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To help you choose the right broadband deal, we surveyed 2,000 broadband customers across the UK*, asking them to rate their internet provider on factors such as speed, pricing, customer service, and overall satisfaction. The results he results revealed that Hyperoptic stands out as the best broadband provider overall.
Our Home Tech Expert Rachel Sadler has thoroughly analysed the best broadband providers in the UK, considering all the top speeds on offer and the types of broadband you can access. Aside from Hyperoptic, her best picks include EE for speed, Plusnet for customer service and Vodafone for value.
Overall: Hyperoptic
Speed: EE
Customer service: Plusnet
Value for money: Vodafone
Reliable connection: BT
To get an insight into how people feel about their internet services, we surveyed 2,000 broadband customers across the UK*. Participants answered more than 20 questions in relation to their current broadband provider, including their opinion about the speeds they receive, the pricing of their plan, the value for money and their overall satisfaction.
We also asked consumers about their internet usage, the ease of contacting their provider, price increases and technical support. We then analysed this data to determine the factors customers deem most important when looking at a broadband deal and created an overarching score for each broadband provider. This overall score includes value for money, speed, customer service, reliability, ease of contact and technical support.
Survey of broadband customers aged between 24 and 64 conducted on Censuswide, 11-14 March 2024. Survey sample: 2,003 respondents from Sky (489), BT Broadband (412), Virgin Media (396), EE (134), Vodafone (124), Other (102), Plusnet (66), NOW Broadband (45), Three (31), Hyperoptic (14), Community Fibre (8) and Unsure (7). Respondents who selected Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, Other or Unsure were discarded from our review; however, the information gathered for Hyperoptic and Community Fibre was used in our broadband providers evaluation. Respondents were asked to rate each category on a five-point scale, from “Very Poor” to “Excellent” or from “Never” to “Always”, with the option of selecting “Don’t Know” for all questions. For the third question (“What issues, if any, have you experienced with your current broadband provider?”), respondents could select from the following: “Price Hikes”, “Slow Speeds”, “High Prices”, “Frequent Disconnections”, “Poor Customer Service”, “Billing Issues”, “Other” and “N/A”. The questions used to calculate our score were: “How often, if at all, do you feel the actual speed of your broadband service matches the advertised speed?”, “How would you rate your experience with customer service and support from your broadband provider?” “What issues, if any, have you experienced with your current broadband provider? (Select all that apply)”, “How easy or difficult is it/would it be to reach your provider using your preferred method?” “How do you rate the value for money of your broadband service?” and “How would you rate the transparency of pricing and additional fees in your broadband service?”.
Our Independent Advisor rating combines our Home Tech team’s expertise (60 per cent) with the data collated from our customer survey (40 per cent).
In addition to the survey data, our experts looked at the following criteria:
Based on the survey we conducted, these are the best internet providers in the UK.
* Hyperoptic and Community Fibre customers represented less than 1 per cent of survey respondents. We included them in our assessment of broadband providers, as their satisfaction ratings were very high and we supplemented survey results with their Trustpilot ratings. However, we did not include Community Fibre in our top five providers, as its availability is limited to London.
With 100 per cent of surveyed customers satisfied with their service, Hyperoptic broadband tops our list of best providers. It offers an affordable and reliable connection, with 79 per cent of its customers rating its value for money as either ‘excellent’ or ‘good’. It was also the top provider for pricing transparency, reliability and technical support, according to our survey.
Home to some of the speediest deals on the market, Hyperoptic offers superfast full-fibre broadband. 64 per cent of its customers reported they always or mostly receive their advertised speed.
What we like: there are no mid-contract price increases. The fastest deal, offering an average speed of 900Mbps, costs just £36.
What we don’t like: you need a full fibre connection, and Hyperoptic is only available in major cities. It’s not the best-ranked provider for customer service or speed, according to customers surveyed.
Now owned by BT Group, EE originally became a household name for its mobile services. Today, it’s favoured by customers for its ultrafast fibre broadband and TV services.
Customers ranked the provider first for speed, with 66 per cent of users stating they ‘always’ or ‘mostly’ receive their advertised speeds. EE also provides a stable connection, ranking third for reliability. Overall, 90 per cent of surveyed customers are satisfied with EE’s service, with 73 per cent rating its customer service ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.
