Mate NBN review

• Cheap access to NBN 100
• Mobile bundles chip off another $10
• No caps or contracts

Here's the thing: providers like Tangerine and Spintel are constantly topping our picks for the best NBN plans. But that's because they have regular six-month discounts on their plans, meaning you pay extra after the first six months as a customer. MATE's Premium NBN plans are cheap without any caveats; when you sign up, you'll pay the same amount for the life of the plan. It gets even cheaper if you want to bundle one of MATE's SIM-only mobile plans, which offers some great data-per-dollar value on the Telstra network.

If there's one downside to MATE's Premium plan, it's the 20Mbps cap on uploads (rather than 40Mbps), but that's not exclusive to MATE, a lot of providers are following the same trend, including Telstra and Vodafone.

Outside of NBN speeds, there's not much else to weigh up with MATE's internet plans, as they all come with no contract, no setup fees, no data caps, and no bloody nonsense.

There are cheaper NBN plans out there if you want the bare minimum, but the overall saving won't be significant enough to justify what you miss out on (e.g., unlimited data, no contract, etc.). You can compare above some of the  cheapest NBN plans available.

And below, you can compare some MATE's internet plans. See some popular NBN 50 and NBN 100 plans that MATE NBN offer.

MATE Communicate was well received by customers when the telco first landed on the scene back in 2015. It managed to maintain that goodwill with customers, holding a 4.5 out of 5 average rating (from 2,030 customers) on Product Review.

In terms of support options, there's not much MATE doesn't have. There's live chat on the website, active social accounts on Twitter and Facebook, phone support, and the ability to self serve online. The only two things MATE is missing are physical store locations (which are going the way of the dinosaurs anyway) and a usage monitoring/billing app.

The only broadband provider in Australia with MATE's ticket is the ocker-sounding Aussie Broadband, which sits at the same 4.5 out of 5 score from more customer reviews (3,759).

Here's a short glimpse at Aussie Broadband's current suite of plans ranked by popularity.

• Bundle discount
• 'Mates Rates' program
• No mobile broadband
• No Home Wireless

We're off to a pretty glowing start in our analysis, so let's take a step back and get the not-so-good stuff out of the way about MATE internet plans.

Firstly, MATE Communicate doesn't offer any mobile broadband or pocket WiFi deals. It's not a dealbreaker for most, but if you regularly travel for work, or need more data outside the house, there are better options out there that serve that very purpose.

Second, MATE doesn't offer any of the perks you find with big-name providers like Telstra and Optus, no cheap movie tickets, unmetered streaming, no TV bundles. Nothing like that. However, you are instantly signed up to 'Mates Rates' when you become a MATE customer, offering discounts and deals with a variety of partners like HelloFresh, Appliances Online and Naked Wines.

If you came looking for mobile broadband plans or home wireless, you won't find them here, but for the sake of convenience, we've rounded up some of this week's most wireless broadband plans below.

Lastly, MATE offers home phone bundles if that's still a requirement for you. Adding a home phone jacks the price up a bit, but it might be a price worth paying for some.

If you're looking to bundle your home phone and internet together, MATE adds a cherry on top by offering a $20 discount off your monthly internet bill if you bundle NBN plan and home phone together.

Now that you know what we think of MATE's NBN offering, take a look for yourself. Below is a list of NBN plans currently offered by MATE.