Sky Broadband vs TalkTalk Broadband

Sky offers both part and full fibre broadband, with options to upgrade the router and bundle a Sky TV plan. They also have an unparalleled customer service record.

TalkTalk is moving away from their budget broadband image with advance routers on their full fibre packages, and customers can also bundle an on-demand TV box.

Overall, Sky broadband beats TalkTalk broadband on price, they also include a home phone line, have a better customer service record and arguably win for TV bundles too.

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At a glance

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Price

Winner: Sky broadband is cheaper than TalkTalk broadband across all broadband speeds, they also include a home phone line with all plans too.

Sky and TalkTalk are priced similarly, with many deals coming in just a pound or two different, however, Sky broadband is cheaper across all broadband speed options.

Setup fees are also similar, with TalkTalk offering free setup and Sky charging £5 setup, but this is refundable on a customer's first bill.

Sky also include a digital phone line with pay as you go calls with all their packages at no extra cost, while only TalkTalk part-fibre connections come with a phone line.

Here are the provider's cheapest part-fibre deals side-by-side:

Both TalkTalk and Sky offer entry-level superfast full fibre connections - with the pricing as above - as well as slightly faster 100Mb plans:

As we can see, Sky is currently one pound cheaper than TalkTalk across these superfast part and full fibre options.

At the other end of the scale, Sky is also cheaper than TalkTalk for gigabit broadband, saving customers £6 per month at the time of writing:

One difference between TalkTalk and Sky here however is TalkTalk include the latest WiFi 6 router with all their full fibre deals, and actually include two devices with their Full Fibre 900 plan.

In contrast, Sky customers have to pay an extra £3 per month to access a WiFi 6 router and WiFi guarantee add-on, although even taking their upgrade still makes Sky is £3 per month cheaper than TalkTalk.

It's also possible to save money by bundling Sky TV with Sky broadband, reducing the price of the broadband further for those who'd take a Sky TV subscription in any case.

While customers can save money with TalkTalk TV, it doesn't reduce the price of the broadband element overall, and works more as an add-on than a bundle.

Lastly, TalkTalk increase prices annually for all customers by Consumer Price Index + 3.7%, which equated to a price rise of 7.7% in early 2024.

Sky say they'll increase prices, but don't specify by how much. This means if they increase prices above inflation customers can exit their contract early without penalty. Sky confirmed they would be increasing the prices for broadband and TV customers by 6.7% on average in 2024.

Overall, Sky's annual price rises are typically less than those of TalkTalk, which means they're more likely to work out cheaper over the length of a contract.

Read more about why broadband prices go up.

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Broadband packages

Winner: Sky win this round over TalkTalk for including a home phone line as standard with all broadband deals, as well as the option to bundle a more comprehensive TV plan.

Sky and TalkTalk offer a very similar range of broadband package options, with equivalent speeds available at all tiers, including a gigabit broadband deal.

However, while Sky are also cheaper than TalkTalk, they include a home phone line with pay as you go calls as standard with all their packages, and customers can also access a WiFi guarantee for less, and a more comprehensive TV bundle if they want it.

In contrast, TalkTalk only offer a home phone line with their part-fibre packages, and their Total Home WiFi service is often more expensive than Sky's and only available with full fibre plans.

Here are their entry-level packages side-by-side:

TalkTalk's Fibre 65 and Sky Superfast can both be taken in part-fibre and full fibre enabled areas, while TalkTalk Full Fibre 150 and Sky Ultrafast is only available where Openreach full fibre has rolled out, or also CityFibre in the case of TalkTalk.

For faster broadband plans, both Sky and TalkTalk offer ultrafast 500Mb and gigabit options:

TalkTalk's Full Fibre 900 package comes with two Amazon eero Pro 6 routers - so the Total Home WiFi add-on is included for free. Sky's Gigafast package comes with a standard Sky Broadband Hub but customers can upgrade to the newer Max Hub for an extra £3 per month, and this upgrade also includes their WiFi Max plan to help boost coverage around the home.

The other major difference between TalkTalk and Sky for fast full fibre broadband deals is availability. Both providers use Openreach full fibre, but TalkTalk also uses CityFibre, which adds another 3 million premises to their coverage.

For faster full fibre broadband Sky is still cheaper than TalkTalk, even with the WiFi Max add-on included, and customers also get a home phone line which isn't available with TalkTalk.

Read more in our Sky broadband review and TalkTalk broadband review.

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Broadband speed

Winner: TalkTalk offer faster average speeds in comparison to Sky broadband, they also have faster minimum speed guarantees on all plans.

Sky and TalkTalk offer very similar broadband speed package options, and also use the same underlying network, which means average speeds match up closely too.

