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NBN 50 VS NBN 500: IS YOUR INTERNET HOLDING YOU BACK?

Thinking of ditching your 50 Mbps nbn plan? Let’s break it down.

A smarter world needs a smarter plan

For years, the go-to plan for the average Aussie household has been the tried-and-true nbn 50. And to be fair, it’s done the job for yonks. But these days, the old “suits 1–2 people” label doesn’t quite cut the mustard. The internet isn’t just for computers anymore.

Now everything’s “smart” — phones, TVs, fridges, lights… even the bin. And that nbn 50 plan you’re rocking? It’s going to start feeling the pinch.

So, the real question isn’t will this plan suit a 1–2 person household? But can it handle all your smart stuff, at once?

What is an nbn 50 plan?

An nbn 50 plan has long been one of the most common speed tiers for Australian households. That said, its popularity hasn’t always been a pure choice.

For many customers on copper connection types like FTTN and some FTTC services, 50 Mbps has historically been the fastest practical speed available. So yes, it’s common, but because it was the next best option once upon a time.

What can you do on an nbn 50 plan?

An nbn 50 connection is fine for:

4K streaming on one or two devices
Browsing, emails, and social scrolling
Video calls for work or study
Casual online gaming
A 10GB download is roughly ~25-35 minutes*.

* Real world results may vary based on the nbn tech installed at your home and the devices you use.

How do I know an nbn 50 plan isn’t right for me?

If your internet buffers when multiple devices are active, slows down the moment someone starts streaming or gaming, or feels “fine” until two things happen at one, nbn 50 may be stretching its limits.

That doesn’t mean nbn 50 is slow. It means when your household behaves like a modern home, there’s no capacity left.

nbn 50 vs nbn 500: what’s the big difference?

The short answer? Speed, breathing room, and sanity. And the price? Not that different!

The long answer? nbn 500 gives you far more capacity by up to 10x the speed of an nbn 50 plan, so the internet doesn’t fall apart when real life overlaps.

What can you do with nbn 50 vs nbn 500?

If your home has more than a couple of connected devices, nbn 500 just makes life easier.

* Real-world results may vary with Wi-Fi, router quality, home setup and server speeds.

Why upgrade to nbn 500?

If you’re on FTTP or HFC and still using an nbn 50 plan, here’s the good news: your connection is capable of much more.

Faster when it matters

Better peak-time performance, so your internet stays reliable when everyone jumps online after tea.

Built for modern homes

Plenty of speed to handle WFH calls, gamers, streamers and a growing mix of smart home devices.

Future-proofed

Supports more devices, better streaming and cloud apps, even when the whole household is online.

Pricing that makes sense

The average fixed-line nbn 50 plan costs around $85 a month¹. Some providers run short-term promos, but watch out when they end.

Turn that upgrade into a long-term win

So, if you’re considering an upgrade and have read the above thinking, “Yeah, that sounds like me,” don’t fall into the promo-price trap. Exetel’s One Plan nbn 500 (TES: 500/40 Mbps) is $80 per month, ongoing. One plan. One price.

It removes the paradox of choice many people face when trying to make sense of a vast, exhausting menu of speed tiers, fine print and promotional pricing that creeps up after a limited time. Instead, it’s a curated option we’d recommend for most households, offering consistent performance, reliability and straightforward pricing.

FTTP upgrade: time to ditch nbn 50

Still rocking with FTTN or FTTC? You might be eligible for nbn’s Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) upgrade, which opens the door to faster plans like nbn 500. Why upgrade to FTTP?

Faster, more reliable internet

Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) delivers data via fibre-optic cables straight to your home, rather than relying on ageing copper. That means faster speeds, lower latency and fewer dropouts, even when demand is high.

Less interference, more consistency

Unlike copper-based connections, fibre isn’t affected by distance, weather or electrical interference. Because the fibre line runs directly into your home, performance stays stable, especially during peak hours.

