Is 25/10Mbps Enough for a 2 Person Household?

sumtee23 on 10/10/2024 - 17:34
Last edited 10/10/2024 - 21:36 by 1 other user

Currently paying $69 for superloop 25/10 - which I'm aware isn't a great deal. Looking at my options and seeing 50/20 plans for a similar price but wondering if I should just look for cheap 25mbps plans. My internet has been struggling with multiple connections but I am unsure if this has to do with my router.

Is 25/10Mbps enough for me and my dad? I don't game, I watch a lot of youtube but nothing streaming at 4K, and just standard mobile app usage. Dad just watches youtube and scrolls on facebook and sportsbet, so I don't think we need the 50 and maybe just a router upgrade would help the slowness.

Any help or advice would be appreciated

Poll Options expired

  • 105
    Yes
  • 79
    No
Internet Broadband nbn

Comments

  • Hybroid on 10/10/2024 - 17:42
    +9

    I don't personally think that's sufficient, but everyone's different.

    You can get 100/20 for $59/month for 6 months: https://www.swoop.com.au/finder-deals/nbn-100/ - That's cheaper than 50/20 plans.

    25/10 would be about $10/month cheaper: https://moosemobile.com.au/nbn/

    • mortymorty on 10/10/2024 - 19:28

      I'm curious if you know if Finder uses CGNAT?

      • bio on 10/10/2024 - 20:13
        +2

        It's Swoop, Finder is the referral, and yes, it's CGNAT: https://www.swoop.com.au/blog/what-is-cgnat/

        • Drj55 on 11/10/2024 - 12:12

          I just found out about CG-NAT when I changed to Buddy. Super frustrating if you want to do anything mildly complex with your home system - security, cameras, NAT access, game systems. What a SNAFU this ipv4 to ipv6 transition is!!

          • bio on 11/10/2024 - 14:21

            @Drj55: You can use CloudFlare Tunnel to work around it, but yeah, it's very annoying.

          • rickdwp on 12/10/2024 - 16:13

            @Drj55: It's because ipv4 addresses are now like $50 each. But still with most providers you can opt out of cg-nat

        • snuke on 13/10/2024 - 11:44

          It says you can contact them to get out of CGNAT.

    • bio on 10/10/2024 - 20:13
      +1

      25/10 would be about $10/month cheaper: https://moosemobile.com.au/nbn/

      I'm on Flip 25 which is $39 for 5 months:

      https://www.flipconnect.com.au/cheap-nbn-plans

      If you are not utilising the extra speed there is no point paying more.

      • Ade99 on 11/10/2024 - 09:27
        +1

        Fubar is $49 pm for 25/10. with out a loss leader entry price and the associated need to churn every few months. So far been excellent and does everything it says on the proverbial tin….

    • shrugies on 10/10/2024 - 20:27
      +1

      For anyone curious,I think I saw 25/10 for $40 at Mate (6 months)

    • HeWhoKnows on 11/10/2024 - 18:05

      I think its more than enough.
      Ive been on a 25/8 plan since NBN began
      Same situation as OP.
      Works fine for streaming Netfilix/Stan/Amazon as well
      Really no need to fork out more.

      Check out Spintels plans
      I think you will find they offer better value

      eg Spintel NBN25 plan is $49 for first 6 months then $59.95 ongoing.
      Great customer service as well

      Thats already $20/mth cheaper for 6 mths and still $10/mth cheaper ongoing

  • scrimshaw on 10/10/2024 - 17:43
    +2

    Sounds like it would be enough if you are basic users. Most NBN plans are contract-free anyway (month to month) so it's not an issue if you find their speed / service lacking and want to move to a different provider afterwards or pick a faster plan.

    My internet has been struggling with multiple connections but I am unsure if this has to do with my router.

    Upload speeds are important too, if you are heavily using P2P (e.g gaming, Torrent / file transfer) or have cloud sync going on, most 25 megabit plans have pretty slow upload speeds (10 or 8mbps) and that might be why you're experiencing a bottleneck sometimes.

