The Cheapest Contract-Free NBN Plans In Australia

The telco industry may have been built on the back of two-year contracts, but these are slowly starting to go the way of the dinosaur. While some ISPs still want you shackled to them for 12 or 24 months, more and more providers are now offering contract-free plans.

This is great for two reasons. Signing a long-term contract never feels great, and contract-free plans are just so much more flexible. You can leave whenever you want, for whatever reason, whether it’s because you’ve decided to leave town and join the circus or just because you’re unhappy with the service.

Modem purchases are optional on many ISPs, but some will force you to buy a model they range. To make it a bit easier, we’ve only included NBN providers where a modem purchase is optional, and where you won’t get hit with any upfront setup fees.

Here are some of the cheapest no-contract NBN plans with no setup fees:

NBN 50 plans with no-contract and at least 500GB

In most cases, you can get a contract-free NBN 50 plan for less than $70 per month. While the more “premium” providers can and will charge a little extra, there are plenty of plans priced between $60 and $70 right now.

Some of this can be chalked up to promotional pricing. For example, Tangerine will give you your first six months at a discounted rate. You’ll pay $64.90 per month for your first half-a-year, and $74.90 thereafter.

In terms of non-discounted pricing, Exetel has a 500GB NBN 50 plan for $59.99 per month. This is a great option if you don’t think you need unlimited data.

NBN 100 plans with no-contract and at least 500GB

The price spread between the cheapest and priciest NBN 100 plan is a little bit larger. Thanks to a promo, you can pay as little as $69.90 per month if you go with Tangerine. This discount will apply for your first six months; you’ll pay $79.90 thereafter.

MyRepublic has a similar offer where you’ll pay $79.95 for your first 12 months, and then $89.95 per month thereafter.

If you don’t need unlimited data, Exetel could be a happy medium: you’ll pay $79.99 per month for a 500GB NBN 100 plan. This plan is discount-free, so your plan won’t suddenly go up in price a couple of months down the line.

At the pricier end, you’ve got unlimited NBN 100 plans from the likes of Aussie Broadband at $99 per month. While this might seem like a huge difference, Aussie Broadband is one of the only ISPs that provides data about how much capacity it buys on the NBN, which can give you a much better idea of the actual speeds you can expect.

Alex Choros is Managing Editor at WhistleOut, Australia’s phone and internet comparison website.