Cheapest NBN plans for seniors and pensioners

There are very few NBN plans that offer pensioner discounts, but this doesn't mean finding a cheap NBN plan for seniors can't be done. There are plenty of cheap internet plans from smaller internet providers, some of which you may never have heard of.

Switching providers is pretty easy these days. Although, if your main email address is hosted by your current provider, that's a different matter. We'll go over the basics of this at the end of the article.

We'll start with some pointers and tips for finding cheapest NBN plan for pensioners and seniors that works for you, but you can jump straight to the plan comparison, if you'd prefer.

Finding cheap NBN plans for seniors and pensioners

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There are a few key factors when looking for a cheap NBN plan for pensioners: Senior-specific discounts, long-term price, amount of data, NBN plan speed, customer service, phone line rental, and technical support.

Senior discounts and long-term price

NBN plans with senior discounts are rare and don't always offer the best value. You'll often be better served by signing up to a cheap NBN plan that doesn't have pensioner discounts. 

Also keep an eye out for introductory deals, which are temporary discounts for new customers. Most last for about six months, after which the monthly fee increases to an "ongoing" cost.

This can actually be a good thing. Most NBN plans don't have lock-in contracts, so you can save a lot of money by switching internet providers regularly. To give you an idea of what they can look like, these are the most popular deals on our website right now for NBN 25 and NBN 50 plans:

• NBN 25 deals
• NBN 50 deals

But changing providers regularly isn't everyone's cup of tea, so we'll also compare some cheap NBN plans for seniors a little further on, based on their total cost over the first 12 months.

Amount of data

Most NBN plans come with unlimited data, but you might occasionally find cheaper ones with a data limit. We'll compare plans with at least 200GB of data, which is enough to handle daily browsing, messaging, and regular high definition video streaming. But if you have higher internet demands, we'd advise an unlimited plan.

NBN plan speed

For a household of one or two people, you probably don't need above NBN 50, and you might get by with NBN 25. NBN 12 is generally a non-starter because these plans are often more expensive than the doubly-quick NBN 25, if you can believe it. We'll have two comparisons directly below: one for NBN 25 and one for NBN 50.

Phone line rental

If you need a home phone service, this can be done via the NBN. If you're transferring from the old landline phone networks, you won't be able to keep your number. But if you're transferring from another NBN plan, you'll be able to keep it. Home phone services over the NBN are called VoIP, which stands for "Voice over Internet Protocol". If you're like more information, you can read our detailed VoIP guide.

Customer service and technical support

This is a hard thing to gauge, especially for smaller providers (which are often have the cheapest NBN plans). There are some sources of information, such as the annual Roy Morgan customer satisfaction awards or biennial CHOICE Internet Provider Satisfaction Survey. But surveys like this only tend to gather data on larger providers.

You can also check a provider's listed support times and practices. Some only operate during business hours, some let you call during business hours and access live chat via their website or app during off hours, and others have 24-hour calling. You might even check if they have local or off-shore support.

Cheap NBN plans compared

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Let's compare the pricing of the cheapest NBN plans in our database of 33 internet providers. We'll start with NBN 25 plans and provide options to sort them by cheapest (including introductory deals of at least six months) and by the total cost over the first 12 months after signing up. 

We'll also split the comparisons into NBN 25 and NBN 50, and by whether they include phone line rental.

NBN 25 plans

These are the cheapest NBN 25 plans in our database:

• Cheapest NBN 25
• Cheapest over 12 months

And these are the cheapest NBN 25 plans in our database that include a home phone service:

• Cheapest NBN 25
• Cheapest over 12 months

NBN 50 plans

These are the cheapest NBN 50 plans in our database:

• Cheapest NBN 50
• Cheapest over 12 months

And these are the cheapest NBN 50 plans that include a home phone service:

• Cheapest NBN 50
• Cheapest over 12 months

NBN plans with senior discounts

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Some very few internet providers still offer senior discounts for NBN plans. We’ve consolidated some of them here for you, but in most cases you’re going to be better off opting for one of the above a cheaper NBN plans that don't have pensioner discounts.

iiNet NBN plans for pensioners

iiNet offers one NBN plan for seniors, called the Seniors Card plan. It's a $39.99 NBN 12 plan that includes a home phone (VoIP) and a tiny 50GB monthly data allowance. It also includes 24/7 customer support, an optional WiFi modem, and iiNet's NBN Phone service with Pay As You Go rates.

