Hunting down the cheapest broadband offers in the UK
We find and compare the lowest price internet deals in the UK so you don’t have to.
With our cheap broadband deals you’ll get a free wireless router, which beams WiFi throughout your home. That means everyone can get online on smartphones, tablets, laptops, computers or other internet-connected devices.
Cheap broadband deals often include some kind of antivirus software for your home PC, laptop or Mac, for example Sky Broadband Shield, or Post Office Safeguard.
Finding your perfect deal is as simple as popping your postcode in the search box.
Just because you’re paying less than £20 a month for broadband doesn’t mean you should be stuck with installation delays, missed appointments or overseas call centres who can’t help you with any broadband problems.
Choosing an affordable broadband supplier doesn’t mean you should accept a lower quality of service. Even the cheapest internet can be better for your wallet and better for your state of mind.
If you need to save money fast, switching to a cheaper broadband deal is a great place to start.
What kinds of broadband are most affordable?
While you won’t see this on your bill, the cheapest broadband in the UK is normally delivered using the oldest kind of technology available, called ADSL.
ADSL broadband is the oldest kind of technology still on sale on the UK market.
These cheap and cheerful broadband lines can reach a maximum download speed of 17Mbps.
If all you do online is read your emails and browse Facebook or other social media, then this cheapest type of broadband will probably be fine.
Often users won’t be able to get 17Mbps because of a host of reasons. The biggest factor is the distance from the nearest telephone exchange – closer usually means you’ll get faster broadband.
The number of people trying to get online nearby, and the time of day, will also have an impact. Usually broadband is slower during peak times -before 10.30am and after 5pm.
Once you start watching Youtube or BBC iPlayer online, or streaming TV on Netflix, then the ADSL broadband might be less suitable and could struggle to keep up.
Still, low cost broadband doesn’t have to be low quality or low performance. You can get cheap broadband deals for under £20 a month, especially if you don’t need calls or TV bundled in.
Who is the cheapest broadband provider?
These companies usually offer internet access in the cheaper range of prices. We know them as budget broadband providers.
There are fewer bells and whistles but they do offer reasonable value for money. These are nationwide operations, with decent quality customer service as rated by Ofcom, the telecoms regulator. Trustpilot, the crowdsourced reviews website also provide reliable customer ratings.
These usually include:
- DirectSave Telecom, who regularly drop prices under £20 a month for broadband only deals
- Plusnet, who offer reasonably-priced standard speed and fibre broadband and are well-rated for customer service
- TalkTalk, who focus on budget deals but don’t have the same reputation for customer service
- the Post Office, people are surprised that the Post Office offer cheap home broadband deals but you can usually find sub-£20 a month deals on show
- Onestream, an independent telecoms company that offers some of the cheapest broadband packages on the market
- Sky Broadband, while they focus on premium services and pay TV, affordable Sky broadband deals are more common than you might think
Will budget broadband be fast enough?
It depends on what you use the internet for. If you’re just browsing websites, checking email or social media without uploading pictures or videos, standard ADSL broadband at up to 17Mbps is likely to be plenty for what you need.
Cheap broadband comes in many forms. Sometimes even Fibre-to-the-Cabinet broadband – one step up from standard speed – can come in at less than £25 a month.
This type of Fibre broadband is sold as ‘up to 38Mbps’ and ‘up to 76Mbps’. Sometimes even the cheapest full-fibre broadband can be suitable for you too, though this is less widely available.
Will cheap broadband work for me?
It depends on how many people in your household use the internet at one time, and what you use the internet for.
No-frills ADSL broadband usually works best for people who:
- Have two or fewer people using the internet or using WiFi at once
- Don’t go online every day
- Only use the internet to read news websites, check emails and check their social media accounts
Cheap ADSL broadband is usually not suitable for people who:
- Have more than two people trying to get online or use WiFi at the same time
- Want to use their broadband to stream TV, BBC iPlayer or Netflix, or want to stream Spotify or other music platforms
- Often use the internet for online games, or to make video calls using Skype or Facetime.
- Need to download music, films, TV or games quickly
Can you get free gifts with a cheap broadband package?
Sure! Even the cheapest broadband suppliers want new customers and need your business, and they’re willing to offer you sweeteners to sign up with them rather than with their rivals.
Reward Cards
The most common kind of offer with cheap broadband deals are Reward Cards.
These are prepaid Mastercards loaded with a certain amount of cash, ranging from £50 to £175, that you can spend online or in high street stores.
Usually broadband providers run these Reward Cards through separate companies. You sign up to a new cheap broadband deal, then once your service is switched on, and up and running, you apply to get the Reward Card.
