Compare fastest internet plans in Australia
What is the fastest internet in Australia?
The fastest internet in Australia can typically be found on the NBN, with fast NBN plans capable of up to 1000Mbps/1Gbps speeds. 5G home internet can also offer fast internet to your home, but speeds on these plans may be more unreliable as it depends on the 5G mobile network connection available to you and whether the plan has a speed cap in place.
Other non-fixed internet types, like satellite Sky Muster NBN and Starlink plans, may also have speed caps or an unreliable performance when compared to a fixed-line internet connection
Fastest NBN plans
The NBN offers a wide range of speed tiers, starting at the lowest (and cheapest) Home Basic I (NBN 12) speed and going up to Home Ultrafast (NBN 1000) speeds. The fastest speed tiers are also typically the most expensive NBN plans you’ll come across. While fast internet can sound great on paper, these plans might not suit all budgets, and not all homes will be able to access them.
Home Ultrafast (NBN 1000) plans
It’s possible to get gigabit-speed NBN — or 1000Mbps — in Australia, although it’s not available to everyone and is typically more expensive than plans on the other speed tiers. Homes with a Fibre to the Premises NBN connection or select HFC connections are usually able to access the fastest NBN speed. However, NBN Co is rolling out a free NBN fibre upgrade program to eligible homes in order to connect more homes to fast internet plans.
Plans on this speed tier are available from a wide range of providers and the expected typical peak-hour download speed will vary, but some plans may reach around 800-900Mbps during the evening peak.
Home Superfast (NBN 250) plans
As with NBN 1000, you’ll need to be on a FTTP or selected HFC connection in order to access NBN 250 fast internet plans, which come with a download speed of up to 250Mbps. Most major telcos now offer these plans, even if they don’t have NBN 1000 available. Typical evening speeds will vary between providers, but speeds are typically around the 200-250Mbps mark during the busy evening peak.
Home Fast (NBN 100) plans
NBN 100 was previously the fastest speed available, but now hits that sweet spot between fast speeds and slightly more affordable prices compared to NBN 250 and NBN 1000. Like the faster speed tiers, access to NBN 100 speeds may be limited to certain NBN connection types and for some connection types, it may be the fastest NBN speed available.
Compare fast NBN speeds
Your real-world results may vary due to a wide variety of factors, but the below figures are a good indication of how the faster NBN speeds compare to the popular NBN 50 speed tier.
File Type | NBN 50 | NBN 100 | NBN 250 | NBN 1000 |
---|---|---|---|---|
30GB 4K movie file | 1 hour 25 minutes | 42 minutes | 17 minutes | Four minutes |
90GB video game | 4 hours 17 minutes | 2 hours 10 minutes | 50 minutes | 12 minutes |
1080p TV episode | Five minutes | Three minutes | One minute | Less than one minute |
Full-length music album | Less than one minute | Less than one minute | Less than one minute | Less than one minute |
Fast NBN providers in Australia
With high-speed internet plans more widely available, for providers offering fast internet plans, looking at the evening evening speeds may be a way of differentiating between the providers. NBN plans will come with a typical evening speed listed so you have an idea of what sort of speeds you can expect your plan to reach between the busy hours of 7pm and 11pm.
While real-world performance will differ between households, using the typical evening speed as a guide can help you device which fast internet plans might suit your needs.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) releases a quarterly report tracking the evening speeds of some of Australia’s biggest and most popular NBN providers. These reports serve as a general guide so you have an idea what to expect with these NBN providers when it comes to real-world performance, with a higher percentage indicating a ‘better’ or ‘faster’ performance.
Here are the fast internet providers during the busy evening peak hours, according to the latest ACCC report published in March 2025 (with data recorded in the December 2024 quarter).
- Exetel: 104.1%
- Telstra: 102.9%
- TPG: 102.5%
- Dodo & iPrimus: 102.2%
- Leaptel: 101.7%
- Optus: 101.4%
- Superloop: 100.9%
- Vodafone: 99.8%
- Aussie Broadband: 99.6%
- iiNet: 98.3%
Essentially, this means that out of the biggest Australian providers, Exetel was technically rated ‘the best’ as its plans were more likely to achieve their maximum performance speeds. Previously, providers including Telstra, Exetel, TPG and Optus had each held the top spot for several consecutive reports, demonstrating that performance could change month to month. While the ACCC report is a helpful guide to see which fast internet providers might deliver the fastest NBN speeds, keep in mind that there are still many variables that impact speeds and it is not a determinant for what your experience will be.
