi system or network switch with a Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a, Cat7, Cat7A or Cat8 ethernet cable.
• Restart your WiFi router every once in a while. WiFi routers can build up "buffer bloat" which can seriously slow down your connection. Sometimes you need a weekly restart, sometimes never – it depends on your hardware. Some routers (especially mesh systems) let you do this via an app, but you can also just unplug your router from power, wait about 30 seconds, then plug it back in. For mesh, you'd need to do this with every node. Just keep in mind this will disable your connection while your home network is depowered and restarting – usually three-to-five minutes in total.