  • JimmyF on 10/10/2024 - 17:49
    +1

    25/8mbps enough for 2 person household?

    Yes, No, Maybe. It is all going to come down to what you are doing online. But from what you are saying if you're both consuming the data on mobile devices then you'll be ok, as the stream will be HD at best.

    My folks are on the same plan and they are totally OK with it, even when all the extra family rock up and jump on the wifi to Facebook/YouTube etc.

    But if you want to game, do 4k etc, or care how long something takes to load, then yes a faster plan might be better.

    • bio on 10/10/2024 - 20:16
      +1

      4K might be fine at 25mbps for one device. Not all providers stream at the highest quality possible:

      https://help.netflix.com/en/node/306

      • Ade99 on 11/10/2024 - 09:42
        +1

        Netflix would be around 3mps plus a few RING's and a TEAM's session all accommodated by a 25/10 plan.

  • ihfree on 10/10/2024 - 17:55
    +3

    IMO, should be fine - used to use 25/5 most of the time. Very occasionally there were issues were lag spikes gaming while someone else was streaming which were fixed by temporarily moving to 50/20.

  • morediscount on 10/10/2024 - 17:55

    I have used vodafones 25 NBN plan for 5years … its more than enough.. I have even used it for remote desktop

  • GordonD on 10/10/2024 - 18:12
    +5

    C'mon, this is OzBargain. No internet connection is fast enough. Unless you're getting it cheap, then it is.

    • Chris Topher on 11/10/2024 - 14:27
      +1

      I raise again my protest: Why is the median NBN cost ~$80/month?

      It is looking like $80 month is gunna appear to be cheap soon. :-(

  • sumyungguy on 10/10/2024 - 18:20
    -1

    You could try Flip 12/1 and if you hate it move up to 25/8. If we could flick a switch to try the different speeds most customers would choose cheaper plans; but the market has been cleverly segmented by NBN Co. Remember when city dwellers had cable - how many speed tiers were on offer then?

    • ihfree on 10/10/2024 - 18:54
      -1

      A bit of time on Launtel should allow trying out different speed tiers.

    • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 10/10/2024 - 23:06
      +2

      12/1 is absolutely useless in 2024. Don’t bother OP.

      • sumyungguy on 10/10/2024 - 23:39

        Have you tried it? For me, Flip 12/1 increased after 5 months from $39 to $47.90 so I returned to AGL 25/5 $54, worth it for the usable upload speed. Now increased to $59 which is no longer competitive.

      • TilacVIP on 12/10/2024 - 12:53

        Kinda agree, a tad faster than ADSL 2+

        • sumyungguy on 12/10/2024 - 13:12

          The 0.8 Mbps upload speed is not for everyone, but there's a saving out there for those prepared to subsist for 5 months at $39

      • rumblytangara on 12/10/2024 - 13:54

        Agreed. 1Mbps will choke as soon as you initiate a zoom or FaceTime call or, a game. It shouldn't be regarded as an option.

        • sumyungguy on 12/10/2024 - 14:06

          For the 5 months I was on 12/1 I don't recall any issues with FaceTime video; but I could have switched to mobile data seeing as many users like me are paying for more than we use. Zoom may be different but I don't use it. The thing I disliked about the throttled upload was how long it took to send emails with multimedia attachments; for which I would briefly hotspot my phone.

          • rumblytangara on 12/10/2024 - 15:00

            @sumyungguy: Resolution is going to thunk down to lower resolution, acceptable to some people but it's definitely a tradeoff. The only upload-dependent activity that won't be held back by that narrow a pipe is voice, where it's going to be latency sensitive rather than bandwidth.

            • sumyungguy on 12/10/2024 - 15:05
              +1

              @rumblytangara: I was prepared to try 12/1 for the low monthly fee, then upgrade if I hated it. Made it through the whole 5 months as it was largely acceptable for my use case: adult 1. streaming TV; adult 2. YouTube; adult 3. TikTok; no online gaming

  • mortymorty on 10/10/2024 - 19:29
    -3

    Not in my opinion.

