NBN upload speed explained

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It’s easy to overlook upload speed given its smaller number compared with the bigger numbers associated with download speeds, which are often the main selling point of NBN plans. But your upload speed might be more important than you think. Read on to find out more.

NBN offers you might like

• NBN Sponsored Plans
• NBN50 Plans
• NBN100 Plans

The following table shows a selection of sponsored unlimited data Standard Plus Evening Speed (NBN 50), and Premium Evening Speed (NBN 100) plans on Canstar Blue’s database with links to referral partners..

Sponsored Products

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Unlimited Data/month

$63.90 Cost/month

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Value 1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $65) Typical evening speed of 50Mbps Save $60 over 6 months! Better than basic Unlimited data for a household of 2-3, suited for gaming, streaming & video chatting T&Cs apply, offer ends 03/12/24.

Unlimited Data/month

$65 Cost/month

Go to Site

Home Fast 1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $69) Typical evening speed of 98Mbps Home Fast plan now $69 a month for 6 months when you BYO modem and have AGL energy. T&Cs apply, offer ends 3/02/25.

Unlimited Data/month

$69 Cost/month

Go to Site

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Unlimited Home Standard (NBN 50) Plans

The following table shows a selection of published unlimited NBN 50 plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of standard monthly cost (excluding discounts), from the lowest to highest, and then by alphabetical order of provider. Use our comparison tool above to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.

Unlimited Home Fast (NBN 100) Plans

The table below shows a selection of published unlimited NBN 100 plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of monthly cost, from the lowest to highest, and then by alphabetical order of provider. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.

What is NBN upload speed?

NBN upload speed is the speed at which you can upload data and content to the internet, and applies to the second number in your plan’s name or speed tier (for example, the 5 in NBN 25/5). Both of these numbers are measured in megabits per second, or Mbps. Typically, your NBN upload speed is not too important in the average household, and any upload speed should be fine for general browsing and casual use. However, your upload speed is something to consider if you’re a power user, content creator, or if you rely heavily on the internet for your business (say, if you do lots of video calls, webinars or live streaming).

Considering most Australian households use the internet for things that typically don’t require a huge upload speed, such as web browsing, social media and streaming services, upload speed shouldn’t be a huge concern for most people when shopping around for a plan. However, having a good upload speed certainly proves its worth when you need it, such as when you are video calling or playing online games and want to avoid lag.

What are upload speeds used for?

While download speeds refer to how quick it is to get information, such as files, from the internet, upload speeds determine how fast you can send files to the internet. This refers to a number of things, such as sending an email, uploading photos and videos to social media, uploading documents and files to cloud storage (such as Google Drive), along with online gaming and making video calls.

What is a good upload speed?

A good upload speed can reasonably be considered 5Mbps or higher for most homes, although this really depends on the NBN speed tier you’re paying for and what you need from the NBN. For a budget plan, 5Mbps is good, but if you are paying for a faster plan, you should be aiming for around 20Mbps or better.

You can test your upload speed, as well as download speeds, by running an internet speed test in your browser. You can use our free speed test tool to test your internet speed.

Good NBN upload speeds go hand-in-hand with good download speeds, in that if you’re paying for a good download speed, you’ll also be paying for a good upload speed. Unfortunately, you can’t separate your upload speed from your download speed and create a plan catering to your needs, although you can get plans that have higher than normal upload speeds on some speed tiers from some providers.

For example, NBN 100 plans come with upload speeds of either 20Mbps or 40Mbps, depending on your choice of plan or provider. Both options feature downloads of up to 100Mbps, but plans with a slower upload speed of 20Mbps tend to be around slightly cheaper than NBN 100/40 plans. If downloading and streaming is important to you, but you’re not regularly sending or uploading large files or data, you’re probably better off on an NBN 100/20 plan, rather than paying more for NBN 100/40.

If you’re interested in seeing what upload speeds look like on different speed tiers, here’s how long it would take to upload a five minute 1080p video (typically 100MBs) to the internet at different speeds:

Keep in mind that your experience will likely be different and that these NBN upload speed estimates are measured at the maximum upload speed of each plan. Speeds will likely also vary depending on the website.

NBN plans with good upload speeds

You’ll find the best upload speeds come with more expensive plans, where you’ll also find the best download speeds. Below you’ll find a table of NBN 50 and NBN 100 plans, which offer top theoretical upload speeds of between 20Mbps and 40Mbps.

What is the best NBN upload speed in Australia?

The best NBN upload speed in Australia you can theoretically achieve is 50Mbps, although to get anywhere near this you will have to splash out on an NBN 1000 plan. Along with NBN 250, these speed tiers are not widely available to the general public and are only possible with certain NBN connection types. Though if these speeds are available to you, they’re certainly worth checking out.

NBN upload speeds compared

The ACCC releases quarterly reports on internet performance data about download and upload speeds. As of December 2023, the fastest performing provider for NBN upload speeds is Exetel, sitting at an average of 91.6% of optimal performance during peak hours (7pm to 11pm). You can find providers and their performance in the latest findings below.

Source: ACCC NBN speed report, December 2023.

Is my NBN upload speed important?

Having a super-fast upload speed is obviously great, but it’s not essential, especially if you don’t do lots of uploading. Anything that involves actively inputting data onto the internet through file uploads, messages or interactions technically requires an upload speed, but there’s no need to have a super fast one, unless you need it for your business (or you just take fast internet speeds very seriously)!

Is my NBN upload speed too slow?

If you run a speed test, and your NBN upload speed is underperforming compared to what the plan offers, you might have issues with your home internet. It might be worth investigating why your internet is slow, or it could be worth changing your NBN provider.

Usually for NBN upload speeds, it’s fair to expect your speed to be within 5Mbps of the top possible speed on the plan – for example, an upload speed of 17Mbps on an NBN 50 plan (which offers upload speeds of 20Mbps) is usually about right. If your upload speed is well below the top speed, it’s worth finding out why:

• Devices connected to your home internet could be uploading without your knowledge, and causing slower speeds for other devices – try to disconnect devices to narrow down the culprit.
• Your router or modem-router could be faulty or not capable of providing faster upload speeds.
• Network congestion could be causing slower speeds – try uploading content outside of busy network periods (the busiest time is usually 7pm to 11pm).
• Your NBN connection type could be too slow for your uploading needs.