A big downside is the 24-month contract, which is a very rare thing in this day and age. The contract breaking fees are:

• Between zero and six months: $300
• Between seven and 12 months: $225
• Between 13 and 18 months: $150
• Between 19 and 25 months: $100

On top of the contract breaking fee, you also need to pay out the WiFi modem (assuming you opted to get one as part of the plan), which is $8 per month remaining in your 24-month contract, for a maximum possible fee of $192 if you leave straight away.

NBN 12 speeds are highly restrictive for most online activities, and 50GB of data is trivially easy to blow through if you do anything beyond casual browsing and messaging – a single Windows update can use most of it. 

But if you do use it all up, you won't be charged extra. Instead, iiNet will slow your NBN speeds to 256Kbps – excruciatingly slow, but better than expensive overage fees. You can also buy one of iiNet's data packs, but these are so expensive you might as well sign up to a standard NBN plan.

At just $39.99 per month with phone line rental included, this is one of the cheapest NBN plans for seniors and pensioners around. But it's for ultra low-usage households and you want to be sure about your decision, unless you're happy to pay those expensive contract breaking fees.

If you're keen to see what else the telco offers, here are iiNet's standard no-contract NBN plans:

Aussie Broadband NBN plans for pensioners

Well-known Australian favourite Aussie Broadband is one of the few carriers offering senior discounts with its NBN plans.

There are three options that bundle an NBN 12 plan with a home phone plan. Users can pick between a 100GB or an unlimited data plan. They also include home phone line rental.

However, these are NBN 12 plans. This means maximum downloads of 12Mbps and uploads of just 1Mbps. That last part is important. If you have even one device in your house that regularly backs up data to the internet (like files or photos), you might find 1Mbps is insufficient. Worst of all – if your upload speeds max out, it also slows your downloads to a crawl until the upload finishes.

But if your internet needs are very low and you require a home phone service, these are some of the best NBN plans for seniors you're likely to find. Not only for the price, but because Aussie Broadband is well known for customer satisfaction.

Do note the phone line call inclusions. The two cheapest plans are Pay As You Go (PAYG), which means they charge on a per-call basis. This can add up if you make a lot of calls. The most expensive plan has unlimited local and interstate calls, as well as unlimited calls to mobiles. The downside is this plan only has 100GB per month, versus the unlimited data of the mid-priced plan.

Aussie Broadband and customer satisfaction

Aussie Broadband also has a hard-earned reputation for customer satisfaction and support. It came first of all consumer brands in the 2024 Roy Morgan customer satisfaction awards and took the company's title of Australia's most trusted telco in 2023. It also consistently performs well in CHOICE's biennial Internet Provider Satisfaction Survey, taking the top spot in 2021 and 2023.

If this kind of customer service sounds like your cup of tea, but you need a faster plan than NBN 12, here are some of Aussie's other NBN plans:

Flip Connect NBN Plans for pensioners

Flip Connect offers three NBN plans for pensioners with seniors-only discounts. The plans are on the NBN 12, NBN 25 and NBN 50 speed tiers, and the seniors discounts only kick in once any catch-all introductory discount period ends.

But, while any savings are nice, you can find cheaper NBN plans from other providers that don't have seniors discounts.

Big providers that don't offer NBN plan discounts for seniors

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A lack of senior discounts isn't to be seen as a drawback from any provider – it's just not how the market operates anymore. But you might have some questions about NBN plans for pensioners and seniors from one or two specific ISPs.

To save you researching it yourself, here's a roundup of some bigger brands, what their NBN plan offerings look like, and whether you might consider them cheap NBN plans for seniors or pensioners.