What we like: many bundles available; customers can add unlimited mobile data or a TV package.
What we don’t like: not the best value for money. It was the fourth worst provider in terms of value for money (67 per cent), but you pay for quality, reliable fast broadband
Plusnet is the right provider for you if you value excellent customer service. It has a UK-based call centre that’s contactable seven days a week; we know this is important to customers, as 48 per cent of our survey respondents stated their preferred contact method is over the phone. 69 per cent of customers rated Plusnet’s customer service as ‘excellent’, and it ranked highest among all providers for ease of contact.
88 per cent of customers were satisfied with Plusnet’s service, placing it third on our list. However, Plusnet scored the lowest for speed – with just 53 per cent of customers stating they ‘always’ or ‘mostly’ receive Plusnet’s advertised speeds.
What we like: great for families thanks to its security features, and rewards customers with offers and deals from restaurants and shops.
What we don’t like: its fastest deal – Full Fibre 900Mb – is expensive compared to competitors. Deals for 500Mbps and below are reasonably priced.
Vodafone has been a mainstay in the UK’s mobile phone market for decades but is a relative newcomer in the broadband space.
76 per cent of its customers rated it ‘excellent’ for value for money – a basic package costs less than £30. Vodafone also came in fourth for overall customer satisfaction (86 per cent), customer service (69 per cent) and pricing transparency (74 per cent). We wouldn’t recommend Vodafone for speed as it fell outside of the top five providers with just 60 per cent of customers rating it ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ in that category.
What we like: you can bundle broadband and mobile deals, and a basic broadband deal costs less than £30.
What we don’t like: Vodafone isn’t so strong when it comes to TV bundles, however, it does still offer a streaming package.
BT is one of the UK’s largest broadband providers, with widespread fibre coverage. Thanks to its good infrastructure, 87 per cent of customers rated its reliability as ‘excellent’, placing it top of our list. It also came fifth for overall customer satisfaction, with 85 per cent of customers satisfied with BT’s service. Our survey showed that BT customers were least likely to say they had encountered issues with their broadband connection.
We wouldn’t recommend BT for speed; only 62 per cent of customers rated it ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ in that category. Additionally, just 59 per cent of customers agreed it was good value for money, ranking the provider in the bottom three.
What we like: its TV deals include Netflix plans as well as sports and entertainment bundles.
What we don’t like: deals are very expensive compared to other providers and involve mid-contract price rises.
Community Fibre is a relative newcomer to the broadband scene and is only available for London postcodes. It stands out for its pricing transparency and no-mid contract price hikes. 75 per cent of customers rated Community Fibre’s pricing transparency ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.
It offers ultrafast speeds at affordable prices; 75 per cent of customers said they were satisfied with the service they receive and 100 per cent of them rated the value for money ‘excellent’ or ‘good’. If you live in London, no other provider compares.
What we like: packages have no set-up fee and its 1Gbps package costs less than £30 – significantly less than rivals Virgin Media and Sky.
What we don’t like: only available for London postcodes.
Sky is one of the UK’s top providers and has supplied broadband and TV services nationwide for decades. Live TV and streaming services require a reliable and fast connection which Sky provides. 81 per cent of customers said its service is reliable and 62 per cent of customers rated it ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ for speed. However, Sky’s deals are not the most affordable – customers ranked it lowest for value for money and pricing transparency.
What we like: its broadband and TV packages. Sky is an excellent choice for superfast speeds and live TV channels.
What we don’t like: broadband-only customers are likely to overpay for their connection.
Virgin Media is one of the leading providers in the UK and supplies more than 60 per cent of customers we surveyed thanks to its own cable network. 83 per cent of customers are satisfied with their service and 79 per cent rated it ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ for reliability.
However, Virgin Media ranked lowest for customer service with just 54 per cent of customers rating it ‘excellent’ or ‘good’. Ofcom also reported it has the most customer complaints 20 per 100,000 people in the fourth quarter of 2023. Although it offers a catalogue of broadband, TV, and mobile services, packages do not come cheap. Just 58 per cent of customers agreed it’s good value for money, and comparing its packages to competitors shows how expensive they are.
What we like: plenty of speeds and bundle options to choose from.