    What an absolute joke that 25/8 is actually a product in 2024. Disgusting.

    • Ade99 on 11/10/2024 - 09:33
      +1

      With all on NBN's "efficiencies [sic] it takes about $30 to light a residential port leaving little margin for the 12/5 and 25/10 sector

    • hazzad on 11/10/2024 - 19:42
      +2

      Why exactly? If its not for you then there are plenty of higher tier plans for extra dollars you can choose from. Plenty of people arent after the highest speed plans. Just affordable always on unlimited internet. Ive dropped down to the FLip 25/10 plan for $39. Saving me $30/month. Seems fine so far. I can always use the extra speeds with downloads but can also deal with it to save $30/month to be honest.

      • mortymorty on 24/10/2024 - 19:36

        I'm not saying you shouldn't save some money. It's a joke that they're even selling plans this slow. NBN is garbage but apparently they've successfully gaslit Australians into not expecting better.

        But our priorities are digging coal and selling off anything the government owns so we got what we deserve. See how that goes for us in the future.

  • plmko on 10/10/2024 - 19:33

    If everyone is just doing stuff on mobile apps then yes.

  • frondono on 10/10/2024 - 19:44

    Felix mobile in a 4g router?

    • c64 on 10/10/2024 - 20:01

      felix have a very limited approved device list. no 4g router is going to be on it. and the unlimited data plan is capped at 20Mbps so the OP would be going backwards

      • frondono on 10/10/2024 - 21:20
        +1

        Might be enough for the basics, even hotspotting off a phone/old phone and a fair bit cheaper.

      • Ade99 on 12/10/2024 - 08:21

        Assuming you live in an area with good line of sight view of a tower then you may get 20Mps….NBN is the only option for many, especially when bandwidth gets throttled during busy times

  • neoleo on 10/10/2024 - 22:53

    According to Google Support about Youtube:
    https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/78358?hl=en

    Recommended sustained speed for HD1080p YouTube video is 5 Mbps. So in theory, 2 people at the same time need at least 10 Mbps for playing YouTube videos.

    My internet has been struggling with multiple connections but I am unsure if this has to do with my router.

    Peak hours and off peak hours may have different speed because more people use internet during peak hours. This is why using internet after midnight for example is faster than evening for example. Many people like to watch Netflix, YouTube etc. after work hours that consume a lot more bandwidth than just reading news or browsing Ozbargain for example.

    Opening a browser with a lot of YouTube videos in many tabs may also slow down the speed unless if the tabs don't reload at the same time (use extension for this).

    Using adblocker in devices and router can block ads, trackers, malware, etc. that could help in bandwidth use. People can use for example Adguard app (paid) or NextDNS (free for personal use) in phones, laptops, tablets, and even normal routers (dns). Certain websites that are infected with crypto/coin mining malware could slow down your devices. You should also scan for malware, virus, spyware in your devices with antivirus and antimalware like Malwarebytes.

    • neoleo on 11/10/2024 - 00:02

      Also as additional, buy sim card like Amaysim or Boost Mobile with 100% or almost 100% cashback and big data and faster speed usually (up to 100 or 150 Mbps). You can put it in a dual sim card phone or in an old phone for example

      So, a wifi router connected with the NBN as main internet and a sim card with cashback as additional/backup.

      • Ade99 on 11/10/2024 - 09:36

        Dual sim a great idea unless the area you live gets terrible congestion slowing speed below 5mps…:-(

        • neoleo on 12/10/2024 - 15:42

          I guess you use Vodafone network? Try Optus network maybe better there.

  • mike6969 on 11/10/2024 - 07:39

    Yes it's enough

  • bbinc on 11/10/2024 - 07:53
    +2

    I usually have 50/20 and it's fine, dropped to 25/10 FTTP to try it. Two, 1 Mac, 2 TVs and it's ok. The difference I notice is watching streaming, the picture quality suffers for a few moments every now and then with buffering, but it doesn't pause completely.

