Cheapest UK Broadband & Phone Social Tariffs
- Social tariffs are available to low income households.
- Who can get broadband social tariffs?
- Compare broadband social tariffs
UK social tariffs provide cheap home broadband & phone services to 1000's of lower income households
The cheapest UK broadband deals are available on social tariffs. Cheaper internet and broadband via a social tariff starts from just £12.50 per month (Community Fibre & Virgin Media). Other internet services have also launched low cost broadband via their own social tariffs.
BT, Vodafone, Virgin Media & TalkTalk have nationally available social tariffs for broadband. Other regional services also offering social tariffs include Community Fibre, Air Broadband compare the latest broadband social tariffs here.
Who can get broadband social tariffs?
Many of the UK’s biggest broadband providers now offer long-term low fixed rate prices on ‘social tariffs’. Broadband social tariffs are available to families and households where bill payers receive one or more of the following: jobseeker’s allowance or universal credit, employment and support allowance, disability allowance, pension credit or personal independence payments.
Vodafone Essentials Broadband
£20/month Upto 73Mbps speed, broadband & line
- – 12 month contract, must apply to renew annually.
- – No in contract price rises.
- – Only available to bill payers on jobseeker’s allowance, universal credit, employment and support allowance, disability allowance, pension credits or personal independence payments.
- – Available in Openreach postcodes 95% of the UK
BT Home Essentials Broadband
£15/month 35MB average speed, broadband & line
(*no income households)
£20/month 35MB average speed, broadband & line
(*low income households)
- – 12 months contract, must apply & renew annually.
- – No in contract price rises.
- – Only available to bill payers on jobseeker’s allowance, universal credit, employment and support allowance, disability allowance, pension credits or personal independence payments.
- – Available in Openreach postcodes 95% of the UK
Virgin Media Essential Broadband
£12.50/month 15MB average speed, broadband & line
Essential Plus Broadband
£20/month 54MB average speed, broadband & line
- – 30 Day rolling contract, must apply & renew annually.
- – Only available to bill payers on jobseeker’s allowance, universal credit, employment and support allowance, disability allowance, pension credits or personal independence payments.
- – Only available in Virgin Fibre locations.
Virgin Media Essential Plus Broadband
£20/month 54MB average speed, broadband & line
- – 30 Day rolling contract, must apply & renew annually.
- – Only available to bill payers on jobseeker’s allowance, universal credit, employment and support allowance, disability allowance, pension credits or personal independence payments.
- – Only available in Virgin Fibre locations.
Essential 35MB Broadband
£12.50/month 35Mb average speed, no line rental, no set up fee.
- – 12 month contract, must apply to renew annually.
- – No in contract pricee rises.
- – Only available to bill payers on jobseeker’s allowance, universal credit, employment and support allowance, disability allowance, pension credits or personal independence payments.
- – Only available across London postcodes.
Air Support Broadband
£20/month 100Mb average speed, no line
- – 12 month contract, must apply to renew annually.
- – Only available to bill payers on jobseeker’s allowance, universal credit, employment and support allowance, disability allowance, pension credits or personal independence payments.
- – Only available in Air Fibre locations (approximately 40% of the UK).
Who provides the cheapest broadband in the UK?
UK broadband offers change regularly, we have listed some of the cheapest nationally available broadband deals (those available in most postcodes across the UK) below.
The best broadband deals we have found are with Shell Broadband starting at £17.99 per month for 11Mbps speed (18 month contract, includes line rental, no connection fee), Shell offer a faster 35 Mbps average speed plan at £22.99 per month and a 67 Mbps average speed at £24.99 per month.
If you have a Fibre to the premises connection Hyperoptic and Trooli have super-fast deals from less than £18 per month.
Check out some of the cheapest UK broadband offers from NOW and other broadband providers here.
UK Broadband for under £25 per month
Don’t worry if you don’t qualify for a broadband social tariff, you could still find a cheaper broadband deal.
You can still get nationally available broadband for less than £25 per month, this includes broadband deals with popular UK broadband providers like NOW, Onestream, & Vodafone.
If you live in a city or town with full fibre connections we recommend you check fibre broadband availability in your area. We’ve found super-fast broadband deals for under £20 per month with Gigaclear, Community Fibre & Hyperoptic.
Full Fibre 75 (69 – 75 Mbs) £23
Full Fibre 100 (100 – 108 Mbs) £25
24 month contract
£0 setup/activation
Fibre 40 (35 – 38 Mbps) £19
Fibre 80 (67 – 70 Mbps) £20
24 month contract
£4.95 setup/activation
(Source: WOW Compare Broadband – Prices updated November 2024)
* Quoted speeds are estimated download speeds, prices may be subject to a one-off router delivery charge, plus connection fee if there is no existing line. Prices may increase each April, and at the end of the contract period.
