Last updated: 18 May 2026
The fastest NBN plan available in Australia right now is NBN 2000. A 2 gigabit per second tier, only available on full fibre (FTTP) connections. In practice the more relevant question for most households is which of the high-speed tiers (NBN 250, NBN 500, NBN 1000, NBN 2000) is the right pick for you and which provider sells them at the best price. This guide walks through all of that.
The short answer: Tangerine’s NBN 1000 plan at $88.90/month is the cheapest gigabit NBN plan in Australia in May 2026, well under what Aussie Broadband and Telstra charge for the same tier. Aussie Broadband’s Ultra Fast Pro ($199/mo for ~875 Mbps typical evening speed) is the highest-performance option for serious enthusiasts. NBN 2000 retail availability is still limited to a handful of providers, mostly in metro fibre served suburbs.
The high-speed NBN tiers explained
NBN Co retails its connection in eight speed tiers in 2026. The top four, NBN 250, 500, 1000 and 2000, are the ones that count as “high speed” and are only available on FTTP and (for NBN 250 and 500) some HFC connections. Here’s what you actually get on each one.
| Tier | Advertised peak | Typical evening speed | Upload | Available on | Cheapest unlimited (May 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBN 100 | 100 Mbps | 85-95 Mbps (FTTP/HFC); 50-90 Mbps (FTTN) | 20-40 Mbps | All connection types | From $80/month |
| NBN 250 | 250 Mbps | 200-250 Mbps | 25 Mbps | FTTP, most HFC | ~$99/month (Superloop) |
| NBN 500 | 500 Mbps | ~470 Mbps | 50 Mbps | FTTP only | ~$80/month (Exetel) |
| NBN 1000 | 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) | 500-950 Mbps | 50 Mbps | FTTP only | $88.90/month (Tangerine) |
| NBN 2000 | 2000 Mbps (2 Gbps) | 1500-1800 Mbps | 50-100 Mbps | FTTP only, limited rollout | From ~$130/month |
Best high-speed NBN plans right now
Live from our provider database. These are the current high-speed NBN plans (NBN 250 and above) from our partner providers, sorted fastest first. Prices update automatically when providers change them.
|
Speedy Max
1000 Mb/s
Unlimited data
|
$88.9/mth | Go to site |
|
Ultra Fast
875 Mb/s
Unlimited data
|
$129/mth | Go to site |
|
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Ultra Fast Pro
875 Mb/s
Unlimited data
|
$199/mth | Go to site |
|
Lightspeed
811 Mb/s
860 GB data
|
$109/mth | Go to site |
|
Ultrafast
700 Mb/s
Unlimited data
|
$135/mth | Go to site |
|
One Plan
500 Mb/s
Unlimited data
|
$80/mth | Go to site |
|
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Hyper Fast Pro
498 Mb/s
Unlimited data
|
$169/mth | Go to site |
|
|
Superfast
250 Mb/s
Unlimited data
|
$99/mth | Go to site |
| Click here to view more NBN plans | |||
Is NBN 1000 worth it?
For most Australian households, NBN 100 or NBN 250 is plenty. NBN 1000 is genuinely useful for:
- Big households — 5+ people regularly streaming, gaming, video-calling concurrently. NBN 1000 means nobody is ever bottlenecked.
- Content creators — video editors and photographers uploading multi-gigabyte files daily benefit from the 50 Mbps upload (versus NBN 100’s 20-40 Mbps).
- Enthusiasts who want headroom — if you’ve just upgraded to a Wi-Fi 6E mesh and high-end laptops/phones, NBN 1000 lets the hardware actually stretch its legs.
- Smart homes with heavy cloud sync — multiple security cameras uploading continuously, large daily cloud backups, etc.
For a typical household of 2-4 people streaming Netflix and the odd video call, NBN 1000 is overkill. You’d never notice the difference vs NBN 100. Save the $30-50/month and put it somewhere more useful.
What about NBN 2000?
NBN 2000 is the newest tier, 2 gigabits per second on FTTP, with typical evening speeds in the 1500-1800 Mbps range. Retail availability is still limited to a handful of providers in 2026 (Aussie Broadband, Telstra and Superloop have led the rollout) and pricing is enthusiast tier at $130-200/month.
Honestly, almost no household needs this. Even simultaneous 4K streams from every device in the house won’t saturate it. NBN 2000 is mostly for tech enthusiasts with high-end Wi-Fi 7 routers who want to see what the limits look like, or specific professional use cases (8K video production, multi-camera cloud streaming, certain server work).
Can my house actually get a high-speed NBN plan?
Depends on your NBN connection type:
| Connection type | Max tier available |
|---|---|
| FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) | NBN 2000 |
| HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coaxial) | NBN 250 or NBN 500 (newer rollouts) |
| FTTC (Fibre to the Curb) | NBN 100 |
| FTTN (Fibre to the Node) | NBN 100 (but realistic max often 50-80 Mbps due to copper distance) |
| FTTB (Fibre to the Building) | NBN 100 |
| Fixed Wireless / Sky Muster | NBN 100 (Fixed Wireless), NBN 100 Plus Premium (Sky Muster) |
Check your address on nbnco.com.au to confirm which type your property has. For more on each connection type, see the NBN connection types guide.
Free FTTP upgrade — yes you might qualify
If your address is FTTN, FTTC or HFC and you can’t currently get NBN 250 or above, you might be eligible for the free FTTP upgrade program. NBN Co has been running this since 2020. Order a higher speed tier (NBN 100 or above) from your provider, and if your address is eligible NBN Co dispatches a technician to install fibre at no cost to you.
