How to compare broadband deals

In this guide

How do I choose the right broadband deal?

The things you should consider when looking for a broadband deal suited to your home:

Speed – How many megabits per second (Mbps) you need to keep the house running smoothly

– How many megabits per second (Mbps) you need to keep the house running smoothly Availability – Where you live affects the speed you can receive and the connection you can get. Use our postcode checker to find out what's available near you.

– Where you live affects the speed you can receive and the connection you can get. Use our postcode checker to find out what's available near you. Usage – Most deals are unlimited, but some households with low usage could save a little money on a limited package

– Most deals are unlimited, but some households with low usage could save a little money on a limited package Price – How much can you afford? What up-front charges will you have to pay?

– How much can you afford? What up-front charges will you have to pay? Contract length – How long will you be tied in with your new provider?

– How long will you be tied in with your new provider? Offers – It's almost always better to pick a deal that's offering cashback, gifts or other rewards

– It's almost always better to pick a deal that's offering cashback, gifts or other rewards Bundles – The best TV providers by far are Sky and Virgin Media

– The best TV providers by far are Sky and Virgin Media Terms – There are some good reasons why it's a good idea to know the basics of your contract

You can use the filtering tools on the left of the page to dial in your preferences for all of the things we've just mentioned. If money is your main concern, we have a dedicated page rounding up the cheapest broadband deals available.

The best broadband deals in September 2020

We've compiled and hand-picked the very best deals on offer right now to save you time and money.

Virgin Media Big Bundle 108Mb average speed 105+ channels Inclusive calls Free set-up £29 .99 p/m Zero one-off cost Get Deal

TalkTalk Superfast Fibre Broadband 67Mb average speed Unlimited usage PAYG calls Free upgrade £24 p/m Zero one-off cost Get Deal

Sky Broadband Superfast 59Mb average speed Unlimited usage PAYG calls Save £36 £25 p/m £9 .95 one-off cost Get Deal



Compare all broadband deals

Latest broadband deals in September 2020

Virgin Media M50 Fibre Broadband + Weekend Calls 54Mb average speed Unlimited usage Inclusive calls Total saving: £146 £26 p/m Zero one-off cost Get Deal

BT Fibre Essential 36Mb average speed Unlimited usage PAYG calls £24 .99 p/m £19 .99 one-off cost Get Deal

Sky Broadband Essential 11Mb average speed Unlimited usage PAYG calls £22 p/m £9 .95 one-off cost Get Deal

TalkTalk Fast Broadband 11Mb average speed Unlimited usage PAYG calls £22 .95 p/m Zero one-off cost Get Deal

Plusnet Unlimited Broadband 10Mb average speed Unlimited usage PAYG calls £18 .99 p/m £18 .99 one-off cost Get Deal



Which broadband providers are the best for broadband deals?

Choosing a broadband provider can often come down to whoever's offering the best deal, or offering exactly what we're looking for. To help you make that choice here are our most popular providers, along with what separates them from the crowd:

Virgin Media – Look out for bill credits (between £50 and £150), price discounts, free gifts (less often) and free installation. Virgin Media usually run these offers as limited flash deals that last between three days and a week. 12 month contract lengths are a bonus

– Look out for bill credits (between £50 and £150), price discounts, free gifts (less often) and free installation. Virgin Media usually run these offers as limited flash deals that last between three days and a week. 12 month contract lengths are a bonus BT – BT broadband isn't the cheapest, but it can be very competitive when it has a sale on or is offering cashback. Look out for price discounts, vouchers from M&S, Amazon and BT Reward cards usually between £50 and £120. Watch out for long contract lengths

– BT broadband isn't the cheapest, but it can be very competitive when it has a sale on or is offering cashback. Look out for price discounts, vouchers from M&S, Amazon and BT Reward cards usually between £50 and £120. Watch out for long contract lengths TalkTalk – Of the bigger, more popular providers TalkTalk is the one most aimed at those on a budget. TalkTalk offer a cheap monthly price, combined with gift cards (usually on fibre broadband products) for popular retailers including Amazon, Tesco and Argos

– Of the bigger, more popular providers TalkTalk is the one most aimed at those on a budget. TalkTalk offer a cheap monthly price, combined with gift cards (usually on fibre broadband products) for popular retailers including Amazon, Tesco and Argos Plusnet: Yorkshire-based Plusnet is best known for its customer service, for which it has won a mountain of awards. It also offers broadband, broadband-only and basic broadband and TV bundle deals

Yorkshire-based Plusnet is best known for its customer service, for which it has won a mountain of awards. It also offers broadband, broadband-only and basic broadband and TV bundle deals Sky – Sky can't match Virgin Media's broadband for speed, but it arguably beats it when it comes to bundled TV options. If you love TV, are looking for a bundle, and don't need Virgin Media's upper speeds, Sky is a good choice

To find out more about the other providers featured on Cable.co.uk, take a look out our broadband providers page.

