There is a cheaper broadband deal hiding in plain sight, and most of the people entitled to it have never heard of it. Social tariffs are discounted broadband packages that providers offer to households receiving certain benefits. The connection is delivered in exactly the same way as a standard package, through the same wires, usually with the same router. The only real difference is the price: typically somewhere between £12 and £25 a month, with no mid-contract price rises and no fee to leave early.
The scale of the missed saving is stark. Ofcom’s figures show that only around 532,000 households were on a social tariff in mid-2025, roughly 8.6% of the households it considers eligible, and that around 70% of eligible households did not know these tariffs existed at all. Ofcom puts the typical saving at about £200 a year. Before assuming you do not qualify, it is worth two minutes on the SpeedTestUK homepage checking what you currently get and pay, then reading the eligibility rules below. If someone in your household claims the right benefit, there is a good chance a cheaper deal is sitting there waiting.
Who qualifies for a broadband social tariff?
The gateway benefit is Universal Credit. If you, or someone else in your household, claims it, you can in principle apply for any social tariff on the market, subject to the network covering your home. All the major providers also accept people on:
- Pension Credit
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income Support
Some providers cast the net wider and also accept Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Attendance Allowance or Housing Benefit, so it is always worth asking even if your benefit is not on the headline list. One rule applies almost everywhere: the person receiving the benefit normally has to be the named account holder on the broadband contract. If the bill is in a partner’s name and the benefit is in yours, ask the provider about moving the account into the right name before you apply, rather than applying and being refused on a technicality.
Providers verify eligibility with your permission, usually by checking your details against Department for Work and Pensions records, so in many cases you will not need to post off benefit letters. Expect your eligibility to be re-checked roughly every 12 months. If your circumstances change and you no longer qualify, you are normally moved onto a standard package rather than hit with a penalty.
What the main providers charge
There are now more than 30 social tariffs available once regional networks are included. Prices and terms change, so treat this as a snapshot and confirm on Ofcom’s social tariffs page, which keeps the official list. The big national names, as listed by Ofcom:
- BT Home Essentials — £16.50 a month for 36 Mbps if you are on Universal Credit with no income from employment; £22 a month for 36 Mbps or £25 for 67 Mbps for other qualifying customers. Open to new customers and to existing BT, EE and Plusnet customers.
- EE Basics — £12 a month for speeds up to 25 Mbps.
- Virgin Media Essential Broadband — £12.50 a month for 15 Mbps, or Essential Broadband Plus at £20 a month for 54 Mbps. Both are rolling 30-day contracts with no exit fee, but only if your home is in Virgin’s cable area.
- Vodafone Fibre 2 Essentials — £20 a month for average speeds around 80 Mbps, one of the fastest social tariffs from a national provider.
- Sky — Broadband Basics at £20 a month for around 35 Mbps, with a faster full fibre option at £24; Sky’s tariffs are generally restricted to existing Sky customers.
- NOW Broadband Basics — £20 a month for 36 Mbps, again aimed at existing NOW customers.
- Hyperoptic Fair Fibre — from £12 a month for 50 Mbps up to £20 for gigabit speeds, but only in buildings Hyperoptic serves, mostly flats in larger towns and cities. Community Fibre offers a similar £12.50 deal in London.
One notable absence: TalkTalk does not currently appear on Ofcom’s social tariff list, so TalkTalk customers who qualify will usually need to move provider to get one. Our guide to UK broadband providers gives an overview of who operates where, and you can confirm which networks reach your street with the broadband availability checker before you start an application.
How to apply, step by step
Step 1: Check your current provider first. If your existing provider has a social tariff, moving onto it is the simplest route of all. You can normally do this at any time, even mid-contract, without an early termination charge. Most providers let you apply online; some require a phone call or live chat. Use the exact words “social tariff” or the product name such as “Home Essentials”, because front-line sales pages rarely promote them.
Step 2: If your provider has nothing, look elsewhere. Check which networks serve your address, then pick the best-value tariff available to you. Switching provider follows the standard One Touch Switch process, and your old provider may let you leave your contract early without a fee if you are moving to a social tariff elsewhere. Ask, and get the answer in writing.
