Broadband social tariffs: eligibility and all you need to know

Broadband connections have become essential for communication, information and entertainment, so it's imperative that they are affordable for everyone. Social tariffs are special low-cost broadband deals offered to customers receiving benefits such as Universal Credit and Pension Credit (Guaranteed Credit).

Our research has shown that moving to a social tariff could save the average customer £250 a year if they're eligible. But lots of customers who could benefit from moving to a social tariff aren't aware they're available. Read on to learn which providers offer social tariffs and how much they cost, who is eligible for a social tariff and how to go about accessing one.

Are you getting the most from your broadband? Read our guide to the best and worst broadband providers to see how your provider fares in our survey.

What is a broadband social tariff?

Social tariffs are special discounted deals available for certain low-income customers. They're generally cheaper than typical broadband tariffs, starting at just £12.50 per month. They also usually aren't subject to price rises or exit fees.

Social tariffs are designed to act as a safety net for households that may otherwise struggle to afford broadband services. Research by the telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has shown that an estimated 4.2 million households in the UK are eligible.

Who is eligible for social tariffs?

You're likely to be eligible for a social tariff if you receive a means-tested state benefit, such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit or legacy equivalents.

The exact requirements depend on the broadband provider in question – some only offer social tariffs to Universal Credit recipients, while others extend eligibility to those on Council Tax Support, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment & Support Allowance.

Those who receive Guarantee Credit (a top-up to Pension Credit) are also usually eligible. Some providers - such as Hyperoptic, KCOM and Vodafone - also offer social tariffs to vulnerable households that receive non-means-tested benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment.

Full list of broadband social tariffs and providers

How to switch to a broadband social tariff

Social tariffs are usually easy to switch to - the major providers have instant eligibility checks. You also won't be expected to pay any exit fee if you're in a fixed term contract and want to move to your provider's social tariff. Plus there's a range of speeds on offer, including fast fibre options. 

Below we detail the steps required for all major broadband providers.

Social tariffs for BT, EE and Plusnet broadband customers

BT has three social tariffs:

• Home Essentials No Income  - 36Mbps, £16 per month, 12-month contract
• Home Essentials Unlimited 36Mbps - 36Mbps, £21 per month, 12-month contract
• Home Essentials Unlimited 67Mbps - 67Mbps, £24 per month, 12-month contract

BT offers its social tariffs to current and new customers. Eligible BT, EE and Plusnet broadband customers can also switch to BT social tariffs at any time without incurring an exit fee.

What's required: BT conducts an instant online eligibility check – you’ll just need to supply your last name, date of birth and National Insurance number. BT will use these details to confirm whether you're eligible, and let you know if you can sign up to its social tariff. When your 12-month contract ends, BT will reassess your eligibility.

BT customers can get started on BT’s website or call 0800 800 150.

EE and Plusnet customers will need to contact the relevant call centre to get moved over.

Eligible EE customers should call 0800 079 5122

Eligible Plusnet customers should call 0800 432 0200

Social tariffs for Sky and Now broadband customers

Sky and Now each have one social tariff:

• Now Broadband Basics - 36Mbps, £20, rolling contract
• Sky Broadband Basics - 11Mbps-75Mbps, £20, 24-month contract. 

The speed you'll get if you take up Sky's social tariff depends on what type of broadband is available where you live. Customers in copper-based ADSL areas will receive average speeds 11Mbps, those with partial fibre connections will receive average speeds of 35Mbps, and those in full fibre areas will receive average download speeds of 75Mbps.

Sky’s tariff can only be taken up by current Sky customers - if you're with Sky and meet the eligibility criteria, you can move to its social tariff at any time (regardless of how long is left on your contract). Sky's subsidiary, Now, offers its own social tariff and anybody can switch to it (Now customers don't have to wait until their contract ends).

What's required: Sky and Now both have instant eligibility checks. You’ll need to contact the relevant call centre to take up a social tariff and share your name, address, date of birth and which benefit you receive. When your contract ends, Sky or Now will recheck your eligibility.

• Eligible Sky customers will need to contact its call centre: 0333 759 3143
• Those interested in signing up to Now’s broadband social tariff should call 0333 759 5056

Social tariffs for Virgin Media broadband customers

Virgin Media has two social tariffs:

• Essential Broadband - 15Mbps, £12.50 per month, rolling contract
• Essential Broadband Plus - 54Mbps, £20 per month, rolling contract

Virgin Media offers its social tariffs to new customers and current customers. If you're already a Virgin Media customer, you can take up one of its social tariffs at any time - you don't need to wait for your contract to end.

