Best NBN 250 plans: our top picks for superfast 250Mbps internet
We take a closer look at Australia’s second-fastest broadband
The best NBN 250 plans are ideal for large households of four people or more, who all want to be online at the same time – gaming, streaming, or working.
NBN Co refers to this speed tier as Superfast, and it can offer unlimited downloads at speeds of up to 250Mbps. However, most providers which offer NBN 250 plans don’t claim to achieve this speed during the peak busy period between 7-11pm, although we're seeing a steady increase in the number of providers that do.
Remember that your NBN service could achieve faster speeds (and closer to the theoretical maximum) outside of the busy peak hours.
NBN 250 plans are continuing to become more affordable too. This is thanks to changes at NBN Co – it officially reduced the wholesale price of the fastest NBN plans way back in December 2023, and we’ve seen the vast majority of providers passing these savings onto consumers. You can also get excellent NBN discounts at the moment, such as the crazy-cheap offering from Spintel highlighted below.
Noteworthy NBN 250 deals
We’ve hand-picked our top NBN 250 plan recommendations below, but we also want to point out some excellent discounts that are now available on the 250Mbps tier:
- Spintel: save AU$11.95p/m for 6 months (from AU$78)
- Dodo: save AU$240 over 12 months (from AU$78.90p/m)
- Exetel: save AU$108 over 6 months (from AU$80.99p/m)
Best NBN 250 plans
Best overall NBN 250 plan
Why you can trust TechRadar
Superloop | 250Mbps | AU$85p/m (first 6 months, then AU$99p/m)
While its Black Friday deal may have ended, Superloop is still our top pick for an NBN 250 plan. It's competitively priced, claims maximum plan speeds and it includes the telco's Speed Boost days feature that lets you temporarily increase your speed to the next tier, NBN 1000, for free five times a month.
• AU$85 minimum cost
• AU$1,104 first year cost
• AU$1,188 ongoing yearly cost
Best fast NBN 250 plan
Superloop | 250Mbps | AU$85p/m (first 6 months, then AU$99p/m)
Superloop would have to be our pick once again for the best fast NBN 250 plan, for all the same reasons we've chosen it as our favourite overall. Superloop's plan claims maximum plan speeds and it has the added benefit of the Speed Boost days feature, which can supercharge your download speeds to make them even faster.
• AU$85 minimum cost
• AU$1,104 first year cost
• AU$1,188 ongoing yearly cost
Cheapest NBN 250 plan
Dodo | 250Mbps | AU$78.90p/m (first 12 months, AU$98.90p/m)
Dodo also has a 12 month discount available on its NBN 250 plan right now, making it the cheapest provider, although only by AU$1.20 over the first 12 months compared to Superloop. Dodo also advertises maximum plan speeds, although it misses out on the Speed Boost feature available to Superloop customers.
• AU$78.90 minimum cost
• AU$946.80 first year cost
• AU$1,197.60 ongoing yearly cost
Also consider
TPG also deserves a mention here as, despite being one of the 'big three' telcos in Australia, it's NBN 250 plan is among the very cheapest, particularly in each ongoing year. TPG doesn't offer any introductory discounts, but its regular AU$94.99 monthly cost is less than most other providers, and well below the current average of AU$105.
• AU$94.99 minimum cost
• AU$1,139.88 yearly cost
- Telstra vs Optus NBN: who has better broadband?
NBN 250 FAQ
How fast is NBN 250?
NBN 250 plans offer a maximum download speed of 250Mbps, though the majority of the NBN providers which offer this tier aren’t promising this as typical evening speed. Instead, the average typical speed during the evening hours is 228Mbps among telcos monitored by us.
There was a time when only a handful of providers advertised the maximum plan speeds. Fortunately that has now increased, with 8 of the 21 providers we monitor now claiming the full 250Mbps download speeds.
How much does NBN 250 cost?
Cost may be the deciding factor for many, and prices for NBN 250 plans start at AU$85 from Superloop, and stretch as high as AU$130 a month for Telstra’s offering. As with all other NBN speed tiers, most telcos will offer you a six-month discount on your plan when you first sign up, and we’ve seen these introductory prices drop as low as AU$79 a month.
For a 250/25 plan with one of the major telcos, you’ll generally be paying around AU$105 a month on average. If you were hoping for more affordable high-speed broadband, you might be better served by our fastest NBN plans page which takes a look at some of the best NBN 100 plans as well.
Can I get NBN 250?
Not all connection types will have access to this super-fast broadband. It’s available to those with a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) connection, and in some cases, also those with hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) cable, but be sure to check with the provider.
What providers have NBN 250?
The providers who are offering NBN 250 plans include the major telcos including Telstra, Optus and TPG, as well as Aussie Broadband, Exetel, iiNet, Internode, Mate, Superloop and Tangerine just to name a few. We fully expect more to get onboard in the near future.
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Max is a senior staff writer for TechRadar who covers home entertainment and audio first, NBN second and virtually anything else that falls under the consumer electronics umbrella third. He's also a bit of an ecommerce fiend, particularly when it comes to finding the latest coupon codes for a variety of publication. He has written for TechRadar's sister publication What Hi-Fi? as well as Pocket-lint, and he's also a regular contributor to Australian Hi-Fi and Audio Esoterica. Max also dabbled in the men's lifestyle publication space, but is now firmly rooted in his first passion of technology.