Most broadband companies will increase your monthly price once per year. However, some smaller providers have guaranteed no mid-contract price rises in their deals.
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Keep in mind: Most fixed-price providers have limited coverage in the UK, so there may be no available deals at your address. Learn more about fixed-price broadband and which providers offer them below.
A fixed-price broadband deal is a broadband package that won’t go up in price during your contract.
They’re offered by providers that have committed to no in-contract price rises for their customers - something that most of the bigger brands do not do.
With a fixed-price deal, the monthly price you choose when you’re signing up is the same monthly price you’ll pay for the entire length of your contract.
There’s no unexpected bill increase, or any terms and conditions that lock you into a price rise every year, until your contract comes to an end when you're free to re-contract or switch away.
Most broadband deals are advertised with a monthly price that you have to pay for a period of 12 months, 18 months or 24 months. Some deals are available on a 30-day (or ‘no contract’) basis, but most people choose a contract.
You’d expect that means you pay a set monthly rate for the length of time you signed up for. However, that's not the case - most broadband providers will still increase your monthly price once per year in April.
These price rises could take two forms:
Most providers have historically raised their prices at the rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Retail Price Index (RPI) announced at the beginning of each year. This would come with an additional price increase on top set by the provider itself - usually between 3-4%.
In 2025, based on the 2.5% CPI inflation rate figure announced in January, April price hikes from providers like BT, Plusnet, Vodafone and EE amounted to 6.4%.
UK regulator Ofcom has recently ruled that anyone signing up to a new broadband contract must instead have a fixed, flat-rate price increase stated in pounds and pence.
Many providers started adopting this in 2024, but the final deadline Ofcom set for this was 17 January 2025. So if you've switched or contracted recently, you may be on this price rise policy instead of an inflation-linked one.
Most providers have committed to a £3 per month price increase every April, although Virgin Media's price increase is £3.50.
Unfortunately, since these price rises are included in both the providers’ terms and conditions, and in a one-pager before you purchase the deal, you can’t leave your contract for free if your price goes up.
You’ll either have to wait until your contract expires or pay some potentially expensive exit fees to leave your current agreement early.
It depends on which broadband providers are available at your home. A small number of providers offer no-prise-rise broadband, so it’s always worth checking they’re in your area. But they might not be available where you live.
Most widely available broadband providers will have yearly price increases included in their terms and conditions. And the majority of fixed-price providers are smaller brands that have limited coverage across the UK.
This means you will likely only be able to get fixed-price broadband if you live in one of the select areas that are supplied by 'alternative' providers.
None of the well-known broadband providers offer broadband with no mid-contract price increases. The likes of BT, Virgin Media, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone, Plusnet and others all have some form of yearly price rise in their pricing terms.
If you want fixed-price broadband for the length of your contract, you’ll need to look for one of the many ‘alternative’ broadband providers (known as altnets), which guarantee no in-contract price increase. But they will need to be available at your home in order to use.
“It's a sad reality that most of the broadband providers in the UK, especially the recognisable ones, include yearly price rises for those in the middle of their contract.
Some good news is that in 2024, providers started to adopt a new policy that means they will tell you when you're signing up how much your monthly bill will go up by, in pounds and pence, each time.
This was properly enforced by Ofcom for all new broadband contracts from 17 January 2025, which means price rises in your next contract will no longer be tied to a future unknown inflation rate.”
Many of them offer fixed-price broadband with no in-contract price increases
Most are full fibre-only, so you get access to much faster and more reliable broadband than average
Despite being much faster, their deals are priced about the same as many providers’ part-fibre deals
They’re trusted far more than the larger providers, with much better Trustpilot scores and reviews
As smaller providers with their own networks, their UK coverage is far lower than the big brands
These providers are mostly broadband-only, so they won’t sell TV and broadband bundles like Sky, Virgin or BT do
If you can access a provider that offers fixed-price broadband, then it’s a great option to have. A guaranteed price for the length of your contract will be reassuring, and it’ll allow you to plan your future finances more accurately.
However, it shouldn’t be the only thing to consider when comparing broadband. It’s important to make sure you’re happy with all parts of a deal before signing up, and whether the price is fixed or not is just one aspect to consider.
A provider may offer a fixed price, but if its speeds aren’t suited to what you need, or it comes with high upfront costs, then you still might be better off going for a different provider. You might still have a better experience with a deal that might go up in price once a year.
Browse our range of broadband deals with no upfront cost.
This said, most fixed-price deals are offered by smaller ‘alternative’ providers who supply very fast and reliable services for very reasonable prices. So they will potentially still be one of the best options available to you.
Broadband prices tend to go up every April, and providers usually startnotifying their customers a couple of months beforehand.
This means you should first hear about any price increases you’re due to receive in January or February each year.
Providers owned by BT Group (BT, Plusnet and EE) will raise your next bill after the 31st March. The rest will do so from your next bill after the 1st April.
While in-contract price rises are a huge bug bear for customers, it’s not the only price increase you should be aware of.
End of contract price rises are usually a lot higher, as they take place once your agreed monthly payment term has expired. So depending on which provider you’re with, your bill could rise up to 80% higher than your initial monthly rate.
However, the great news is that since these price rises come at the end of your agreement, you’ll be free to get a new deal one month before your end date.
Providers must send out end of contract notifications to every customer a few weeks before their contract expires. These emails will often list a few of its existing deals you could re-contract to.
But existing customer deals are often more expensive than ones offered to new customers. So it always helps to compare new offers from other providers to see if you could get a better deal elsewhere.
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If you want to learn more about how Uswitch works, including how we're able to show you a range of broadband deals from different UK providers, visit our About Us page. On there, we explain how we earn money, who our experts are, how our savings messages are calculated and much more.
