NOW Broadband Review

NOW is Sky's budget brand, offering essentially the same broadband service, router and customer support as Sky, with speeds from 67Mbps up to 300Mbps.

While speeds are more limited than most providers, NOW Broadband will be adequate for many households and their prices are some of the cheapest in the UK.

Customers also benefit from a home phone line, as well as options to upgrade to inclusive call plans, a WiFi 6 router and WiFi boosters.

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At a glance

Best NOW Broadband deals

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Our review of NOW Broadband

Verdict: Is NOW Broadband any good?

NOW Broadband remains one of the cheapest broadband providers in the UK, with its Superfast, Full Fibre 75 and Full Fibre 100 plans all costing between £23 and £24 per month. Full Fibre 100 is often the cheapest of the three, making it the obvious pick where full fibre is available.

The fastest Full Fibre 300 plan costs from £26 per month, but that's as fast as NOW goes, with no ultrafast or gigabit options.

Since relaunching as 'powered by Sky', NOW Broadband is essentially the same service as its parent company, with the same network, home phone line, parental controls, My Sky app and customer service.

However, this makes NOW an odd proposition, as Sky itself is often just as cheap, and sometimes cheaper for faster speeds.

NOW customers also get the older WiFi 5 Sky Broadband Hub, and have to pay extra for the WiFi Max add-on to get the WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub, which Sky full fibre customers now get as standard.

NOW customers can add Sky TV when they sign up, but bundles are usually cheaper when taken directly with Sky, and there are no longer any discounts for bundling NOW TV Memberships.

Overall, NOW Broadband is still a decent budget option, but it's worth comparing prices with Sky first, as the same service with a better router may cost the same or less.

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NOW Broadband packages

Summary: NOW Broadband offers three full fibre plans and one part fibre plan on the Openreach network, each bundled with a home phone line.

Which plans are available depends on location. Customers in full fibre areas can choose between 75Mbps, 100Mbps and 300Mbps average download speeds, while those in part fibre areas can take the 67Mbps Superfast plan instead.

The monthly price is very similar across most of these deals:

Full fibre plans are available wherever Openreach has built its full fibre network, which now covers around 23.5 million UK premises, or roughly 7 in 10 homes. Elsewhere, customers can take the part fibre Superfast plan instead, so NOW Broadband is available to almost every household.

Superfast, Full Fibre 75 and Full Fibre 100 are all priced very closely, so wherever a customer lives they can get a low-cost broadband connection with superfast speeds.

These plans also have the same out of contract cost of £46 per month, while Full Fibre 100 increases to £47 after the minimum term. However, customers will receive end of contract notifications so they can re-contract or switch away for a better price.

The minimum term contract on NOW Broadband lasts for 24 months, and while this removes the previous flexibility of NOW Broadband deals, it also means the low introductory price lasts for longer.

NOW reserve the right to increase prices, with contracts stating "prices may rise", however they don't specify by how much.

When NOW Broadband does increase prices they give customers notice as well as the opportunity to cancel their contract penalty-free within 31 days. Most recently, NOW increased the price of their broadband plans by £3 per month for existing customers from July 2026, following a similar £3 per month rise in July 2025.

What's included?

Every NOW Broadband plan comes with the Sky Broadband Hub, a dual-band WiFi 5 router.

Customers also get a home phone line with pay as you go calls, with the option to add an inclusive call plan.

Sky Broadband Shield parental controls are included too, letting parents filter content across devices on the home network.

For better coverage, customers can add the WiFi Max upgrade, which swaps in the WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub with WiFi boosters and a WiFi guarantee.

Call plans

All NOW Broadband plans include a home phone line with pay as you go calls, and customers can add an inclusive call plan for Evenings & Weekends or Anytime UK calls. This is one area where prices match Sky's exactly, with the same call plans, prices and call rates.

These are the current prices for their call plans:

There is an access charge for 0845 and 0870 numbers of 15p per minute, and calls made outside the inclusive periods are charged at:

• 25p connection charge
• 27p per minute to UK landlines
• 27p per minute to UK mobiles

Everyone gets 141 (number withhold) and 1471 (last incoming call) free of charge (although 1471 return calls incur an extra charge), while features such as last caller barring and voicemail cost from £2 a month. Caller display is also included for all customers at no extra cost.

Social broadband tariff

As new NOW Broadband customers are signed up on 'powered by Sky' plans, those in need of a social broadband tariff can switch to Sky Broadband Basics.

Sky Broadband Basics costs £20 per month for average download speeds of 36Mbps, and is available to households receiving Universal Credit or Pension Credit. Eligibility is checked instantly with the DWP using a National Insurance number, so there's no need to send any paperwork.

Like most social tariffs, Sky Broadband Basics is exempt from price rises and customers can leave without paying early termination fees. However, it's only available to existing customers, so households will need to sign up to a standard plan first.

Customers on older NOW Broadband plans can still access NOW Broadband Basics, which also costs £20 per month for 36Mbps on a rolling contract, and is available to those receiving a wider range of benefits.

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NOW TV & Broadband

Summary: NOW Broadband customers can no longer bundle NOW TV Membership plans, but they can sign up for Sky TV instead.

It used to be possible to take NOW Broadband alongside various NOW TV Membership plans, which often came with exclusive discounts for bundling.

However, since NOW Broadband relaunched as 'powered by Sky', the sign-up processes have moved to Sky.com and there aren't any options to bundle NOW TV any more.

Instead, though, customers are offered Sky Essential TV when they sign up online, although it's worth noting the price is the same as for any other new customer, so there are sadly no exclusive discounts on offer.

Here's how much NOW Broadband costs when taken with Sky Essential TV on the Stream box set:

Current offers see the price of Sky Essential TV reduced by £3 per month to just £15 per month, it's a good deal, but the offer is also available directly with Sky.

