NOW Broadband price hike 2026 – what can customers do?
NOW Broadband increased its prices for all customers by £3 a month in July 2025, even for those who were mid-contract. And like most UK providers, including BT, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and more, NOW Broadband is highly likely to increase its prices in 2026 as well.
However, unlike most other providers, NOW doesn’t have a fixed annual price increase clause in its contract terms. This means that if it announces a price increase, customers have a 30-day window to leave their contract early.
Sky, NOW’s parent company, is the only other broadband provider that allows this.
This guide will walk you through what to expect from the price hike and the steps you need to take within your 30-day cancellation window to switch to a cheaper deal without incurring a penalty fee.
Is your broadband bill going up in 2026?
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Will NOW Broadband increase its prices in 2026?
Yes, a price increase from NOW Broadband in 2026 is highly expected. Based on previous years, it will likely come into effect in July, rather than the Spring, which is when most other providers hike their prices.
While an official announcement has not yet been made, it will likely follow a similar pattern to 2025, when prices went up by a fixed £3 per month for all customers. This follows a similar model to Sky, except that Sky increased monthly prices by a percentage (6.2%) in April.
Important: Keep in mind that, unless NOW changes its price rise policy, you will have a 30-day window to cancel your contract if you’re unhappy with the price increase. Just remember that most other UK providers also have some sort of price increase in place, too.
How much is NOW’s 2026 price increase?
To gauge the likely size of the 2026 increase, we can look to the previous year when it raised its monthly prices for all customers by £3. This means that customers on cheaper NOW Broadband packages got the same level price increase as those on more expensive tariffs.
If you’re struggling to pay your bills and you receive some financial support from the government, you may be eligible for a discounted broadband social tariff. View our guide to find out what options are available to you.
When do NOW Broadband prices go up?
In 2025, NOW’s prices increased on 5 July. It hasn’t confirmed its price increase for 2026 yet, but it will likely come in at a similar time of year.
Crucially, NOW is required to notify you of the upcoming change, which will likely be via email or text, depending on how you usually receive its communications. This notification serves as the starting point for your 30-day window to cancel without penalty.
Can I cancel my NOW Broadband contract?
Yes, you have the right to cancel your NOW Broadband contract early without paying any early termination fees, but this must be done within 30 days of receiving your price increase notification.
This is a key difference between NOW and providers who use a fixed annual price increase, which is written directly into their contracts. Because NOW's price rise is not explicitly outlined when you sign up, you have the right to exit the contract early without paying an exit fee.
NOW TV customers: Unfortunately, this free cancellation policy only applies to its broadband service. If your service is part of a NOW or Sky TV bundle, you may still have to pay early termination fees to cancel your TV contract in the wake of a mid-contract price increase.
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Should I leave NOW?
If you are a broadband-only customer and have been notified of a price rise, this is the perfect, risk-free time to switch. You can easily move to another provider and secure a fixed-price deal to protect yourself from future mid-contract hikes.
However, almost all other providers have some sort of yearly price increase in their contract terms. So you could still look for a cheaper deal, but you’d have to watch for what your price could be in a year or two’s time.
For example, if you sign up for a 24-month broadband package at £27 a month, and it has a fixed £4 price increase every April, your monthly payments would look like this before you’re eligible to leave your contract:
- January 2026: £27 a month
- April 2026: £31 a month
- April 2027: £35 a month
Despite these mid-contract increases, it’s still important to switch or re-contract your broadband when your contract comes to an end. Monthly prices tend to go up even higher than this once your initial contract term finishes, so it’s still the best way to keep your broadband costs down.
If you're on a NOW broadband and TV package, the choice is more difficult. While you can cancel the broadband for free, you will still be bound by your TV contract and could face a separate early exit fee for that service.
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Why does NOW increase prices mid-contract?
NOW increases its broadband prices almost every year for reasons typical of the industry.
These increases cover rising operational costs, including inflation, as well as other costs incurred by broadband networks like Openreach and CityFibre, which regularly have to invest to maintain and upgrade the network infrastructure.
Under a new Ofcom policy, many UK providers have recently adopted a fixed-price increase policy, rather than an inflation-based one. This was in response to the huge price increases in 2022 and 2023, when inflation was at a 30-year high, and also to ensure customers know how much they’re expected to pay throughout the length of their contract.
However, now that the inflation rate is much lower, providers’ fixed price increases of £3-4 a month are notably higher than what an inflation-based increase would have been in recent times.
Some regional providers continue to offer fixed-price broadband packages that won’t increase mid-contract. Find out if any of them are available where you live with our fixed-price broadband checker.
How to contact NOW
To cancel your contract or attempt to negotiate a new deal, you can use the same contact methods available for its parent company, Sky.
- Phone: Call their official customer service or cancellation line on 0330 3323 050.
- Online/Chat: Use the support options available on NOW’s website.
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