What types broadband deals are there?

There are three types of broadband available in the UK right now:

ADSL

ADSL is broadband that uses copper telephone wire throughout its entire journey between your house and the telephone exchange. Copper is less ideal for carrying a broadband signal than fibre optic cable, providing a maximum speed of around 18Mbps. ADSL is fast enough for a small household of 1-2 people, but it may struggle with three or more people using the internet at the same time.

Fibre

The term 'superfast' is defined by Ofcom (the UK telecoms regulator) as (fibre) broadband with a speed between 30Mbps and 299Mbps. Currently, most fibre broadband deals widely available in the UK offer speeds in this range. Superfast broadband is enough for most households, with basic superfast packages enough for households of up to four internet users. Faster packages are recommended if there are gamers in the house or you have a 4K TV.

Cable

Ultrafast broadband is defined as any broadband connection with a speed of 300Mbps or greater. Gigabit broadband refers to a connection with a speed of 1,000Mbps, so while you might call a gigabit connection 'ultrafast', not all ultrafast connections are a gigabit. Virgin Media is the only widely available provider to offer speeds in this range. However, there are very few cases where such speeds are necessary.

Broadband with bundles and add-ons

Some providers will allow you to bundle a TV package or even a mobile SIM or two with your broadband, which can save you a lot of money. Here are a few different types of deal available:

Broadband only deals – With one of these, just like it says, you'll get broadband and nothing else. Not even a phone line. Be aware, though that you will need a phone line with a calling contract from another provider in most cases. Virgin Media is the exception – it offers true broadband-only in the sense you do not even need a phone line

– With one of these, just like it says, you'll get broadband and nothing else. Not even a phone line. Be aware, though that you will need a phone line with a calling contract from another provider in most cases. Virgin Media is the exception – it offers true broadband-only in the sense you do not even need a phone line TV and broadband bundles – Some providers will let you bundle a TV package with your broadband. These commonly offer hundreds of additional TV channels. The best TV offerings are from Sky and Virgin Media, with BT a fairly distant third place. Other providers mostly offer Freeview channels with a few bolt-ons, their main draw being the set-top box they offer. These allow you to pause, rewind and record live TV

– Some providers will let you bundle a TV package with your broadband. These commonly offer hundreds of additional TV channels. The best TV offerings are from Sky and Virgin Media, with BT a fairly distant third place. Other providers mostly offer Freeview channels with a few bolt-ons, their main draw being the set-top box they offer. These allow you to pause, rewind and record live TV Broadband and phone deals – You'll find few broadband deals where the broadband is all you get (so-called 'broadband-only'). At the very least you will usually get a landline with the deal, to which you can almost always add a calling package (free weekend calls, evenings and so on)

– You'll find few broadband deals where the broadband is all you get (so-called 'broadband-only'). At the very least you will usually get a landline with the deal, to which you can almost always add a calling package (free weekend calls, evenings and so on) No contract broadband deals – Some broadband providers will allow you to sign up to a one-month rolling contract that won't tie you in for a year or more as is generally the norm. Beware, though that such deals often come with higher up-front costs than broadband deals with contracts

Broadband speeds explained

What is broadband speed?

The number of 'megabits per second', represented by a number followed by either 'Mb' or the full 'Mbps' determine how fast you can move information from the internet to the devices in your home. The more Mbps, the faster you can do it.

The speed you choose matters a great deal. If you choose a deal that's not fast enough you're going to experience problems when everyone in your household wants to be online. Too fast, and you're probably paying more than you need to.

To check what broadband speed you're getting right now, you can use our broadband speed checker tool.

What broadband speed do I need?

An easy rule of thumb is to allow 10Mbps for every internet user in your household, doubling it to 20Mbps for each person who is a gamer, has a 4K TV and streams 4K content. This will give you a decent ballpark figure to work to.

Read our What broadband speed do I need? guide.

What do the advertised 'average' broadband speeds mean?

Depending on where you live, the connection supplied may be faster or slower than the advertised average. This number is the overall average measured by the provider from a large number of customers spread around the country,

Why do the broadband speeds offered vary?

The speed you ultimately get may depend on your distance from your nearest cabinet and telephone exchange, and the state of the cables connecting you. Averages vary due to the mix of customer locations they are worked out from.

Limited vs unlimited broadband

A limited broadband deal sets a limit on the amount of data you can download to the devices in your home each month. We're used to seeing data limits on our mobiles, but limited data broadband deals are rare.

An unlimited broadband deal sets no such limit. You can use the internet as much as you like. Our advice is to avoid limited plans and choose an unlimited deal. That way you'll simply never have to worry about it.