You’ll see these results listed in our comparison tables and they’ll show up as a green, red or black pointer
New tech, tablets and more
Occasionally ISPs will try to grease the wheels with a fancy new piece of tech to entice you into signing up for a cheap broadband deal. These can range from tablets, speakers and headphones to wireless cameras, apps or even the new breed of digital assistants like Amazon’s Echo, Echo Dot, or Google Home.
How could switching to a cheaper broadband deal help?
The biggest barrier to making the switch to cheaper broadband is usually a fear of being offline for extended periods, or not knowing enough about the ISP they’re switching to.
Most people stay with their broadband provider far beyond the initial 12 or 18 months. Prices often go up after this time.
People don’t like switching broadband and see it as a major hassle – like switching energy providers.
But there’s no loyalty bonus available for most of us. In fact, the longer you stay with one broadband provider, the more likely your monthly bills are to go up, rather than down.
If you’ve stuck with your broadband provider for more than 12 months, you’re likely to be missing out on the cheapest broadband deals available.
If you’re prepared to shop around, compare prices and providers and really think hard about what you need and what you want, there’s no reason why you can’t find cheap broadband near you.
It’s easier than you think to make savings without sacrificing on quality. There are better deals out there if you are willing to look, as you can see from our broadband price comparison tables.
Tell me more…
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What is ‘fair usage’ or ‘acceptable usage’?▲
Fair or acceptable usage is a term that’s usually tacked onto the small print of unlimited broadband deals.
While unlimited broadband is advertised as having absolutely no limitations on the amount of data you can use, that isn’t entirely true.
You have unlimited use, but only if you use it fairly.
Pinning down what exactly qualifies as fair usage can be a little tricky but you’ll usually have to go out of your way to break the rules.
If you’re file-sharing constantly or using all of your bandwidth 24 hours a day, that isn’t fair usage. However, it is very unlikely that the typical customer will come anywhere close to that.
Fair usage clauses aren’t there to stop you getting the most out of your broadband, they’re there to stop individuals and businesses intentionally exploiting unlimited data allowances on home broadband.
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What kind of broadband is ‘up to 17Mbps?’▲
The speeds listed on broadband deals are an easy way to identify the type of technology used to connect you to the internet.
‘Up to 17Mbps’ is another way of saying ‘this is an ADSL connection’. ADSL broadband – which came out in 2000 – uses copper telephone lines and telephone exchanges to deliver a broadband service.
ADSL is the slowest but least expensive type of broadband available today.
Though affordable, connection quality suffers very badly from interference. If your connection is crowded with other users or there is a long distance to the closest exchange, the speed of ADSL broadband will dramatically decrease.
If you aren’t covered by fibre or cable providers, ADSL is likely your only option for fixed-line broadband.
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Why is my broadband not running at the ‘up to’ speed?▼
The “up to” speeds advertised and listed on broadband deals don’t really reflect the actual speeds most of us will get from our broadband.
The “up to” speed is the maximum possible speed that a type of connection can support, even though you’re unlikely to come close to that speed in the real world.
You’ll see this written out as “up to 17Mbps” for ADSL standard speed broadband, “up to 38Mbps” and “up to 76Mbps” for Fibre to the Cabinet, “up to 50/100/200/300Mbps” for Virgin cable broadband and “up to 1Gbps” for gigabit full fibre broadband.
There are a variety of reasons why broadband speeds slow down and you can’t get the maximum “up to” speed on your home broadband.
The top two reasons are electrical interference, and the broadband ‘rush hour’ that occurs at peak times, just before and after work and school, when a lot of people are all trying to use broadband connections at the same time.
Full fibre is much less likely to suffer from this interference, as it uses ONLY fibre-optic cables to deliver your broadband, without slow copper as part of the connection.
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What is an ISP?▼
An Internet Service Provider or ISP for short, is a company which supplies you with an internet connection.
There are a huge number of ISPs in the UK, ranging from the largest ones like BT, Virgin Media, Sky and TalkTalk, to smaller providers such as Plusnet or the Post Office.
ISPs come in a range of forms, whether privately or publicly operated, non-profit or community-owned. Not all ISPs are available nationwide and some operate only in certain areas, such as Gigaclear who are based in the West Country.
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Can I keep my old router?▼
The short answer is: it depends. Most internet providers own the router so when you upgrade or switch to a different ISP they will ask you to return it.
If you’ve bought your own router, and it’s compatible with the broadband you’re buying, no problem.
But if you didn’t buy it, it belongs to your previous internet provider.
If it is fairly old technology it’s less likely they’ll bother asking for it back. Still, if you’re upgrading to fibre broadband, your old router may not work anyway.
It’s worth remembering to read the letter you receive with your new router. They may still demand it back and include the shipping labels required.
