Broadband for low income families, social tariffs and benefits

Dan Howdle • July 9th, 2025

For families and individuals on low incomes in the UK, finding the right connection at the right price when finances are limited can be a daunting prospect.

If you or your family are on a tight budget, maybe receiving income support, and/or working anti-social hours, you want a broadband deal that serves your needs and doesn’t cost a fortune. Whatever your situation, our guide will help you get connected at the right price.

Broadband deals for low-income families

With broadband now being considered a basic utility, there are several schemes to help low-income families get online, subject to meeting the eligibility requirements, which is usually being on some kind of social credit.

BT Basic and BT Home Essentials

BT was the first provider to offer low-cost broadband for anyone on benefits. It offers both Home Essentials broadband and the BT Basic phone service to those eligible. BT Home Essentials offers a range of plans depending on your needs and eligibility: the No Income broadband plan costs £16 per month, the 36Mbps fibre plan is £21 per month, and the 67Mbps fibre plan is £24 per month.

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Pension Credit (Guaranteed Credit)
• Employment and Support Allowance (Income related)
• Universal Credit (including those on zero earnings)

BT Basic costs just £5.10 per month and includes £1.50 of calls, with a price cap set at £10 so you won’t be charged above that. Alternatively, you can choose the BT Home Essentials Call-only plan, which costs a flat £10 per month and includes unlimited minutes to UK landlines and mobiles.

Virgin Media Essential Broadband

Virgin Media offers two social tariff broadband packages if you receive Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or Income-based Employment and Support Allowance. Both packages are available on a rolling 30-day contract with no setup or exit fees.

The Essential Broadband package gives you average download speeds of 15Mbps for £12.50 per month. If you need more speed, the Essential Broadband Plus package offers 54Mbps for £20 per month.

With the Essential Broadband Plus package, you can also add the Flex TV service. This gives you access to over 150 channels and popular streaming apps. The monthly price stays at £20, and you just pay a one-off setup fee of either £10 or £20, depending on the current promotion.

These packages are designed to be flexible and affordable, with no long-term commitment. Your price won’t increase as long as you stay eligible.

Vodafone Essentials

Vodafone offers the Essentials broadband package if you receive Universal Credit, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Disability Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, or Reduced Earnings Allowance. It comes with a 12-month contract, no setup costs, no mid-contract price rises, and no early cancellation fees.

For £20 per month, you get broadband with average download speeds of up to 73Mbps and a Power Hub router. After the initial 12 months, you can renew the Essentials package for another year if you're still eligible, switch to a standard broadband package, or leave altogether. If your eligibility ends and you don't take any action, the monthly price will rise to around £30.

Sky Basics and NOW Basics

Sky and NOW offer their reduced-price Basics broadband packages if you receive Universal Credit or Pension Credit. Sky also includes those on Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or Income-based Employment and Support Allowance, while NOW offers the same deal to new customers even if you’re not already with them.

With Sky Basics, you sign up to an 18-month contract for £20 per month and receive broadband with typical speeds of 36Mbps — rising to 75Mbps if Full Fibre is available where you live. You also get pay-as-you-go landline calls. You can cancel without penalty at any time during the contract. Once the initial 18 months end, you’ll need to contact Sky to renew your package as long as you remain eligible, otherwise you’ll be moved to standard pricing, starting at around £25 per month.

NOW Basics offers broadband with average download speeds of 36Mbps on a rolling monthly package for £20 per month, including pay-as-you-go calls. You don’t have to sign a long-term contract and can leave at any time by giving 31 days’ notice. Your price won’t rise while you're eligible.

For more details, see Sky social tariffs

What is the cheapest broadband option?

There are essentially three ways of getting broadband into your home: Standard Fibre, Full Fibre and Cable broadband. The Standard Fibre option (also known as standard broadband) will usually be the cheapest, although is now slowly being phased out due to the widening availability of Full Fibre services.

Happily, the price of Full Fibre broadband has decreased considerably over the past few years and entry-level speeds of around 75Mbps are on a par with Standard Fibre services. If you can afford the extra pound or two, then it’s worth choosing a faster deal as it will more easily cope with a number of devices, including smart phones, TVs and tablets.

How can I make my broadband deal cheaper?

First of all, before you even think of signing a deal with a broadband supplier, always look at what is called the 'total contract cost' – not just the monthly cost or the total first year cost. The total contract cost shows you the minimum you will pay for the length of time you'll sign up for. If that total contract cost isn't quoted, you should ask for it.

The total monthly cost won't include the set-up/installation costs or any additional connection charges. Also remember that the total yearly cost is not the same as the total amount you'll pay if you're tied into an 18-month or 24-month contract.

In many cases, it is making calls on your landline that will cause your monthly broadband cost to increase. Many providers now do not include any free calls – you often have to pay extra even for evening and weekend calls. If you make a lot of calls, it could be worth adding this on, or consider using your inclusive calls on your mobile phone instead and don’t use your landline at all. Most broadband packages sold today now don't come with a phone line – you have to ask for one, so maybe save some money by going without.

All in all, you should make sure you know if, and how much, you are being charged for the following:

• Local call charges – Ideally these should be free
• National calls charges – Ideally these should be free too
• Calls to mobiles – You will be charged for these calls
• International calls – You will be charged for these calls
• Calls to international mobiles – You will be charged a lot for these calls
• 'Other calls not included in your package' – This looks vague because it is. It can cover things like calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers for example

All those costs might look worrying if you're on a low income. Remember that you don't have to use your landline and if you don’t, your monthly broadband cost will stay the same.

Will my credit history stop me getting cheap broadband?

Most broadband providers will carry out a credit check on you before offering a contract. If your credit history (you may also see this written as ‘credit rating’) is poor, you may be rejected. Don’t despair, you can still get broadband at home. There are options for PAYG and also 'no contract' deals available. The no-contract choice usually ties you to a month-long contract which rolls over. Beware though that both PAYG and monthly/no contract deals usually come with hefty set-up costs ranging from £30 to upwards of £50, and can cost more than similar contracted deals.

Some broadband providers do no credit checks at all. Right now those are NOW, Plusnet, and Direct Save Telecom. If you're really worried about your credit score and want a contract deal, you should check what they have to offer.

You can check your credit history and score for free at sites including: Experian, Clearscore, and Equifax.

Can I get broadband for free?

The short answer to this one is: No, you can't get free broadband. There are no free deals in the UK no matter where you look. If you are offered or you see a deal that claims to be free, check the small print – you will end up paying one way or the other.

You may well see adverts for broadband that offer free delivery and installation of your router, zero connection charges, or inclusive calls using the bundled landline phone at certain times of day, but not free broadband itself. You might get one month of broadband free, or even more, but the total price will be averaged out over the contract duration so it is not going to be ‘free’ in the true sense of the word. Always read any terms and conditions, and look at all the details before you actually sign up.

Finally, if any of the details are not clear and obvious to you, remember that you can ask for all charges related to the broadband deal to be explained to you by the supplier. If the supplier can't or won't do this, it's best to look elsewhere.