When the NBN first rolled out, NBN 50 was the best value proposition on the market, offering plenty of bandwidth and speed for regular users and small families alike at a more reasonable cost than NBN 100.
As a result, it's now by far the most popular plan option in Australia, with just over half of all Aussies on the network choosing NBN 50 at this stage.
There's plenty of plans and deals to choose from in this market, and the competition is fierce with frequent discounts and offers, so we're here to help you choose the best NBN 50 plan available.
Spintel has beaten out Tangerine to offer the best all-rounder in the NBN 50 space – its plan has a great intro offer, the maximum possible typical evening speed, and the cheapest ongoing rate around.
Current NBN 50 deals
Further down, we've hand-picked the best NBN 50 plans on the market right now, but some providers are offering deals (often for fresh sign-ups over the first 6 months) so we'll list them below incase any of their offers entice you.
- Dodo: save AU$21.10p/m for 6 months (opens in new tab) (AU$53.90p/m)
- Tangerine: save AU$15p/m for 6 months (opens in new tab) (AU$54.90p/m)
- Spintel: save AU$10.95p/m for 6 months (opens in new tab) (AU$54p/m)
- Superloop: save AU$16p/m for 6 months (opens in new tab) (AU$53.95p/m)
Best NBN 50 plans
Best overall NBN 50 plan
Best fast NBN 50 plan
Cheapest NBN 50 plan
More NBN 50 deals
- Telstra vs Optus NBN: who has better broadband?
NBN 50 FAQ
How fast is NBN 50?
NBN 50 as a speed tier offers up to 50Mbps download speeds, and while this doesn't necessarily mean you'll be hitting that rate at all times, it's becoming more likely.
With most providers now advertising a typical evening speed of 50Mbps, you're more likely to be getting that max speed during the busy peak periods (usually 7-11pm) although, as always, this will depend on many factors regarding your specific connection.
How much does NBN 50 cost?
Being the most popular NBN speed tier, the providers offering NBN 50 plans have some very competitive offers and discounts, but typically, you can expect to pay around the AU$55-60p/m range for your first six months, and then AU$70 monthly from then on.
There are plans ranging up towards the AU$100 mark as well, although these are typically from the major telcos (such as Telstra and Optus) which tend to offer further incentives and inclusions with the plan.
Can I get NBN 50?
If you're not in a regional area or one of the few other locations that haven't had a fixed line NBN service set up, then you'll be able to get an NBN 50 connection.
All connection types, such as fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) and hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC), are able to support NBN 50, but some of them are likely to perform more reliably.
What providers have NBN 50?
There are very few (if any) providers at this stage not offering NBN 50, given its immense popularity and ability to be connected to, and supported by, a vast majority of Aussies homes.
This means that Telstra, Optus, TPG, Tangerine, Spintel, Dodo and plenty of others all have compelling NBN 50 plans to choose from.
NBN 50 vs NBN 100?
As with any purchasing decision, the 'better' option won't be better for everyone. For light internet users, households of two that stream and don't plan to use it for anything more intensive, NBN 50 is likely to be more than enough.
But for anyone currently running into congestion or that wants their download 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 NBN 50's case.
