Compare broadband prices get faster, cheaper broadband.

Use a price comparison service like WOW Compare – Simply enter your postcode to check broadband speeds and prices where you live.

WOW Compare enables you to check broadband prices from over 20 of the UK’s top internet services including BT, EE, Community Fibre, Hyperoptic, NOW, Onestream, Plusnet, SKY, Trooli, Virgin, Vodafone and other providers.

You can refine broadband deals using the ‘filters’ to add or remove service providers and fine tune broadband deals by monthly cost, broadband speed, length of contract and other features. 

Struggling with bills? If you are claiming certain benefits you could qualify for cheaper broadband social tariffs. Social tariffs are not listed on comparison sites, they need to be applied for directly. Broadband social tariffs start from just £12.50 per month!
Find out more about broadband social tariffs.

Broadband starts at around £25 per month but costs vary depending on the type of connection and speeds available in your area. Most broadband plans include monthly line rental, but you will incur extra charges if you add services like home phone and calls packages. Any additional charges should be listed clearly (e.g. when line rental is not included in the advertised monthly price). 

Home phone and calls – some service offer phone and calls packages bundled with broadband. These offers provide great savings especially when you opt to take ‘anytime’, or ‘evening & weekend’ calls plans.

Contract period or length – contracts usually last between 12 & 24 months. Be aware that prices often automatically increase when your initial contract period comes to an end. Also be aware that some broadband providers can increase prices during a contract if they do not guarantee ‘no mid contract price rises’ (so always check your terms and conditions).

As a general rule, if your provider wants to increase prices during a fixed contract, they should write to you. If prices increase over a certain threshold you should be provided with a cooling off period (usually 14 days), during which, you can switch providers without a penalty, even if you are still in a contract.

Once your broadband contract period has ended you are free to switch broadband providers without penalty. Your old provider can only charge for your internet use up to the day you switch over to your new provider.

If you are still ‘in contract’, you might be asked to pay an early exit charge. Some broadband providers will expect you to continue paying the monthly fees up until your contract ends as well.

One-stop switch, switching between providers on the Open Reach Network – should be hassle free, you don’t need to contact your current provider at all. Your new provider can arrange the transfer for you and providing no engineer is required switching broadband services will be free of charge.

Switching from Open Reach, to other networks – (Virgin and some other fibre networks) you may need to notify your existing provider that you have found a new broadband provider and that you need to terminate your service. Other networks may need to install a new broadband connection and equipment and you could be charged for this.

Remember you are always able to switch your broadband provider when you are out of contract – check the latest offers with your existing broadband provider, then visit WOW Compare to see what other broadband deals are available. 

Switching broadband provider can take up to 2 weeks but is usually faster. The ‘One Touch Switch’ service is now offered by many broadband providers this helps to simplify and speed up switching  – When you sign up with a new broadband provider, your new broadband provider will contact your existing broadband service and agree a changeover date. Any new equipment (modem, router or home hub) will be sent out, ready to plug in and use on the day your service switches over.

Your old service will continue to work up until the switch happens, providing there are no serious issues switching your broadband provider is usually very straight forward.

See – Ofcom’s guide to switching broadband services

Home broadband services can be fibre, cable, ADSL & even via the mobile network. Generally ‘full fibre’ or fibre to the premises provides the best broadband connection.

Fibre broadband – fibre connections provide the fastest speeds and best reliability. Fibre is many times faster than ADSL & faster than cable. Fibre broadband is perfect for multiple users running smart TVs, streaming music, playing videos and online gaming.

Cable broadband – comes just below fibre broadband, it is faster than ADSL and uses the same cables as cable TV. Cable broadband is only available in limited locations like cities and new estates where cable equipment has been installed. Cable connections can be either fibre optic or coaxial.

ADSL Broadband – provides the most widely available internet connections with around 99% UK coverage. However speeds are limited and vary depending on your geographical location and distance from the nearest exchange.

ADSL uses the same copper cables as your landline phone, the copper cables traditionally used to make and receive phone calls. ADSL is being phased out in many locations as the UK fibre rollout continues. 

4G or 5G Mobile Broadband  – 4G broadband is widely available across the UK and 5G broadband services are now being launched in many locations, they can provide super-fast broadband in homes starting at speeds of 50Mbs and 100Mbs .

*Connecting to mobile broadband requires a 4G / 5G router or ‘Mifi box’.
*You also need a mobile data SIM card.

A fast, reliable internet connection is key to a satisfactory home broadband. Choosing the right connection and internet speed is essential, this will depend on the number of users in your household and what you use your broadband for.

Faster broadband speeds are essential for households that need to connect multiple devices to the internet at any one time for online gaming and streaming content like music, video and smart TV services like iPlayer, Netflix and Sky.

The ability to be able work from home is also increasingly important for many households, this guide helps identify required broadband speeds:

• Up to 20Mbps – basic online activities such as web browsing, accessing emails and watching regular resolution video.
• 20-50Mbps – HD video streaming on one or two devices, connecting a small number of smart devices in the home.
• 50-100Mbps – 4K video streaming on one or two devices, online gaming, connecting a limited number of smart devices in the home.
• 100+Mbps – 4K video streaming on multiple devices, online gaming, supports multiple smart devices around the home.

Faster speeds help ensure you don’t suffer from ‘drop out’ or ‘buffering’ when using multiple connected devices. If you are a family with three or more people using multiple devices and you are all downloading or streaming content then a faster broadband speed is essential. Speeds in excess of 100+Mbps are best for trouble free gaming and streaming HD / 4K TV services.

Use WOW Compare’s broadband comparison to check the broadband services and speeds in your area. See if you can upgrade with your existing broadband provider or switch to a faster fibre broadband service.

Choose a fibre broadband service, fibre to the premises connections provide the fastest internet speeds. The UK governments bold target of 85% of homes to be fibre connected by September 2025, means most homes in the UK are now able to get broadband speeds in excess of 200Mbps. 

See – Ofcom’s Broadband and mobile coverage checker.

Broadband use measured in gigabytes (GB), this represents the amount of data either downloaded or streamed. 

Choosing ‘unlimited’ broadband ensures your data limit is not capped. As everything you do online uses data, it’s a no brainer to go for unlimited broadband. It will cover you for all the things you watch, listen to, or do online (no worries & no unexpected extra charges).

Bundled broadband, phone & TV are offered by some providers including BT, NOW, SKY, TalkTalk & Virgin Media. These services allow you to add home phone and calls packages (anytime or evening & weekend calls), plus TV services from SKY, NOW, Netflix, BT & Talktalk TV.

Choosing to include TV with  broadband and phone services can often work out cheaper than having separate contracts for each service. See if you can save by bundling broadband, TV and phone.