Sky Broadband Review

Sky* is known mostly as a TV broadcaster, especially to fans of Premier League football, but it is now also one of the biggest players in the broadband market. It is firmly established in the top three broadband providers alongside BT and Virgin Media, but how does it compare to its big rivals? And can it keep up with a growing list of new challengers? In this independent review, we will look at the key features of Sky Broadband, compare it with other broadband packages on the market and see if it might be the right service 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:

• Sky broadband key features
• Sky broadband packages
• How much does Sky broadband cost?
• Sky broadband extras
• Does Sky offer a social broadband tariff?
• Does Sky have a good router?
• Do I need a phone line with Sky broadband?
• Sky broadband customer reviews
• Sky broadband pros and cons
• How does Sky broadband compare with other providers?
• How to compare Sky broadband
• Is Sky broadband any good?

Sky Broadband key features

Sky Broadband uses the Openreach network to provide standard (ADSL) broadband and fibre-to-cabinet connections, plus full fibre in some areas. If you are unsure which type of broadband is right for your household, read our article ‘Which broadband is best?’.

Here are the key features of the main broadband packages offered by Sky.

Product name	Average download speed	Minimum contract length	TV package available	Phone line required	Setup cost	Monthly cost
Essential Plus	11Mbps	18 months	Yes	Yes	£0	£30.00
Superfast 35	35Mbps	24 months	Yes	Yes	£0	£40.00
Full Fibre 75	75Mbps	24 months	Yes	No	£0	£25.00
Full Fibre 150	150Mbps	24 months	Yes	No	£0	£27.00
Full Fibre 500	500Mbps	24 months	Yes	No	£0	£31.00
Full Fibre Gigafast	900Mbps	24 months	Yes	No	£0	£41.00

Sky Broadband packages

Sky has six main broadband packages offering a variety of speeds to suit different households. If you are not sure what speed home broadband you need, read our ‘What broadband speed do I need?’ article.

Sky Broadband Essential Plus

Download speed: 11Mbps

This is the most basic form of internet connection and is only offered by Sky to homes in the UK where no other broadband is available. You will notice that it is more expensive than many of Sky's faster packages, arguable to incentivise customers to move to a more modern system.

11Mbps is a slow download speed that will likely only be enough for households who occasionally use the internet to send emails or browse the web.

Sky Broadband Full Fibre 75

Download speed: 75Mbps

A download speed of 75Mbps would put your home just above the average for the UK of 69.4Mbps, as calculated by Ofcom in 2023.

The price is often close to that of Superfast 35, so it may seem like an obvious choice to pick Full Fibre 75 whatever your usage. However, Sky often runs limited time special offers and discounts, so use a comparison tool to see which is cheaper at the time.

Sky Broadband Full Fibre 150

Download speed: 150Mbps

The big jump in download speed from Full Fibre 75 to Full Fibre 150 is due to the different technology used. Full Fibre 150 is only available in homes supplied by full fibre or G.fast services. This means you may not need a phone line.

Download speeds of over 100Mbps are going to be most useful for households streaming from multiple devices at once, downloading large files or making video calls. If this doesn't sound like you, it may be better to go for a slower and cheaper option, though keep in mind that slower does not always mean cheaper.

Sky Broadband Full Fibre 500

Download speed: 500Mbps

Sky's Full Fibre 500 broadband comes with another huge download speed improvement. 500Mbps will not be available in many homes across the UK, so make sure the guaranteed minimum speed you are contracted to receive is worth the extra price.

Download speeds of up to 500Mbps will suit large homes needing to connect a lot of devices at once – such as heating systems, smart speakers or security devices – without slowing down streaming speeds for other devices.

Sky Broadband Full Fibre Gigafast

Download speed: 900Mbps

Full Fibre Gigafast is Sky’s top-of-the-range broadband product and advertises an average speed of 900Mbps. This is likely to be unnecessarily fast for most homes, but would be useful for large, high-usage households downloading large files, streaming from multiple devices in 4K and playing online games.

How much does Sky Broadband cost?

Sky offers multiple packages at a variety of prices. Like its main competitors BT and Virgin Media, Sky is likely to be beaten on price by smaller challengers. However, Sky deals are often available at discounted rates for an initial period, sometimes as long as two years, and occasionally include vouchers of up to £100 through certain comparison sites. At the end of the initial period, you would need to renegotiate your tariff or switch providers in order to avoid being put onto the much higher standard pricing.

Product name	Average download speed	Minimum contract length	TV package available	Phone line required	Setup cost	Monthly cost
Essential Plus	11Mbps	18 months	Yes	Yes	£0	£30.00
Superfast 35	35Mbps	24 months	Yes	Yes	£0	£40.00
Full Fibre 75	75Mbps	24 months	Yes	No	£0	£25.00
Full Fibre 150	150Mbps	24 months	Yes	No	£0	£27.00
Full Fibre 500	500Mbps	24 months	Yes	No	£0	£31.00
Full Fibre Gigafast	900Mbps	24 months	Yes	No	£0	£41.00

Will Sky Broadband prices increase in 2025?

Sky increased prices across its services by an average of 6.7% in April 2024. Though this was much higher than UK broadband customers had been used to in previous years, it was below the 8.1% hike dished out in 2023. 2025 will likely see another increase, though Sky has yet to announce the details.

