TPG vs iiNet: NBN plans compared

The world ain’t a stranger to epic rivalries. The Ashes cricket showdown. Sith vs Jedi. And now TPG vs iiNet. Okay, okay. Maybe the TPG vs iiNet NBN showdown isn’t as packed with feeling as those other two examples. But it is a Warrior-like battle between siblings with a clear winner. Let’s look at who comes out on top as the best NBN provider in the TPG vs iiNet brouhaha.

But first, here’s a look at the most popular NBN plans today from our comparison engine.

Like the Telstra vs Belong NBN showdown, all TPG and iiNet NBN fixed-line plans offer unlimited data, which covers most homes in Australia. And unlike the Belong vs Telstra NBN comparison, both TPG and iiNet offer plans from NBN 12 all the way up to NBN 100.

Here’s a look at effectively identical NBN 12 plans from iiNet and TPG.

For comparison, here’s a look at the most popular NBN 12 plans from our database.

And here are the NBN 25 plans from TPG and iiNet.

Compare those iiNet and TPG NBN 25 plans with the most popular ones below. At the time of writing, all TPG plans were cheaper than iiNet ones from NBN 25 and faster.

NBN 50 plans are the most popular ones in Australia. Here’s how the NBN 50 plans from TPG and iiNet look.

And for comparison, below are the most popular NBN 50 plans from our comparison engine.

For the fastest speeds available to most homes in Australia, consider an NBN 100 plan from iiNet or TPG.

Alternatively, here’s a daily updating snapshot of the most popular NBN 100 plans in our database.

For eligible Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) homes, TPG and iiNet also offer NBN 250 plans.

Compare those iiNet and TPG NBN 250 plans with the most popular ones from our database.

TPG and iiNet also offer NBN 1000 plans, which you can see below.

For comparison, check out the daily updating list of popular NBN 1000 plans from our comparison engine.

First up, have a gander at the side-by-side download and upload typical evening speeds for TPG and iiNet NBN.

No, those aren’t typos; they are, in fact, all identical. Whether you opt for an entry-level NBN 12 plan or speediest NBN 1000 plan from iiNet or TPG, you can expect the same typical evening download and upload speeds. Note that the speed disclaimer for iiNet and TPG is those in homes connected to the NBN via Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB), Fibre-to-the-Curb (FTTC) or Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN) technologies aren’t guaranteed those advertised speeds.

The comparison, then, comes down to price and inclusions, which is almost entirely dominated by TPG.

Both TPG and iiNet offer no-contract plans, which isn’t surprising given both providers are owned by TPG Telecom. Additionally, both NBN providers let you use pay-as-you-go calls. Alternatively, pay extra for a voice plan add-on. For TPG, it’s $10 for unlimited standard calls to landlines and mobiles; strangely, $10 for just unlimited standard national home phone calls; or $20 a month for national calls to home phones and mobiles, plus 15 countries.

iiNet charges $10 a month for an international call pack, which covers the “top 20 international destinations”. Because that doesn’t include national calls, you’re better off considering TPG if a landline phone is important to you. iiNet also lets you add a Fetch TV set-top box bundle from $5 a month (setup and delivery fees apply).

When it comes to TPG and iiNet modems, both providers let you bring your own NBN-compatible modem. Alternatively, iiNet and TPG can also send new sign-ups a TP-Link VX420-G2V modem-router. This TP-Link modem-router supports 4G backup, which iiNet specifically acknowledges in its documentation but TPG does not.

Qualitative support is difficult to determine because it can bounce between positive and negative based on individual experiences. Because of this, we focus on the number of support pathways. For TPG and iiNet, it’s almost identical, though iiNet has a slight lead.

Both iiNet and TPG offer customer forums, social media support, phone support and usage-monitoring apps. While neither provider has bricks-and-mortar stores, iiNet does offer online chat support while TPG does not.

TPG is the clear winner in almost every comparison, including price relative to the identical speeds offered by the two NBN providers. Consider iiNet, though, if you want more support pathways, 4G backup with your modem-router or the option to bundle Fetch TV.