Your guide to broadband packages
Dan Howdle
There are a decent number of people who know exactly what they want out of a new broadband deal, and exactly how to find it using our broadband comparison tools. For others, it's just a dizzying array of providers, packages, options, and speed numbers for which you have no point of reference. Which provider should you choose? Which speed? And how do you know? We have all the details.
In this guide
Broadband providers
Each provider attempts to find its own space in the market by angling their products in a specific way and with a specific aim. For example, Sky wants to be (and is) king of broadband and TV bundles, while EE Broadband is all about raw speed, gaming features and super-advanced routers. Here's a very brief rundown of the main providers you can compare on BestBroadbandDeals.co.uk and what makes them unique.
- BT – Probably the best-known brand in the UK broadband market, BT's reputation these days is as an expensive, albeit premium, provider with a strong focus on mesh networks and unbreakable Wi-Fi (whole home coverage, speed guarantees, 4G backup)
- Sky – Sky is super-focused on providing the most tempting broadband and TV bundles, and it's succeeding. If you want TV and broadband from a single provider, Sky is it. Do remember though that Sky TV (Sky Stream) is available without Sky Broadband, so you can mix and match
- Virgin Media – Once the fastest widely available provider, 1.6Gbps packages from EE Broadband and Vodafone Broadband mean it holds that mantle no more. Still, if you can get it it remains a solid choice, with broadband up to 1.1Gbps and decent TV options
- Plusnet – Owned by BT for many years now, A+++ customer service is Plusnet's speciality, which it delivers via a raft of excellent, no-frills broadband packages
- TalkTalk – Not quite the 'budget' provider it seems to want to be anymore, TalkTalk sits mid-market price-wise, and also offers a good, cost-effective TV bundle
- NOW Broadband – Low prices, lower speeds, no credit checks. Sky's budget NOW brand keeps things simple and cheap with speeds up to 300Mbps. Don't expect anything to be remarkable, or excellent – more just expect it to work well and cost less
- Vodafone – Like EE Broadband (next), Vodafone wants to be the technical broadband king, offering the best router, best connectivity, fastest speeds. It does this through additional, higher-tier package levels such as 'Pro II'
- EE Broadband – Now has a Wi-Fi 7 router available on its faster packages. That is truly bleeding-edge stuff. And with speeds up to 1.6Gbps and some unique and utterly brilliant features for gamers, EE is winning the war it is choosing to wage
- Rebel – So new you've probably never heard of them – yet. We say yet because Rebel is a national provider. You can get it anywhere you can get BT, TalkTalk and all the rest. It's not the most competitively priced provider, but with that comes outstanding equipment, support and customer service
- Altnets (various) – There are also various altnets (alternative networks) that may pop up in our comparison when you enter your postcode. These smaller, more local providers tend to offer extremely fast Full Fibre speeds, so are well worth looking out for
Switching provider
It's never been simpler. So simple, in fact, it only needs this tiny section to take you through the entire process: Sign up to your new provider using our broadband comparison and literally every other aspect will be taken care of, including informing your existing provider you're leaving, setting an activation date, and providing you a more detailed take on the speeds you will get at your address.
So much of the process is automated these days and you won't suffer much or any downtime during the switching process. Your old provider will likely want their router back though, so be prepared for them to ask. And all of it starts with entering your postcode at the top of this page and finding out what you can get.
Speed and Wi-Fi guarantees
Many broadband providers now offer speed guarantees. These can be a little confusing from the outside because the terminology is so closely blended with so-called Wi-Fi guarantees. The two go hand-in-hand quite often, but they are different.
Speed guarantees
Providers like BT and Sky offer to guarantee a minimum speed your home will be getting at any given time. The minimum will depend on how fast your package is and how fast your connection is (connection speed and advertised speed are often not the same since advertised speeds are an average). The speed guarantee will pay out compensation if you find yourself below your minimum for a give period (usually a few days).
Wi-Fi guarantees
This is a promise to provide a minimum Wi-Fi speed in every room of your home, and is often an optional add-on. The add-on will usually provide you mesh Wi-Fi extenders to ensure your whole home is covered. Like the speed guarantee, if your provider fails to meet the minimum it sets you'll get some sort of cashback or bill credit as compensation.
Reviews
There is so much detail beneath the surface when it comes to each provider and the unique things offered by each. That's why we've created full, detailed reviews of each provider and the service they're offering. If you really want to get to the nitty-gritty detail, reading our provider reviews is the way to go. You can read all of our broadband provider reviews here.
Customer service
Ofcom keeps annual data on how the various providers are doing in terms of customer satisfaction. However, it only measures providers with more than 1.5% of the market share, and since the market is dominated by half a dozen or so major players, that means a lot of smaller providers are left out of the data. The following table shows how each of the main providers ranks in terms of overall satisfaction according to Ofcom, along with other notable details about the provider so you can compare them side by side.
Performance and reliability
How reliable your broadband provider is, and its performance in terms of delivering the service promised largely comes down to the type of broadband they're supplying and the network being used. For example, BT recently stated that there are 60% fewer faults on its Full Fibre network compared to its Standard Fibre network. Full Fibre is simply more robust and reliable than Standard FTTC Fibre or (shudder) ADSL.
