
If you live in a sharehouse, you’re likely used to sharing a lot of things. Fridge space. Bathroom schedules. Electricity and water bills. And, as is increasingly one of the most important considerations these days, an internet connection. Given most homes can connect to the NBN today—and using an NBN connection over mobile broadband has a better chance of being faster and more reliable—let’s take a closer look at what you need to know about the best NBN plans for a sharehouse.
NBN speed tiers
NBN Co provides guidance on which of its NBN speed tiers are best for homes, based on typical online use-cases and, more important to this topic, the number of people in a home. Check out the table below for a breakdown of NBN speed tiers, the recommended number of people for each tier and some of the key online tasks you can expect to perform:
NBN speed tiers
| Speed tier | Max download speed | Max upload speed | Meant for |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBN 12 | 12Mbps | 1Mbps | 1 person |
| NBN 25 | 25Mbps | 5Mbps | 2 people |
| NBN 50 | 50Mbps | 20Mbps | 3 or 4 people |
| NBN 100 | 100Mbps | 40Mbps | 5 or more people |
| NBN 250 | 250Mbps | 25Mbps | 5 or more people |
| NBN 500 | 500Mbps | 50Mbps | 5 or more people |
| NBN 1000 | 1000Mbps | 50Mbps | 5 or more people |
We’d absolutely recommend sticking with unlimited data NBN plans, so you don’t have to worry about divvying up gigabytes. Thankfully, unlimited-data NBN plans are the norm these days. To simplify initial appraisals, we’d also advise approaching potential NBN plans in terms of an even split of download and upload speed, understanding that some providers and NBN technologies don’t offer max potential download speeds (and it’s unlikely most offer max potential upload speeds).
NBN 25 plans for sharehouses
As you can see from the table above, NBN 12 isn’t built for sharehouses, so NBN 25 should be considered the entry-level NBN speed tier. That said, it’s only really suitable for two people which, if you split bandwidth equally, is a maximum of 12.5/2.5Mbps download and upload capacity for each occupant. Practically speaking, that’s enough bandwidth per person to stream in HD, play online games, and video call.
Below is a daily updating list of popular NBN 25 plans from our comparison engine:
NBN 50 plans for sharehouses
If your sharehouse has minimal occupants and only bare-bolts ’net needs, you might get away with an NBN 25 plan. Really, though, NBN 50 is a more practical starting point for sharehouses. Evenly split between three occupants, you’re looking at 16.67/6.67Mbps download and upload per person, or 12.5/5Mbps for four sharehouse occupants. That’s very similar to the bandwidth breakdown for NBN 25 plans above, but the faster upload speeds means swifter backing up and greater work/study-from-home versatility.
Check out the plans below for an idea of popular picks from our database:
NBN 100 plans for sharehouses
While NBN 100 plans double the max potential download speed of NBN 50 plans, it’s worth noting that most NBN 100 plans have the same 20Mbps max upload potential. When NBN 100 plans were first conceived, they had 40Mbps upload potential, but those plans are rarer these days, though definitely advised for the sharehouse with multiple people sharing files, video calling, and/or streaming on platforms like Twitch.
NBN Co recommends NBN 100 plans for homes with five or more occupants, which means an NBN 100 plan breaks down to either 20/4Mbps download and upload speed for 100/20 plans or 20/8Mbps for 100/40 plans. Fewer sharehouse occupants on an NBN 100 plan (and any of the plans above) also means more bandwidth, which opens up the possibilities of comfortable 4K streaming to multiple people, alongside faster file downloading and uploading.
Below is a daily updating breakdown of the most popular NBN 100 plans in our comparison engine:
NBN 250 plans for sharehouses
That “five or more occupants” trend continues with plans beyond NBN 100, but obviously, this means more bandwidth per sharehouse person on an even split. Note that only Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) and Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) homes are eligible for plans beyond NBN 100. If your sharehouse has one of those NBN technologies, you’re looking at an even split of 50/5Mbps download and upload for five tenants. That’s great for gamers looking to download the latest titles faster, ideal for multi-streamers (even in 4K) and very useable for work or study from home.
Check out the daily updating list of popular NBN 250 plans from our database:
NBN 500 and NBN 1000 plans for sharehouses
Finally, NBN 1000 and less common NBN 500 plans are available for sharehouses with lots of occupants or those who want even faster speeds when split between tenants. As with NBN 250 plans, only FTTP homes and 95% HFC abodes are eligible for NBN 500 and NBN 1000 plans. Evenly split, you’re looking at up to 100/10Mbps download and upload for five people on an NBN 500 plan, or 200/10Mbps with an NBN 1000 plan.
Those download and upload speeds mean faster download and uploads, plus greater versatility for online tasks. You can pretty much do whatever you like online at a cracking pace with those speeds.
Below is a daily updating list of popular NBN 500 and NBN 1000 plans from our comparison engine:
How to share the NBN in your sharehouse
The prospect of evenly split data is nice in theory but, out of the box, that’s not how an NBN connection works. If someone is downloading a large file, they’ll be hogging the shared bandwidth, which will slow the internet down for everyone else. Thankfully, there’s a way around this.
If you’re in a sharehouse and don’t want to worry about ’net hoggers, invest in an NBN-compatible router or modem-router that sports a Quality of Service (QoS) feature. You’ll have to be comfortable logging into the router’s admin screen to set it up, but QoS lets you allocate bandwidth on a per-device basis. So, for example, you might leave smartphones untouched because they’re less likely to be regularly downloading and uploading large files, but you might set a fixed bandwidth limit for computers, smart TVs and consoles to keep things fairer and everyone’s online experience smoother.
Use our NBN plans comparison tool to check out different types of NBN plans, prices, speed, data and more.
Nathan Lawrence
Freelance Contributor
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