Unlike BT, TalkTalk, Vodafone and many other providers, Sky does not include inflation-linked price rise details in customer contracts. This means that any hikes could be more of a surprise, but it also means that you can leave for free if you are unhappy with paying more. Providers that do include price hikes in contracts are able to stop customers leaving for free once the increase is introduced.

We explain more about how to leave your Sky deal in our article 'Cancel Sky Broadband: Contact Details & Guide'.

Sky Broadband extras

Sky is the largest pay TV provider in the UK, with a huge customer base and multiple big budget productions. It also offers some of the most up-to-date home entertainment technology on the market, including Sky Stream, Sky Q and Sky Glass. Sky offers over 300 channels, including Premier League football, blockbuster movies and award-winning drama. Unlike competitor Virgin Media, Sky customers have much more freedom to select the services they want, which should mean avoiding paying for what they don’t watch. Sky also offers a mobile service, with special deals available for TV and broadband subscribers.

However, when it comes to getting value for money on your broadband, these extras should only come into consideration if they are services you already subscribe to, or you consider to be essentials. If you get your sport from NOW, your broadband from Plusnet and TV from Netflix, you may be able to get a better deal by bundling the services together with Sky. If you are only looking for a broadband deal, paying extra for TV services you do not watch will not be good value for money.

Does Sky offer a social broadband tariff?

Yes, called Sky Broadband Basics. It is only available to customers who already have Sky Broadband and the account holder must be named on an Income-based Employment Support Allowance (I-ESA), Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (I-JSA), Income Support (IS), Universal Credit or Pension Credit monthly statement.

The deal costs £20 a month as part of an 18 month contract. Customers will receive the Superfast 35 package, or Essential Plus if a standard fibre connection is not available in their area.

Does Sky have a good router?

New customers to Sky Broadband will be sent the newest Sky Broadband Hub router. It offers good coverage around the home, is easy to set up and can handle connecting to multiple devices at once. This is a significant upgrade on the previous generation of router offered by Sky, the Q Hub. It has been rated at 82% by Which?, a score that compares well to the free routers offered by some of Sky’s main rivals, but is below BT’s 88%.

Do I need a phone line with Sky Broadband?

Sky Broadband is available in three main types of connection – standard broadband (ADSL), fibre-to-the-cabinet and full fibre. Standard and fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband will need a phone line in order to connect your home to a cabinet in the street.

With a Sky package, that means that Essential Plus and Superfast 35 deals will need a phone line connection.

Read our article on ‘Do you need a landline for broadband?’ to learn more.

Sky Broadband customer reviews

Sky Broadband scores a seemingly low 1.4 out of 5.0 on Trustpilot, but is on a par with competitors Virgin Media (1.5) and BT (1.4). These low scores suggest the site’s broadband reviews are mostly negative, though TalkTalk scores 3.0 and NOW Broadband 2.0.

The positive reviews for Sky mention good customer service, while the negative reviews focus on unreliable speeds, rising prices and poor customer service.

Sky ranked 12 out of 13 in a Which? survey of broadband providers, scoring only two out of five stars for ease of contacting, value for money and customer service.

Sky can take some positives from Ofcom customer service research. It scored 86% for ‘satisfaction with overall service’ in a recent report, ahead of Virgin Media Broadband and TalkTalk, but below EE and BT.

Sky Broadband pros and cons

Sky Broadband pros

• Top-quality TV package
• Flexible option to bundle service
• Wide availability
• Ultrafast speeds available
• Easy to switch to
• Well-reviewed router
• Good-value bundle deals available – especially if you are looking for sport
• Sky VIP app with rewards for loyal customers

Sky Broadband cons

• Poor value for money, especially on standard pricing
• Will likely need a satellite dish for TV package
• Expensive TV service
• TV add-ons might be cheaper elsewhere

How does Sky Broadband compare with other providers?

Sky package	Sky price	Competitor package offering same speed	Competitor price
Essential Plus	£30.00	TalkTalk Fast Broadband	£29.95
Superfast 35	£40.00	Vodafone Fibre 1	£24.00
Full Fibre 75	£25.00	Virgin Media M125	£26.50
Full Fibre 150	£27.00	Plusnet Full Fibre 145	£27.99
Full Fibre 500	£31.00	Onestream Supreme 550	£29.95
Full Fibre Gigafast	£41.00	Vodafone Full Fibre 910	£39.00

Sky is not a budget provider, so you will likely find a cheaper deal elsewhere for the download speed you need. A Sky deal will seem like much better value for money if you are able to take advantage of a sale or bundle together multiple services. Sky’s bundles are a lot more flexible than Virgin Media’s, so you will be able to pick and choose what you want.

Sky TV is no longer the only way to watch Premier League football on Sky Sports or HBO drama, so you may find a cheaper broadband service combined with TV from NOW is a better value option. Read our article to find out ‘Who is the best broadband provider?’ for the services you value.

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 Sky Broadband any good?

Sky offers a top-of-the-range TV service and broadband packages that cover a range of speeds. It often runs deals for new customers and its bundles can seem like value for money. However, it is unlikely to be the cheapest option for the speed you need.

 

 

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