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Compare the best NBN 100 plans

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When choosing an NBN plan, the biggest cause of confusion can often be which speed tier is best for you. For households with high internet usage needs, signing up to a fast speed tier is often the best option, which is where NBN 100 can be a good choice.

While there are faster speeds available, NBN 100 — also known as the Home Fast speed tier — can offer great speeds but at a more affordable price than the two fastest speed tiers. Read on to find out more about NBN 100 and the best NBN 100 plans on the market.

NBN offers you might like

The following table shows a selection of sponsored unlimited data Standard Plus Evening Speed (NBN 50), and Premium Evening Speed (NBN 100) plans on Canstar Blue’s database with links to referral partners.

Unlimited Home Standard (NBN 50) Plans

The following table shows a selection of published unlimited NBN 50 plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of standard monthly cost (excluding discounts), from the lowest to highest, and then by alphabetical order of provider. Use our comparison tool above to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.

Unlimited Home Fast (NBN 100) Plans

The table below shows a selection of published unlimited NBN 100 plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of monthly cost, from the lowest to highest, and then by alphabetical order of provider. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.

How fast is an NBN 100 plan?

An NBN 100 plan (also known as a Fast or Home Fast plan) is the third fastest speed tier available on the national network. With 100Mbps maximum download speeds, users can theoretically download up to 12.5MB of content every second. This means a full-length HD movie could be downloaded in as little as around two minutes.

You can pick up an NBN 100 plan with either a 20Mbps upload or 40Mbps upload speed, however some providers may only offer the NBN 100/20 speed tier, so if you want faster upload speeds, you might need to shop around.

  • ‘Downloads’ means things you get from the internet to you (for example, browsing, downloading content, streaming and social media).
  • ‘Uploads’ means things you upload to the internet (for example, pictures to Facebook, videos to YouTube and more).

NBN Co recommends this speed for streaming 4K video on two to four devices simultaneously, with consistent online and cloud-based gaming while others are online, consistent video calls while easily handling the basics like web browsing and checking emails. The Home Fast speed tier is also fast enough to download a 10GB file within 17 minutes. It’s also a good speed for larger households of four or more people with high internet usage needs.

Compare the best NBN 100 plans and providers

NBN 100 is increasingly popular due to our high internet usage needs for work, study, entertainment and more. Most NBN providers will offer an NBN 100 plan, however if you’re after faster upload speeds with an NBN 100/40 plan, you may need to shop around a bit more as more providers tend to offer NBN 100/20 plans. For average users or small households, an NBN 50 or NBN 25 plan might be more appropriate, as NBN 100 plans can cost a fair bit more.

While speed and price may be the main deciding factors when choosing an NBN provider, you might also want to consider things like BYO modem or if there is a modem you can add on, along with extras like bundling multiple services or any entertainment add ons.

If you’re unsure about whether the plan or provider is right for you, you can always try signing up to a month-to-month plan where you should be free to switch speeds or providers without paying cancellation fees — however you should always check the plan’s conditions before signing up.

Still unsure about which NBN 100 plan to choose? See what other Aussies think of their NBN provider by checking our Canstar Blue’s Most Satisfied Customer ratings for NBN providers.

Unlimited NBN 100 Plans

The following table shows a selection of published unlimited NBN 100 plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of standard monthly cost (excluding discounts), from the lowest to highest, and then by alphabetical order of provider. Use our comparison tool above to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to a referral partner.

What about cheap NBN 100 plans?

While NBN 100 might not be the cheapest plans on the market, that doesn’t mean you can get cheap NBN 100 plans when comparing plans from a range of providers.

NBN 100 plans typically cost between $80 per month to $100 per month, but much of this cost also depends on whether you’re signing up to an NBN 100/20 or 100/40 plan. The plans with 100/40 Mbps speeds have faster upload speeds and will typically be more expensive than 100/20 Mbps plans.

If you can find a plan for around $85 per month or less, these plans are usually on the cheaper end. Keep in mind that many providers also offer discounts on your plan fees, so while you might see NBN 100 plans for around $60 or $70 per month, these may be discounted prices only, so you should see what the standard monthly pricing is so you know what you’ll be paying once the discount ends. While grabbing a deal is always great for saving money, comparing NBN 100 plans based on standard pricing rather than discounted pricing can make it an easier choice when looking for a plan with great value for money.

You can use our free internet plan comparison tool to compare a range of cheap NBN plans.

NBN 100 typical evening speeds explained

You’ve probably noticed that NBN providers often prefer to advertise ‘typical evening speeds’. A typical evening speed refers to the speeds that you’ll probably experience in peak busy times, between the hours of 7pm and 11pm. This peak period is when most users are home from work or school, and likely to be online, leading to increased strain on your provider’s network. As unfair as it may be, other people’s use can have a major effect on your own internet speeds.

Fortunately, thanks to ACCC recommendations, providers are now listing typical evening speeds for their various NBN plans. This is a much better indicator of how fast your plan will actually be than simply the speed tier like ‘NBN 50’ or ‘NBN 100’, as these names refer to the maximum speeds available on each tier in megabits per second. Your plan may be theoretically capable of 100Mbps speeds, but may not always experience those speeds yourself.

Typical evening speeds are calculated by each individual provider, based on average speeds achieved by customers on each plan. Keep in mind that these are advertised speeds only; your own personal experience may differ, especially in peak periods.

If you’re a heavy user in a household full of streamers, NBN 100 plans may be suitable. However, the question of ‘value’ must come into play, as it often represents a disproportionate step-up, in terms of cost, over slower NBN speed tiers. Adding to that, speeds are not guaranteed, and telcos are generally reluctant to put you on this speed tier straight away – they’d much prefer to test your connection first to make sure you can actually achieve the speeds.

This speed tier might not be available to all homes, depending on your NBN connection type. Homes with connections like FTTP and HFC should be able to sign up to an NBN 100 plan, however homes with FTTB or FTTN connections might not be able to reach these speeds. It’s important to check your address with the NBN provider you plan on signing up to, to see if these plans are available at your home or not.


Read more: What to do when your internet is down


Should I get an NBN 100 plan?

The NBN 100 speed tier represents one of the fastest speeds available for certain connections, and often with a price tag to match. NBN users must weigh up the value versus speed benefit before jumping into any plan, but especially on this speed tier.

If you’re in a fair-sized household and have to maintain multiple streams, or need to work from home regularly, an NBN 100 plan could well be the way to go. If you tend to download or upload large files to YouTube or other sites, it might be able to get it done quicker and with less headaches, especially if you look for NBN 100 plans with 40Mbps upload speeds over the 20Mbps counterpart.

There are faster speeds than NBN 100, such as NBN 250 and NBN 1000, however these typically cost more and are only available to certain households with the right NBN connection type and these plans can be rather expensive. That’s where NBN 100 could strike a good balance between speed and cost for households with high internet usage needs.

Tara Donnelly
Utilities Editor
Tara Donnelly is an internet and mobile expert - sectors she’s spent a decade covering - and also oversees energy and consumer technology content. She holds a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canberra and has shared her expertise on national media including 9 News, 7 News, Sunrise and the ABC.

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