EE is perhaps better known for its mobile phone contracts than its broadband deals, but it has become a significant player in the internet provider market. EE is owned by BT but can offer more budget-friendly packages than its parent company, with a focus on special offers and deals for its mobile customers. A lower price might suggest EE’s packages lack the extras offered by the big brands like BT, Virgin Media and Sky – but does a stripped-down deal work out better value for money overall? In this independent review, we take a look at the details of EE Broadband to help you decide if it might be the right option for your household.
We recommend that you read the review in full however you can jump to specific sections of the review using the following links:
- EE broadband key features
- EE broadband packages
- How much does EE broadband cost?
- EE broadband extras
- Does EE offer a social broadband tariff?
- Does EE have a good router?
- Do I need a phone line with EE broadband?
- EE broadband customer reviews
- EE broadband pros and cons
- How does EE broadband compare with other providers?
- How to compare EE broadband
- Is EE broadband any good?
EE Broadband key features
EE offers a wide range of broadband speeds across its six main deals. Being the budget arm of a big-name provider has not left EE with a limited product list. When it comes to download speed, EE’s products line up closely with what is offered by BT. Both offer packages ranging from standard broadband to ultrafast fibre. Below we cover the main details of each EE deal.
| Product name | Average download Speed | Contract length | TV package available | Phone line required | Setup cost | Monthly cost |
| EE Broadband | 10Mbps | 24 months | Yes | Yes | £0 | £26.99 |
| EE Fibre 36 Essentials | 36Mbps | 12 months | Yes | Yes | £0 | £34.99 |
| EE Fibre 36 Essentials | 36Mbps | 24 months | Yes | Yes | £0 | £29.99 |
| EE Fibre 50 Essentials | 51Mbps | 12 months | Yes | Yes | £0 | £34.99 |
| EE Fibre 50 Essentials | 51Mbps | 24 months | Yes | Yes | £0 | £29.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 74 Essentials | 74Mbps | 12 months | Yes | Yes | £31.99 | £36.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 74 Essentials | 74Mbps | 24 months | Yes | Yes | £31.99 | £31.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 150 Essentials | 150Mbps | 12 months | Yes | No | £0 | £34.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 150 Essentials | 150Mbps | 24 months | Yes | No | £0 | £29.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 300 Essentials | 308Mpbs | 12 months | Yes | No | £31.99 | £42.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 300 Essentials | 308Mpbs | 24 months | Yes | No | £31.99 | £37.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 500 Essentials | 500Mbps | 12 months | Yes | No | £0 | £39.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 500 Essentials | 500Mbps | 24 months | Yes | No | £0 | £34.99 |
| EE Full Fibre Gigabit Essentials | 900Mbps | 12 months | Yes | No | £0 | £52.99 |
| EE Full Fibre Gigabit Essentials | 900Mbps | 24 months | Yes | No | £0 | £47.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 1.6Gb | 1,600Mpbs | 12 months | Yes | No | £0 | £74.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 1.6Gb | 1,600Mpbs | 24 months | Yes | No | £0 | £69.99 |
On 31 March each year the monthly price shown for broadband plans will increase by £3.
EE Broadband packages
The EE stable consists of 10 main broadband packages. These cover a wide range of speeds, so it is likely there will be one to meet the needs of most UK households. Some postcodes will also be able to access the EE mobile broadband network through a 4G or 5G connection. If you are unsure what speed your household needs, read our article ‘What broadband speed do I need?’. Here we cover the different speed packages offered by EE.
EE Broadband
Download speed: 10Mbps
Standard broadband packages like this one from EE are aimed at households with light internet usage, like checking emails and occasional online streaming. Its download speed will struggle to cope with multiple HD videos, and downloading large files will involve a long wait.
The relatively slow speeds are down to the infrastructure used to connect your home to the internet. Standard broadband relies on the relatively inefficient copper wiring used for phone lines. If your area has a fibre network, you will be able to access much faster speeds with a different package. Find out more about the different types of home broadband in the UK by reading our article ‘Which broadband is best?’.
EE Fibre 36 Essentials
Download speed: 36Mbps
This is EE’s basic level fibre service. Customers’ homes are connected to a communication cabinet in the street using copper phone lines, but the rest of the connection is through far more efficient fibre-optic cables. This dramatically increases the download speed compared with a standard broadband connection, but it is still slower than full fibre.
Download speeds of 36Mbps will be enough to stream TV shows in HD, but it might slow down if you try to download large files or connect too many devices.
EE Fibre 50 Essentials
Download speed: 51Mbps
This is a slight step up from EE's basic fibre package, but it is often discounted to the same price.
EE Full Fibre 74 Essentials
Download speed: 74Mbps
This is EE’s basic full fibre – or fibre to the premises (FTTP) – package. The whole connection is made up of fibre-optic cables, so there is none of the slowdown caused by using copper wiring.