What's required: Virgin Media will conduct an instant eligibility check – you’ll need to share your full name, postcode and date of birth, and to consent for Virgin to confirm your eligibility with the Department for Work and Pensions.

Virgin Media's social tariffs are on rolling contracts, but it will check your eligibility for a social tariff every 12 months. Get started on Virgin Media’s website.

Social tariffs for TalkTalk broadband customers

TalkTalk doesn’t currently offer a broadband social tariff. It may allow customers who are eligible for another provider’s social tariff to switch away without having to pay an exit fee but this seems to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

However, TalkTalk does separately partner with the Department for Work and Pensions to offer six months of free fibre broadband to certain jobseekers. Here, eligibility is determined by Jobcentre staff - speak to your Jobcentre Plus work coach to check whether you’re eligible.

Social tariffs for other broadband customers

The biggest broadband providers aren’t the only ones that offer a broadband social tariff. Less dominant – though still popular – providers like Hyperoptic and Vodafone offer them too. Find out more using our full list of available social tariffs. 

The eligibility criteria used differ depending on the provider. Some smaller providers limit their social tariff to Universal Credit recipients. However, others offer social tariffs to an even wider pool of recipients than the major providers - for example, Vodafone also accepts people who receive Reduced Earnings Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Disability Allowance while Hyperoptic also accepts Attendance Allowance and Care Leavers Support. 

Not every provider is set up to do instant eligibility checks at this stage. If they're not, they will ask you to verify your eligibility by sharing a scan/screenshot/photograph of your proof of benefits letter or proof of a recent payment instead. 

Over time, more providers will be able to offer instant checks thanks to a service from the Department of Work and Pensions. Hopefully providers that don’t offer social tariffs will also use the service to allow those eligible to switch away to another provider's social tariff without incurring an exit fee.

Switching to a social tariff with a different provider

You don't always have to take up a social tariff with the provider you're currently with - most providers will allow new customers to take their social tariff (Sky is an exception, but its subsidiary, Now, offers a social tariff to new customers). 

If you're out-of-contract, you have the power to switch at any time - that means you can weigh up all of the social tariffs available and go for the one that best suits you.

If you're in the middle of a fixed term contract, things are slightly more complicated. If you're with a provider that offers a social tariff, it will allow you to move to it without facing an exit-fee, but it may not allow you to exit to take up another provider's. Plus some providers (e.g. TalkTalk) don't offer a social tariff for sitting customers to move onto in the first place.

In both instances, it's worth a conversation with your provider. Some providers have told us they'll allow customers to switch away to take a social tariff with another provider, if they can prove they're eligible.

Will a social tariff have a fast enough broadband connection?

There are a range of speeds available - some providers only offer standard-speed broadband (10-15Mbps) on their social tariffs, but superfast fibre speeds from 36-67Mbps are widely available. Standard-speed broadband is likely to be adequate if you only need your connection to browse, but most customers will benefit from superfast broadband. Learn more using our guide to broadband speeds.  

Eligible customers who live in certain parts of the UK can access even faster connections. Social tariffs with average speeds of 100Mbps or more are offered by 

• B4RN (available in rural parts of Lancashire and Cumbria)
• Connect Fibre (available in parts of Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Essex, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire)
• Grayshott Gigabit (available in East Hampshire, Surrey Hills and surrounding areas)
• Hey! Broadband (available in Buckinghamshire, Greater London, Hertfordshire Oxfordshire, Surrey and Sussex)
• Hyperoptic (available in areas including Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newcastle)
• Lothian Broadband (available in parts of East Lothian and Midlothian)
• Quickline Broadband (available in parts of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire)
• RunFibre (available in South Gloucestershire)
• WightFibre (available on the Isle of Wight).

Is it worth me signing up to a social tariff?

If you're eligible, it's worth weighing up your options. The key benefits of social tariffs are that they're affordably priced and you don't have to worry about the price going up - that's not the case with a lot of other broadband deals. 

Some providers offer affordably priced deals on their standard tariffs, but keep in mind that these prices are usually for a fixed period (12-24 months) and after that, they'll generally increase in price. Many also have annual price rises built in, so their cost will go up every March or April. In most cases, they will also have an associated exit fee 

However, there are a couple of downsides to social tariffs - there aren't a huge amount of high-speed services that are widely available, plus you'll need to take the step of proving your eligibility to sign up (although providers are working to make this as straightforward as possible).