** Home phone and calls packages not included but can be added if needed.
Don't qualify for broadband social tariffs - Find cheaper broadband here!
Don’t worry you don’t qualify for broadband social tariffs, you could still find a cheaper broadband deal.
Compare 100’s of broadband deals here >>
Broadband Social Tariffs FAQs
Broadband is considered an essential home service and broadband providers have been encouraged to offer no-frills, ‘social broadband tariffs’ to provide affordable broadband for financially vulnerable households. Social tariffs offer discounted broadband for low income households where bill payers are on universal credit or another eligible state benefit.
Ofcom estimates up to 4 million households in the UK could save around £144 a year. Yet less than 2% of eligible households have registered for a broadband social tariff.
| Package | Price | Average speed | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th Utility Social Tariff | £13.99 a month | 30 Mb/s | England |
| BT Home Essentials | £15 a month | 36 Mb/s | UK |
| BT Home Essentials Unlimited | £20 a month | 36 Mb/s | UK |
| Community Fibre Essential | £12.50 a month | 35 Mb/s | England (London) |
| Connect Fibre Essentials | £20 per month | 50 Mb/s | England (Cambridgeshire, Essex, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire) |
| Connect Fibre Essentials | £25 per month | 150 Mb/s | England (Cambridgeshire, Essex, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire) |
| Country Connect Social Tariff | £15 a month | 50 Mb/s | Wales (Newport) |
| County Broadband Essential | £15 per month | 15 Mb/s | England (East of England) |
| EE Basics | £12 a month | 25 Mb/s | UK |
| Fibrus Essential Fibre | £14.99 a month | 50 Mb/s | Northern Ireland and Cumbria |
| G.Network Essential Fibre | £15 a month | 50 Mb/s | England (London) |
| Grayshott Gigabit Connect | £19 a month | 100 Mb/s | England |
| Hey!Broadband Everyday Fibre | £16 per month | 100 Mb/s | England (South East England) |
| Hyperoptic Fair Fibre 50 | £15 a month | 50 Mb/s | England, Scotland, Wales |
| Hyperoptic Fair Fibre 150 | £20 a month | 150 Mb/s | England, Scotland, Wales |
| KCOM Full Fibre Flex | £14.99 a month | 30 Mb/s | England (Hull) |
| Lightning Fibre Social Tariff | £15 a month | 50 Mb/s | England (East Sussex and Kent) |
| Lothian Broadband Social Tariff | £19.99 a month | 100 Mb/s | Scotland (Lothian) |
| NOW Broadband Basics | £20 a month | 36 Mb/s | UK |
| Quickline Social Tariff | £16.50 a month | 100 Mb/s | England (Yorkshire and Lincolnshire) |
| RunFibre social tariff | £20 a month | 100 Mb/s | England (South Gloucestershire) |
| UK | |||
| UK | |||
| Sky Broadband Basics | £20 a month | 36 Mb/s | UK |
| SMARTY Social Tariff | £12 a month | 4G/5G | UK |
| Truespeed Basic | £20 a month | 30 Mb/s | England (South West) |
| Virgin Media Essential | £12.50 a month | 15 Mb/s | UK |
| Virgin Media Essential Plus | £20 a month | 54 Mb/s | UK |
| Vodafone Fibre 2 Essential | £20 per month | 73 Mb/s | UK |
| VOXI For Now | £10 a month | 4G/5G | UK |
| Wildanet Helping Hand Social | £20 a month | 30-100 Mb/s | England (Cornwall and Devon) |
| WightFibre Essential | £19.95 a month | 100 Mb/s | England (Isle of Wight) |
| YouFibre Social Tariff | £15 a month | 50 Mb/s | UK (various locations) |
You can apply for a social tariff with participating broadband providers if you receive one or more of the following:
Jobseeker’s allowance, universal credit, employment and support allowance, disability allowance, pension credits or personal independence payment.
Individual broadband providers have different criteria for their social tariffs. Check to see which broadband social tariffs you’re eligible for, before you sign up.
If you qualify for a social tariff you will need to apply directly with your preferred broadband service. Most broadband providers require some proof of eligibility for discounted social tariffs before applications are accepted.
Once your application has been accepted your switch (if you are changing to a new provider), should take a couple of weeks maximum. If you are switching to a social tariff with your existing broadband provider, service changes will be much quicker.
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