Best broadband offers for Black Friday 2023

Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, and many other broadband providers, all frequently offer promotional deals to new and switching customers.

Black Friday often marks a time when prices are at their lowest for the year, and special offers are ramped up to sway customers looking to switch before Christmas.

However, there is just one simple rule when it comes to broadband offers and that is making sure not to sign up for something you don't need just to access a promotion.

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Best broadband offers for Black Friday

Black Friday falls on 24th November for 2023, yet many providers are already going live with special offers and running them throughout the entire month.

The current Black Friday offers that have so far been announced include the following deals.

Fibrus: Up to £100 Amazon Gift Card

For Black Friday, Fibrus are offering new customers an Amazon Gift Card with a voucher value between £25 and £100 depending on the package chosen.

For those who do sign up, they'll also benefit from heavily reduced prices for entire the length of the minimum term.

These deals run from 6th November until 11th December 2023.

The entry-level Full Fibre 100 plan has been reduced to just £14.99 per month for 18 months, while the Full Fibre 300 plan costs just £19.99 per month for 18 months.

This make Fibrus broadband some of the cheapest available, although their availability is concentrated in Northern Ireland, where they've passed around 40% of homes.

Read more in our full review of Fibrus broadband.

Virgin Media: £70 bill credit or 3 months free

Virgin Media are offering a number of different special offers for Black Friday, including three months free on Gig1 broadband-only or a £70 bill credit on any other broadband-only plan.

Their fastest broadband plan, Gig1, is currently reduced to just £45 per month, with the first 3 months free for new customers until 27th November 2023.

Here are the current Black Friday broadband offers from Virgin Media:

We've more on the details of these offers in our guide to Virgin Media's Black Friday Deals for 2023.

Plusnet: Save over £20 per month

New customers taking a full fibre broadband plan from Plusnet between now and 13th December 2023 can save with some of their most heavily discounted pricing.

While Plusnet broadband often has lower pricing for new customers, the Black Friday deals see an extra £3 to £8 shaved off the monthly prices.

Customers signing up to Plusnet broadband also currently benefit from no setup fees, and these Black Friday prices will apply for the length of the 24-month minimum term (subject to annual price rises), saving customers up to £480.

Read more in our full review of Plusnet broadband.

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Best TV offers for Christmas

Sky TV: Lowest ever price

For Black Friday 2023, Sky are offering their new Stream TV service with Sky Entertainment and Netflix for just £19 per month for 18 months, their lowest ever price.

This deal is available through the below links for new customers signing up until 30th November 2023:

New Sky TV customers also currently benefit from free setup, and discounted prices are available for those adding premium channel packs, including money off Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, TNT Sports and Sky Kids.

Read our review of Sky Stream TV here.

Virgin Media: 3 months free on Bigger Combo Bundles

Virgin Media are offering customers signing up to one of their Bigger Combo Bundles the first three months for free, worth up to £204 off.

Customers can get this deal on the Bigger Combo Bundle, Bigger Combo Bundle + Sports HD, and Bigger Combo Bundle + Movies plans until 27th November 2023:

Customers who want the most TV content, with Sports and Movies combined, can also save themselves £15 a month off the usual price of the Mega Volt Bundle, priced at just £70 per month for Black Friday also until 27th November 2023:

We've more on the details of these offers in our guide to Virgin Media's Black Friday Deals for 2023.

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Best broadband offer in Northern Ireland

For November, we're focusing on Northern Ireland and the best deals available in the country.

Fibrus is an independent network provider, offering high speed full fibre broadband to residents throughout Northern Ireland.

At the time of writing, Fibrus is offering new customers who sign up via Choose up to £100 Amazon Gift Card, as well as reduced prices across all packages:

This is a time limited special offer from Fibrus, and is available to new customers until 11th December 2023. Customers should make sure to use the links above to get this deal.

Check availability for Fibrus in your area on our Fibrus deals page.

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Best broadband offer in the UK

For anyone living in other parts of the UK, the best broadband offer this month is with TalkTalk, who are offering customers a £75 Reward Card with their Full Fibre 500 and Full Fibre 900 plans.

These deals are available to more than 14 million homes across the UK through both the Openreach FTTP and CityFibre full fibre networks.

Customers who choose TalkTalk Full Fibre 900 broadband will also benefit from an Amazon eero Pro 6 router pack, which includes two WiFi 6 mesh hubs to boost wireless coverage around a home.

This broadband deal comes with a low setup fee of just £4.95, and a minimum term of 18 months. The Full Fibre 900 plan is currently the second fastest widely available connection in the UK.

Read more about TalkTalk broadband.

Virgin Media, who offer availability across 55% of the UK and pass over 16 million premises are offering new customers a £70 bill credit with their broadband-only plans.

New customers signing up to Virgin Media M125, M250, M350, or M500, can get a special bill credit offer when they join via Choose.

Customers can get Virgin Media broadband for as little as £26.50 per month with M125 broadband, and this plan comes with a £70 bill credit.

M500 from Virgin Media is also competitively priced, at just £38.50 per month, and also comes with a £70 bill credit for new customers who join via the links on the Choose website.

Read more about Virgin Media broadband.

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What makes a good broadband offer?

Special offers on broadband for new and switching customers are common, and feature heavily in the advertising and marketing materials of many providers.