Optus NBN plans for pensioners

Optus is one of the biggest NBN providers in Australia, and has one of the widest ranges of NBN plans. It doesn't offer any senior-specific discounts, and it's plans aren't the cheapest going, but there are some perks.

Included WiFi modem (and potentially WiFi booster)

When you sign up to an Optus "Everyday" NBN plan, you have the option of getting the "Ultra WiFi Modem Gen 2" included with your plan at no upfront cost. If you sign up to a more-expensive "Family Entertainer" plan, you also get a booster to help your WiFi signal get into those hard-to-reach places.

The main benefit of this is the modem works with Optus 4G backup at no extra charge. If your NBN connection ever goes down, the 4G backup kicks in and will connect you to the internet via a 4G mobile connection. This 4G backup is limited to speeds roughly the same as an NBN 25 plan, but should get you by and keep you connected until your NBN comes back online.

But there's a catch. While Optus' NBN plans are technically contract free, leaving within 36 months of receiving your 4G backup modem will incur a hardware fee based on how many months are left. There's no option to return the modem and avoid the charge. If you got the booster, you also have to pay that off.

• The Ultra WiFi Modem 2 will cost $8.50 per month remaining – a maximum of $306 if you leave immediately.
• The modem plus the booster will cost $14.50 per month remaining – a maximum of $522. 

If you plan on staying with Optus for 36 months, then this is a pretty good deal. Just be aware what you're committing to. You could also opt to bring your own modem and skip the potential hardware fee, but then you're missing out on 4G backup.

Other Optus NBN perks

Signing up to an Optus NBN plan gives you access to SubHub. You can think of SubHub as a way of bundling various subscription services into a single monthly bill, along with a 5% or 10% discount to the whole bill, depending on how many services you link. 

Some popular bundle-able examples are: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Optus Sport, and Microsoft 365.

The Family Entertainer NBN plan also gives you a free Standard Netflix subscription, valued at $18.99 per month. But when you compare the cost to the cheaper Everyday plans, it's not really worth it. The Family Entertainer plans do also come with a McAfee security service, but you probably don't need (or might want to outright avoid) that.

Here are some of Optus' NBN plans:

Telstra NBN plans for pensioners

It might seem easy to go with a tried-and-trusted name like Telstra, but it's one of the most expensive providers on the market and doesn't offer pensioner discounts for NBN plans.

There is one Telstra pensioner discount, but it's for the telco's Basic Telephone Service. This is a home phone service with no NBN plan included. It offers a $10 per month discount off the monthly standard access charge for one Basic Telephone Service with Telstra Ultimate Voice. You can also get additional discounts, based on how much you spend on local calls.

But this plan doesn't include NBN access, so isn't what we're looking for here.

Telstra does offer some benefits to joining its NBN plans, such as access to its Financial Hardship Support program. This includes Bill Assistance for flexible payment options if you're experiencing financial difficulties, the ability to request a payment extension or request a suspension of services and access to financial counsellors to get you back on track.

The telco also offers temporary discounts on some streaming services and cyber security (McAfee) software, plus access to its Telstra Plus rewards program.

Here's a look at Telstra’s fixed-line NBN plans:

TPG NBN plans for pensioners

Unlike its subsidiary company iiNet, TPG doesn't offer special NBN plans for seniors and pensioners. And, while it does have some very cheap mobile phone plans, its NBN 25 and NBN 50 plans don't usually rank among the cheapest in our database of 33 internet providers.

All TPG NBN plans have unlimited data, and the telco promises to match any price for 12 months for NBN 100 plans and above, but sadly not for NBN 50 or below.

If you're keen to check them out for yourself, here are TPG's no-contract NBN plans:

Frequently asked questions

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Let's take a look at some frequently asked questions about internet speed, monthly data usage, and what happens to your email account if you switch providers.

How much speed do I need?

The NBN speed you need depends on how many people use your connection and what they use it for.