  • singingwolf on 11/10/2024 - 09:08
    -1

    With RING cameras and teams video calls, 100/40 was the min. I could use.

    • Ade99 on 11/10/2024 - 09:38
      +2

      Running several RING's off 25/10 service plus a few WFH days with heavy TEAM's sessions with no issues

    • hazzad on 11/10/2024 - 19:44

      Why on earth would you need 100/40 for ring camera? Surely you dont have them streaming 24/7 do you? You only need to check them on odd occasions. Even teams shouldnt be that bandwidth hungry. You should get away with 50/20 for that kind of thing imo.

      • Ade99 on 12/10/2024 - 08:25

        50/20 would be more than enough with such a load…..

        • firecall on 12/10/2024 - 15:29

          Depends, maybe?

          If you had Rings cameras on a subscription, so they saved video to the cloud, and they were positioned such that they were constantly detecting activity, then yes, with other network activity, I think you could very well saturate a 40Mbps upload link!

          If you didn't have a router with decent QoS, then it's entirely possible that a Zoom connection or similar could deteriorate in such conditions!

          Chuck in some cloud backups, Onedrive, Google or iCloud Synching and so on, and we've got ourselves a network congestion stew cookin' :-D

          • hazzad on 13/10/2024 - 08:59

            @firecall: But in reality how often is that all happening at once?

  • Butterchurner on 11/10/2024 - 09:13

    Why not ask your ISP to trial a higher speed and see how it affects your experience?

  • Msfrugal on 11/10/2024 - 09:40

    Definitely. 7 people in our house only had that before NBN finally came to our area. Never a problem streaming Netflix etc on 3-4 tvs at same time.

  • sammm on 11/10/2024 - 09:53
    -1

    Try WhistleOut https://www.whistleout.com.au/

    independent comparing plans

  • AlienC on 11/10/2024 - 11:33

    50/20 was the sweetspot for me and my housemate. But we are both gamers and I consider myself a pretty heavy user from time to time so the extra bandwidth is nice every now and then when i need it but we could easily get by with 25/10 if we had to but the little luxury is nice.

    For just Netflix or youtube days and nights 25/10 would suit us very easily for example but for say big game updates or os patches etc the extra 25 download really means a lot in less wasted time so honestly it is nice.

    Thanks to TPG free 12-18 month upgrade speed trial promotion they gave us we get to experience 100/20 for a limited time now I just remembered and honestly being able to use roughly 85-86 download speed is pretty nice.. Might even consider upgrading to it when the promotional period stops or ends.

    Time is money and having more time in the day to do other stuff really means a lot to me and is starting to add up for me so paying extra for less wait times is slowly becoming a nice luxury for me personally and it also helps when we have guests or others stay around the house for that buffer bandwidth.

    But yeah honestly for your use case I would just get the cheap 25/10 if you can find it.. Or maybe both switch to that unlimited Felix mobile plan each and hotspot to it when you need it for your computers and devices. Might end up cheaper since it will double as your mobile plan but just means things at home can't stay connected when you are not at home. But could work for you if you don't leave anything running at home requiring non stop connectivity.

  • CaptainSizzle on 12/10/2024 - 05:06
    +1

    No, your router is not the bottleneck. No need to replace it.

    Always worth checking your wifi to see if it is using channels that conflict with your neighbours.

  • letmecry on 12/10/2024 - 13:58

    No. Why not try kogan? You can get 50mps with the same price + $10 off for 6 months.

    I used to hop around and sick off remind myself to switch after the promotion period is expired.

  • turk182 on 12/10/2024 - 14:23

    Is that a connection for Ants??

  • Herbse on 12/10/2024 - 14:39

    That's ADSL speeds?

  • kaleidoscope on 12/10/2024 - 15:10

    No. But everyone has different needs, there is no harm in trying that speed and upgrade to next tier based on needs.

    Your router is more than capable of handling that speed. Its most likely something else such as wifi interference or poor reception. Why don’t you try this. Transfer a large file between 2 computers connected to the router (wifi / ethernet cable) and you can get an idea of the wifi reliability

  • firecall on 12/10/2024 - 15:24

    For YouTube, I'll say yes, it is!

