If you live in London, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to broadband. Read on, and we’ll look at what's available and the pros and cons of the best broadband providers in London. And we’ve picked out the best deals for each supplier too.
Which are the best broadband providers in London?
Whether you’re in London or elsewhere, the same rule applies: the best broadband provider really depends on your personal needs.
Live in a multiple occupancy home and need a really, really fast service for TV streaming and online gaming? We’d recommend you take a look at fibre broadband from the likes of Virgin Media, Hyperoptic or BT.
Live alone or with one other person and just use the internet for browsing, email and online shopping? You can easily get by with a low-cost, standard broadband from Plusnet or TalkTalk.
Need a bit more help choosing a package? Read our guide to broadband speeds.
To see what’s available where you live, insert your postcode in our postcode checker.
Compare broadband providers in London
Below we’ll give you a snapshot of what to expect from the main broadband providers to help you make your mind up.
And we’ve picked out what we consider some of their best deals too.
Hyperoptic
- 158Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £21.99 per month
- 158Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 12 month contract
- £25.00 per month
*Average speeds are based on the download speeds of at least 50% of customers at peak time(8pm to 10pm). Speed can be affected by a range of technical and environmental factors. The speed you receive where you live may be lower than that listed above. You can check the estimated speed to your property prior to purchasing.
With a top-of-the-range Hyperfast fibre broadband package that delivers average speeds of 900Mbps, Hyperoptic offers London’s fastest broadband service by some distance.
It also sells cheaper, competitively priced fibre broadband packages that get you speeds of 50Mbps or 150Mbps.
The catch is that even in London, Hyperoptic broadband isn’t as widely available as broadband from high-street names, such as BT and Virgin Media.
What’s more, availability is often restricted to newbuild homes and blocks of flats.
However, if you are in an area covered by Hyperoptic, there’s plenty to recommend it.
Not least the fact that, as well as standard 12-month contracts, it offers broadband on a one-month, rolling-contract basis. So you’re free to cancel with 30 days’ notice, making it ideal if you’re in a short-term let.
It’s also worth noting that you don’t need to sign up for a landline to get Hyperoptic, so you can save yourself the best part of £20 per month.
Hyperoptic doesn’t offer any TV bundles. But you can still sign up for on-demand TV streaming services if you’ve got a smart TV or TV box.
BT Broadband
- 67Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £29.99 per month
- £27.49 Avg. monthly cost
- 145Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £34.99 per month
- £32.91 Avg. monthly cost
*Average speeds are based on the download speeds of at least 50% of customers at peak time(8pm to 10pm). Speed can be affected by a range of technical and environmental factors. The speed you receive where you live may be lower than that listed above. You can check the estimated speed to your property prior to purchasing.
BT’s broadband is fast, reliable and secure. And because its network covers 90% of London, it’s very widely available throughout the capital.
Depending on the product you choose, average speeds on its SuperFast range of broadband packages ranges from 50Mbps to 67Mbps.
So they’re certainly fast enough to be able to cope with the demands of a busy, multiple occupancy home.
However, in some parts of London you can sign up for its Ultrafast bundles.
BT’s Ultrafast Fibre Plus service features an average speed of 145Mbps, while the top-of-the-range Ultrafast service gets you an average speed of 300Mbps.
BT’s standard broadband deals are keenly priced and feature an average speed of 10Mbps.
If you’re in the market for TV too, BT offers some attractive TV bundles, including BT Sport, a good selection of extra channels and a decent set top box.
Think BT might be for you? Read our BT broadband review to find out more.
Virgin Media
- 132Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 18 month contract
- £29.99 per month
- 264Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 18 month contract
- £35.99 per month
*Average speeds are based on the download speeds of at least 50% of customers at peak time(8pm to 10pm). Speed can be affected by a range of technical and environmental factors. The speed you receive where you live may be lower than that listed above. You can check the estimated speed to your property prior to purchasing.
Virgin Media’s fibre broadband is London’s fastest widely available broadband service.
Although some parts of London aren’t covered, you’ve got a much, much better chance of being able to get Virgin Media broadband in London than anywhere else.
In select locations in the capital where Virgin Media’s fastest M500 package is available, you can expect an average speed of over 500Mbps.
But even if that’s not available where you are, average speeds on its M350 package is 350Mbps, while even its cheapest M100 bundle gets you an average speed of 108Mbps.
It’s these speeds that make Virgin Media fibre broadband a really good choice if you live in a busy home, such as a shared student house or a large family property.
Especially if it’s a household where you often stream TV in separate rooms around the house or play video games online.
Another key selling point of Virgin Media are that you don’t need sign up for a landline. And there’s the option of one-month rolling contracts. So it’s a flexible service.
Want TV as well? Virgin Media TV bundles are worth a look, with a highly rated V6 box and the option to add Sky Sports and BT Sport to your package.
Get a better idea of what Virgin Media offers with our provider review.
TalkTalk
- 67Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 18 month contract
- £28.00 per month
- 125Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 18 month contract
- £35.00 per month
*Average speeds are based on the download speeds of at least 50% of customers at peak time(8pm to 10pm). Speed can be affected by a range of technical and environmental factors. The speed you receive where you live may be lower than that listed above. You can check the estimated speed to your property prior to purchasing.
TalkTalk fibre and standard broadband products are widely available throughout London.
