Confused.com Broadband Cashback & Offers

Comparing broadband starts with knowing what’s available in your area. Next, you need to:

Work out what speed and usage you need
Think about how your household uses the internet. Families with teenagers tend to use more broadband in the evenings, for example. Student houses may have multiple people online during the day and evening. Or maybe you work from home and need high-quality video calling for meetings.

Observing your household usage over a typical week should give you an idea of the speeds and reliability you need from your home broadband. Most packages come with unlimited data, but it’s worth checking. If not, make sure you ask about the costs of going over your data allowance.

Work out your budget
Once you have an idea of your typical usage, you can look at broadband prices and choose the option that’s the best value for you - that’s within your budget, but also gives you everything you need. For example, faster download speeds often come at a higher cost.

Check for any admin fees or equipment/installation costs. You should also expect an annual price increase, which most providers will make clear when you're signing up to a new deal. Some companies now add a percentage on top of inflation.

Choose a contract length
Broadband contracts typically vary from 12-24 months. Legally, providers must offer 12-month contracts to those who request them Some providers also offer 1-month rolling contracts. These are typically more expensive but can be useful as a stopgap for a short period.
You may find better broadband deals when you agree to a longer contract. But you’ll need to keep paying for the duration of the contract even if your circumstances change. If you want to leave the contract early, providers usually charge an exit fee, also known as an early termination charge (ETC).

Consider customer service options
When you compare broadband deals, it’s not just speed that’s important. It’s also worth reading the customer service reviews for each provider. Ofcom publishes an annual review of broadband providers, looking at things like value for money, overall signal strength and average call waiting times.

If customer service is important to you, you’ll want to take this into account when you compare home broadband deals.

You might want to know:

Is it quick and smooth to get online as a new customer?
Is it easy to switch at the end of your contract?
Are queries handled by chatbots or people?
Is the customer service team based in the UK?
Many UK providers are part of Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme. This means customers get compensation if something goes wrong. For example, if your broadband stops for 2 or more days you could get £9.33 a day back in bill credit.

Find out if your provider is part of the broadband compensation scheme.