EE customers choosing this package will find it can handle multiple devices and support smart homes. If you also need to download a lot of large files and play online games at the same time, you may want to consider the package a level up.
EE Full Fibre 150 Essentials
Download speed: 149Mbps
This is a significant jump in speed from the 74 package, but often comes in at a similar price. It should be able to handle multiple downloads and streaming at the same time, but you may start to notice some slowing down if you have a significant number of users online at once.
EE Full Fibre 300 Essentials
Download speed: 308Mbps
EE offers another significant leap in download speed here, but usually only for a modest extra cost. With more than double the speed of the 150 deal, you should not expect to see your broadband speed slowing down, even with multiple users.
EE Full Fibre 500 Essentials
Download speed: 500Mbps
This is a significant step up in speed and cost from EE’s other packages but may be unavailable in some UK homes. The advertised average download speed is different to the minimum speed guaranteed by your provider, so make sure you are not paying for a product you cannot actually get.
A download speed of 500Mbps will suit households that rely on a lot of smart devices – like heating systems, doorbells and fridges – being connected to the internet at all times without slowing down the broadband for streaming or home working.
EE Full Fibre Gigabit Essentials
Download speed: 900Mbps
This package is for very intensive internet users. That means households where everything is reliant on the internet – from the TV to the toaster – and everyone works from home, so the broadband will need to handle downloading large files and making multiple video calls.
If that doesn't sound like your home, you may be better suited to a lower-level deal.
EE Full Fibre 1.6Gb
Download speed: 1,600Mbps
This is about as fast as broadband gets in the UK, so should be more than enough for even the most online households. If you live in shared house with several people working from all day, including regularly making video calls, this could be a god option to make sure everyone has the internet speed they need.
Make sure to think about the price, compared with the other options available, to avoid paying for more than you need.
How much does EE Broadband cost?
The standard pricing of EE Broadband is surprisingly high, but the key to getting good value broadband are limited-time offers and rewards that providers put out. EE offers the top speed, full fibre packages that customers can get from BT, but often at a knocked-down price below competitor deals, and with some high-value rewards thrown in too, such as 12 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free. You should only expect the top extra discounts if you are an EE phone contract customer. Make sure you compare what limited-time deals and rewards are available when you research who has the cheapest package for your household.
The downside of high standard pricing and heavy discounts is that you could be in for a steep price rise when your initial period runs out, though your provider will have to notify you that your contract is ending.
| Product name | Average download Speed | Contract length | Setup cost | Monthly cost |
| EE Broadband | 10Mbps | 24 months | £0 | £26.99 |
| EE Fibre 36 Essentials | 36Mbps | 12 months | £0 | £34.99 |
| EE Fibre 36 Essentials | 36Mbps | 24 months | £0 | £29.99 |
| EE Fibre 50 Essentials | 51Mbps | 12 months | £0 | £34.99 |
| EE Fibre 50 Essentials | 51Mbps | 24 months | £0 | £29.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 74 Essentials | 74Mbps | 12 months | £31.99 | £36.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 74 Essentials | 74Mbps | 24 months | £31.99 | £31.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 150 Essentials | 150Mbps | 12 months | £0 | £34.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 150 Essentials | 150Mbps | 24 months | £0 | £29.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 300 Essentials | 308Mpbs | 12 months | £31.99 | £42.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 300 Essentials | 308Mpbs | 24 months | £31.99 | £37.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 500 Essentials | 500Mbps | 12 months | £0 | £39.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 500 Essentials | 500Mbps | 24 months | £0 | £34.99 |
| EE Full Fibre Gigabit Essentials | 900Mbps | 12 months | £0 | £52.99 |
| EE Full Fibre Gigabit Essentials | 900Mbps | 24 months | £0 | £47.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 1.6Gb | 1,600Mpbs | 12 months | £0 | £74.99 |
| EE Full Fibre 1.6Gb | 1,600Mpbs | 24 months | £0 | £69.99 |
On 31 March each year the monthly price shown for broadband plans will increase by £3.
Will EE Broadband prices increase in 2025?
EE is due to raise prices in March 2025 by £3. We know this because the details are included in the contract customers sign at the start of their EE broadband deal. It states that the bill will go up on 31 March each year the monthly price shown for broadband plans will increase by £3.
The 2025 increase will be a familiar blow to EE customers as it follows the hefty 14.4% increase in April 2023 and a 7.9% rise in April 2024. Someone who agreed a 24 month contract at £30 a month in March 2023 would have seen their bill rise first to £34.32 in April 2023, then up to £37.03 in April 2024, before it hits £40.03 in March 2025. All while still under contract.