Better long-term value for your home

Upgrading to fibre is a long-term infrastructure upgrade. It future-proofs your connection as your internet needs grow and can make your home more appealing to buyers or renters who expect fast, reliable internet as standard.

nbn 50 vs nbn 500

Find the answers to frequently asked questions here

Is nbn 50 (50/20 Mbps) enough for 1-3 people?

People count is oversimplification. Concurrency is the real test. One person can still stack a 4K stream, a video call, software update on their iPad, and phone backups without trying while smart devices like security cameras, video doorbells, smart locks and smart sensors are consuming bandwidth in the background. If your internet feels fine until two things happen at once, the issue is headroom capacity on your internet plan.

Isn’t the nbn 50 Mbps plan enough to stream Netflix?

Most modern homes are never that simple. While the TV is streaming, the phone is syncing photos, the PS5 is downloading patches for Fortnite, and suddenly the connection may get touchy. If streaming ever goes blurry, buffers or drops quality when someone does anything else online, you’re already feeling the limits.

The point isn’t bigger numbers. It's fewer trade-offs. If you only ever plan to do one thing at a time, you might not notice a difference all the time. But if calls, streaming and downloads overlap, 500Mbps stops the “who’s using the internet right now” frustrations.

Isn’t nbn 50 enough if I don’t game or download huge files?

“Huge files” happen in the background now. Updates, cloud backups, app installs, and device syncs are the new big downloads. They just don’t announce themselves. More headroom means these background jobs truly remain in the background and stop hijacking the internet when you need to do something.

nbn 50 or nbn 500 doesn’t matter. Isn’t it most likely my Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi can be the problem, but speed still matters under load. A fast plan won’t fix weak Wi-Fi coverage. But higher headroom capacity reduces device traffic jams and makes it easier to tell whether the Wi-Fi or the plan is the bottleneck. If it’s fine next to the router but bad elsewhere, fix the Wi-Fi. If the internet struggles when the home is busy, you’re hitting plan limits as well.

Do upload speeds matter for nbn 50?

Uploads power video calls, sending files, syncing with cloud storage and device backups. When uploads get busy, the whole connection can feel worse. If the internet feels worse on video calls, or when someone backs up their phone, upload headroom is part of what you’re missing.

How can my home be considered a busy household if I live alone?

Living alone doesn’t mean living light. Even a solo home is doing more in the background than most people realise. Backups, device syncs, cloud syncs, and increasingly smart devices are doing their thing. Today that might be a doorbell camera, smart lights, a robot vacuum cleaner, or a smart lock. Next, its smart sensors, garage openers, security cameras, and appliances that ping the cloud such as dishwashers, dryers, and even fridges. None of these look heavy on their own, but it all adds up and turns your home into a multitask environment by default.

I’m on FTTC/FTTN, isn’t the nbn 50 plan my only option?

It used to be. On older connections, 50 was often the fastest practical tier. That’s exactly why 50 became the default. But if you are eligible for fibre, the old “50 is sensible” logic stops applying because the ceiling has changed.

Isn’t nbn 500 an overkill?

Overkill is paying for speed you’ll never notice. Headroom is paying for a connection that stays solid whenever real life overlaps. 500/50 Mbps (TES: 500/40 Mbps) isn’t a flex. It’s a buffer for modern internet habits, even in small households. The win isn’t a higher speed test result on Ookla, it’s fewer trade offs. Think of it as capacity, not speed. More lanes for streaming, calls, syncing and updating devices that don’t all trip over each other.

And with Exetel The One plan for $80/mth ongoing, there are no promo traps, where you pay less than the average price of an nbn 50 plan² (according to Finder January 2026).

References
1. Finder. (2024). Compare NBN 50 plans in Australia
2. Finder. (2024). Compare NBN 50 plans in Australia

Exetel’s One Plan keeps nbn simple

One plan, one price, no speed tiers to second-guess. For $80 a month you get fast, reliable nbn 500 plan (TES: 500/40 Mbps) that’s quick enough for streaming, gaming and all your devices without promo gimmicks or complicated upgrades.

Why Exetel’s The One plan is a no-brainer

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