As the cost of living remains stubbornly high, many Aussie households are looking for simple ways to save, and a good place to start is your home internet.

There’s been a whirlwind of price changes from small and major NBN providers, including Telstra, Optus, Aussie Broadband, Dodo, More Telecom and Tangerine. Finder’s utility bill statistics report found 17 out of 44 NBN providers in its database had shaken up their plans since October 2023.

It won’t be surprising if others make similar changes this year following NBN Co’s new pricing framework, which was put in place on December 1, 2023.

So, how are these changes impacting households?

The main move we’ve seen has been that NBN 50 plans are becoming more expensive - by $5-$11 per month. It’s the most popular speed tier - used by 44 per cent of Aussies.

The news comes as a big blow, given the price of everything else in our lives has gone up, from energy to groceries to insurance and mortgages.

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On the flipside, faster internet is becoming cheaper, in a way. NBN 100, the second-most-popular speed tier among Aussies, has seen a price cut from a few providers.

Interestingly, the price gap between an NBN 50 and an NBN 100 plan has fallen from an average of $17 a month to $9 a month.

So, you can now get download speeds that are twice as fast at a much smaller price difference. You may even see yourself leaning towards a faster internet plan.

But the caveat here is, do you even need faster speeds?

Finder research found that 28 per cent of Aussies experienced buffering internet weekly, if not daily. It could be your modem or router, or you have multiple folks at home using the internet simultaneously.

Usually, households of three-four people or more will be better off with an NBN 100 plan if they’re all carrying out online activities at the same time. For others, saving $9 a month, on average, or $108 over the year with an NBN 50 plan is still better than opting for speeds they don’t need.

How to save on your NBN plan and avoid the loyalty tax

Finder’s report also found households with an NBN 25, NBN 50 or NBN 100 plan were paying $1.2 billion in ‘loyalty tax’ - the cost of staying with your provider rather than shopping around for a better deal..

Here’s a look at how much people are spending, on average, for each speed tier compared to the cheapest plan as of December 2023.