The best NBN 100 plans are perhaps the most appealing in Australia thanks to their availability, speed and good overall value.
Those latter two points are both set for an upgrade in September, as NBN Co has confirmed households with an eligible connection type will receive a 5x speed boost, transforming these into NBN 500 plans with 500Mbps theoretical maximum download speeds in the process.
The incoming change could well mean that NBN 100 plans become increasingly more popular, as not only will they deliver much, much faster download speeds, but they should do so for free. We've already claimed we envisage them to offer the best overall value amongst the best NBN plans, and following the early arrival of a couple of 500Mbps options from Exetel and Spintel, we're sticking to that claim.
If you don't have the required connection type (FTTP or HFC) to support the faster speeds, then you may want to see if you're eligible for the free fibre upgrade. If you're not, perhaps you live in an apartment building, then an NBN 100 plan is the fastest available for you. And that means you're on the perfect page to help you discover a better option for your home.
Best NBN 100 plans
Considering the majority of the best NBN providers claim to deliver the maximum plan speeds of this tier – 100Mbps – shortlisting the best plans requires a little extra digging. Fortunately, we know what to look for, so you'll find our top recommendations below.
Best overall NBN 100 plan
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Best fast NBN 100 plan
Cheapest NBN 100 plan
Best NBN 100/40 plan
All of the plans above are known as NBN 100/20 plans, with the 20 indicating the maximum upload speed you can achieve. An NBN 100/40 plan, therefore, doubles the maximum possible upload speed to 40Mbps, which is ideal for people who carry out a lot of video calls, or need to upload larger files to the cloud.
Not every provider offers an NBN 100/40 plan, however, so we've chosen just one plan that we recommend.
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NBN 100 FAQ
How fast is NBN 100?
NBN 100 plans offer download speeds up to 100Mbps, although actual usage will vary, particularly during the busy hours between 7pm and 11pm. Most NBN providers who offer a plan on this tier don’t report a typical evening speed of 100Mbps, with the average speed sitting at 97Mbps.
There are two types of NBN 100 plan, and what differs between them is their maximum upload speed. The more popular NBN 100/20 plan offers maximum uploads of 20Mbps, while the less common NBN 100/40 plan has a maximum upload speed of 40Mbps.
NBN providers don’t always disclose which of these two plans you’re signing up for, so check the provider’s critical information summary if you’re unsure. In the meantime, the ACCC is pushing for internet providers to be more transparent about upload speeds.
How much does NBN 100 cost?
The market has plenty of variety when it comes to cost for an NBN 100 plan. Prices now range between AU$84 to AU$113 a month for an ongoing rate, but the average monthly price among the NBN 100/20 plans we monitor is just under AU$95 a month, while an NBN 100/40 plan will set you back just over AU$107 a month on average.
Plenty of telcos will also offer you a six-month discount when you first sign up to an NBN 100 plan, and these prices start around the AU$65 mark.
As you might expect, the telco with the most expensive NBN 100 plans is Telstra. You’ll typically find that Telstra sweetens the deal by offering other inclusions or discounts, such as a modem with 4G back up.
Can I get NBN 100?
While all connection types can sign up for an NBN 100 plan, not all of them may be capable of getting the full speeds offered by the service. Before signing up with a provider, it's worth double checking what connection type you have – such as hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) cable or a fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) connection – and asking the telco if it’ll be suitable for the speed tier.
To check what NBN connection type you have, you only need to enter your address on the provider’s website, or check your address on NBN Co’s website. Some providers offer a trial period to test their service, so be sure to make use of this if it’s an option, and let them know if you’re unsatisfied with the speeds you’re receiving. We have a dedicated guide on how to do an NBN speed test if you need.
NBN 50 vs NBN 100?
As with any purchasing decision, the 'better' option won’t be better for everyone. For light internet users – that’s households of two to four users that stream content and don’t plan to use it for anything more intensive – an NBN 50 plan is likely to be more than enough.
But for anyone currently running into congestion problems, or anyone that wants their download wait time drastically cut down, the extra AU$200 or so per year is certainly a small price to pay for double the download speeds – particularly in the context of a plan that already costs around AU$750 annually, in the case of NBN 50 plans.