Broadband providers must advertise headline speeds that at least 50% of their customers actually receive at peak times, between the hours of 8pm to 10pm in the evening.

As such, the following speed table gives a fair indication of the speeds available with Sky:

And those of TalkTalk:

Both providers offer asymmetrical download and upload speeds, which means average upload speeds are much less than the headline download figure.

Customers who live in a CityFibre enabled area will also be able to sign up for TalkTalk, although headline speeds will be the same as for Openreach areas.

Minimum speed guarantee

Sky and TalkTalk are both signatories of Ofcom's Broadband Speed Code of Conduct, which sets out that a provider should give a customer a minimum speed at the time of sign up, and if this isn't met the customer can exit their contract without penalty.

Customers need to give the provider 30 days' in order to resolve any issues, but speeds given are personalised to the individual property.

Sky go a step further than this however with their Sky Speed Guarantee because they also promise to give customers one month's subscription refunded too, and if its within 30 days of joining they'll also refund any setup fees.

TalkTalk offer a 30-day Great Connection Guarantee, which allows superfast fibre customers to cancel their contract within 30 days penalty free, but no refunds are given.

When testing two locations, one with part-fibre and one with full fibre, we received the following estimated speeds and minimum guaranteed download speeds:

While Sky offer a better speed guarantee than TalkTalk, TalkTalk have faster minimum guaranteed download speeds, so their guarantee will kick in sooner for customers receiving slower speeds.

Overall, while similar, TalkTalk offer faster average download speeds than Sky broadband, as well as faster minimum speed guarantees, despite the fact Sky customers can get money-back.

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Router

Winner: It's a tie. Both TalkTalk and Sky offer customers an advanced WiFi 6 enabled router, with support for intelligent mesh WiFi boosters.

TalkTalk offer customers on their part-fibre plans the TalkTalk WiFi Hub, which is a dual-band router with support up to the WiFi 5 protocol. It supports WPA2 encryption and has four 1Gb Ethernet LAN ports for wired connections.

Customers who take TalkTalk's full fibre broadband will receive either an Amazon eero 6 or an eero Pro 6 with the faster Full Fibre 500 and Full Fibre 900 plans. These routers support dual-band or tri-band wireless up to the WiFi 6 protocol. They have the latest WPA3 security, two 1Gb Ethernet LAN ports and support mesh, which can be used with additional eeros.

All Sky broadband customers get the Sky Broadband Hub. Released in 2019 it's a dual-band WiFi 5 router, which while adequate, is starting to feel dated on faster full fibre connections.

However, Sky customers can upgrade the router to the newer Max Hub, which supports WiFi 6 and WPA3, and also comes bundled with a WiFi guarantee and up to three mesh boosters.

Here are the main WiFi 5 router specifications side-by-side:

And these are the specifications for the faster WiFi 6 routers:

The Sky Max Hub and Amazon eero 6 routers all support mesh technology, and so can be seamlessly extended around larger homes or where customers are struggling with good wireless connectivity in every room.

Customers who upgrade to get the Sky Max Hub will also get their WiFi Max guarantee bundled as well, which makes the upgrade good value for money as it costs just £3 per month on many of their plans.

TalkTalk Full Fibre 900 customers will get a second eero device included for free, while other full fibre customers can take the Total Home WiFi add-on for £8 per month for a second eero.

Overall, TalkTalk and Sky are neck and neck on router specifications, although for the fastest full fibre broadband plans TalkTalk's inclusion of an extra tri-band eero device for Full Fibre 900 customers edges them ahead a little.

See how more provider routers compare side-by-side.

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WiFi guarantee

Winner: Sky's WiFi Max service guarantees wireless speeds up to 25Mbps in every room, while TalkTalk only promise 10Mbps.

Sky offer customers a choice of WiFi guarantee, with their Wall-to-Wall WiFi guarantee coming free with all broadband deals.

Sky's Wall-to-Wall WiFi guarantee promises minimum wireless speeds of 3Mbps in every room in a customer's home or they can claim one month's broadband subscription back. It works with the included Sky Broadband Hub but no additional devices are provided.

Customers willing to pay a little extra can get the new Sky WiFi Max add-on from just £3 per month, which includes the newer Sky Max Hub router along with up to three Plume WiFi boosters, which can help increase the wireless coverage and speed throughout a home.

Sky WiFi Max promises minimum download speeds over wireless of 25Mbps on their Ultrafast, Ultrafast Plus and Gigafast full fibre packages, while those who take Superfast 35 or Superfast are promised speeds up to 10Mbps.

If a customer doesn't receive these minimum speeds they can claim one month's broadband subscription back. However, the add-on also includes daily line checks, free off-peak engineer visits, and 2GB free data on a Sky Mobile plan, as well as the Max Hub router, so there are other benefits too.