The upgrade typically takes 1-3 weeks from order to installation. After it’s done you can move to any tier including NBN 1000 or NBN 2000.
Test your current speed
Before you upgrade to a faster plan, test what you’re actually getting on your current one. If you’re paying for NBN 100 and only getting 50 Mbps, the answer is usually fixing your line (or switching providers), not upgrading the plan.
Which provider is best for high-speed NBN?
On the high-speed tiers, provider quality matters more than at lower tiers because you’re paying for performance. The providers that consistently deliver close to advertised speed during evening peak (per the ACCC’s quarterly Measuring Broadband Australia report):
- Aussie Broadband — premium pricing but consistently the highest evening speed numbers. Strong Australian-based support. The “no-compromise” pick.
- Superloop — close second on speed, slightly cheaper than Aussie Broadband. Long track record with high-speed plans.
- Tangerine — the disruptor on price. NBN 1000 at $88.90/month is by far the cheapest gigabit plan in Australia. Speeds are good but support is online-first.
- Exetel — sharp price on NBN 500 at $80/month. Good middle option.
- More — competitive on NBN 250 and 500, growing affiliate footprint.
If you’re price sensitive: Tangerine. If you want maximum performance and support: Aussie Broadband. For the broader comparison see how to compare NBN plans.
What about Wi-Fi? Can my hardware handle it?
Common trap: buying NBN 1000 and getting 200 Mbps on Wi-Fi because the router is the bottleneck. To actually use a high-speed plan you need:
- Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E router — Wi-Fi 5 routers from before 2019 max out around 400-500 Mbps in practice. For NBN 1000+ you want Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7.
- Ethernet for stationary devices — gaming PC, smart TV, home server. Ethernet is the only way to hit the full plan speed reliably.
- Mesh setup for big homes — single router won’t deliver gigabit speeds to a bedroom 15 metres away through brick walls.
For the full Wi-Fi optimisation guide see our 10 fixes for slow Wi-Fi.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest NBN plan in Australia?
NBN 2000, a 2 gigabit per second tier, is the fastest plan available in Australia in 2026. It’s only available on FTTP connections and retail availability is still limited to a handful of providers (Aussie Broadband, Telstra, Superloop) at $130-200/month. For most households, NBN 1000 is a better value choice; Tangerine offers it at $88.90/month.
What’s the cheapest NBN 1000 plan in Australia?
Tangerine’s Speedy Max at $88.90/month is the cheapest gigabit NBN plan in Australia in May 2026. By comparison, Telstra’s NBN 1000 is around $179/month and Aussie Broadband sits around $129/month for the equivalent tier.
Do I need NBN 1000 for gaming?
No. Online gaming uses very little bandwidth (~3-5 Mbps per stream). What matters for gaming is latency, not raw speed. NBN 100 on fibre with low ping outperforms NBN 1000 on a congested provider every time. For gaming specific advice see our best NBN plans for gaming guide.
Can I get NBN 1000 on FTTN or HFC?
FTTN, no, the copper section caps out at NBN 100. HFC sometimes, newer HFC rollouts support up to NBN 500. NBN 1000 and NBN 2000 are FTTP-only. If you’re on FTTN or FTTC, check whether you qualify for the free FTTP upgrade program before ordering a high-speed plan.
What’s the difference between Superfast and Ultrafast NBN plans?
NBN Co’s marketing names: “Superfast” = NBN 250 (typically 200-250 Mbps), “Ultrafast” = NBN 1000 (typically 500-950 Mbps). In between is the newer NBN 500 tier. The plain numbers are clearer than the marketing names. Most providers now just call them NBN 250, NBN 500, NBN 1000, NBN 2000.
Why am I only getting 700 Mbps on a 1000 Mbps NBN plan?
That’s actually a normal real world result for NBN 1000, typical evening speeds run 500-950 Mbps depending on provider, time of day, and the path your traffic takes through the network. If you’re consistently below 500 Mbps in evening peak, switch providers (Aussie Broadband, Superloop, Swoop top the ACCC report). If you’re under 400 Mbps on Wi-Fi but get full speed on Ethernet, your router is the bottleneck, upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7.
Is gigabit internet worth it for a family?
For a family of 4 with normal use (streaming, browsing, schoolwork), NBN 100 is plenty. NBN 1000 starts to make sense when you have 5+ people, content creators, smart-home heavy use, or you’re running a small business from home. The honest answer: most families get more benefit from upgrading from a bad provider on NBN 100 to a good provider on NBN 100, than from upgrading the tier.
Can I switch to a faster NBN plan without changing providers?
Yes, most providers let you upgrade your plan tier through their app or web portal. The change usually takes effect within a few hours, though some plans require a 24-hour activation window. There’s typically no cancellation or upgrade fee. If your provider charges to upgrade, that’s a red flag, switch to one that doesn’t.
How do I get NBN 2000?
You need an FTTP connection (or the upgrade to it via NBN Co’s free program). Then you order NBN 2000 from a provider that offers it. Aussie Broadband, Telstra and Superloop are leading the rollout in 2026, with most others adding it through the year. Pricing is $130-200/month. Be aware that to actually use 2 Gbps speeds you’ll need a Wi-Fi 7 router and Ethernet for any device that needs the full speed.
What’s the fastest non-NBN internet in Australia?
5G home wireless from Telstra and Optus can hit 1000+ Mbps in good coverage, though typical speeds are 100-400 Mbps. For symmetric high-speed connections in business contexts there are dedicated fibre services (NBN Enterprise Ethernet, Vocus, Aussie Broadband Business) that go up to 10 Gbps, but they’re $500+/month. For residential, NBN 2000 is the practical ceiling.
