How to choose, with today's figures

Today's cheapest NBN 50 is EscapeNet Basic at $80/mo and the cheapest NBN 100 is Carbon Comms Carbon Home Fast 100/20 NBN at $84/mo, read 8 November 2026: the cheapest NBN 100 is $4 a month more than the cheapest NBN 50, and the tier your line can carry is set by its technology, not by the plan.

FTTP and HFC lines can order every tier (FTTP up to NBN 2000, HFC up to NBN 1000); FTTC, FTTN, FTTB lines stop at NBN 100, where today's cheapest plan is Carbon Comms Carbon Home Fast 100/20 NBN at $84/mo, against Carbon Comms Carbon Home Ultrafast 1000/100 NBN at $100/mo for the cheapest NBN 1000, read 8 November 2026.

On NBN 100 today 18 of 48 quotable plans carry an introductory price; the cheapest ongoing price is Carbon Comms Carbon Home Fast 100/20 NBN at $84/mo and the cheapest first year is FibreMax Home Fast 100 at $792 ($36 for the first 6 months, then $95.95), read 8 November 2026.

Today's cheapest NBN fixed wireless plan is Downstream Residential Fixed Wireless at $65/mo (4 fixed wireless plans from 4 providers), read 8 November 2026; whether your address is fixed wireless or satellite is NBN Co's decision, reported by the address check.

Today's cheapest business NBN 100 is Carbon Comms Carbon Business Fast 100/40 NBN Bronze at $87/mo, against $84/mo for the cheapest home plan on the same tier, read 8 November 2026; 14 business plans from 5 providers are priced today.

Today's cheapest NBN 100 is Carbon Comms Carbon Home Fast 100/20 NBN at $84/mo against a median of $95 across 48 quotable plans, read 8 November 2026; the ACCC does not report Carbon Comms individually, so no measured speed can be attached to it.

In the 30 days to 8 November 2026 OpenStream recorded 17 ongoing NBN price rises and 22 cuts across 15 brands; the largest rise was Node One nbn® 50/20 Mbps: $24 to $84 on 27 October 2026 and the largest cut Telstra Telstra Upfront Internet Plan Basic: $97 to $48 on 3 November 2026; the last change was read 7 November 2026.

An electricity bill is a daily supply charge plus usage charged per kilowatt-hour; on the Ausgrid network (Sydney) the 292 published plans a household can take charge between 75.38c and 218.61c a day for supply and the 70 single-rate plans between 24c and 37.6c per kWh, which at 4,000 kWh a year makes the cheapest plan Tango Energy Everyday Easy at $86 a month against a median of $145, read 8 November 2026.

The reference price is the regulator's annual bill for a benchmark household on each network: on Ausgrid the DMO 2026-27 is $1,899 a year at 3,900 kWh, and at that same usage today's cheapest published plan is Tango Energy Everyday Easy at $84 a month ($1,014 a year) with the median plan at $143 a month, read 8 November 2026.

On the Ausgrid network the highest published feed-in tariff is 40c per kWh on Flow Power Happy Hour Plus, but for a home using 4,000 kWh and exporting 2,000 kWh a year the lowest combined bill is 1st Energy 1st Quartz - Time of Use at $1,144 a year, against $1,502 on the highest-tariff plan, read 8 November 2026.

The AER's benchmark for a two-person household in Sydney is 5,238 kWh a year, and at that usage today's cheapest published plan on the Ausgrid network is Tango Energy Everyday Easy at $102 a month against a median of $176 across 292 plans, read 8 November 2026.

At 20,000 MJ a year the cheapest published gas plan in New South Wales (AGN Adelong, Gundagai and Tumut zone) is Origin Energy Origin Affinity Variable ePlus Ongoing - One Big Switch at an estimated $89 a month against a median of $90 across 23 plans, read 8 November 2026; a gas bill is a daily supply charge plus usage in megajoules, priced in blocks.

Prices follow the distribution network, not the retailer: at 4,000 kWh a year the cheapest published plan on Ausgrid (Sydney) is Tango Energy Everyday Easy at $86 a month, while on CitiPower (Melbourne) it is GloBird Energy GloBird FULLHOUSE Residential (Flat Rate With Controlled Load)-Citipower at $84, read 8 November 2026; the new postcode decides which list you compare.

At 4,000 kWh a year the cheapest published business electricity plan in Victoria is Blue NRG Blue Energy Direct at an estimated $88 a month, the dearest Sumo Local Business (Medium Single Rate + CL) at $235, across 309 plans from 24 retailers; the cheapest household plan in the same state is $84, read 8 November 2026.

