Superloop vs. SpinTel: Which Telco Offers the Best NBN Plans?

Superloop vs. SpinTel: Which Telco Offers the Best NBN Plans?
Contributor: Alex Choros
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Looking for a genuinely fast NBN plan without breaking the bank? SpinTel and Superloop are two of the few internet providers that ostensibly promise congestion-free connectivity on plans as fast as NBN 100, alongside Telstra and Optus.

While Telstra and Optus are easily on the more premium side of the pricing scale, SpinTel and Superloop are a lot more affordable. With that in mind, we’re going to take a look at how the pair compare.

Who are they?

Both SpinTel and Superloop are smaller NBN providers that report excellent typical evening speeds.

SpinTel has actually been around since 1996, and in addition to offering NBN, sells mobile services and home wireless broadband powered by the Optus network.

On the other hand, Superloop has only been selling NBN plans for a little over two years. It has however been in the business of providing wholesale telecommunications services to other providers for about half a decade. As such, Superloop owns a lot of the infrastructure that other telcos typically rent. Superloop recently acquired fellow NBN provider Exetel.

Speeds

Both SpinTel and Superloop report internet speed tier maximums for typical evening speeds on plans as fast as NBN 100. This means you should get a congestion-free experience on either telco.

NBN 1000 NBN 250 NBN 100 NBN 50
SpinTel 100Mbps 50Mbps
Superloop 250Mbps 240Mbps 100Mbps 50Mbps

SpinTel doesn’t currently offer plans faster than NBN 100, but Superloop reports typical evening speeds of 240Mbps on NBN 250 plans and 250Mbps on NBN 1000 plans.

In addition to reporting typical evening internet speeds, Superloop backs up its speed claims with bandwidth graphs. These graphs show how much capacity Superloop has purchased on its network versus how much capacity its customers are using.

Unlimited NBN 50 plans

When it comes to NBN 50 plans, both SpinTel and Superloop report typical evening speeds of 50Mbps. In theory, you shouldn’t see any congestion on either of these plans, even during the busiest parts of the day. Both providers also have deals on their respective plans.

With SpinTel, you’ll pay $54 per month for your first six months and $64.95 per month thereafter. On Superloop, you’re looking at $59.95 per month for your first six months and $69.95 per month thereafter.

Both SpinTel and Superloop NBN 50 plans are free from contracts and setup fees.

Unlimited NBN 100 plans

Once again, SpinTel and Superloop report identical evening speeds of 100Mbps on NBN 100 plans.

SpinTel is the cheaper of the pair, where you’ll pay $69 per month for your first six months and $84.95 per month thereafter for an unlimited plan.

Superloop is only a little more expensive initially, but $5 more per month after your discount runs out. This means you’ll pay $69.95 per month for your first six months, and $89.95 per month thereafter.

For an extra $10 per month on Superloop, you can upgrade to an NBN 100 / 40 plan, which gets you upload speeds of 40Mbps instead of the standard 20Mbps available on most NBN 100 plans.

More SpinTel NBN internet plans

If you’re after something cheaper, SpinTel also offers NBN 12 and NBN 25 plans. You’ll pay $39 per month for an unlimited NBN 12 plan for your first six months, and $49.95 per month thereafter.

You’re looking at $49 per month for NBN 25 and $59.95 per month thereafter. Just be aware, at full price, SpinTel’s NBN 25 plan is only $5 per month cheaper than its NBN 50 plan when you exclude discounts.

All SpinTel NBN customers can get a discounted mobile plan, too. You can get a 4GB plan for just $9.95 per month, or a 20GB plan for $19.95 per month. That’s a $5 per month discount compared to SpinTel’s regular rates. SpinTel mobile plans are powered by the Optus network.

More Superloop NBN internet plans

On top of NBN 25, NBN 50, and NBN 100 plans, Superloop also has NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans in its range.

Superloop’s NBN 250 plan will set you back $99.95 per month for your first six months and $119.95 per month thereafter, and its NBN 1000 plan goes for $119.95 per month for your first six months and $139.95 per month thereafter. The telco’s NBN 250 plan is unlimited, but its NBN 1000 plan has a 3TB cap. If you go over this, you’ll be slowed to download speeds of 100Mbps.

Only FTTP and HFC addresses can get NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans. Only about 50% of HFC customers can currently get NBN 1000 plans, however.

Support

Both SpinTel and Superloop offer support seven days a week, but Superloop has slightly longer hours.

SpinTel’s support hours are between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm on weekdays, and 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekends.

Superloop’s support hours are between 8:00 am to 10.30 pm on weekdays, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on weekends, and 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on public holidays.

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


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

Here are the cheapest plans available for Australia’s most popular NBN speed tier.

At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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