However, because there are so many it can be difficult to know exactly what is a good broadband offer and whether it's worth signing up for, or waiting for something better to come along.

Previous research from EY for example revealed 56% of people found introductory offers on broadband and other services created more confusion than clarity when choosing a broadband deal.

So, we've rounded up six broadband offers we most commonly see in the market, and look at how good the offer is and what customers need to watch out for.

1. Reduced introductory prices

One of easiest ways to choose a broadband provider is by looking at the one offering the cheapest price.

Since 2016, broadband has been sold with a total monthly cost, including any line rental charges where applicable. That means, the headline price for the broadband deal is the overall cost of the plan.

These changes have helped people better understand the total cost of a broadband (and phone) plan, and also made packages easier to compare.

However, where low introductory prices can trip people up is if they don't last as long as expected, for example where the reduced price is only for three months, and then goes back up to a higher price for the rest of the contract.

Whereas, other broadband offers will offer a lower price for the entire length of the minimum term, and these can offer more cost stability, and of course cheaper prices overall.

On Choose, we make sure to include clear information on the length of any introductory offer, as well as any 'go to' prices, the length of the contract and any setup fees in our broadband comparison page.

Overall, reduced introductory prices, especially where they last for the minimum term, can be some of the best broadband offers around.

2. Free set-up or postage & packaging

Another money-off incentive used by broadband providers is to waive or reduce any upfront costs including set-up, activation or even just the postage and packaging fee usually charged for delivering the wireless router.

However, many providers offer free set-up as standard in any case, or at least keep them to a minimum. Others, like Virgin Media and Hyperoptic, have specific setup fees, but then often waive them under special offer terms to attract new customers.

Overall, while they can save money it's worthwhile being canny and comparing broadband deals by price to ensure you're getting the cheapest deal as monthly prices can work out dearer over a contract.

3. Gift cards or bill credits

Some of the most eye-catching broadband offers are those offering free money for signing up in the form of a gift card or a bill credit.

However, they effectively work in such a similar fashion to money-off deals it's worth comparing them by price against other offers to ensure you're getting the best value for money.

For example, a £50 gift card or bill credit over the length of an 18-month contract would be equivalent to a saving of just £2.77 a month.

So, while the rewards here can look attractive at first sight, it's worth weighing them up alongside the total cost of a broadband offer to see which provider is really offering the best reward.

4. Free speed boosts

Broadband providers sometimes offer a free speed boost either for a few months at the start of a contract, or for the entire length of the plan.

Speed boosts can be offered in a straightforward way, or can be offered by the provider lowering the price of a faster deal to the same cost of a slower package.

Generally, speed boosts serve to attract customers onto faster broadband deals which may prompt customers to choose an upgrade, or that will cost more to renew.

Particularly as customers are being encouraged to move from legacy copper broadband packages to full fibre, this is something we're likely to see more of.

Overall, free speed boosts however they're implemented can often be worthwhile, especially if customers are undecided on speed or thinking of upgrading anyway. The only downsides to these deals are potentially higher renewal fees, but customers can always switch to a cheaper broadband provider at the end of their minimum term if they so wish.

5. Broadband and TV bundle deals

For providers who offer multiple services alongside broadband, be that TV or mobile, enticing customers to take more than one service from the provider can result in promotional offers and extra savings being applied.

Virgin Media, Sky, NOW Broadband, EE and Vodafone, among others, all offer exclusive savings or rewards for customers who bundle multiple services.

NOW Broadband for example offers savings on its NOW TV memberships, whereas EE pay monthly mobile customers get money off and free data boosts for taking EE home broadband.

Virgin Media and Sky also offer discounts for customers who bundle their broadband and TV services, while Virgin Media O2 customers can save hundreds with Volt bundle deals.

Overall, while its important customers want those extra services in the first place, for those who do, the savings can be really worthwhile.

6. Free gifts

Like free gift cards, sometimes broadband providers will offer specific free gifts with their broadband deals.

These can range from free TVs, to game consoles, or smart tech devices like Amazon Echo or Google Home Hub.

Unlike free gift cards however which can be redeem for something a customer wants, it's important to work out if you really want or need the free gift, or be prepared to sell it to gain some money back.

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Summary: broadband special offers are worth looking for

While there can be a large range of broadband offers to sift through, they often offer value for money and are worthwhile for switchers looking to save the most money on their broadband deal.

To sum up, here are our six main points when shopping around for the best broadband offer:

1. If there's a discount, how much is it and does it bring that package down enough in price to be really worthwhile?
2. If there's free installation on offer, how much is that actually saving upfront?
3. If there's a reward card for signing up to a deal, will you definitely claim that reward and use it?
4. If you sign up to a faster speed deal now because it's as cheap as a slower package, are you prepared to switch away when prices go up at the end of a minimum term?
5. If you're bundling broadband and TV together, does it really offer a cheaper deal or add anything extra?
6. If there's a free gift involved, are you going to use it? If not, can you sell it on?

Overall broadband offers are useful ways for providers to attract new customers to their packages, as long as the customer switching is aware of the terms of the deal and will make use of it.

Our broadband comparison page can easily be sorted by special offer, with the highest value rewards ranking first, this can be a great way to see what is a good broadband offer and is worthwhile signing up for. But don't forget to also consider the overall price of the deal to make sure it's going to save you money for switching.