2022 Editors Pick of the UK Best Broadband ISPs for Homes
Finding a new ISP can be like walking through a minefield. Consumers in the UK often face a bewildering choice of different broadband providers and networks, which is getting worse as a growing number of new entrants enter the market. But this guide aims to help by delivering a simplified overview of the top options.
We’ll start by reminding readers that the service performance on an ISP can vary from location to location and is affected by many different factors, such as the capacity at the exchange or the type of line itself (copper or fibre optic etc.) and its length. Problems within your home (e.g. slow WiFi, a bad configuration, home network congestion or poor wiring) can also end up being wrongfully conflated with your broadband ISP.
All of this means that choosing an ISP, even highly rated ones, will carry some risk of poor performance. Put another way, even large poorly rated providers can still deliver an excellent service, but the ratio of dissatisfied to satisfied customers will often be higher than with smaller providers (i.e. you stand a bigger chance of getting burnt, but it might be worth the risk if saving money is your goal).
In keeping with the above, we’ve put together a selection of providers, which are organised into several categories to reflect the best picks for those seeking to save money or pay extra for more quality.
The Categories
PAGE 1: Price – For the budget conscious, albeit possibly sacrificing quality.
PAGE 2: Quality – For those who will pay a bit extra to get the best service.
PAGE 3: Commendations – Alternative network ISPs that deserve praise.
We ask that readers always thoroughly investigate any ISP before joining and check our Broadband Technology page to learn about the different connectivity methods. The Awards and Special Offer categories in our news section are also useful for keeping track of industry achievements and price promotions. Finally, don’t forget to view our UK ISP Comparisons to see a price benchmark of around 200 providers.
A Quick Market Overview
At present nearly 97% of UK premises are within reach of a 30Mbps+ capable “superfast” broadband service, which drops to around 66% for 1000Mbps+ gigabit-capable lines (mix of full fibre FTTP and hybrid fibre coax HFC) – details. The vast majority of premises are served by ISPs that use Openreach’s (OR) network and 54% can also access Virgin Media’s cable DOCSIS network (mostly in urban areas).
Openreach is an open access platform (used by lots of ISPs) and supports several different technologies (e.g. slower ADSL or FTTC and ultrafast G.fast or FTTP). On the flip side, Virgin’s cable network (HFC DOCSIS + FTTP) is closed to other ISPs and mostly only available in urban areas.
On top of that there’s a huge and rapidly growing market for alternative networks (altnet). Some of the biggest are Cityfibre (aiming to cover 8 million premises with FTTP by 2025 or later), Hyperoptic (2 million with FTTP/B by end of 2023) and KCOM (300,000 premises with FTTP). See our ‘Summary of Full Fibre Build Progress‘ for more.
Finally, switching ISPs on Openreach’s network is just a matter of informing the new provider that you want to join (i.e. place an order), but sadly other networks may require you to separately order a brand-new line and then cancel your old service. Ofcom plan to extend their ‘One Touch Switching‘ system to include alternative networks, although it won’t be enforced until April 2023 (here).
We recommend that readers check out our Summary of Consumer Rules and Laws because there are a lot of measures that are designed to protect you, such as the one for Automatic Compensation (here and here), the Broadband Speed Code of Practice (here) and End-of-Contract Notifications (here).
Price – The Lowest Cost Broadband ISPs
The UK broadband market is full of cheap deals but there are more risks involved if you opt for savings vs service quality. Cheaper ISPs may have less money to reinvest into future improvements (i.e. quality and support may suffer) and in most cases the discounts will only last for your first contract term (i.e. beware big post-contract price hikes).
Nevertheless, if you don’t mind taking a risk then the options below may suit. All of the prices include VAT and line rental (we show both post-contract prices and discount prices). Take note that if you need a brand-new line installed then the upfront fee may be larger than some of those stated below (one-off costs for this can vary up to c.£100).
On top of that we only show packages with unlimited usage and wide national availability (excluding altnets on PAGE 3), which are the most common and easiest to compare. The following is an unordered list of ISPs (not ranked) and this year we’ll only focus on superfast and ultrafast packages (speeds are displayed as peak-time averages).