Customers wanting to move to a cheaper provider will mostly be out of luck or out of pocket, as they would need to pay an early exit fee to switch if they are still under contract. This is because the price hike being included in EE contracts prevents customers from leaving for free, as they have effectively already agreed to the increase. We explain more in our article 'How to cancel EE broadband'.
EE Broadband extras
EE Broadband customers can add an unlimited data SIM on a flexible 30-day subscriptions from just £10.
EE broadband packages come with one of four different types of call deals. You can opt for a pay-as-you-go landline package, no landline deal at all, unlimited anytime calls to UK landlines and 1,500 minutes to mobiles, or calls to landlines in 50 countries and a 30% discount on calls to other countries.
The TV package offered by EE is powered by either an Apple TV 4K box, an EE TV Box Pro or an EE TV Mini Box. Available from £15 a month at the time of writing, the basic package includes Netflix Standard (with ads) and Now Entertainment. There is also a Sports Package for £35 a month that includes all Sky Sports and TNT Sports channels. If you are looking for a way to watch 4K sport, this can work out much cheaper than BT, Sky or Virgin, though you will need a fast enough download speed to support your streaming.
Does EE offer social broadband?
At the time of writing EE does not offer any kind of discounted broadband package for low-income customers or people who receive benefits like Pension Credit or Universal Credit.
Does EE have a good router?
The router you get from EE will depend on what type of broadband you have in your home and which package you subscribe to.
Standard broadband customers will get the Brightbox 2 router, while households with fibre connections will get an EE Smart Hub or EE Smart Hub Plus. The Smart Hub is – according to a Which? review – one of the best routers on the market. Which? commended its range of coverage, ability to handle multiple devices and excellent reliability.
The only challenger to the EE Smart Hub by Which? rating is the BT Smart Hub. Both scored 88%, marginally ahead of the Amazon Eero 6 (87%) provided by TalkTalk, but well ahead of the Virgin Media and Sky routers offerings.
EE claims the Smart Hub Plus is even more advanced and "will enable EE customers to benefit from unique new features including best in class Wi-Fi controls– allowing them to prioritise their bandwidth".
Do I need a phone line with EE Broadband?
Some types of broadband connection require a phone line, even if you do not plan on using a landline phone as part of your package. You can find out more about phone lines and broadband by reading our article ‘Do you need a landline for broadband?’.
For EE customers, anyone with a standard Broadband, Fibre Broadband or Fibre Plus package will need a phone line.
EE Broadband customer reviews
EE Broadband currently has a rating of 1.3 out of 5.0 on Trustpilot, which is broadly on par with big name competitors like Sky (1.3) and BT (1.5). Most reviews on Trustpilot for broadband providers are negative, so EE’s low score is not surprising.
The negative reviewers commented on long waits for engineer visits, poor customer service and slow speeds. The positive reviews were about good customer service experiences and reliable connections.
There was better news for EE in Ofcom’s 2023 customer experience survey. It scored an excellent 85% for ‘satisfaction with overall service’, below only Plusnet's 88% and well ahead of Sky’s 82% and Virgin Media’s 81%. Ofcom also calculated an impressive average call response time of 66 seconds for EE, under half the average wait time faced by Sky customers.
EE Broadband pros
- Good range of speeds
- Special mobile deal
- Flexible 4K streaming bundle through Apple TV box
- Customer services quick to answer the phone, according to Ofcom
- Top Which? rating for router
- Good sign-up bonuses available
EE Broadband cons
- Long minimum contract term
- No social broadband package
- Annual price increase
- High installation fee for some packages
How does EE Broadband compare with other providers?
EE Broadband’s standard prices are surprisingly high, but are almost always discounted to some extent. You may find there are rewards like vouchers and bill credits available too.
You can also save money with EE if you are looking for a mobile deal, as you can get a discounted SIM-only deal by signing up to broadband.
With this taken into account, EE will often compete for the lowest prices. This is especially true for high speed, full fibre packages that are not offered by providers like NOW.
EE’s TV deal can give you flexibility, but it does not offer much more than most smart TVs. You can access Sky Sports through the NOW app on most smart devices to piece together a sports package, which can work out at a similar price, depending on what limited time offers are currently on the table. However, EE's prices for TNT Sports are hard to beat.
You can compare a range of providers by using a comparison service such as Uswitch* to find out exactly what is available in your area.
Is EE Broadband any good?
EE is a solid option for your home broadband, but it does not offer much to separate it from the competition. For customers of rival mobile providers just looking for the cheapest broadband, EE may be beaten for price by a rival like Vodafone. Many renters may also find that the cheaper 24-month contract is too long a commitment.
It is a different story if any of the current sign up bonuses – like an Xbox Game Pass, SIM discount, voucher or bill credit – are available and valuable to you. These extras can make EE a great value option, especially when it comes to ultrafast packages. You also get one of the best routers on the market, which could be key to getting reliable Wi-Fi throughout your home.