Its standard broadband package, dubbed Fast Broadband, features an average speed of 11Mbps and is very affordably priced. It’s ideal if you’re on a budget, or live in a house with one or two occupants.
TalkTalk’s fibre broadband packages are also keenly priced compared to BT and Virgin Media’s, with an average speed of 67Mbps on its Faster Fibre deals.
Unusually for broadband providers, TalkTalk guarantees no mid-contract price rises. So the price when you sign up is guaranteed to stay the same throughout your entire contract term.
You can bundle TalkTalk broadband with TV, with Sport and Entertainment themed add-ons.
And while its set top boxes aren’t quite as good as the likes of Sky Q and Virgin Media’s V6 box, they do the basics well and allow you to access Freeview channels and Netfix, and new-release movies rentals.
Keen on TalkTalk? Find out more as we take a closer look for our TalkTalk review.
Plusnet
- 66Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £25.99 per month
- 500Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £31.99 per month
*Average speeds are based on the download speeds of at least 50% of customers at peak time(8pm to 10pm). Speed can be affected by a range of technical and environmental factors. The speed you receive where you live may be lower than that listed above. You can check the estimated speed to your property prior to purchasing.
Like TalkTalk, Plusnet specialises in affordable broadband packages. These are Unlimited, Unlimited Fibre and Unlimited Fibre Extra, with average speeds of 10Mbps, 36Mbps and 66Mbps respectively.
Plusnet’s landline charges that are among the UK’s cheapest, and its customer service is consistently highly rated.
Alongside standard 12-month and 18-month contracts, Plusnet offers one-month contracts. These allow you to cancel your contract with 30 days’ notice.
In short, Plusnet is a really good choice for anyone on a budget. You also have the option to pay a year’s worth of line rental upfront, which saves you money in the long-run.
Find out more with our Plusnet review.
Sky
- 35Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £40.00 per month
- 61Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £25.00 per month
- £22.71 Avg. monthly cost
*Average speeds are based on the download speeds of at least 50% of customers at peak time(8pm to 10pm). Speed can be affected by a range of technical and environmental factors. The speed you receive where you live may be lower than that listed above. You can check the estimated speed to your property prior to purchasing.
Sky broadband uses the same network as BT broadband, so it’s widely available throughout London.
Prices and speeds are also in line with BT, with standard broadband offering an average speeds of 11Mbps.
Sign up for Superfast fibre and Ultrafast fibre and you can expect an average speed of 59Mbps and 145Mbps respectively.
But Sky’s real selling point is TV, with eight dedicated sports channels, live Premier League games and movie channels that screen Hollywood blockbusters well before the likes of Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video.
Sky also operates a genuinely attractive loyalty scheme for broadband customers.
Interested in Sky? Read our Sky review to find out more.
Three 5G and 4G home broadband
If you’re in select areas of London, Three offers 4G and 5G home broadband as a very viable substitute for fixed line broadband.
Its chief advantage is that Three’s 5G product works out much cheaper than a fixed-line fibre broadband with comparable speeds.
Impressively, Three’s 4G and 5G home broadband service deals offer unlimited usage.
And if you’re lucky enough to live within range of Three’s 5G network, tests suggest you can expect speeds of up to 200Mbps.
It’s also flexible, allowing you to simply take your 5G service with you, if you move home (assuming you move to an area that’s still covered by Three’s 5G network).
Fastest broadband providers in London
Rank | Provider | Average speed | Package |
1st | Community Fibre | 3Gbps | 3 Gbps Fibre Broadband |
2nd | Hyperoptic | 900Mbps | Hyperfast |
3rd | Virgin Media | 500Mbps | M500 |
4th | Virgin Media | 300Mbps | M300 |
5h | BT | 314Mbps | Ultrafast Fibre 2 |
6th | Three 5G | 100-200Mbps | HomeFi Unlimited |
7th | BT | 100Mbps | Ultrafast Fibre Plus |
How to find the best broadband deals in London
To make sure you choose the right package and get the most for your money, there are a number of factors to consider.
We’ll walk you through them below…
Download speeds
The chief factor that determines which speed you’ll need are the number of people you live with.
As a general rule of thumb, the more people in your home, the faster the service you’re going to need.
How you use the internet is also a key consideration.
If you really only go online for a bit of browsing and shopping, you can easily get by with a low-cost, standard broadband service from the likes of TalkTalk or Plusnet.
However, you spend a lot of time watching video streaming services, such as Netflix and Now TV, play games online we’d recommend you go for a faster, fibre broadband package.
Need a bit more help? Head to our one-stop guide to choosing a broadband package.
Unlimited downloads
Some broadband packages restrict how much you can download each month, which means streaming music and video can be costly if you exceed your limit.
This can be especially frustrating if you’re part of a large family that has lots of different devices on the go at once.
For peace of mind, we recommend taking out an unlimited broadband package so that you don’t incur any unexpectedly high charges at the end of the month.
Luckily, most of the UK’s biggest providers offer unlimited broadband packages, and you can track down best ones using the broadbandchoices comparison table.
Of course, for those who only use the internet to check their emails and surf the web from time to time, a broadband package with a usage limit will be fine.
Price
Although we don’t recommend that you make price the deciding factor when choosing a broadband package, it’s still a really important thing to consider.
So, after you’ve figured out what type of package you’re looking for, use our deals table to track down the best results and find a package that best suits you, and is within your price range.
Looking to save money? Take a look at our pick of today's standout cheap broadband deals.