Step 3: Have your details ready. You will typically need your National Insurance number, the name of the benefit you receive, and your account details if you are an existing customer. The provider runs the eligibility check with your consent.
Step 4: Check the speed is enough before you commit. A 15 Mbps tariff is fine for one person browsing, emailing and streaming in HD, but a family of four on video calls will feel it strain. Use our data usage calculator to estimate what your household actually gets through in a month, and lean towards the faster tariffs (Vodafone’s, or BT’s 67 Mbps tier) if the price gap is small.
Common questions and myths
“Is it a worse service?” No. A social tariff is not a throttled, second-class connection. The speed printed on the tariff is the speed you get, delivered over the same network as full-price packages. What you usually give up is the extras: bundled TV, fancy routers, gift-card sign-up incentives.
“Will the price creep up?” Social tariffs are specifically designed not to. They sit outside the annual April price rises applied to standard contracts, and they carry no early exit fees, so you are not locked in if your situation improves or a better option appears.
“I am working. Can I still qualify?” Quite possibly. Universal Credit is paid to many people in work, and eligibility follows the benefit, not your employment status. BT’s cheapest tier is reserved for Universal Credit claimants with zero income, but its other Home Essentials tariffs, and most rivals, apply the moment you receive a qualifying benefit.
“I’m struggling with bills generally, not just broadband.” A social tariff is one lever among several. MoneyHelper’s guide to social tariffs for cheaper bills covers phone and water schemes too, and if you are in arrears, talk to your provider early: they have obligations to help customers who are struggling, including payment plans and time to pay.
What it looks like on a real bill
To make the saving concrete, take a typical example. A household drifts out of contract on a standard fibre package and finds itself paying £38 a month, a figure that has crept up through discount expiry and annual rises. One adult in the home receives Universal Credit. Moving to their existing provider’s social tariff at £22 a month cuts the bill by £16 a month, £192 a year, for a connection of comparable speed, with no exit fee for the move and no price rise the following April. Moving instead to a £12.50 rolling tariff, if the network covers them, saves over £300 a year. The numbers vary by provider and package, but the shape of the saving is the same everywhere: the discount is large because standard out-of-contract pricing is high, not because social tariffs are unusually fast or fancy. They are deliberately plain products, priced at cost-covering levels because providers offer them as a social commitment under pressure from Ofcom.
Regional networks are worth a special mention here. Smaller full-fibre builders often run social tariffs that embarrass the national names on speed: 50 Mbps or even 100 Mbps products at £15–£20 a month are common among the regional entries on Ofcom’s list, from firms such as Fibrus in Northern Ireland and Cumbria, KCOM in Hull and various community networks. If a newer network has recently dug your street, check its name against the list before defaulting to a national brand.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a social tariff if I am already in a contract?
Usually, yes, if your provider offers one. Moving to your own provider’s social tariff mid-contract is normally free of exit charges. If your provider has no social tariff, you can ask to leave early to join one elsewhere; many providers agree, but get confirmation before you switch.
How much could I actually save?
Ofcom estimates the average saving at around £200 a year compared with a standard package. If you are out of contract on an old full-price deal paying £35–£45 a month, the saving against a £15–£20 social tariff can be considerably more than that.
Do social tariffs include a landline?
Some do, some are broadband-only. BT and KCOM also offer cheaper voice-only landline tariffs for eligible households. If the landline matters to you, check the small print before applying rather than assuming calls are included.
What happens if I stop receiving benefits?
Providers re-check eligibility, usually every 12 months. If you no longer qualify, you will normally be moved onto the provider’s standard pricing at the end of the check period, with notice. You will not be back-billed for the discount you received while eligible.
Is there a credit check for a social tariff?
Eligibility is based on your benefits, and providers are generally more flexible than with standard contracts, but policies vary. If a failed credit check worries you, say so when you apply and ask what evidence they need instead.
The two-minute check that could save you £200
If anyone in your household receives Universal Credit, Pension Credit or another qualifying benefit, do not leave this money on the table. Confirm which networks cover your home with the broadband availability checker, compare that against Ofcom’s live tariff list, and apply. It is one of the very few household bills you can cut by a third or more with a single phone call.