New South Wales lists 4 schemes, Victoria lists 1 scheme, Queensland lists 2 schemes, South Australia lists 1 scheme, Tasmania lists 3 schemes, the Australian Capital Territory lists 1 scheme, each quoted from its government page on 26 October 2026; the largest annual amounts are up to $285 a year (retail customers); $313.50 for embedded network customers (New South Wales, Low Income Household Rebate), $399.47 a year (GST inclusive) (Queensland, Electricity Rebate), up to $291.27 a year (South Australia, Energy bill concession), $1.84347 a day from 1 July 2026 (about $673 a year); $673 once-off for embedded network customers in 2026-27 (Tasmania, Annual Electricity Concession), $800 a year across electricity, gas and water for 2026-27 (the Australian Capital Territory, Utilities Concession), against a cheapest published plan of $86 a month on Ausgrid at 4,000 kWh, read 8 November 2026.

Today's cheapest plan with at least 20 GB is Pivotel 25GB at $22.90 a month ongoing ($11.45 a month for the first 6 months), and with at least 50 GB it is SpinTel 50GB at $29 a month, read 8 November 2026; the step from one allowance to the next is the figure to decide on.

Today's cheapest prepaid plan is Yomojo 29GB at $24.90 per 30-day recharge ($24.90 per 30 days) and the cheapest monthly SIM-only plan is Pivotel 25GB at $22.90 a month ongoing ($11.45 a month for the first 6 months), read 8 November 2026; on a per-30-day basis the monthly plan is cheaper at the bottom of the market.

ALDI mobile, Belong, Boost Mobile, Exetel, Mate, More, Superloop, Tangerine, TeleChoice, Telstra state on their own pages that they use the Telstra network (cheapest ALDI mobile 60GB data-only at $125 per 365-day recharge); Aussie Broadband, Dodo, iPrimus, SpinTel, Yomojo state on their own pages that they use the Optus network (cheapest SpinTel 25GB at $23 a month ongoing ($15 a month for the first 6 months)); Moose Mobile, Pivotel, Swoop, Vodafone state on their own pages that they use the Vodafone network (cheapest Pivotel 25GB at $22.90 a month ongoing ($11.45 a month for the first 6 months)), read 8 November 2026; a brand that states no network on its page is left blank rather than guessed.

United States: the cheapest travel eSIM read is Nomad United States 3GB 30 days at $0.19 a day in Australian dollars (30 days, 3 GB, 27 plans from 4 providers), and the cheapest unlimited plan of a week or more is Nomad United States unlimited 7 days at $27.64, read 8 November 2026.

Every hospital policy is Gold, Silver, Bronze or Basic by the clinical categories it must cover, with Plus tiers covering more than the base requires; in Victoria the cheapest open hospital-only policy for a single is GU Health Gold Superior Hospital $500 Excess (Single) at $191.67 a month on Gold and ahm health insurance ambulance hospital (basic) at $102.10 on Basic, from the Ombudsman's release of 1 October 2026.

The rebate takes 24.118% off a premium for a single under 65 earning up to $105,000 (1 July 2026 to 31 March 2027), and the Lifetime Health Cover loading adds 2% a year for each year past 30 without hospital cover, to a maximum of 70%: on the cheapest Gold single policy in Victoria, GU Health Gold Superior Hospital $500 Excess (Single) at $191.67 a month (release 1 October 2026), that rebate brings the premium to $145.44 and a 10-year loading would take the unrebated premium to $230.00.

Extras cover pays towards the regulator's 27 general treatment services, from general dental to vaccinations; in Victoria the cheapest open extras-only policy for a single is nib Health Funds Ltd. DentalPass at $3.70 a month, covering general dental (no wait), from the release of 1 October 2026.

pregnancy and birth is covered from Silver Plus (cheapest GU Health Gold Superior Hospital $500 Excess (Single) at $191.67 a month); hospital psychiatric services is covered from Silver Plus (cheapest GU Health Gold Superior Hospital $500 Excess (Single) at $191.67 a month); joint replacements is covered from Basic Plus (cheapest GU Health Inpatriate Basic Hospital $500 Excess (Single) at $125.00 a month); cataracts is covered from Basic Plus (cheapest GU Health Inpatriate Basic Hospital $500 Excess (Single) at $125.00 a month), among the 1502 open hospital policies for a single in Victoria in the release of 1 October 2026.

A single earning over $105,000 without hospital cover pays the Medicare Levy Surcharge of 1% of income (1.25% over $123,000, 1.5% over $164,000; 2026-27), which at $105,001 is $1,050 a year, against $1,225 a year for the cheapest open Basic hospital policy for a single in Victoria, ahm health insurance ambulance hospital (basic) at $102.10 a month, release 1 October 2026.