There are over 100 NBN providers operating in Australia and the list only continues to grow. To help sift through it all, every year we judge the WhistleOut Awards, an initiative designed to find the best NBN providers and NBN plans on a national level.
When judging the NBN provider awards, we consider factors including cost over a full year, typical evening speeds, perks and bonus features, and support channels.
We judged the 2026 WhistleOut Awards in August – covering FY25/26 – and you can check out the winners below. We'll also touch on some other providers who are popular with WhistleOut readers for some alternate picks.
Dodo
Best NBN provider overall
Dodo took home a stunning four WhistleOut Awards for its NBN services: Best Everyday NBN Provider, Best Fast NBN Provider, Best Superfast NBN Provider, and Best Fixed Wireless NBN Provider.
For the Everyday NBN Provider category, we look at NBN 50 plans with unlimited data (which pretty much all plans have these days). Best Fast NBN Provider covers NBN 100 plans, and Best Superfast Provider is for NBN 500. The Best Fixed Wireless Provider category is hopefully self-explanatory. In all four instances, Dodo took the top spot thanks to its simple and affordable offerings.
Dodo's NBN plans typically have a honeymoon discount, where new customers will pay a cheaper rate for their first six months – though on rare occasions, it's one of the few telcos to increase it to 12 months as part of a special deal. The discount varies depending on the month and what speed tier you choose, but you can typically save at least $20 per month during the deal period.
Like most telcos, Dodo's NBN plans are contract-free. For fixed-line plans, you can bring your own modem, but if you need a new one, Dodo offers its own WiFi 6 "Family Modem" option for $169.90 upfront, or you can pay it off at $7.50 per month over 24 months.
If you're in New South Wales or Victoria, you can save an extra $10 per month on your NBN plan by also getting your gas and electricity through Dodo. A $5 per month discount is available for Queenslanders who bundle their electricity.
Here's a look at Dodo's internet plans:
Activ8me
Best Satellite NBN Provider
This is the second time Activ8me won the award for Best Satellite NBN Provider, following five years as the runner-up to Skymesh. This well-deserved second win is due to this telco's quality internet services for regional, rural, and remote Australia.
Activ8me's satellite NBN plans have no-contract and six-month contract options. If you need a new modem, Activ8me sells three options, starting at $99.95.
Most popular NBN plans
If the above picks aren't what you're looking for, here's a look at the most popular NBN plans with WhistleOut users in the last seven days:
Tips for choosing an NBN provider
All NBN providers are technically reselling access to the same service. No matter which provider you go with, they all use the same infrastructure to connect you to the wider National Broadband Network. This makes it easier to compare NBN providers on a level playing field.
The key factors to focus on are price, speed, and data. Some providers may also have other perks that make them more appealing. When weighing up whether an NBN plan is right for you, consider the following:
Typical evening speeds
NBN providers must disclose the average speeds experienced by their customers for each NBN plan during busy hours, also called "typical evening speeds".
Typical evening speeds have become less important on NBN 100 plans and slower. Even NBN 500 plans tend to perform at or close to their maximum downloads. It's only with faster plans - NBN 750 and above – that typical evening speeds regularly make a meaningful difference.
Contract length and hardware fees
NBN plans with a contract are very rare these days, unless you accepted a "free" modem with your plan. If you leave within a certain timeframe – 24 or 36 months – you might need to return your modem or pay a hardware fee. Though sometimes this isn't an option and the fee is mandatory. Make sure you read the fine print so you don't get caught by unexpected charges.
Data allowance (for satellite plans)
Almost all fixed-line NBN plans have unlimited data, so data allowance isn't the key consideration it once was. Satellite NBN plans are the main exception, with many providers still selling plans with a limited allowance. But unlimited satellite NBN plans are becoming more common and, in most cases, we'd recommend this option - especially because they're priced similarly to limited options.
How we pick the best NBN providers
We pick the best NBN providers through the annual WhistleOut Awards. We review a wide selection of telcos, including the top 10 service providers in each category and many smaller brands. The top ten service providers typically cover 80% or more of Australia’s phone and internet plans.
The WhistleOut Award categories for internet plans are judged by awarding 3, 2 and 1 points to the providers of the three best plans in each category every month between July 2025 and June 2026. When judging plans, we consider 12-month costs, features and perks, typical evening speeds, and support channels.
In terms of support, we consider the breadth of support options available to customers, coupled with feedback from customer review aggregators. Due to the scope of telcos we track, we have not personally tested support services for each provider.
The award winners are the providers with the most points at the end of the 12-month period. In case of a tie, winners are chosen based on the number of 1st positions, then 2nd positions, then 3rd positions they achieved in that category over the year. A provider can receive points for multiple plans in a category if their plans best match the award criteria.
WhistleOut is Australia's telco comparison website, founded to help everyday Aussies find a phone and internet plan that's right for them. As part of our service promise, we're committed to listing plans from at least the top ten providers of internet plans in the market, but we're currently tracking 33. When we have a commercial relationship with a provider, you'll see a "Go To Site" button that takes you straight to that plan.
We still compare plans from providers we don't have a commercial relationship with, but these don't have a button. To keep our listings up to date, we have a dedicated product team that makes around 400 changes to our database each month. You can read more about how we work here.
These are the most popular mobile phone plans on our website right now with at least 15GB of data, sourced from our database of 28 mobile providers:
Alex Choros
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