The best broadband deals in December 2023

Dan Howdle | December 13th, 2023

Broadband comparison tools and tables are all well and good – we should know, we offer the best broadband comparison tool in the UK. And you're free to go there and compare everything available where you live. But wait! We also use our decades of experience in this market to show you what we think, in our expert opinion, are the best broadband deals right now. We've picked the best deal in a set of categories defined by the things customers most care about.

Best overall broadband deal in December

This is simply the deal we feel is best overall. This month it's a deal from Virgin Media, which only three in five households are able to get. For that reason we've also included an alternative 'best deal' for those who can't get it, as well as, of course, details on how to check.

M125 Fibre Broadband

£50 bill credit, £0 setup

Virgin Media's M125 broadband package clocks in at an average speed of 132Mbps (unlike what its name suggests, it's actually a bit faster). It's the broadband package and speed that Virgin Media most uses to bring in new customers, and it's easy to see why. It's broadly cheaper than similarly-specced packages from other providers, and comes with the premium features you expect from a top-tier provider like Virgin Media: Parental controls, a powerful and flexible router, and the option to add additional features or upgrade your speed as you please.

And you needn't worry that this is now Virgin Media's 'slowest' speed. The fastest broadband speeds in the country are frankly far faster than anyone really needs. 132Mpbs is enough to do anything you need, from gaming to 4K streaming, and we would only recommend faster speeds to those with packed households full of TVs and indeed gamers.

The best overall deal if you can't get Virgin Media

Virgin Media is only available to three in five UK households. If you can't get it, here is our favourite alternative, from Sky Broadband, which comes with only a £5 up-front cost to cover postage of your router, a £50 gift card, and Sky's awesome WiFi Max add-on, providing an upgraded Wi-Fi 6 router, the option to add extenders and a wifi guarantee.

Best value broadband deal in December

This is not the cheapest broadband deal (that category comes next), but rather the deal that offers the most for the most reasonable monthly cost.

Sky Superfast

£50 gift card

Contrasting Virgin Media's excellent offering (above), Sky's 'Superfast' broadband deal – Sky's naming of its packages has never been particularly creative – comes in at 61Mbps. And sure, that won't be fast enough for households with gamers or multiple streamers all watching telly at the same time. Or rather it will be, but you're likely to run into that speed limit during busy times for your household.

It is, however, if you can get neither Virgin Media nor so-called 'Full Fibre' where you live, the fastest broadband many can get. And this, by our reckoning, is currently the best of that bunch in terms of what you get for your money.

Compare Sky deals

Best cheap broadband deal in December

Here we're just going to pick out the cheapest, widely available broadband deal in the UK that offers a reasonable speed. In 2023, ADSL with a speed of 10-11Mbps is no longer considered a workable speed. In fact, most broadband providers have stopped offering it unless you can't get anything else (about 0.2% of UK households).

NOW

£24 per month, no credit checks

You won't find a voucher or cashback or bill credit or any other sort of new customer sweetener with NOW Broadband's Super Fibre Broadband package. Instead you'll simply get the cheapest monthly cost for a widely available broadband deal, at a speed fast enough for most households. At only £2 per month cheaper than Sky's Superfast package, which has a better router, and a £55 gift voucher, its a hard sell though.

What is does offer that Sky doesn't is that NOW Broadband won't do any credit checks. Anyone can get a broadband deal with NOW no matter their credit history. And that will be important to some.

Compare NOW deals

Best full fibre broadband deal in December

Full fibre is broadband where the cabling is fibre optic throughout the entire network. Traditional 'superfast' is only fibre optic as far as the green cabinet on your street, but old-fashioned copper phone cable between the cabinet and your house, limiting top speeds to about 60-70Mbps. Full fibre (which doesn't include Virgin Media, which is technically not fibre at all despite being extremely fast) doesn't have these limits, but is currently being rolled out and is only available to around one in four households.

Sky Ultrafast Plus

£65 gift card

At 500Mbps, Sky's Ultrafast Plus broadband package is a titan when it comes to speed. Are there faster packages out there? Yes, but honestly 500Mbps is already far, far more than most households need. You will never, every be 'buffering' or otherwise hitting speed limits except perhaps those rare moments you choose to download a huge videogame.

With 900Mbps packages available in locations where you can get this, why don't we recommend that then? Well, because they're more expensive and offer very little advantage or benefit over 500Mbps. Sky's particular offering here also comes with the option to upgrade the router via its Sky WiFi Max add-on. At this speed, that's something we'd recommend too.

Compare Sky deals

Best broadband and TV deal in December

This is the best broadband deal that bundles in TV. It will be a rare thing, if ever, that anyone but Sky wins in this category, since it offers the best TV subscription service in the UK since the introduction of its satellite dish-free Sky Stream service. It's usually going to be miles ahead. Not this month, though!

Big Bundle

264Mbps broadband, 100+ channels

This is why we have these monthly deal guides. Sky, right now, is just very expensive when it comes to its TV and broadband bundles. Nearly twice as much as this Virgin Media deal, in fact. It won't be this way for long, but that's how it is right now. Virgin Media's Big Bundle comes with extremely fast 264Mbps broadband and Virgin TV's excellent TV 360 set-top box with 100+ channels. Just remember not everyone can get Virgin Media, so you'll need to check:

There's no cashback or bill credit or any other sweetener with this deal, but it is breathtakingly cheap at £31.99 per month considering what you get.

Compare Virgin Media bundles

How to claim rewards

Here's are some tips and need to knows on how to claim these your rewards from broadband providers:

1. Check the terms and conditions: Before proceeding with claiming cashback or reward vouchers, carefully review the terms and conditions associated with the offer. Make sure you understand the eligibility criteria, any specific requirements, and the deadline for claiming

2. Follow the claim process: Each broadband provider has its own process for claiming cashback and reward vouchers. This process is typically outlined on their website or provided in the documentation you received when signing up for the service. Follow the instructions provided to initiate your claim

3. Keep track of your claim: After submitting your claim, it's a good idea to keep track of its progress. Some providers offer online tracking systems where you can check the status of your claim. If there are any issues or delays, reach out to the provider's customer support for assistance

4. Be patient: The process of claiming cashback and reward vouchers may take some time. Providers typically have a verification and validation process to ensure the eligibility of claims. Stay patient and allow sufficient time for the provider to process your claim

5. Enjoy your rewards: Once your claim is approved and processed, you can look forward to receiving your cashback or reward vouchers. These rewards can vary depending on the provider and the specific offer. They may be provided as cashback directly to your account or in the form of vouchers that can be redeemed for various products or services