
So, you want to get onto the internet superhighway? Unfortunately, human progress has seen fit to make that task nowhere near as easy as it once was, like, in the '90s. For starters, you can no longer simply flip a coin that has Telstra written on one side and Optus on the other – today's market is overflowing with well over a hundred internet service providers. Some good. Some not so good.
Secondly, broadband is no longer a one-crappy-speed-fits-all affair – if you’re on the NBN, there’s six different speed packages to pick from. And of course, there’s data allowances. Basically, finding the right deal for you -- especially on a modest budget -- is going to take nous. Our nous.
The fact that you're reading these words on WhistleOut (a tireless and impartial comparer of Internet prices) is a step in the right direction! The info we provide is designed to let you quickly compare the three things that matter most in any cheap internet plan: cost, data allowance and speed. We'll look at what all of those factors mean in layman terms in a second.
First of all, we need to answer a much more important question. Which (if any) type of Internet infrastructure is your residence / place of business eligible to receive?
Are you already connected to the NBN? Are you still stuck on ADSL? Do you have a cable connection? Your connection type will determine what kind of plans you can get. ADSL plans are completely different to NBN plans. If you don’t know, you can enter your address in our search tool here.

The obvious first priority in any cheap internet plan is that all-important cost factor. The two-parter question you need to ask yourself is always going to be: what do I need this internet connection to do for me, and how much am I willing to part with in order to get it? The As to those Qs are going to vary wildly from person to person, but we'll try to come up with a few examples that cover most of the main bases.
When it comes to putting money down, you can either commit to a long-term contract in exchange for reduced setup fees or a free modem, or a no-contract month-to-month plan where you can leave any time. No matter which type of plan you go with, you’ll be billed on a monthly basis.
We'd recommend going with a month-by-month setup for your first date with an ISP. While you might need to pay a little upfront if you need a new modem, it's a lower risk courtship that will let you gauge their product and quality of after-sales service.
The second thing to know is that the NBN is dispensed in speed tiers. Now, you will find the odd provider who tries to overlay their own fancy names for these, but all you really need to know are the official tier names as designated by NBN Co (listed here from most modest to blisteringly fast): NBN 12, NBN 25, NBN 50, NBN 100, NBN 250 and NBN 1000. We'll dive into their capabilities in the next section.
Not every household can achieve speeds of 250 or 1000Mbps, but you can read more in our guide about getting speeds faster than 100Mbps.
Plans on the cheaper side of the market tend to come with less data included. We’ve seen cheap NBN plans come with as little as 10GB, which is enough for a little browsing, but not much else.
Fortunately, there are budget options that come with more data than that. Depending on the provider, you can get an NBN plan with 100GB for as little as $40 per month. That’s enough data to cover all your basic browsing needs and even allow for a little bit of Netflix. Just don’t go too crazy.
Finally, there are the extras that can inch an ISP up a little higher in your esteem. For example, does your prospective deal come with a free modem and delivery, or is that a cost you have to wear? Likewise, is the deal being sweetened with some sort of streaming entertainment package that comes with a free set top box and subscription to a service, or are you getting said box but no (or a limited time) sub that equals more cost in the long run? Be sure to check the fine print.

As we mentioned earlier, a large factor in what speed you can expect will come down to what sort of Internet infrastructure you have being piped to your house. If you’ve already got (or will have) an NBN connection, you’ve got the most options in terms of speed.
You should also be aware that all plans slowdown in speed a bit (roughly 20%) during peak times (typically 7pm to 11pm). You'll find these more realistic “Evening Speeds” are what ISPs will advertise with. They result in lower expectations and fewer complaints. However, some providers offer faster evening speeds, some providers offer lower evening speeds. If you’re looking at a cheaper plan, there’s a chance the evening speeds will be lower too.
All that said, let's look at the official speed tiers. NBN 12 is for basic internet use (some streaming, email, browsing, etc.). NBN 25 is for moderate internet use (smaller-home streaming and gaming). NBN 50 caters to above average internet use (medium-sized home streaming, gaming and moderate downloading/uploading on a few devices). NBN 100 is designed for heavy internet use (larger-home streaming, gaming and heavy downloading/uploading on several devices). NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans are incredibly fast and made for big households or for people who just need the fastest possible speeds.
If you’re trying to secure the cheapest internet plan, chances are you'll be looking at either NBN 12 or NBN 25 (with evening speeds of approximately 7Mbps and 15Mbps, respectively). It's important to note that cheap may not necessarily mean cheerful here, as your expectations really need to be in line with what these tiers can provide you.
Of course if you're an avid gamer, it may be worth looking into the best broadband plans for gamers instead.
You should expect not much from NBN 12 beyond social media, web browsing and basic streaming. NBN 25 should help if you want more than one person watching video at a once or if you want to push video quality higher. And lastly you need to consider load bearing with these – the more users in your house trying to merge onto this information superhighway, the bigger (and angrier) the data traffic jam.
And that's all there is to it, really. All these factors considered together can get you online for not much at all!
We all spend a portion of our time online, but we don't all use the same apps and services. Figuring out whether you need an unlimited data NBN plan means thinking about the sorts of things you do online at home, and calculating how much data this requires each month.
To make things simple, we've tested different online services at WhistleOut and estimated which types of plans are best suited for you, depending on the online activities you use.
Below we've got a quick overview of what kind of internet plans are best for popular online activities. These recommendations are based on using just one of these apps or services, so if you're using more than one regularly, consider opting for a larger allowance.
| 50GB | 100GB | 500GB | Unlimited Data | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web Surfing | ||||
| Skype | ||||
| Music Streaming | ||||
| Online Gaming | ||||
| YouTube | ||||
| Streaming TV | ||||
| Downloading Movies & TV | ||||
| Downloading Video Games | ||||
| View plans | View plans | View plans | View plans |
We've taken this table from our detailed guide to data usage. Click here if you'd like more detail about how much data each online service uses.
Picking a broadband plan can be tricky, but with so many contract-free options on the market right now it gets that little bit easier. Test out Internode with a $20 per month discount, or pick Telstra, Kogan or TPG! Regardless you'll get a discount for your first six months and you're free to bounce whenever you want. Click or tap below for more info.
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