Broadband postcode checker

Even if you’re happy with your current speed, you might find faster broadband deals at a similar or lower price than your current plan. So, it’s always worth checking to see if you could be better off with a different provider.

To bundle in with landline or pay TV

If you pay for a TV package from Sky, BT or Virgin Media, you could save money by bundling your broadband into a joint package.

Each of the leading TV providers offers very popular broadband deals, too. And their TV & broadband bundles are often cheaper than what you’d pay separate providers for both services.

Check your postcode on our broadband and TV deals page to compare a wide range of these bundles.

To reduce monthly bills & combat price rises

With broadband deals changing constantly, it’s always worth checking to see if you could get the same speed for a better price.

This is important if you're out of contract with your current provider because you might be paying much more than you need to for your broadband. Especially if you've faced more than one price increase over the last couple of years.

The one thing to be careful about is opting for a package that’s too slow for your needs. So, if you’re already content with your speed, it’s best to focus on comparing deals that offer the same amount.

How can I check the broadband speed where I live?

If you’re trying to find your broadband speed, you can run a speed test at home to see how fast your current connection is.

But if you want to see the range of speeds available to your home, you can put your postcode into our checker and compare what’s available. You’ll likely be able to compare a range of internet speeds to suit your needs best.

What internet speed can I get?

Broadband speeds can sometimes differ from those mentioned online and on TV, depending on where you live or what your home setup might be. The difference in speed can be due to any number of things, but it's often driven by what's available in your area.

There are lots of types of broadband that have different levels of coverage across the country. In fact, broadband speeds can wildly differ even street-by-street. In Brighton, for example, the city’s fastest street for broadband is only 1.2 miles away from its slowest street¹.

And there’s still a big divide in average broadband speed between rural and urban areas in the UK. Here’s a view of the difference in these speeds from our broadband statistics guide.

But despite slower average speeds in rural parts of the UK, there are lots of full fibre providers (known as ‘altnets’) building in these locations only. So, if you live in a harder-to-reach property, you may still get a stronger connection with one of these providers.

What's the best broadband for me?

The best broadband deal available is one that suits your needs the most. You'll often want to find a good balance between your budget, the number of people who live at home, and what you want to use your internet for.

So when you search for the 'best' broadband in your area, the fastest or the cheapest options might not be the best for you. Instead, you'll want to look for the most appropriate deal for what you need because that'd have the most value for money.

There are a few different types of broadband you can get, each with a different range of speeds and prices:

• Part-fibre (fibre to the cabinet): 30-70Mbps | 97% UK availability | ££

• Full fibre (fibre to the premises): Up to 1Gbps | ~50% UK availability | £££

• Virgin Media (cable broadband): Up to 1Gbps | ~60% UK availability | £££

• ADSL (copper broadband): 10-11Mbps | 99% UK availability | £

What broadband speed do I need?

When choosing an internet speed for you and your home, there are a few things to help guide you to the right option.

10-30Mbps - low usage

If you only use your broadband to check the odd email, read the news and the occasional video call, you would be okay with a slower internet speed.

But this type of connection may struggle if you live with two or more people using the internet.

30-100Mbps - average usage

Most Brits have this level of broadband speed because it can still handle most things we all do on the internet.

It should let two people stream TV, play games online, or work from home at the same time, which means it’s a suitable choice for most homes.

100-500Mbps - heavy usage

This might be a useful speed to choose if you live with four or more people. The same goes if lots of you want a faster speed for competitive gaming, 4K streaming or lots of video meetings at the same time.

These speeds tend to get more expensive, but some smaller full fibre providers offer them for very reasonable prices. So be sure to check if one is available in your area.

500Mbps+ - very heavy usage

These speeds are usually saved for the most intense internet users, or even businesses. If you regularly…

• Work with very heavy files like videos or graphic designs

• Stream content onto apps like Twitch

• Game online at a highly competitive level

• Need the fastest available speeds for something else

…then 500Mbps+ speeds could be pretty useful. But most internet users won’t need this speed for quite a long time.

Search for internet providers in your area

At Uswitch, we can show you deals from some of the best broadband providers.

Check out our range of providers to see more details of their broadband deals and coverage:

If you’d like a better idea of each provider before you sign up, you could read our verdict in our broadband provider reviews. They go into detail about what each brand is known for, what it does well, what it could do better, and which customers they’re suitable for.

What's the cheapest broadband in my area?

If you're looking for a low-cost broadband deal, you may have a few options depending on your budget.

Firstly, the cheapest broadband deals on Uswitch offer broadband from around £18 per month. And depending on whether an altnet provider is in your area, you could get 100Mbps full fibre speeds from this price, too.

Slower fibre broadband up to 67Mbps is usually available from £21. That's because they tend to rent their broadband services from Openreach, which costs more than owning your own network.

However, if you're receiving Universal Credit or another form of government financial support, you could qualify for a social broadband tariff. These are much cheaper deals that providers offer for people struggling to pay their bills.