How to find the best broadband deals in London
If you’re looking for the best broadband in London, you're in the right place!
You should be spoilt for choice when it comes to broadband options in the capital. As well as a good variety of packages to suit all types of home set-ups, it's likely you'll have access to internet service providers that others around the UK can’t sign up to.
What’s more, because of the strong competition, prices are kept low, and you’ll be able to enjoy some of the fastest broadband speeds currently available.
Who are the best broadband providers in London?
As with elsewhere across the UK, the type of broadband service you can sign up to in your home will very much depend on your location. It’s not unusual for houses on the same street to have access to different providers and packages.
But you can be sure you’ll have access to all the major internet service providers, including:
In many places across London, you’ll have the choice of signing up to ultrafast internet speeds and have plenty of options when it comes to bundling in extras such as TV packages.
As of July 2024, around 68% of homes in London have access to full fibre broadband. However, to enjoy these, many will need to rely on a smaller, alternative network (altnet).
Only 33% of Londoners can sign up to a full fibre deal through a provider on the Openreach network (this includes BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone, Plusnet and many others).
See also: 'What are altnets?'
The best alternative providers in London (altnets)
As we’ve just mentioned, you may have more choice for a faster internet connection if you look beyond the main players and sign up to a smaller broadband company that specialises in full fibre connections.
For example, Community Fibre is only available in London. It operates its own dedicated high-speed fibre network and offers a broadband range of products with upload speeds that are just as fast as its download speeds.
There are plenty of options available, including a basic 20Mb essential social tariff package for those receiving benefits. Alternatively, you could have access to its whopping Fibre 3 Gig deal, for an average download speed of 3000Mb.
Hyperoptic is another great choice that’s available to London residents (as well a few other locations in England, Scotland and Wales, including Sheffield, Newcastle, Birmingham and Nottingham). With Hyperoptic 1Gb Hyperfast Fibre Broadband, you can get ultrafast, full fibre broadband with speeds up to 900Mb.
What type of broadband can I get in London?
ADSL Broadband
Basic ADSL broadband delivered over a telephone line used to be the cheapest and easiest way you'd get broadband in London. But times are changing. The copper phone lines across the UK will be switched off by the end of January 2027. As this is a staggered change across the UK, if you have access to fibre optic broadband in your area of any type, you might not be able to sign up to an ADSL broadband deal anymore.
You may also find that as providers try and steer new customers away from this older broadband technology, these actually end up more expensive than a basic superfast fibre package.
Part-Fibre (‘Fibre to the cabinet’ or ‘FTTC’)
The same goes for part-fibre options. These are delivered in London by providers on the Openreach network. Here, fibre optic cables stop at the street cabinet. The final part of the journey to your home still uses older copper telephone wires. The maximum speed you can get on a FTTC deal is around 65Mb.
As the Public Switched Telephone Network is due to be switched off, you may find there’s lots more choice when it comes to cheap broadband deals in London on a much faster, full fibre network. We say, if you can afford it - go for that instead! You’ll be future-proofing yourself.
For more information on changes to the UK’s copper telephone network, visit our guide: ‘PSTN Switch Off: Top Tips to get ready for Digital Voice’.
Full Fibre (‘Fibre to the premises’ or 'FTTP')
London is blessed with a good selection of full fibre broadband services. More so than any other city in the UK.
We’ve already mentioned the likes of Hyperoptic and Community Fibre. Gigaclear is another great choice for some of the fastest broadband speeds on the market. In terms of price-per-Mb, these are some of the cheapest broadband deals you’ll find in London.
Cable Broadband
Virgin Media cable broadband is available to around 68% of properties in the London area. This means if you’re looking for ultrafast broadband but also want to bundle in extras such as phone services or TV packages, Virgin broadband is likely your best bet.
Although there are lots of very fast altnet providers available in London, these tend to offer broadband only deals, or optional phone calls at a push.
Mobile Broadband
You can’t really find a better place in the UK for mobile broadband coverage. 4G and 5G signal strength across the capital is excellent.
You can even get 4G and 5G receptions across many stretches of the London Underground, including parts of the Jubilee line, Centre and Northern Lines and Elizabeth line stations.