Activities with the greatest impact on your broadband usage

Streaming video (Netflix, iPlayer etc.): A modern high definition TV requires between 5-8Mbps to stream in its preferred resolution (HD). A very new 4K TV needs 20-25Mbps to stream at 4K resolution

A modern high definition TV requires between 5-8Mbps to stream in its preferred resolution (HD). A very new 4K TV needs 20-25Mbps to stream at 4K resolution Large family or shared accommodation: The more people sharing the same broadband connection, the faster it's going to need to be to keep up

The more people sharing the same broadband connection, the faster it's going to need to be to keep up Gaming: Playing games online actually requires very little in terms of internet speed. But downloading and updating can take up your whole connection for significant periods of time

Playing games online actually requires very little in terms of internet speed. But downloading and updating can take up your whole connection for significant periods of time Multiple devices: If people in your household all have their own mobile, smart TV, computer, tablet, games console and so on, all these devices each require their own chunk of the available speed

If people in your household all have their own mobile, smart TV, computer, tablet, games console and so on, all these devices each require their own chunk of the available speed Video calls: Video calling apps such as Facetime and Skype will generally use the best quality video they can unless told otherwise. This can take up a sizeable chunk of your internet connection

If you want the best bang for your buck you need look no further than our roundup of cheap broadband deals.

What else do I need to know?

Here's a quick round up of the leftover bits and bobs you may need to help you choose the right broadband deal:

Contract length

Contract length can be important, especially if you enjoy switching broadband to find a better deal. Most broadband contracts – outside of no-contract deals – are at least a year, so bear in mind that if you want to leave during that time you're going to incur a penalty. This often means paying off every remaining monthly payment on the contract.

Freebies and offers

The best time to sign up to a new broadband deal is pretty much always going to be when the provider is offering you something extra. Enticements to new customers come in the form of cashback, shopping vouchers (e.g. Marks & Spencer, Amazon and so on), free gifts (usually a games console, TV, smart home device or something similar), or simply a sizeable reduction in the monthly cost of the broadband.

Choose a deal whose freebies appeal to you the most, but if at all possible avoid deals that offer you no incentive for signing up.

Free installation

Depending on whether you already have a phone line installed, some providers will charge a sizeable chunk to get you connected. If you'd rather avoid upfront installation costs look for deals marked with either a low (£5-£10) or non-existent (zero) set-up cost.

Read our provider reviews

If you've seen a deal you fancy, but you're not sure how good the provider is, have a look at our broadband provider reviews where we weigh up all of the pros and cons.

Compare broadband packages

Frequently asked questions What is broadband? Broadband the name given to describe the connection between the device you’re using and the internet. It allows you to stream your favourite shows, be social on social media or do the online grocery shop. What types of broadband are there? ADSL stands for asymmetric digital subscriber line and uses copper wires to transfer data from your internet provider into your home through your telephone line. Fibre, also known as superfast, uses fibre optic cables to transfer data into your home from your provider. It’s much faster than copper wire and has speeds between 30Mbps and 299Mbps. Cable is similar to fibre but it’s much, much faster with speeds of 300Mbps or more. It’s known as ultrafast broadband and Virgin Media is the most commonly available provider. What broadband speed do I need? Generally speaking, the faster the broadband the more you can do online regardless of how many people are connected. That said, you should allow for 10Mbps for each person in the house that uses the internet at the very least. You need at least 1.5Mbps – 3Mbps for standard streaming services like BBC iPlayer or All 4. If there are gamers or household members who streams 4K (ultra-high definition) films and TV shows, you should double their allowance. Who is the best broadband provider? The best internet service provider is entirely dependent on what’s important to you. We’ve had a look at speed, reliability and price. Speed – Virgin Media has some of the fastest internet speeds in the UK. Reliability – EE and Sky have fewer complaints than any other broadband provider according to Ofcom’s latest telecoms report. Price – although cheap deals change week to week, SSE, Plusnet, TalkTalk and NOW Broadband offer some of the most competitive deals. Are there any restrictions for switching broadband? You can switch your broadband supplier any time you want if your contract has ended. If you leave before the end of the contract, you’ll have to pay a fee and this varies with each provider. If you have a problem with your internet provider such as an unexpected price hike or consistently low speeds, you may be able to get out of the contract early. Our broadband cancellation guide will help you out. How do I know if my broadband contract has ended? Your internet service provider will send you an of contract notification by email, text or letter 10-40 days before your contract ends. Broadband providers are required by Ofcom to notify their customers when their contract is coming to an end. This includes: The date the contract ends

How much you pay for the service you have

What you’ll have to pay after the contract ends

What their best deals and prices are, including those only available to new customers

The notice period required to end the contract

Go back to deals