And likewise, Virgin Media is more reliable than Standard Fibre on Openreach, and less reliable than Full Fibre because it uses a hybrid technology that's somewhere in the middle. Uptimes on all networks are generally in excess of 97-98% though, so in terms of reliability there's really not much in it. Gone are the old days where you connection would drop out a few times a week.
Availability
Like reliability, availability comes down to the type of broadband you want. There are three types as far as most of us are concerned (more if you include mobile, satellite, and so on, but those aren't relevant to most of us). Those types are Standard Fibre, Full Fibre and Cable (Virgin Media). If you're wondering what's happened to ADSL, it's no longer offered by most providers, though BT and one or two others will supply it to you, they will only do so if you can't get anything quicker. We have more on these broadband types in their own section further down, but for now here's a quick overview of their availability.
Broadband packages and bundles
There are now a wide variety of ways to get additional services with your broadband, but adding TV for example will narrow down the list of potential providers substantially, since only BT/EE (both offer EE TV), Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media offer TV bundles. There are other blends of services out there, though – it all depends on what you're looking for.
- Broadband only – Just broadband, nothing else
- Broadband and phone – Some packages come with a phone line, some don't. Those that do came with pay as you go calls and you can add a free calling package on top, while those that don't require you to add an entire phone package during the sign up process if you want one
- Broadband and TV – Sky, Virgin Media, BT or EE (both offering EE TV), or TalkTalk are your only option if you want TV with your broadband. Sky is the king, obviously, with its Sky Stream service towering over its competition, but the others are certainly worth looking into. Sky is the only TV provider that allows you to get TV on its own, so if you want BT Broadband and Sky TV for example you can absolutely have it
- Broadband, TV and phone – As the name suggests, it's broadband and TV with a phone line on top
- Bundles with a mobile SIM – Only Virgin Media, since merging with O2, offers broadband bundles that include a mobile SIM, but if you're in need of everything including the kitchen sink we heartily recommend them as they can save you a substantial amount of cash versus taking your services out separately
Types of broadband
Checking your postcode for what providers are available comes down to something more fundamental that whether you can get Sky, TalkTalk or whichever provider takes your fancy. What you can get is determined by the different types of broadband that currently co-exist in the UK and whether you can get them at your address. This determines everything: Providers, speeds, everything. So it's just as well that we briefly cover what they are.
- ADSL – Where broadband began, this type offers average speeds of around 10Mbps and arrives solely on the copper cables of the creaking and ancient telephone network currently being discontinued. Most providers no longer offer it and those that do will only show it as available if you're unlucky enough to live somewhere you can't get it
- Standard Fibre (FTTC) – This type is available everywhere (pretty much) and runs up to around 65Mbps average. It uses the old copper network from the cabinet to your house, while the rest is fibre, which on balance gives us these intermediate speeds
- Full Fibre (FTTP) – It's fibre optic throughout the entire network and is therefore capable of insane speeds. EE Broadband and Vodafone Broadband are currently offering packages up to 1.6Gbps (1,600 Mbps). And if you think that's a lot, consider that a single fibre line is theoretically capable of up to 44Tbps (44,000Gbps, or 44 million Mbps).
- Cable broadband (Virgin Media) – Virgin Media uses a hybrid cabling technology that neither Standard Fibre nor Full Fibre. It's a bit of both. Virgin Media has maxed out the capacity of this technology with its Gig1 packages, which is why its new Gig2 packages have such limited availability – they come on a brand new Full Fibre network that's only just beginning to roll out
- Mobile broadband – Provided you live somewhere with a good 4G or 5G signal, mobile broadband can be a good alternative to fixed line broadband. It uses a mobile network as your main connection, via a special router
Social tariffs
A social tariff is a low-cost, bare-bones broadband package for which you have to meet certain criteria as a benefits claimant in order to be able to buy. Most providers have one, but they don't go out of their way to advertise them.
Eligibility
To be eligible, you typically need to be receiving benefits such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), or Income Support. Each provider may have slightly different eligibility requirements, but these benefits are the most common criteria across offerings from providers like BT, Virgin Media, Sky, and Vodafone. Applications often involve verifying your benefits status with the provider.
How to use our broadband comparison
The tools on this page allow you to select and filter by all of the criteria we've talked about thus far. If you're finding it confusing though, no problem. Here are some pointers:
- Step 1: Enter your postcode at the top of the page. Our checker will find exactly what's available where you live
- Step 2: The list presented will initially be sorted by 'Recommended' – that is, we've prioritised deals and providers which rate highest as a combination of what their customers say, how our in-house experts rate the providers (broadband reviews), and which deals are currently the most popular. The closer a deal is to the top of the page when it's sorted this way, the stronger our recommendation
- Step 3: You can and should re-sort the list using the dropdown menu above the top-listed package. If you have a budget or a speed in mind, this can be a useful way to see how all providers compare on a sliding scale
- Step 4: The filters (on the left of the list on a computer, or via the 'Filter' button on mobile) can be used to narrow down your search – to one or more providers, to a particular budget, to deals that comes with rewards or cashback (our favourite) and more. Feel free to play around with them. There's a reset button to start again if you get lost along the way
- Step 5: The 'Save Deal' button allows you to make a shortlist as you go and look at them side-by-side. And once you've narrowed things down to one or two deals, you can hit the 'more info' button to see more stats about the package or packages
Of course, not everyone comes into their search knowing what speed they need. Don't worry! We have a tool that'll help you find out. Just hit 'Get started' below:
