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Tangerine internet review
Our verdict: Tangerine stands out for offering some of the cheapest plans on Finder, to the extent that it won Best Budget NBN Provider in the 2023 Finder Awards.
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2023 Finder Awards
Winner: Best Budget NBN Provider Highly commended: Best NBN Provider - Everyday Use & Fast Speeds
If you want to access the NBN on a budget, then our pick for the best budget NBN provider is Tangerine. It's a well-rounded performer, also coming in highly commended for everyday use and fast speeds.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
Tangerine offers fast speed NBN plans that are some of the cheapest on Finder. They may not come with too many bells and whistles but they also won't make a massive dent on your monthly budget.
Tangerine could be right for you if:
You're looking for fast NBN 25 or NBN 50 plans. Tangerine offers the maximum speeds available on these NBN tiers.
You're after an affordable and simple NBN plan. Tangerine cuts $15-$30 off each month for the first 6 months of your plan if you're a new customer.
You want to keep using your home phone. Tangerine offers unlimited standard calls in Australia for an extra $10 a month.
However, Tangerine may not be for you if:
High speeds matter to you. Tangerine's NBN 100 and NBN 250 plans offer slightly slower speeds compared to other providers. If you live in a household of 4 or more, you may find faster speeds elsewhere.
Tangerine's 6-month discounts make its NBN plans some of the cheapest on the market. After the discount runs out, Tangerine isn't the lowest cost provider but its prices are still strong.
Good to know: After Tangerine's 6-month promotional period, its plans cost about $5-$20 less than the average NBN plan on Finder for its respective speed tiers.
Tangerine's plans come with no setup fee and the option to BYO modem to cut down on upfront costs.
If you don't already have a modem, you can also buy one from Tangerine for an additional $139.90, which is about $40 above the average price of a modem when you purchase it from a provider.
Things to watch out for:
Its NBN 250 plan is one of the cheapest in its category, but its speeds are nothing special. Paying an extra $5-10 a month could get you speeds much closer to the maximum of 250Mbps.
Tangerine only offers 1 mobile broadband plan, launched in April 2023, but it offers good value for money and a generous data cap. Just like its NBN plans, it has a 6-month discount, saving you $5 a month off the regular price. After the discount runs out, Tangerine is still the lowest cost for the amount of data provided.
Tangerine is 1 of only 3 providers that offer 5G mobile broadband with a 400GB data cap, and is one of the highest available.
Good to know: Tangerine's mobile broadband plan comes to an average of $0.16 per GB, which is great compared to a benchmark of $3 per GB.
Tangerine's mobile broadband plan comes with no lock-in contract. It uses parts of Telstra's 5G, 4G and 3G mobile network, but you need a 5G ready device and need to be in a 5G ready area to take advantage of higher speeds. The speed is capped though at 250Mbps on 4G and 5G.
Things to watch out for:
If you use all your monthly data allowance, you will not be able to use your service until the start of your next billing period. So you'll need to keep a close eye on your data usage.
You can only use your mobile broadband data service within Australia. International roaming is not available with this service.
Performance
There's no official way to judge Tangerine's performance as it isn't included in the ACCC report for broadband performance.
Tangerine self reports the following speeds during the busiest hours of the day (7-11pm):
NBN 25: 25Mbps
NBN 50: 50Mbps
NBN 100: 92Mbps
NBN 250: 200Mbps
NBN 1000: Unavailable
Based on typical evening speeds alone, we can assume you will get fast speeds on its NBN 25 and NBN 50 plans since Tangerine offers the maximum speed available on these tiers.
However, its NBN 100 and NBN 250 plans don't stack up as well against other providers, many of which offer faster typical evening speeds. With a typical evening speed unavailable for their NBN 1000 plan, it means they don't have enough data to calculate this yet.
Customer service
Tangerine makes it easy to reach its customer and technical support teams:
Customer support is available Monday to Friday from 8:30am-7pm AEST and Saturday from 9am-6pm AEST
Its technical support team is available for slightly longer hours - 7am-12am AEST on weekdays and 8am-8pm AEST on weekends
Get the choice between live chat or WhatsApp, though WhatsApp replies could be delayed
Leave a message through its online form
Login to your Self Care Portal to send any enquiries
Bonus features
Tangerine's NBN plans aren't feature packed but you do get:
💰 Referral bonus
You'll get a $25 credit on your account if you refer a friend and they sign up to a Tangerine NBN plan.
☎️ Home phone line
Pay an additional $10 a month to add a home phone line to your NBN plan. It includes unlimited local, national and mobile calls within Australia.
Consider whether you actually need to use your home phone if you already have a mobile plan with unlimited calls and texts. Remember, if the NBN goes down in an outage, so will your home phone.
Which rivals are giving Tangerine a run for its money?
Tangerine has a lot of value to offer, especially for NBN 25 and NBN 50 plans. However, there are other providers offering more on other speed tiers.
For more cheap deals:
SpinTel offers sign-up discounts too that are comparable with Tangerine, only with slightly faster speeds. It also comes with no setup fee and the option to BYO modem.
For more perks: If you don't mind paying $10 to $20 per month more, Aussie Broadband offers customisable NBN plans that come with fast speeds and award-winning local customer support. It also has plans optimised for gamers and seniors.
For big brand energy:
If you're more comfortable signing up to a household name, TPG offers decently priced NBN plans with similar speeds to Tangerine. It also comes with a cheaper modem and the option to add a home phone line to any of its plans.
Ready to sign up to Tangerine?
Signing up to Tangerine is straightforward once you've decided on an NBN plan that works best for you.
Simply click the green 'Go to site' button in our comparison table, enter your address and follow the sign up instructions.
What if I'm moving house? All you have to do is select the date when you want your NBN plan to be activated during the sign up process. Keep in mind it can take from 1 day to 3 weeks. For an indicative timeframe, just enter your address on Tangerine's website or speak to its customer service team for more information.
Make sure to give your current provider a heads up in case there's a notice period. You don't want to be stuck paying for 2 internet plans at the same time.
We've researched and reviewed hundreds of internet plans to make our guides as helpful as possible. Our expertise is highlighted across numerous TV, print and digital media appearances.
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SPONSORED: Upgrade your internet before the end of 2023 and get ahead on your life admin! We take a look at some of the benefits of a faster internet connection.
Mariam Gabaji is an editor and tech and utilities expert at Finder with over 11+ years of experience in print and digital media. Her main goal is to help households cut through the industry jargon and save money on their household bills. Her expertise is often featured in media including the ABC, Yahoo Finance, 9News, 7News, A Current Affair, The Guardian, SBS and Money Magazine.
SPONSORED: Upgrade your internet before the end of 2023 and get ahead on your life admin! We take a look at some of the benefits of a faster internet connection.
Hi Saviour,
Tangerine does allow you to BYO modem, but it must be compatible with your NBN technology type. You also must be capable of configuring the modem you BYO yourself. The modem you had with iiNet should be also able to connect on a Tangerine plan, but you would have to confirm directly with them that this is indeed the case and also that it’s not locked to iiNet.
Hope this helps.
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Can I use my existing IInet NBN modem?
Hi Saviour,
Tangerine does allow you to BYO modem, but it must be compatible with your NBN technology type. You also must be capable of configuring the modem you BYO yourself. The modem you had with iiNet should be also able to connect on a Tangerine plan, but you would have to confirm directly with them that this is indeed the case and also that it’s not locked to iiNet.
Hope this helps.
How does one find out if the internet providers you are suggesting provide multi email address email services?
Hi Leo,
We had a look at which email providers still provide free email addresses and if you still even need them: https://www.finder.com.au/tpg-ditch-email-2023
Hope this helps.
Fixed Wireless NBN Broadband was scheduled to be activated in my area on 1 Aug 2016 – PC 3882. Rollout Region ID: 3BAI-51-12-NICO
I have signed up with Tangerine Telecom.
My question is, why are they not listed as a provider on the list that appears for my region?
I notice that Southern Phone also do not appear in the list.
Hi Mike,
Our provider list in the nbn tracker is in the progress of being updated. Thanks for your comment.
Cheers,
Brodie