    YouTube is very good, IMHO, at adjusting quality to serve you video based on your connection speed!

    Even for gaming, it's the latency that will get you, not bandwidth. AKA LAG!!!!

    Although downloading those massive Steam and Epic updates is a pain on slower connections…

    Some streaming services can buffer and suck even on decent connections I've found. Looking at you Binge!

    So yeah, go for it!

    At the worst, you'll have to tolerate it for a month, and then bump up to a 50 plan again.

    NBN should not be so bloody expensive!

  • lonewolf on 12/10/2024 - 15:37

    I wouldnt bother with 25/10 unless you are one person with no requirements besides a laptop and a phone for browsing the net and social media videos etc. While people can post that streaming sites work, they also need to realise, streaming sites have formulas in place to lower the quality of streaming as much as possible to work within the bandwidth you can provide. At least thats my understanding of what they used to do, so basically that means you may not be getting the best quality you can via streaming especially if at the same time some of your other devices are being used or your dad is using stuff.

    Dont forget there are all sorts of devices that use the internet these days for auto updating or even some apps that may connect to the internet in the background. All of this adds up . Its always good to also have some extra leeway in bandwidth so you are never at the max.

  • gromit on 12/10/2024 - 16:32

    For your use case it is more than enough with plenty of bandwidth to spare. Most are really quite clueless at how little bandwidth they use, unless you are downloading large files and games or into content creation or needing to do teams/zoom video calls then you won't come close to hitting your limit. However given how cheap some of the larger plans are you may find some great deals at higher bandwidth for little or nothing extra.

  • rickdwp on 12/10/2024 - 16:41
    +2

    and scrolls on facebook and sportsbet

    Oh dear

  • India pale ale on 12/10/2024 - 17:00

    Have you considered using the 5g internet

    I have shifted from NBN to Vodafone 5g and the speed is amazing, I pay around $60 for a very fast internet

    The main reason to change after 10 years was the ugly nbn box installed in the living room as a piece of Art

  • ilikedeals on 12/10/2024 - 19:34

    It is sufficient.
    I have tried 25/10 with 4 people at home - regular browsing/emails/YouTube and even Netflix - no speed issues.
    One even did some gaming..
    Anything more than that you'd be looking at 50/20..

    As also mentioned above, I've tried the Optus $89 month to month plan with 500GB of data (currently $69/month) and their 5G network far outperforms the 25/10 or 50/20 NBN options out there. Something to consider..

  • sntc on 12/10/2024 - 21:43

    25/10Mbps should be enough.
    We just need to find the bottleneck.

    What's your router model?
    What phone model do you and your dad use?
    If you use smart tv, what's the model?
    What result do you get here - https://www.waveform.com/tools/bufferbloat?test-id=2590a29e-…

    Also, use wifi analyser app to check if your area is crowded with wifi signals, all using the common channels, which you can manually change to something less used in the router settings.

    The we can guide you accordingly.

    • sntc on 13/10/2024 - 12:15

      And you are better off if you use wifi ac i.e 5ghz instead of wifi n i.e 2.4ghz, you will have faster response.

      As more and more contents are loaded and their sizes increases, better to have 50/20 Mbps with router that supports wifi ac and faster phones (some cheap phone are slow and come with wifi n only) as well.

  • jingy on 12/10/2024 - 23:46

    Recently we signed up to the Flip 25nbn deal and yes it’s sufficient for our two person household, but it’s not ideal. Sometimes I’m watching some YouTube and my partner’s crunchyroll stream starts to slow and buffer. Doesn’t happen often but enough that we are thinking of increasing the speed back up to 50

  • SpicyStew on 13/10/2024 - 08:18

    your dad is old and can't do all nighters anymore so thats your opportunity to seize full bandwidth.
    some isp offer extended bandwidth during off-peak times.

    you can also setup a local cache server like squid to go further

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