Best Black Friday broadband deals: Sky, BT, Three, Virgin Media offer EPIC savings

Can’t stream the latest must-binge boxset on Netflix without watching the loading animation spinning aimlessly for minutes? Family and friends can’t hear what you’re saying as the video call keeps cutting out ev– time you try to spe–? Can’t back up the photos on your smartphone without slowing down the rest of the house? Or simply want to reduce your monthly Direct Debit? Well, Black Friday is easily the best time of year to sign-up for a new contract. Every major broadband supplier, from BT to Sky and Virgin Media, has announced discounts on their monthly bills – making affordable plans even cheaper and ensuring superfast fibre connections are more competitive than ever before.

Sky

There’s not a much choice when it comes to Sky’s Black Friday deals. In fact, there’s only one choice. Thankfully then, it’s a pretty solid discount – the satellite telly firm has slashed the cost of its popular Superfast Broadband plan down to £25 a month. For that, you’ll enjoy speeds up to 59Mbps with unlimited downloads for 18 months. That’s a saving of £54 compared to the price of the same broadband bundle a few weeks ago – or, in other words, that saving will cover the cost of a Netflix subscription for nine months, so you’ll have plenty of blockbusters and binge-worthy boxsets to enjoy on your new broadband connection.

But that’s it. Regrettably, there are no discounts available on the faster broadband bundles available from Sky. It charges £35 a month for its Ultrafast bundle (145Mbps download speeds) and £45 a month for its Ultrafast Plus plan (500Mbps), which both fit-out your home with speeds around two times and seven times faster than the average home broadband speed in the UK, respectively. It is worth noting that the Ultrafast bundle offers very similar speeds to BT’s Full Fibre 100 plan, which costs £39.99 a month, compared to the £35 a month with Sky. But over the course of two years, combined with the 3-months free connection you’ll get from BT during its Black Friday sales, that still ends up being a better deal.

If you’re looking for small monthly bills, Sky has a solid option, but anyone hoping to upgrade to speedier downloads should probably look elsewhere. 

BT

BT is taking a different approach with its Black Friday deals this year. Rather than slashing the costs of its monthly plans, the firm has decided to ditch monthly bills altogether until next year. Yes, anyone who signs up for BT’s Black Friday broadband deals will get free internet to their home for 3-months. The deal applies to any of BT’s fibre broadband offering, from its entry-level Fibre Essential up to the gigabit-capable Full Fibre 900 plan.

Unlike Virgin Media, BT has also ditched all set-up fees and postage costs, so there really is nothing to pay until the fourth month rolls around.

Virgin Media still offers lower prices for similar speeds, so it’s still the best option (if you’re one of the 15 million or so homes in the UK that can connect to its fibre network) if you’re looking to save cash. But with Christmas shopping and New Years Eve parties on the horizon, those looking to save the most money until next year are better off opting for BT, which won’t take any money from your account until around March 2022.

Three

Although Three has a number of broadband plans available, these don’t rely on the same network of underground fibre cables used by BT, Sky and Virgin Media. Instead, the company leverages its vast 5G superfast mobile network to power home broadband. There are a few advantages to this approach – there’s no need for an engineer to visit and start drilling holes in your wall. The Wi-Fi router has a SIM card inside, just like the one tucked inside your phone, so you only need to plug it into power.

Unlike a traditional router, you can unplug and move the router around your house at a moment’s notice. For example, if you’re struggling to get a signal in the garden …you can just move your Wi-Fi router closer (or even tousled with an extension lead) to boost the signal strength.

Three’s prices are already pretty competitive, so the company isn’t dropping the cost like we’ve seen from the companies above. Instead, Three is throwing in a very generous freebie with its 5G home broadband plan. Customers who sign up for the Black Friday sale will be able to bag a Samsung laptop worth £350 for free. Yes, really!

Virgin Media

Virgin Media isn’t available in every street in the UK, with a little over 15 million homes able to connect to its full-fibre network. That’s a real shame because Virgin Media has some of the best Black Friday discounts available. It has dropped some of its most popular broadband plans by £19 a month – saving you a total of £342 over the course of your 18-month contract. Since the savings are the same across its full-fibre plans, the only thing you need to decide is what speed you need.

Virgin Media’s most affordable broadband plan is M100, which offers download speeds of 108Mbps. That’s still more than 38Mbps faster than the average UK home broadband connection, which was measured at 70Mbps earlier this year. At those speeds, you’ll have no trouble streaming 4K Ultra HD boxsets and blockbusters from Prime Video, Netflix and Disney+ …you could even stream all three in different rooms around the house and not see a drop in quality.

If you’re looking for the ultimate broadband boost, Virgin Media’s top-tier M500 plan, which offers download speeds of 516Mbps, has dropped from £62 a month down to just £43. For that, you’ll get a connection that’s over 7x faster than the average UK home. At those speeds, you’ll be able to download a feature-length film in less than two minutes – perfect for those who aren’t great at planning ahead and downloading films the night before a long-haul flight or weekly commute. 

Hyperoptic

Just like BT, full-fibre brand Hyperoptic has decided to cut monthly bills altogether, rather than simply reduce them. For the first three months of your new contract, you won’t pay a penny to the super-speedy internet firm. That’s especially attractive as Hyperoptic’s deals are already some of the most competitive on the market. The company charges £35 a month for its 150Mbps plan – that’s £4.99 a month cheaper than BT’s equivalent speeds and you’ll get the first three months completely free.

The catch? Unfortunately, Hyperoptic doesn’t have the same footprint as the bigger brands, like Sky and BT. While its broadband is available in some 43 towns and cities across the UK, it’s still a relatively small player. The company has previously announced plans to reach two million homes by the end of 2021, with ambitions to reach 5 million by 2024.

However, there’s a fair chance you’re not in an area currently served by Hyperoptic. If you’re one of the lucky ones, this is easily one of the best deals around for those who want superfast speeds.