Households on benefits including Universal Credit urged to act today to get cheap broadband
BT is increasing the cost of its Home Essentials social broadband tariff from tomorrow - but you can still lock in the current price if you act today. The price of this package is rising from £15 to £16 a month from May 2.
The deal offers average speeds of 36Mbps and is available only to those claiming certain benefits, including Universal Credit, Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit), Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support.
BT will ask for your National Insurance number when you apply to check you are eligible. There is also a faster deal with 67Mbps for £23 a month, which is due to rise to £24 tomorrow.
Those who sign up tonight will lock in the current prices for 12 months. Keep in mind there is an upfront fee of £12 for postage and packaging. However, there are cheaper social broadband tariffs available - you can see the full list from Ofcom below.
A BT spokesperson said: "We're committed to providing support to our customers when they need it most - so we're continuing to offer low-income customers a range of connectivity options.
"From 2nd May 2025, new customers can now join our broadband social tariff Home Essentials, which offers the cheapest quality connectivity for zero income customers from £16 a month. Our yearly eligibility checks ensure we're offering customers the right tariffs at the right time."
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Full list of broadband and mobile social tariffs
These are the current social tariffs listed by Ofcom. Check each tariff online to see which benefits you need to be claiming in order to take out one of these deals.
Work allowance
4th Utility Social Tariff - £13.99 a month, 30Mbps (England)
BT Home Essentials No Income - £15 a month, 36Mbps (UK) price increasing on May 2
BT Home Essentials Fibre Essential - £20 a month, 36Mbps (UK) price increasing on May 2
BT Home Essentials Fibre 2 - £23 a month, 67Mbps (UK) price increasing on May 2
Community Fibre Essential - £12.50 a month, 35Mbps (London)
Connect Fibre Essentials - £25 a month, 150Mbps (Cambridgeshire, Essex, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire)
Country Connect Social Tariff - £15 a month, 50Mbps (Newport)
County Broadband Essential Broadband Tariff - £15 a month, 15Mbps (East of England)
EE Basics - £12 a month, up to 25Mbps (UK)
Fibrus Full Fibre Essential - £14.99 a month, 50Mbps (Northern Ireland and Cumbria)
G.Network Essential Fibre Broadband - £15 a month, 50Mbps (London)
Grayshott Gigabit Connect - £19 a month, 100Mbps (England)
Hey! Broadband Everyday Fibre - £16 a month, 100Mbps (South East England)
Hyperoptic Fair Fibre - £15 a month, 50Mbps (England, Scotland, Wales)
Hyperoptic Fair Fibre - £20 a month, 150Mbps (England, Scotland, Wales)
KCOM Full Fibre Flex - £14.99 a month, 30Mbps (Hull)
Lightning Fibre Social Tariff - £15 a month, 50Mbps (East Sussex and Kent)
Lothian Broadband Social Tariff - £19.99 a month, 100Mbps (Lothian)
NOW Broadband Basics - £20 a month, 36Mbps (UK)
Quickline Social Tariff - £16.50 a month, 100Mbps (Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)
RunFibre social tariff - £20 a month, 100Mbps (South Gloucestershire)
Sky Broadband Basics - £20 a month, 36 Mbps (UK)
SMARTY Social Tariff - £12 a month, 5G where available (UK)
Toob Essentials - £20 a month, 50Mbps (South West)
TalkTalk - FREE for six months through Jobcentre, 38Mbps (UK)
Truespeed Basic - £20 a month, 30Mbps (South West England)
Virgin Media Essential Broadband - £12.50 a month, 15Mbps (UK)
Virgin Media Essential Broadband Plus - £20 a month, 54 Mbps (UK)
Vodafone Fibre 2 Essentials - £20 per month, 73Mbps (UK)
VOXI For Now - £10 a month, 5G where available (UK)
Wildanet Helping Hand Social Tariff - £20 a month, 30-100Mpbs (Cornwall and Devon)
WightFibre Essential Broadband - £16.50 a month, 100Mbps (Isle of Wight)
YouFibre Social Tariff - £15 a month, 50Mbps (various locations)
How to cut your broadband and mobile bill
If your broadband or mobile contract is expiring, check prices elsewhere using a comparison website to see what other deals are available. When comparing broadband deals, take a look at your current speed, and for mobile, how many minutes, texts and data you use.
You may find you're actually paying too much right now for speeds you don't really need, or allowances you're not using. If you've found a cheaper deal, you can switch to this if you're out of contract. Alternatively, you may want to haggle down your current provider.
When haggling, explain the better deals you've seen elsewhere then ask if the company can match or beat that price. The best time to try and negotiate a better deal is near the end of your contract or, in some cases, when a price rise has been announced.
You may be able to leave penalty-free when a mid-contract price rise is announced, although not if the price rise was already written into your contract.
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