Many broadband providers these days boast gigabit speeds. Virgin Media claims its fastest broadband package can hit an average 1,130Mbps; it’s priced at £48 per month over an initial 18-month contract and then rises to £78 per month. You’ll also get a wifi 6-enabled router, and anyone also joining an O2 mobile SIM plan will get the gigabit broadband plan at the cost of a 500Mbps plan (£43 per month).
EE claims to have the highest possible speeds at 1.6Gbps downloads, around 50 per cent faster than the maximum of most providers. However, even if you qualify for this plan, you’ll likely experience an average of 900Mbps. This two-year contract costs £49 per month and includes 12 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – giving the speed advantage to gamers. You can also save money on a joint SIM and broadband deal with EE, though that isn’t specific to gigabit plans.
BT, which runs the OpenReach network used by EE, offers a 900Mbps average plan with 110Mbps upload speeds, priced at £57.99 per month. Signing up for a BT broadband package will also give you a free £50 reward card, which can be used anywhere that accepts Mastercard. BT-owned Plusnet offers an equivalent plan for £67.89 per month.
Vodafone offers speeds of up to 910Mbps at £38 per month; for £48 per month, you also get a wifi 6 router and booster with automatic 4G mobile broadband if your wired connection ever goes down. You’ll also receive £3 off monthly Vodafone mobile plans.
Sky’s Gigafast tariff is currently priced at £44 per month, down from £58 per month, for an 18-month contract, with the option to add entertainment packages and TV channels (such as Sky Sports and Sky Cinema) onto your subscription. Elsewhere, Shell Energy Broadband costs £69.15 per month for average download speeds of 944Mbps.
Hyperoptic was the UK’s first gigabit broadband provider back in 2011. While it’s since been overtaken for top speeds by some competitors, Hyperoptic’s Hyperfast plan offers average 900Mbps download/upload speeds for £39 per month, and the first three months of that contract are free (minus a £19 activation fee).
Community Fibre is a broadband provider that offers internet speeds of up to 3Gbps – that’s three times the maximum speeds touted by other leading players – for £49 per month or a more temperate 1Gbps for £30 per month. It’s exclusive to London, but as an end-to-end fibre-optic network, it offers parity between upload and download speeds, so you can send data as fast as you can receive it.
G.Network is another London-specific supplier, though with some unique financial perks. Its gigabit tariff starts at just £32 per month, and the company will even buy out the rest of your contract with an existing broadband provider (up to £150) if you make the switch. G.Network promises not to increase prices mid-contract, so you won’t get hit by any surprise inflation costs.
Connect Fibre is another full-fibre broadband operator with a substantial endowment from the UK government to help connect communities to high-speed internet. If you live in Derbyshire or North East Staffordshire, you may be able to get hooked up to gigabit speeds starting at £50 per month for a guaranteed 900Mbps.
Meanwhile, KCOM caters to internet needs in the North East, supplying homes with gigabit broadband in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (in fact it is the only provider offering wired broadband in Hull). It offers an average 900Mbps plan for a two-year contract at £69.99 per month, with unlimited data and 180Mbps upload speeds.
In the South West, Truespeed’s 900Mbps plan starts at £39 per month for the first year before rising to £75 per month; you can also add wifi boosters (known as “mesh nodes”) to get more extensive coverage in your home for £7 extra per month.
All prices are correct as of 4 March 2024.