Package Examples
Cheapest: 108Mbps DL (10Mbps UL) – £44 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£30)
Fastest: 1104Mbps DL (52Mbps UL) – £62 PM
Virgin’s key advantage is that their network can deliver speeds of 1000Mbps+ (gigabit) to more than half of the UK. The provider has won lots of praise for their performance too and harbour a strong Pay TV platform, as well as a decent Virgin Mobile service. The operator is now merging with O2 and working on a major upgrade of their network to FTTP by 2028 (here) and plans to reach a further 7 million premises (here).
However, the provider’s customer support and billing department has continued to attracted a fair few gripes, and in a sea of growing and agressively priced rivals their packages are – in some areas at least – not as attractive as they once were. Otherwise, VM’s contract terms are a fairly standard 18-months (they do have a more expensive 30-day option) and their latest HUB 4.0 and 5.0 routers are much better than older models (here).
Pros:
• Good speeds that are widely available
• Good TV bundles
• Good 4G / 5G Mobile tariffs (e.g. quad play bundles and an unlimited data)Cons:
• Coverage is still urban focused, for now
• Pricier than others, albeit perhaps sometimes deservedly so
• Support quality is variable
• Common gripes about unstable latency, often from gamers
• Poor upload speeds for a gigabit-capable provider
Package Examples
Cheapest: 35Mbps DL (9Mbps UL) – £25 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£22)
Fastest: 900Mbps DL (900Mbps UL) – £48 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£45)
Voda remains one of the cheapest FTTC/P broadband ISPs on Openreach’s network, although their service and support quality has suffered and they continue to attract a high level of complaints (here). On top of that they also offer FTTP via CityFibre’s national network with faster upload speeds – the coverage is limited but growing fast.
Sadly, there’s no full Pay TV option from Vodafone, but they do optionally bundle Apple 4K TV at extra cost and are one of the UK’s strongest national mobile networks for 4G and 5G services. Existing mobile customers can often save extra money (-£3 per month) by bundling with their broadband plan.
Pros:
• Reasonable router (latest model)
• Price
• Good choice of 4G and 5G Mobile plans, if not the cheapest
• Speeds on FTTP network, coverage allowing
• Optional Apple TV 4K service, albeit priceyCons:
• Service quality and support needs improvement
• Long 24-month contracts
Package Examples
Cheapest: 59Mbps DL (18Mbps UL) – £35.50 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£28)
Fastest: 900Mbps DL (90Mbps UL) – £90 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£55)
Sky generally attracts a fair level of customer satisfaction and they’ve consistently received some of the fewest consumer complaints of all the major ISPs (here), which is partly down to having a reasonably good customer support team and network. The addition of new full fibre packages via Openreach’s FTTP network has been another plus point (they also offer G.fast), even if it does currently only go up to 500Mbps.
On top of that Sky has one of the best Pay TV platforms in the UK and their unique twist on an O2 MVNO powered mobile service is interesting, albeit not always as attractive as the options offered by some of their rivals (this may depend on what you’re after). Customers also benefit from Sky’s competitively priced broadband services and extra features, such as parental controls (website filtering etc.) and nuisance call blocking.
Pros:
• Reasonable support for a major ISP
• Good Pay TV service
• Decent full fibre packages
• Attracts fewer complaints than all of the other big ISPsCons:
• Cheaper streaming rivals make Sky TV (Sky Q / Sky Glass) feel expensive
• Coverage of full fibre services is limited – not Sky’s fault
• Sky’s SR203/204 router has had plenty of bugs and isn’t really good enough on FTTP lines
• Shockingly for a big ISP, Sky has not signed-up to Ofcom’s speed code
Package Examples
Cheapest: 38Mbps DL (9Mbps UL) – £32.88 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£20)
Fastest: 900Mbps DL (100Mbps UL) – £57.99 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£50)
Shell Energy first emerged as a broadband and phone provider back in 2019, as part of a re-brand by First Utility, and in 2021 they followed that by acquiring the Post Office’s telecoms division, which gave them a sizeable customer base. After some teething problems the ISP has steadily improved their UK based customer support and now also has a strong range of full fibre packages.
Shell typically supplies the Technicolor DWA0120 router to their FTTC (VDSL2) broadband customers, although we’re not sure what they offer to their latest FTTP subscribers. The provider also doesn’t have any Pay TV or Mobile options. Overall, they’re perhaps best described as a provider that sells cheap-ish broadband to help retain their energy customers, albeit one that doesn’t necessarily do enough to separate themselves from the herd.
