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 also becoming a little more affordable following changes at NBN Co – it officially reduced the wholesale price of the fastest NBN plans back in December 2023, and we’ve seen some providers such as TPG, Vodafone, Origin and others pass on those savings to 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$120 over 6 months (from AU$78.90p/m)
- Exetel: save AU$106 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)
Superloop is our pick for the best NBN 250 plan overall, thanks to its advertising maximum plan speeds for an affordable price. If you're signing up for a NBN 250 plan, then we'd argue you'll want to maximise the benefits, and with Superloop claiming 250Mbps speeds, it will help you do that. It also has a 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
Spintel | 211Mbps | NBN 250 | AU$78p/m (first 6 months, then AU$89.95p/m)
If you're looking for the cheapest entry point into the NBN 250 speed tier, Spintel easily our top choice. You’ll pay AU$78 a month for your first six months, which is a bit less than what you’d pay for a much slower 50Mbps plan at full price. That alone makes this plan incredibly appealing. The discounted price holds for your first half-year, after which your monthly bill will increase to AU$89.95 ongoing. The typical evening speed is quoted at 211Mbps, which is a little below average for this tier, but it’s hard to argue with the price.
• AU$79 minimum cost
• AU$1,007.70 first year cost
• AU$1,079.40 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’s some considerable variation in speed between the providers in the NBN 250 tier. For example, only Telstra, AGL, Southern Phone and Swoop advertise a maxed-out speed of 250Mbps during the evening hours. Other providers such as Optus are not too far behind, with Optus offering 245Mbps.
Compare that to Kogan and Mate, which report typical evening speeds of 200Mbps and 202Mbps, respectively, and you can immediately see how much of a variance there can be on this tier. The gap between the high-performing telcos and their slower competitors is quite stark. Across this tier, you can generally expect an upload speed of 25Mbps.
How much does NBN 250 cost?
Cost may be the deciding factor for many, and prices for NBN 250 plans start at AU$89.95 from Spintel, 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$100 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.