Fast NBN plans from big providers
If you’re looking to sign up to an NBN plan from one of the biggest providers — Telstra, TPG or Optus — you’ll have a wide range of fast plans to choose from as all three providers offer the full range of fast-speed NBN plans.
TPG fastest internet plans
Optus fastest internet plans
Telstra fastest internet plans
Fastest internet plans
5G home internet plans
5G may have been thought of as a major competitor to the NBN thanks to its potential super-fast speeds of around 1Gbps or faster. However, the 5G mobile networks are still being rolled out across the country, so access to these speeds may not be available everywhere.
Accessing these fast speeds may also be dependent on a range of things such as where your home is and how strong the coverage is. Some 5G home internet plans may also have speed caps around 50Mbps or 100Mbps — depending on the plan or provider — so you may not actually experience speeds faster than what’s available on your NBN connection.
Keep in mind that these 5G networks aren’t meant to replace the NBN network, but rather work as a supplement to fixed networks — if we relied more on the 5G mobile network for our internet needs than the fixed networks, it could cause some serious congestion problems. Customers who can’t access NBN in their area or have other problems with connecting to the NBN, might find these 5G internet options a better alternative.
If you’re considering 5G as an NBN alternative, you can find a range of plans using our internet comparison tool. Keep in mind that you’ll need to check coverage in your area, as there’s no point in having a 5G-capable modem and plan if you don’t have the network available to you.
FAQs about the fastest internet in Australia
There are a number of things you can do to improve your internet speed without rushing to change your internet plan, but Australians are generally experiencing faster internet speeds than ever before, with big potential for the future. However, the most foolproof way to get a fast reliable internet connection is to get an NBN plan on the fastest speed tier if it’s available to your home — other fibre networks, such as Opticomm, may also offer similar fast speeds if they’re available at your home.
Keep in mind that choosing a plan on a fast NBN speed tier, whether that’s NBN 100, NBN 250 or NBN 1000, will typically be more expensive than the slower speed tiers. NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans can cost around $100 or more each month, although NBN 100 plans may offer a cheaper option for fast NBN speeds.
Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) is generally considered to be the fastest type of NBN in Australia as it involves a fibre-optic cable running directly to your property, as opposed to also utilising existing infrastructure such as copper wiring to complete the journey to your home.
After FTTP, some Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) connections are considered to be fast enough for the ultra-fast NBN speed tiers. Fibre to the Building (FTTB), Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) and Fibre to the Node (FTTN) , which should all deliver reliable speeds.
Eligible homes and businesses looking at fast NBN plans can receive a free NBN fibre upgrade, which will switch their less reliable connection to the fastest connection type, FTTP.
If you’re experiencing slow NBN speeds, and you want to improve it, there are a couple of things that you can do:
- Disconnect any unused devices from the WiFi
- Upgrade your NBN plan to a faster speed tier (if possible)
- Upgrade your modem or buy a WiFi extender/booster
- Check on the NBN Co website whether your home is eligible for a free technology upgrade
- Check out the NBN Technology Choice Program, which allows households to pay to upgrade their connection type, although this can be very costly
Netflix regularly rates how fast popular Australian broadband providers perform in its streaming speed tests. Optus frequently ranks as the best internet provider for Netflix out of the main internet providers tested, usually ahead of providers like TPG and Telstra. Netflix recommends the following speeds for different quality types:
- Minimum speed of 0.5Mbps and up for standard streaming
- 3Mbps and up for HD
- 5Mbps and up for FHD
- 15Mbps and up for UHD
High definition streaming requires much more bandwidth and a higher download speed. Luckily, most broadband connections in Australia can typically cover this requirement. However, congestion and other factors can easily wreak havoc on your Netflix enjoyment.
While fibre NBN customers typically have the best chance to get high-speed internet, other users don’t have the opportunity to receive fast speeds.
- NBN Fixed Wireless customers can still get up to 75Mbps download speeds
- SkyMuster customers can still achieve download speeds of around 25Mbps in peak hours, but the premium plans offer potential ‘burst’ speeds of up to 100Mbps
- Starlink speeds will depend on a range of factors but has recorded speeds of over 100Mbps during testing
- ADSL2+ customers can get download speeds up to 24Mbps
- Cable customers can get anywhere from up to 30Mbps, all the way up to 100Mbps
Remember: 1 megabit is equal to about 0.125 megabytes, so multiply your theoretical top speed by that amount and that is feasibly how much you could download in one second.
However, keep in mind that top speeds are a maximum only. Many users report that their internet is much slower than the advertised speed and there are several factors, like congestion, that can impact your speeds.
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