What we don’t like: customer service is lacking.
When it comes to choosing a broadband provider in the UK, there’s no shortage of options. But with each internet provider offering different speeds, contract lengths and bundled services, it can be overwhelming. To help make the process easier, we’ve identified the main factors you need to consider as you figure out the best deal for you.
2. Availability: check which broadband deals are available for your area. Currently, not every postcode has access to fibre broadband, and no providers operate nationwide
3. Price: check that your chosen deal represents good value for money. Compare it with deals of a similar price, paying careful attention to advertised speeds and any extras included
4. Provider reputation: consider customer ratings and reviews. As well as our Independent Advisor rating, research the provider’s Ofcom score and customer reviews from websites such as Trustpilot. Ofcom releases a quarterly report for the number of complaints each provider receives per 100,000 customers. Below are the results for the fourth quarter of 2023:
| Broadband provider | Number of complaints per 100,000 customers |
|---|---|
| Sky | 5 |
| Plusnet | 9 |
| EE | 9 |
| BT | 11 |
| TalkTalk | 13 |
| Vodafone | 14 |
| Shell Energy | 14 |
| NOW Broadband | 18 |
| Virgin Media | 20 |
5. Compare deals: use our postcode checker to find packages that match your speed and budget requirements. If you’re looking for a bundle, filter the results to show broadband and phone or broadband and TV deals
We asked customers if they have considered switching providers in the last year to get an idea of their satisfaction – here’s how providers compared:
The fastest broadband widely available in the UK is generally 1Gbps (1,000Mbps), though some providers’ advertised speeds may greatly exceed this level.
With 1,600Mbps, EE offers the fastest advertised broadband speeds, followed by Vodafone at 910Mbps. Meanwhile, Plusnet, Hyperoptic and BT all provide top speeds of 900Mbps.
When you’re looking at broadband speed, bear in mind the following:
See our guide for more about broadband speeds and how to measure them.
Our experts found that it can take up to three weeks to successfully switch providers. Community Fibre can be installed in up to five working days – the fastest we’ve come across. We also researched the number of steps it takes from choosing your package to installation. TalkTalk and BT had the fewest number of steps.
| Broadband provider | Time until engineer visit | Number of steps involved in the setup process |
|---|---|---|
| BT | Up to 10 days | 3 |
| Virgin Media | Up to 7 working days | 4 |
| TalkTalk | 1-2 weeks | 3 |
| Community Fibre | Up to 5 working days | 4 |
| Sky | 2-3 weeks | 4 |
| Vodafone | 2-3 weeks | 4 |
| Plusnet | 2-3 weeks | 4 |
Most broadband providers offer a range of package types, contract lengths and bundle services. These include:
At just £24 per month, we found NOW Broadband’s Full Fibre 75 package to be the cheapest on the market.
But the best broadband provider for you – especially when it comes to pricing – will depend on your circumstances. If you live in London, our broadband expert Rachel recommends Community Fibre, as 100 per cent of its customers rated it highly in terms of value for money. If you live elsewhere in the UK, Three’s mobile broadband is a great choice; 77 per cent of its customers agreed it provided good value for money.
According to our survey, internet users in the UK pay an average £53 per month for their broadband package.
The Sky customers we surveyed pay an average of £60 a month for their broadband package compared to TalkTalk customers, who pay an average of £44 per month. While broadband-only customers pay £41 per month on average, those with a broadband, phone, TV and mobile bundle pay an average of £74 per month.
Internet providers are regulated by the Office of Communications, otherwise known as Ofcom. Broadband providers must abide by Ofcom’s rules and regulations to ensure their customers receive a fair service. These rules are regularly reviewed and kept in line with new technology and industry changes.
If you have any issues with your broadband provider, you may be able to make a complaint to Ofcom.
If both your current and your new provider are on Openreach’s network, your new provider will take care of cancelling your old contract and making the switch, including fitting any new cables you need. However, if they’re not on Openreach, you’ll need to cancel your old service yourself, and, depending on the type of broadband you’ve chosen, you may need to arrange for new cables to be fitted.
If you’re receiving certain government benefits, you may be eligible for a cheaper social tariff broadband package. There are several advantages to these packages:
You may be eligible for a social tariff broadband package if you receive the following benefits:
