Why over half of UK households are overpaying for broadband

In our survey of over 5,000 broadband customers, some 47% told us they were paying £30 or less for their broadband deal. The remainder - just over half - were paying more, with some telling us their monthly tariff exceeds £60.

If this is you, you're probably paying the ‘inertia tax’ - the hidden cost of loyalty to a single broadband provider. Over time, your deal is likely to become increasingly expensive - and uncompetitive. Millions of customers are overpaying simply for staying put with one provider.

Our latest market analysis of broadband deals has once again shown that just under £30 is the sweet spot for a monthly tariff, based on deals from a range of major providers ranging from 67Mbps partial fibre to over 300Mbps full fibre.

How does that compare to your broadband deal? Read on to discover how the amount you pay compares to other customers in the UK, what you should be receiving for it - and how much you could save by switching to a new provider.

Paying £30-40 a month? You could upgrade your speed

More than a quarter of the broadband customers told us they’re paying between £30-40 per month for their connection. This isn’t an unreasonable amount - depending on the type of connection you have.

If you live in a full fibre area, you should be on a deal with an average speed of 100Mbps or more. If you’re not, you can definitely switch and save. We’ve seen 150Mbps deals that have an effective monthly cost of as little as £23 - that means you could save as much as £17 each month.

If full fibre hasn’t arrived in your area yet, you’re slightly more limited in terms of options but you should still be on a deal with an average speed of between 67Mbps and 78Mbps. Here we have seen deals with effective monthly costs between £24 and £27, so you could still save nearly £200 a year by switching.

Paying £40-60 a month? You’re paying the inertia tax

If you’re in this bracket, you’re far more likely to be paying significantly more than you need to, yet nearly one in five customers told us they are in this boat.

Deals for new customers rarely cost over £50, unless they offer top-tier speeds that very few customers currently want or need. It’s more common to hear about people who have found themselves paying far more than they need because the cost of their deal increases every year - or because their provider is charging a premium now they are out-of-contract. This is where the inertia tax really kicks in - being out of contract almost always means overpaying.

If you’re paying between £40 and £50 a month, you should have a full fibre deal that comes with an average speed between 300 and 500Mbps, though even faster deals are also available in this price bracket. For reference, we’ve seen deals with average speeds of 300-500Mbps for an effective monthly cost of £26. So you could be looking at a saving of over £250 per year by switching.

If you’re paying over £50 a month your deal should have an average speed of at least 900Mbps - if not, you’re overpaying. If it does, you could still stand to make savings - our analysis of introductory deals found average speeds of 900-1000Mbps (1Gbps) were available for an effective monthly cost between £25 and £32, depending on whether you have access to the CityFibre, Virgin Media or Openreach network. Switching could more than halve the amount you’re paying for your deal.

Paying over £60 a month? You could save hundreds

Alarmingly, five percent of broadband-only customers told us they were paying more than £60 each month for their deal.

That’s an extortionate fee - it’s hard to see many scenarios where it would be reasonable. It would be more acceptable if you had pay TV included with your deal, a deal with several add-ons (such as a wi-fi guarantee, unlimited phone calls, or additional equipment), or if you live in an area where some of the fastest gigabit speeds are available.

Gigabit-speeds are those at or exceeding 1Gbps (1,000Mbps). But while the fastest of these lightning-fast deals vary in price, they don’t always exceed £60 per month - we have seen between 5Gbps and 7Gbps with effective monthly costs between £45 and £50.

So if you find yourself paying £60 per month simply because a deal that was once reasonable has increased over several years, it’s time to switch, save - and likely upgrade your deal in the process. Choosing a deal that costs £28 per month will save you over £380 each year.

Our pick of today’s best broadband deals

How to avoid the broadband inertia tax

To beat the broadband inertia tax, follow one simple rule: never let your contract roll over when its minimum period ends. 

You should receive an end-of-contract notification (ECN) letting you know when this is - and that your bill is about to increase. Then you’ve got three main options. The first is to accept a deal that is laid out in your ECN. This is the path of least resistance, but we’ve found these deals are often not especially competitive.

The second option is to switch providers. It’s quick, easy and you only have to contact the new provider. Keep in mind that there are now hundreds of providers in the UK, yet people tend to stick with the ‘Big Four’ (BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media) despite them usually offering mediocre service. 

As well as other big providers, alternative networks (altnets) are now set up in different parts of the country, and sometimes offer superior infrastructure. Get started using our guide on how to switch broadband providers.

If you'd rather not change providers, call your existing one and haggle. Once armed with competitor prices, you can usually negotiate a much lower tariff. Find out how to haggle with your broadband provider to get started.

Our research

The potential savings available are based on our analysis of broadband deals available from fourteen large broadband providers in August 2026. We looked at the effective monthly cost of each deal (the monthly tariff + any upfront costs + any mid-contract price rises, divided by the length of the contract), allowing us to compare the amounts customers currently pay with the amounts they would pay in practice when switching.

The amounts paid by consumers are taken from a nationally representative online survey of 5,235 people in December 2025 and January 2026.