There are seven NBN speed tiers available, but some will be excessive for most seniors. NBN 25 and NBN 50 plans will suit most pensioner households. NBN 12 plans aren't generally advisable because most are more expensive than NBN 25 plans. But we'll still discuss these speeds because they apply to the senior-specific NBN plans we outlined earlier.

NBN 12 plans have maximum download speeds of 12 megabits per second (Mbps) and uploads of just 1Mbps. Even if your internet needs are low, a 1Mbps upload limit can cause problems. Just one device backing data up to a cloud service (e.g. file backups, cloud storage or photos) can max out that limit and cripple your internet connection – including downloads – until it finishes. So, unless you have very few connected devices in your home and those devices don't back anything up, NBN 12 will likely be too restrictive. 1Mbps uploads might also make video calls difficult.

NBN 25 plans have maximum downloads of 25Mbps and uploads of either 5Mbps or 10Mbps, depending on the plan. These plans are fast enough to stream Netflix in HD on four screens simultaneously or for two people to browse online, listen to music, and video call at the same time. Provided you don’t use the internet for anything intensive, NBN 25 plans can be more than ample for the needs of a two-person home. While these plans aren't suitable for a more than moderate reliance on cloud storage, they should be fine for many pensioner households.

NBN 50 plans have a download limit of 50Mbps and uploads of 20Mbps. Both these speed limits should be ample for a household with two people, even if they're both heavy internet users with multiple devices. The only reason you might want more is if you regularly download large files, or if there are more than two people in your home (even then, you still could get by with NBN 50).

How much data do I need?

Most NBN plans now come with unlimited data, but you can still come across some with capped data allowances for a small discount. Even so, it's very rare, and if you do find one, there may be a cheaper unlimited plan from a different provider.

The table below is a quick overview of what kind of internet data allowances are the best for different online activities. Note these recommendations are based on just one activity, so if you regularly engage with multiple online activities in the chart it’s best to opt up for a larger allowance.

	100GB	200GB	500GB	Unlimited Data
Email
Web Surfing
Facebook
Skype
Music Streaming
Online Gaming
YouTube
Streaming TV
Downloading Movies & TV
Downloading Video Games

What about my email account?

If you adopted a free email service through your provider as your main email account (e.g. one that ends in "@telconame"), switching providers can be means you lose that email account. This is a common roadblock for many people when it comes to shopping around for NBN plans for seniors and pensioners. It's doable, but it can be a hassle and a half, to say the least.

Once you leave, your email account will eventually be erased, along with all your emails (which you can download and transfer if you do it before they're deleted). There's sometimes a set number of days' grace period, so you can set your old account to auto-forward any emails to your new one, but after a while the account gets deleted and your auto-forwarding stops.

If you're planning on splitting with your provider, you might want to get the ball rolling in advance. Here are a few steps to get you started:

1. Create a new email account (not with another internet provider)
2. Set up an auto-forward from your old account to your new one. This will mean any emails sent to your ISP-provided address will be sent on to your new one, until the old one is deleted.
3. See if you can export your old account's contact list and import it into your new account. The method for this depends on the service, but your ISP should be able to help.
4. Export your email history from your old account. This is usually done by downloading all your emails as files. If you have a lot of emails, the download might take quite a while. And you'll need somewhere to store them – preferably saved in two locations, in case one of your storage drives dies. The method for exporting emails this depends on the provider or email service, but the ISP in question should be able to run you through it. Once you've exported your email history, you might be able to import it to your new account, but it's not guaranteed. At the very least, you'll have everything on file in case you need it.
5. Start the slow process of switching all your online accounts and contacts over to the new email address. Many online services use your email account as an authentication method, so you'll be out of luck if said account sends a verification email to the old, deleted address. Make a list and take it one at a time. There's a good chance how-to guides exist for any of the more popular services you use.

Those are the main steps to take for switching email accounts, but there may be others that apply to your situation. Take a look around the web and see if anyone else has advice that works for you. Reddit can be a good resource for this, but a web search is also a good place to start.