Home broadband has never seemed more important, and if you’re struggling with a poor connection or think you’re overpaying, there’s never been a better time to shop around.
Broadband providers regularly embrace the Black Friday sales so it’s a good time to keep an eye out for a bargain, with deals typically on offer from all the big providers.
We’ll sift through the Black Friday ‘bargains’ from each provider as they appear, to help you decide who to choose for great value broadband.
Be sure to check our list of the best and worst broadband providers to see who impressed this year.
Best Black Friday 2020 broadband deals
Plusnet Black Friday 2020 broadband deals
This year, Plusnet is running deals on all their packages. All come with no setup costs, as well as a prepaid reward card up to £60 in value which you can spend online and anywhere that accepts Mastercard (which is pretty much everywhere).
As well as the low price, Plusnet customers also get UK-based customer service seven days a week and online parental security controls.
- Unlimited Broadband – £17.99 per month (Avg. speed 10Mb, 18-month contract, £50 prepaid card)
- Unlimited Fibre Broadband – £22.99 per month (Avg. speed 36Mb,18-month contract, £50 prepaid card)
- Unlimited Fibre Extra Broadband – £26.99 per month (Avg. speed 66Mb, 18-month contract, £60 reward card)
Are the deals any good? Although marketed differently, this is a fairly standard deal from Plusnet and nothing we wouldn’t expect to see throughout the year. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth considering, but check around elsewhere before you decide.
Read our Plusnet review or head straight to Plusnet’s Black Friday broadband deals
TalkTalk Black Friday 2020 broadband deals
TalkTalk has gone for a slightly different approach to Black Friday this year, offering three months free on all its fibre packages when you sign up for 24 months, which it claims can save you £96 over the contract.
TalkTalk customers can also expect no setup costs (although there is a postage and packing cost for the router) and no mid-contract price rises.
- Fibre 35 – £23.50 per month (Avg. speed 38Mb, 24-month contract, three months free)
- Fibre 65 – £26 per month (Avg. speed 67Mb, 24-month contract, three months free)
- Fibre 150 – £32 per month (Avg. speed 145Mb, 24-month contract, three months free)
Are the deals any good? This type of deal is quite novel and does represent a decent saving if you are willing to tie yourself down to the 24-month contract. It should be said that while TalkTalk may offer cheap deals, many customers rated it poorly for support and reliability.
Read our TalkTalk review for more, or head straight to TalkTalk’s Black Friday broadband deals.
Virgin Media Black Friday 2020 broadband deals
As the only nationwide cable broadband provider, Virgin Media is known for being a bit pricey compared with rivals, but it has upped its game this Black Friday. The pick of the bunch is Virgin’s M100 deal, which it claims is currently at ‘its lowest ever price’ at £24.99 a month on an 18-month contract. It is backed up by three other deals with average speeds up to 516Mb available, depending on the package.
- M100 – £24.99 per month (Avg. speed 108Mb, 18-month contract)
- M200 – £30.99 per month (Avg. speed 213Mb, 18-month contract)
- M350 – £36.99 per month (Avg. speed 362Mb, 18-month contract)
- M500 – £42.99 per month (Avg. speed 516Mb, 18-month contract)
Are the deals any good? Certainly, the price of £24.99 a month for ultrafast broadband seems attractive, but it jumps up to £44 after the contract ends, which is a 76% price increase and for the M500 package. That’s an eye-watering £62 extra a month.
While there are cheaper prices to be had elsewhere, if you have a need for speed at any cost, then Virgin may be tricky to beat this year – just don’t forget to haggle or switch when that contract ends.
Check out our Virgin Media review or go to Virgin Media’s Black Friday broadband deals
How to get the best deal on your new broadband package.
There are a range of things you should consider when shopping for a new broadband deal, so make sure you know the answers to these questions before you start shopping around.
Should I upgrade to fibre?
It used to be the case that superfast fibre broadband cost substantially more than copper-based slower standard broadband, but in recent years, the price gap has almost disappeared. In fact there are now examples of superfast deals that are cheaper than standard packages.
Apart from speed, the main benefit of superfast broadband is its ability to handle more connections than standard broadband can, which helps if you have a lot of people using the internet at the same time. Reliability is a factor that’s taken on new importance this year, so it’s an important one to bear in mind.
Superfast is now available in 95% of UK households – check to see if superfast broadband is available in your area.
Still not convinced? Read our guide for more advice on what broadband speed is right for you.
How long a contract should I get?
Broadband packages are typically sold in a variety of contract lengths ranging from 30 days to 24 months. While you might think that the longer the package, the cheaper the price, it’s not always the case.
Some providers offer their cheapest price on a shorter contract in order to get you onto the more expensive standard tariff faster, hoping you will stay. That’s why sometimes it might be worth paying one or two pounds more a month if you can to lock in the price for longer and save yourself money in the long run.
Ultimately, it’s worth looking at what the price is after the contract and also, whether you are prepared to commit yourself to a provider for up to two years.
Will my new broadband be faster?
If speed is of the essence, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting better than you have right now. Use our broadband speed checker to get an idea of your current speeds – and make sure the device you’re running the checker on is connected directly to your router, for a more reliable measurement. You can compare this to the average download speed promised by your existing provider, and a new provider. Bear in mind these measurements aren’t exact, but they should give you an idea of whether there will be a clear speed benefit if you switch or upgrade.
Should you stay or should you go?
If you’ve found a deal that you like, but you’re otherwise happy with your provider, you might be a bit reluctant to switch. You could try haggling with your broadband provider to see if they can match or better the deal, but if they won’t, switching might be your best option. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to do – our guide on how to switch broadband provider explains how.
Check out your new provider before you commit
Before you switch, it’s worth looking into your new provider to make sure they tick the boxes. We regularly survey customers of 13 major broadband providers to find out their views on everything from customer service and ease of contacting the provider. Read our broadband provider reviews for more.
What to look out for on Black Friday
At Which?, we will be across all the Black Friday deals from all the most popular retailers.
Check our Black Friday insider’s guide to browse all our deals and shopping advice, whether you are on the lookout for a new TV or appliance.
We will be keeping you up to date with all the deals and you can be sure that all the products we score have done well in our independent lab tests – although we recommend you take a look at our rigorous reviews to see if it’s right for you.