Pros:
• Cheap
• Fuel savings at Shell service stationsCons:
• Customer support has a mixed history
• No Mobile or Pay TV plans
Package Examples
Cheapest: 36Mbps DL (9Mbps UL) – £31 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£26)
Fastest: 900Mbps DL (110Mbps UL) – £58 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£46)
This is one of BT’s sibling ISPs, which in recent years seems to have taken over Plusnet’s role in the group by often providing a lowest cost alternative to their parent, as well as a strong range of 4G and 5G mobile plans and related bundles with fixed broadband.
Crucially, EE seems to attract significantly fewer complaints from consumers than most other major ISPs in the market, except Sky (here). We suspect this may be partly because their support staff are now UK based, which is a fairly recent development. Otherwise, there’s a good selection of packages and the routers they ship are the same ones that BT use, albeit rebranded.
Pros:
• Moderately cheap for broadband
• Attracts fewer complaints than many other big ISPs
• Good mobile and broadband package selectionCons:
• Mobile plans are expensive
• No Pay TV solutions (for that you’re better off with parent BT)
Package Examples
Cheapest: 38Mbps DL (9Mbps UL) – £29.95 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£23.50)
Fastest: 900Mbps DL (91Mbps UL) – £54.95 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£49)
As a provider TalkTalk has always styled itself on being the low-cost choice, but in recent years Vodafone has stolen that role and they still attract a high proportion of complaints from consumers (here) – last year’s move to scrap fixed price plans mid-contract certainly didn’t help (here).
However, the ISP does sell fairly cheap Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based ultrafast broadband products via Cityfibre, Freedom Fibre and Openreach’s networks in different parts of the UK. On top of that they also have an affordable Pay TV service via Netgem, but this lacks the same sort of premium quality that you’d get from the likes of BT, Sky or Virgin.
Overall, the ISP seems to be improving on the connectivity front, but they rarely come out on top for service quality and support. The provider has also been taken over by Toscafund in a £1.1bn deal, which makes their future seem a little uncertain.
Pros:
• Cheap
• FTTP customers seem to get Amazon’s decent eero 6 routerCons:
• No mobile plans
• Support quality is patchy
• Weaker Pay TV experience than rivals
• The WiFi Hub is not as competitive as it once was
Package Examples
Cheapest: 36Mbps DL (9Mbps UL) – £31.99 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£27)
Fastest: 900Mbps+ DL (110Mbps UL) – £58.99 PM (discounts may cut this to c.£56)
As the market’s largest ISP BT is also one of the more expensive providers (especially post contract), but this is largely due to all of the premium extras they include (e.g. access to masses of WiFi hotspots, speed guarantees, a decent wireless router and nuisance call blocking etc.) and their ultrafast packages are much more affordable.
The primary reason for including BT here, aside from being a useful comparison with the others above, is thus because their ultrafast and gigabit broadband packages (G.fast / FTTP) are better value for money. On top of that they have a strong selection of Mobile plans (EE’s network) and Pay TV packages. In addition, complaints about their service have fallen a lot over the past few years (here).
The provider also offers a number of premium HALO packages, which include extra protection if your service goes down (“Keep Connected Promise“), better support and extra mobile data at the fastest speeds. The HALO service is also the first step in BT’s ambition to adopt an integrated all-IP network, which aims to seamlessly bring their fixed line broadband and mobile networks together.
On the flip side, BT recently announced that new customers will no longer recieve their email and cloud storage services.
Pros:
• Good premium extras
• Good SmartHub routers
• UK based support
• Affordable FTTP plans
• Decent Pay TV plansCons:
• Standard (ADSL) and Superfast (FTTC) packages are expensive, especially post-contract
• Service quality can be quite variable
• 5G was removed from their mobile plans
Take note that most of the above ISPs will also offer plenty of add-ons at an optional extra cost, such as anytime UK calls, mobile plans or enhanced TV bundles. In addition, providers that use Openreach’s UK network still have a lot of control to differentiate themselves in terms of features, network quality and performance (capacity), so don’t treat them as all the same – some will perform better than others on the same infrastructure.
Please continue on Page 2 to view the best ISPs for service quality..
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on Twitter, Google+, Facebook and Linkedin.