What is the fastest broadband in the UK?

Right now, in early 2023, you might just despair of the slow speed available from your current provider or just want much faster broadband so you don’t have to wait so long for files to download ( or downloaded) and you can stream in 4K to multiple TVs around your home.

Fortunately, broadband speeds are about to get much faster in the UK. Full fiber rollout is well advanced and BT’s Openreach aims to connect 25 million homes by the end of 2026.

However, you might not have to wait that long: some areas already have it, while others will be upgraded over the next few months.

There is also an alternative. Virgin Media has completed its cable network upgrade, meaning around 15.5 million UK homes already have the option of subscribing to its Gig1 plan. This has average download speeds of just over 1.1 Gbps – even faster than the 900 Mbps that full fiber currently offers.

By the end of 2027, Virgin plans to expand Gig 1 to an additional 7 million homes.

While many people still use ADSL broadband and struggle with download speeds of around 10 Mbps (or less!), the ability to upgrade to gigabit broadband can be life changing.

The bad news is that rural areas are still underserved and alternatives to fiber and cable can be more expensive.

That said, there are super-fast broadband plans available if you live in the right place.

UK’s fastest broadband provider

Currently the fastest broadband available in the UK comes from Community Fibre. It offers download speeds of 3Gbps (3000Mbps) and costs £99 per month, but is only available in parts of London.

Even if you can getting it might not be the best idea. Indeed, current Wi-Fi routers and devices are well below this speed. Indeed, the Zyxel Wi-Fi 6 router provided by Community Fiber can offer speeds of only 400-650 Mbps, so 3 Gbps is overkill – for now.

For most people, the fastest broadband worth paying for is Virgin Media Previously mentioned Gig1 plan. With average download speeds of 1,130 Mbps, it’s still faster than most people need, and it comes with a Wi-Fi 6 router that goes faster than Community Fibre’s.

If you can’t get Virgin to your address, full 900Mbps fiber service is the second fastest option, available from BT, TalkTalk, EE, Vodafone and others.

Remember, these are all download speeds. Download speeds can be much, much slower. Gig1 has a rated download speed of 52 Mbps, for example, which is about 95% slower than the upload speed. With full 900 Mbps fiber, download speeds are around 110 Mbps.

Download speeds are important for video calls where your video needs to be sent to other call participants, and a faster download speed means any videos you need to post to YouTube (for example) will download faster . Likewise, if you have security cameras that record to the cloud, that video needs to be uploaded regularly, so only ever look at upload speeds.

Some providers offer equal upload and download speeds, which may make them a better choice if you do a lot of video calls or upload a lot of videos or other large files to the cloud. An example is Gigaclear, which offers 300Mbps, 500Mbps, and 900Mbps plans, but Hyperoptic and Community Fiber also have matching upload and download speeds.

If you live in a rural area, you will almost certainly find full fiber and Virgin’s Gig1 service not available to you. There are a few options to go faster than what’s available on your copper phone line, including mobile broadband (4G or 5G from Vodafone, EE, National Broadband and others) and satellite broadband (Starlink, Freedomsat) . Again, you’ll need to use each provider’s coverage/postcode checker to find out if you can get their services.

Fastest broadband plans in the UK

Here’s what the fastest broadband plans cost and how fast they are.

1. Community fiber | Download/Upload Speed: 3 Gbps

Community Fiber offers an incredible 3GBps, both uploads and downloads, which is probably a lot more than you need. It is only available in certain parts of London.

2. Virgin Media Concert1 | Download/Upload Speed: 1130 Mbps/ 52Mbps

This is the broadband price only. But if you want you can get a phone line for an extra £4 a month or opt for the Ultimate Volt Pack which adds over 230 channels with entertainment, anytime calling, Netflix Standard + O2 unlimited SIM for £85 a month (a bargain overall).

You can discover if Virgin is available in your area. Normally Gig1 costs £62 per month, with an additional £35 setup fee, but a deal at the time of writing waived that fee and reduced the monthly price slightly.

3.Hyperoptic 1Gb | Dupload/download speed: 900Mbps

Hyperoptic’s fastest broadband plan is called 1GB, but it runs at 900 Mbps on average. Importantly, and unlike BT’s offering, download speeds are also 900Mbps, making it pretty good value – if you can get it. Check the Hyperoptic website to find out.

4.BT Full Fiber 900 | Download/upload speed: 910 Mbps / 110Mbps

BT’s fastest broadband is the same as any other provider using the Openreach fiber optic network. This means download speeds of around 900 Mbps and uploads of up to 110 Mbps. You can add additional features to the basic plan such as full Wi-Fi (for a wireless signal throughout your home) and Hybrid Connect which switches to EE’s mobile network in the event of a problem with fiber broadband . You can also add BT TV to your package.

Find the latest prices and offers on the BT website, where you can also check if Full Fiber 900 is available for you.

5. Vodafone Gigafast 900 | Download/upload speed: 910 Mbps / 110Mbps

Vodafone’s Gigafast isn’t mobile broadband: it’s the same full fiber connection that BT uses. That’s why the speeds are the same, but the monthly cost is cheaper. This is the basic plan, broadband only, but you can see all Vodafone Gigafast plans.

6. Sky Gigafast 900 | Download/upload speed: 900 Mbps / 90Mbps

Another provider using Openreach full fiber is Sky, but the difference here is that the contract is shorter at 18 months. For an extra £5 a month, Broadband Boost gives you a strong Wi-Fi signal in every room and guaranteed minimum speeds of 600Mbps. Most providers offer a minimum speed guarantee at no extra cost, but the £5 is worth it to have Wi-Fi throughout your home.

You might find that the fastest plan Sky can offer you is Ultrafast Plus. That’s 500Mbps with 60Mbps download speeds for £39 a month.

In addition to the five listed above, the following were other top performing broadband providers in the UK:

Which broadband speed is best for me?

All of the providers above also offer slower broadband plans that cost less. And it’s worth considering whether you need 900 Mbps or more. It’s ideal for quickly downloading large files or streaming 4K video across multiple rooms. But if you just want to stream in HD, make occasional video calls in HD, and aren’t too worried about waiting a little longer for files to upload and download, then you don’t necessarily need a complete fibre.

As mentioned, many UK homes are not yet connected to full fiber anyway, meaning they are dependent on their old copper phone cables or the 4G or 5G mobile broadband available in the region.

For most people, download speeds of 30-40 Mbps are acceptable, but it’s still possible to get up to 80 Mbps over what’s called fiber to the cabinet (FTTC). This is different from full fiber because the fiber optic cable does not go directly to your property – only to the “cabinet” in your area. This cabinet connects to your house using copper telephone lines, which limits the speed, and the actual speed you will get depends on the distance between your house and the cabinet.

You can read OURguide to choosing a broadband service for a more in-depth explanation of the jargon, as well as other things you need to pay attention to besides speed.

Here’s a quick rundown of the speeds you actually need, though.

5-15Mbps: Suitable for a household of up to two people where occupants browse the web and check email. Streaming video is usually from a single device, and never in 4K.

40-80Mbps: This speed is suitable for households of up to five people constantly using their phones, streaming video to multiple TVs in different rooms, even in 4K, and playing online games. Smart devices are scattered around the house and there are a handful of security cameras uploading to the cloud.

200-900Mbps+: Ideal for large households of five or more, where adults work from home and frequently make video calls and need to upload large files to the cloud. These speeds are suitable for many smart devices, especially security cameras recording to cloud storage.

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