The best and worst ISPs of 2025 are crowned

There’s a lot to think about when choosing a new internet service provider, or ISP.

Cost tends to be uppermost in consumer minds, especially after Awful April’s torrent of price increases, service charge hikes and global tariffs.

People are also exercised by average line speeds, contract lengths, bundled extras and setup costs, which is why these factors are all prominently displayed beside any deals on our site.

One thing consumers are usually less concerned about is the reputation of a particular ISP.

After all, dealings with broadband companies are likely to be limited, and surely they have a relatively easy job of piping data to proprietary routers?

The reality, as many customers will ruefully attest, can be very different.

People who’ve previously endured poor connectivity or bad service from an ISP are naturally more inclined to pay attention to future customer satisfaction surveys.

One of the biggest barometers of ISP customer satisfaction comes from consumer champions Which?, formerly known as the Consumers Association.

They recently published their most recent broadband ISP satisfaction survey, and the results make interesting reading…

What are these results based on?

Any analysis of the best and worst ISPs should consider factors like real-world line speeds, value for money, ease of setup and the reliability of domestic connections.

The Which? survey took all of these into consideration, as well as more nebulous aspects like customer service and technical support.

In total, almost 4,500 people were surveyed earlier this year, which is a sufficiently large sample frame to generate a reasonably accurate picture of the best and worst ISPs.

The fact that consumers determined the final rankings gives the table added weight, since these are ordinary Which? subscribers recounting their own lived experiences.

It’s worth acknowledging that ISP performance fluctuates regionally, depending on everything from infrastructure and competition to area managers and engineer competence.

Even so, the following results offer a useful insight into which ISPs are performing well, and which aren’t…

The best and worst ISPs of 2025

While some smaller ISPs were excluded because Which? required at least 50 responses from each brand’s customers, bigger ISPs mostly achieved middling scores.

Plusnet was a glorious exception, earning a Which? Recommended Provider award with an average customer score of 73 per cent.

Hyperoptic’s impressive score of 69 per cent was matched by Vodafone, who have worked hard to lift themselves off the bottom of previous customer surveys.

The likes of EE, BT and Sky were firmly mid-table, with TalkTalk mustering a frankly disappointing score of 61 per cent.

However, this still beat NOW Broadband and Virgin Media, who finished joint last with customer scores of just 60 per cent.

Virgin Media’s lowly ranking might seem surprising given their full-fibre networks are often among the fasted connection speeds locally.

However, customer service consistently lets them down, with Which? readers berating communications, customer service, ease of contact and technical support.

We mentioned earlier that consumers rarely need to contact ISP customer service centres. Yet when they do – with technical issues, billing queries or anything else – service matters.

That’s why smaller ISPs reliant on Openreach infrastructure often top satisfaction surveys despite modest line speeds, because their focus on customer satisfaction shines through.

Cost, line speed and contract length clearly matter when choosing your next broadband contract, but don’t overlook the value of a friendly and approachable company, either…