The April price hikes had a huge effect on thousands of households, as bills upped in price to fit with inflation. And while we don't have to worry about it for another 10 months, locking into a cheaper deal now can help. So, as a tech writer and someone who's looking for cheaper plans for myself, I've scoured the recent sales for the best deal.
Virgin Media's broadband sale would usually be at the top of my list but sadly it's not available in my area. However, if it's in your catchment its current free £198 Sonos speaker or £200 in bill credit deal for anyone that takes a 'Bigger' plan is certainly worth a look at.
Then there's Sky's eye-catching broadband deals, as the provider cuts its upfront fees customers can lock into the likes of 145Mbps for £29 per month or 900Mbps of Gigafast broadband for £43 per month. Sky's prices are certainly one of the cheapest around, but my eye was drawn to EE and its £240 savings.
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At first EE's £240 saving seemed the best option, as it offers the biggest saving amount on its Gigabit plan. With an average download speed of 1.6Gbps users will pay £49.99 per month for the full fibre plan. Like Sky, there are no upfront fees either.
Other EE broadband deals include the Full Fibre 300 plan for £29.99 per month which is branded as a saving of £168 across the full 24-month contract. Now, this is a huge price drop compared to EE's usual prices, but as someone who nearly fell for the sale, it's not the cheapest price around.
There are two main reasons why Sky's non-sale price beats EE's £240 sale, despite not being reduced in price. The first one is Sky's much shorter 18-month contract, as opposed to EE's longer 24-month contract. If you were to compare both Full FIbre 900Mbps plans, Sky users will pay £425.76 less than EE.
I looked at the Virgin, Sky, and EE sales and Sky's contract length made it the cheapest to broadband provider to pick (Bloomberg via Getty Images)This is because Sky's Gigafast contract is priced at a cheaper £43 per month for 18 months, compared to the £49.99 EE contract for 24 months. The second thing I'd advise shoppers to look at is plan sizes.
EE's 300Mbps plan can't really be compared to Sky as it doesn't offer the exact same speed contract. But EE's £34.99 price for the Full Fibre 300 plan does highlight how shoppers can get more for their money elsewhere. This is because Sky actually offers a Full Fibre 500 plan for a cheaper £33 per month, which on its shorter 18-month contract comes to £594.
The whole point isn't to point out which broadband provider beats who, but to show how ignoring the flashy sale icons and 'price drops' can be worthwhile. And to show digging deeper into contract lengths, lock-in periods, speeds and prices is worth its weight in gold if you really want to find the cheapest price.
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