It can be possible to access cheap broadband deals that aren't social tariffs. Several big providers regularly offer competitively priced deals, including superfast broadband for £20-25 a month for new customers. Community Fibre (available in London) offers a special tariff for all customers struggling to stay on top of costs - £12.50 a month for 35Mbps.

What other benefits are on offer for social tariff customers?

Some providers offer a couple of extras for social tariff customers beyond a more-affordable broadband connection. 

Sky now offers a free 3GB mobile plan to customers of its Sky Basics social tariff. The deal is with Sky Mobile so customers will either need to sign up or already be a customer. It includes unlimited calls and texts as well as 3GB of data, which rolls over if not all is used in a given month. It comes with a 12 month contract.

Virgin Media offers its Stream TV service to customers of its Essential Broadband Plus social tariff. This includes a Stream TV box, plus access to over 40 free TV channels (and the option to add paid subscriptions such as Netflix and Disney+, too). There is a one-off £20 set up fee for customers who opt to take the Stream box, but no additional ongoing fees.

Is it difficult to sign up for a social tariff?

There aren't too many hoops to jump through, but there are a couple of key ways that signing up for a social tariff is different to signing up for a typical broadband deal. 

The first thing to be aware of is that social tariffs don't show up on broadband switching sites and they don't usually show up if you enter your postcode on a provider's website. Providers usually have dedicated webpages for their social tariffs - we've included links in our table above to help finding them easier.  In some cases you'll need to get in touch with the provider via email or phone to sign up to a social tariff. 

When you sign up to a social tariff, you'll be asked to share evidence of eligibility in the majority of cases. This may include sharing a photo, screengrab or scan of your benefits statement. Providers like BT, Sky and Virgin Media have special instant eligibility checks that means you won't need to share any evidence - but other providers are working on rolling this out, too. However, keep in mind that the person who receives the means-tested benefit must be the one who applies for the service.

Will I need to pay an exit fee to move over to a social tariff?

No - most providers will waive any early termination fees if you move from an existing contract to their social tariff.

However, providers are less clear on whether they will waive exit fees if you want to switch to another provider's social tariff, seemingly dealing with this on a case by case basis. BT has told us that EE and Plusnet customers will be allowed to move to its social tariffs penalty-free.

We think all providers should ensure customers don't have to pay early termination charges to move to a social tariff - even if they're switching to another provider.

I'm not eligible for a social tariff - what should I do?

If you're worried about the amount your broadband is costing you, the best steps to take depend on whether or not you're on a fixed-term contract.

If you are in a fixed-term contract, it's unlikely you will be able to exit without paying a termination fee. But if you ever have any difficulties making a payment for your service, don't not pay - contact your provider for support. Ask what it can do to help - it might arrange an affordable payment plan for you, give you extra time to pay, help you move to a more affordable deal or reduce your bill. 

When we spoke to the major providers about how they support customers struggling with financial issues, all of them told us that customers should get in touch with them for help as soon as possible. Ofcom has made it clear that broadband providers should do all they can to keep people connected, plus the major providers have made a commitment to the UK government that they will support those struggling with their bills.

If you're not in a fixed-term contract with your broadband provider, you're likely to be able to reduce your costs by shopping around. You can choose to switch to a new provider - you'll then move onto an introductory offer that is likely to be affordably priced. To get started, read our guide on how to switch broadband provider.

In most cases, switching broadband provider is quick and easy - but if you're happy with yours, you may be able to reduce the cost of your service simply by asking. Find out more using our guide on how to haggle for the best broadband deal.

Why don't all broadband providers offer social tariffs?

Both the telecoms regulator (Ofcom) and the Digital Secretary have called for more broadband providers to offer social tariffs. We believe that providers that don't offer social tariffs should consider the support they're providing to low-income households and whether they can do more.

EE, Plusnet, and TalkTalk are all big broadband providers that don't currently offer social tariffs for fixed broadband services - though EE and Plusnet customers can move to BT's social tariffs.

And while TalkTalk doesn't offer a social tariff, it partners with the Department for Work and Pensions to offer six months of free fibre broadband to certain jobseekers. Here, eligibility is determined by Jobcentre staff - speak to your Jobcentre Plus work coach if you think you might be eligible. After six months, you can choose to roll onto a contract with TalkTalk or cancel the service free of charge.