TalkTalk customers who take their full fibre broadband in an Openreach-enabled area, can access their Total Home WiFi add-on for £8 per month.

Total Home WiFi includes a second eero device to help boost wireless coverage, and promises minimum download speeds over wireless of 10Mbps. There isn't any money back if customers don't get this speed, but they will be able to cancel the add-on early.

Overall, Sky offer the better whole home WiFi guarantee, although TalkTalk's eero service is likely to achieve similar results.

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Call plans

Winner: Sky include a home phone line as standard on all their broadband packages, while TalkTalk Full Fibre customers don't have the option of one at all.

TalkTalk customers only get a home phone line with their Faster Fibre superfast plans. This comes with pay as you go calls, and customers can add one of three inclusive call plans.

TalkTalk's out of allowance call charges are:

• 24p per minute to UK landlines
• 24p per minute to UK mobiles

Sky offer cheaper call plans than TalkTalk, and all customers get a home phone line included as standard, even full fibre customers.

Sky's Talk Anytime Extra is the same price as TalkTalk's Unlimited UK plan, although off-peak Evening & Weekend calls are cheaper with Sky.

Sky's out of allowance call charges are:

• 27p per minute to UK landlines
• 27p per minute to UK mobiles
• 25p connection charge for all chargeable calls

Overall, Sky are the better option for home phone as all broadband customers can have one, and the inclusive off-peak call plan is cheaper than with TalkTalk.

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TV

Winner: Sky TV is a much more comprehensive TV service than TalkTalk TV, which is limited to an Android TV box set.

Sky TV is more premium TV offering than TalkTalk TV, and the new Sky Stream means even those who can't install or access a satellite dish can get the service.

Sky Stream can both be taken independently of Sky broadband, but customers do get a discount of around £12 per month over taking the services separately.

While TalkTalk TV looks cheaper than Sky TV, the service is much more limited, including simple access to a smart box and on-demand apps available on the Google Play Store.

This paired down version may well suit households who primarily watch Netflix or Prime Video, but for those who want premium channel packs like Sky Entertainment, Sky Cinema and Sky Sports, they'll need to opt for Sky or be willing to watch using the NOW TV app.

Read more in our TalkTalk TV review and our Sky TV review.

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Customer service

Winner: Sky have a market-leading customer service record, with the lowest complaints in the industry, easily outperforming TalkTalk.

Our most recent analysis of broadband customer service found Sky to be the best broadband provider for customer service, thanks mainly to their consistently low complaint levels.

TalkTalk on the other hand have struggled in the past with customer complaints and satisfaction levels, with the most complaints as recently as July 2023.

Here are some key customer service metrics for Sky and TalkTalk:

Aside from being quick to answer the phone, TalkTalk struggle to meet Sky's performance for customer service and satisfaction metrics.

TalkTalk also typically score less than the industry average, while Sky typically score higher than average. In terms of satisfaction with complaints handling and customers with a reason to complain, Sky have "statistically significantly better than the sector average".

Ofcom also found Sky was likely to be recommended in 2022, while TalkTalk customers were less likely to recommend their provider.

It's also worth noting that TalkTalk use overseas call centres, while Sky's call centres are all located in the UK, although there have been reports this could change.

Overall, if customer service is important, Sky are the better choice over TalkTalk.

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Verdict: Sky or TalkTalk broadband?

Overall winner: TalkTalk are working towards becoming a more premium provider, but for now Sky win due to cheaper pricing and their excellent customer services record.

Sky is a more premium broadband provider compared to TalkTalk, although TalkTalk arguably offer a better full fibre product.

Sky outperform TalkTalk in several ways:

• Excellent customer service record with low complaints
• Home phone line included as standard with all broadband plans
• Discounts for bundling premium Sky TV
• Competitive pricing, being cheaper than TalkTalk on all plans

There's some limitation around Sky full fibre plans however, with customers having to opt for the WiFi Max add-on to get the latest router, while TalkTalk full fibre customers get this included as standard, with two devices on their fastest Full Fibre 900 package.

TalkTalk still have some strings to their bow, including:

• Wider full fibre availability over both the Openreach and CityFibre network
• The latest WiFi 6 router available with all full fibre packages
• Total Home WiFi second eero router included with their gigabit plan
• Optional TV add-on with exclusive discounts with NOW TV Memberships

It's worth noting that as well as being cheaper at the introductory level, Sky implement cheaper annual price rises, so could work out costing even less over the life of a contract.

TalkTalk's move towards offering a more premium service means they have some good broadband packages available, however their customer service record still needs to catch up. Yet, Sky's competitive pricing is also matched with their unrivalled customer service which makes them our provider of choice in this head-to-head.

Read more head-to-head guides including Sky vs Virgin Media and Sky vs BT broadband.