There’s also talk of expanding a new London Wi-Fi network that could be accessed by visitors and locals without the need for a password or providing credentials. This has already been trialled in small areas including the London Stadium and Canary Wharf.
Because of the excellent 4G and 5G signal, you should have no problem signing up to a home mobile broadband deal from the likes of Three.
A mobile broadband Wi-Fi router doesn’t need to be connected to any external lines. Because of this, the flexibility of a mobile home broadband package could be invaluable if you’re in shorter term accommodation, shared housing or you live in an apartment block with little choice in your provider.
How to find the best internet deals in London
While the internet services we’ve listed so far will typically be available in many parts of London, this doesn’t mean you can definitely get them in your home.
When you’re carrying out a broadband comparison in London, be sure to use our postcode checker. By typing in your address, we’ll be able to automatically filter out the options according to the availability at your exact address. This should stop you from wasting too much time looking at providers which aren’t available at your home.
Once you’ve entered your address, here are some things to look out for when comparing your options:
Broadband speed
Think about what you’ll be using your internet connection for and how many people are online at any one time at home. At the very least, we recommend signing up to superfast broadband with average speeds of 35Mb.
You can get more help with this, in our guide: ‘what broadband speed do I need? Do I need fast broadband?’
Monthly cost
The cheapest broadband package doesn’t always mean the best value. In our comparison tables, you can view results by ‘effective monthly price'. This takes into account any extra fees such as setup costs and savings you might get by cashing in on a gift card when you sign up.
A lot of the major providers do reserve the rights to raise prices mid-contract. If you click on the ‘offer details and pricing’ dropdown you’ll see if this is the case in the ‘extras’ section.
Smaller altnets are more likely to pledge not to add price rises during a contract and offer a fixed price promise.
Remember, you can often upgrade your package with very little worry, but you might have issues downgrading if you find you’re not using the service. It’s best to be a little cautious and choose a contract price you feel comfortable paying.
For more help on rising broadband costs, you can read our guide: 'broadband price increases in 2024'.
Setup cost
All of the deals listed on Broadband Genie will include line rental (this will soon be a thing of the past, anyway). However, you may find you’re asked to pay an upfront cost to cover activation, or the postage of your Wi-Fi router.
Contract Length
Many broadband packages now ask for a minimum commitment of 18-months to two years. You’ll often need to pay an expensive early termination fee to get out of a contract ahead of time. For this reason, if you’re unsure you’ll be able to commit, you may be better off opting for a mobile home broadband deal on a rolling monthly contract.
For more help, read our guide: 'how to cancel a broadband contract early'.
Saving money with broadband bundles
If you make use of a landline telephone, or you pay extra for TV services, you make find it works out cheaper to bundle these into one bill. You can sign up to both broadband and phone packages, or ‘triple-play' broadband, TV and phone deals.
You might be limited for choice in London if you’re looking for a provider that offers very fast download speeds as well as these extra services. Many smaller altnets only provide a broadband connection or, at a push, included anytime or weekend calls.
Type your address into ours deals checker and you can alter the results using the ‘TV’ and ‘Calls’ filter.
Check our broadband provider reviews
Still confused about who’s best to sign up to? Head over to our broadband provider reviews for a more in-depth look at some of the most popular choices.
Frequently asked questions about broadband in London
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What’s the fastest broadband available in London?
The fastest broadband deal you can sign up to will depend on your exact location. Some London residents will be able to sign up to Community Fibre’s 3 Gig package. This offers an amazing symmetrical service with 3000Mb download and upload speeds. Whether you actually need a package of this speed is another matter.
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Are there no-contact broadband deals in London?
Your best bet for a no-contract broadband deal in London is to sign up to one of Three’s Mobile Home Broadband 4G or 5G Unlimited deals. These average around £24 per month.
Where we get our information
We strive to keep our local broadband information as up to date as possible. This means using trustworthy sources with regular checks. The information on this page comes from the following:
- Local broadband speed information: labs.thinkbroadband.com/local
- Mobile broadband coverage (1): nperf.com
- Mobile broadband coverage (2): checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/mobile-coverage