We've written more about the differences between Sky TV and NOW TV here, and of course while there aren't discounts for bundling, NOW Broadband customers can still sign up to NOW TV separately.

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How does NOW Broadband compare?

Summary: NOW Broadband is still one of the cheapest providers, but rivals including Sky, Plusnet and EE now offer faster 150Mb plans for around the same price.

NOW Broadband offers some of the cheapest broadband deals in the UK, but its prices are no longer much lower than other budget providers, or parent company Sky.

Here's how NOW Broadband's cheapest full fibre deal compares on price:

NOW Broadband's Full Fibre 100 plan currently costs just £23 per month for 100Mbps average download speeds. Setup is also free (there is a £5 refundable fee for the credit check), although prices may rise during the 24-month minimum term, with NOW's most recent rise adding £3 per month for existing customers from July 2026.

However, for the same price or less, Sky Full Fibre 150 costs £23 per month and Plusnet's 145Mb plan costs £22.99, both offering around 50% faster speeds. EE Full Fibre 150 is also only slightly more expensive at £23.99 per month.

Plusnet and EE do have fixed annual price rises built into their contracts, so it's worth factoring these in over the full 24 months.

Routers are another area where NOW falls behind. NOW customers get the WiFi 5 Sky Broadband Hub, while BT, Virgin Media, Sky and Vodafone now all include a WiFi 6 router as standard. Only Plusnet still provides a WiFi 5 router like NOW.

One advantage NOW does have over Plusnet is the option to upgrade. For an extra £6 per month, the WiFi Max add-on includes the WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub, up to three WiFi boosters and a WiFi guarantee.

NOW Broadband also includes a home phone line with all plans, which isn't available at all with Plusnet full fibre, and costs extra with EE, BT and Virgin Media.

Sky remains the closest alternative, as the service is almost identical, yet Sky currently offers faster speeds for the same price, a WiFi 6 router as standard. There are also better discounts for bundling Sky TV.

So, when comparing NOW Broadband against other providers, it's worth considering any extras that are needed, such as a home phone or router upgrade, as these can make a big difference to the overall price.

Compare broadband deals side-by-side.

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How fast is NOW Broadband?

Summary: NOW Broadband only offers superfast or ultrafast broadband speeds with 300Mbps their fastest option, which, while adequate, is slower than most other providers.

NOW Broadband offers customers a choice of four broadband speeds, although one of these is part-fibre and the other three full fibre so they depend on location. Their fastest full fibre plan is only 300Mbps though, despite providers like Sky now offering 1Gbps speeds.

These average download speeds must be received by at least 50% of a provider's customer base during the peak hours of 8pm to 10pm at night. Also, since becoming 'powered by Sky', they're more identical to Sky's broadband speeds as well.

Customers living in areas now covered by Openreach full fibre broadband will only be able to choose from the NOW Full Fibre 75, Full Fibre 100 and Full Fibre 300 packages, while those who've yet to be passed by full fibre will be able to sign up for the Superfast plan instead.

It's clear that Sky wants to keep NOW Broadband as their budget brand, so customers who want faster speeds than 300Mbps will need to look elsewhere, with Sky an unsurprisingly good alternative.

Minimum download speeds

NOW Broadband offer customers estimated speeds, as well as a minimum guaranteed download speed when they sign up.

Minimum guaranteed download speeds are effectively service guarantees, which promise a minimum speed or a customer is entitled to leave their contract penalty free.

NOW Broadband say if customers aren't getting their minimum guaranteed download speed and they don't resolve the issue within 30 days, customers can cancel their broadband contract without paying any early termination charges.

This is in line with Ofcom's code of conduct on broadband speeds, which NOW Broadband have voluntary agreed to.

When we checked two postcode areas - one with part-fibre and one with full fibre, we were given the following estimated speeds and minimum speed guarantees (however, note that these speeds can and will vary between areas):

It's worth noting that where full fibre broadband is available, customers should consider the upgrade because as well as offering faster speeds, full fibre is more reliable and much less affected by distance as well as network congestion.

Plusnet, Vodafone, and Sky all offer competitive pricing on their faster full fibre plans for customers looking for download speeds in excess of 300Mbps.

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Router

Summary: NOW Broadband comes with the WiFi 5 Sky Broadband Hub, with the option to upgrade to the WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub, WiFi boosters and a WiFi guarantee for £6 per month.

All NOW Broadband customers are provided with the Sky Broadband Hub, a dual-band WiFi 5 router first released in 2019.

It's an upgrade on the older NOW Hub Two, with 8 internal antennae compared to just 5, giving noticeably better coverage. However, it's now showing its age, as BT, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Sky full fibre customers all get a WiFi 6 router as standard.

Sky Broadband Hub. Credit: Choose.co.uk

Still, the Sky Broadband Hub will be adequate for most smaller homes, and is on par with the Plusnet Hub Two, which is also a WiFi 5 router.

WiFi Max upgrade

For an extra £6 per month, NOW customers can add WiFi Max, which swaps in the WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub, along with up to three WiFi boosters if needed.

Sky Max Hub. Credit: Choose.co.uk

The Sky Max Hub also supports more up to date WPA3 security, and newer WiFi 6 devices, like the Sky Stream box, will benefit from faster wireless speeds.

WiFi Max also includes Sky's Enhanced Wall to Wall WiFi Guarantee, which promises minimum wireless speeds in every room, or customers get a month's broadband and WiFi Max subscription back.

The guaranteed speed depends on the plan, with Superfast, Full Fibre 75 and Full Fibre 100 customers promised 10Mbps in every room, while Full Fibre 300 customers get 25Mbps.

Here are the two router options side-by-side for comparison:

Sky Broadband Shield

NOW Broadband customers also get Sky Broadband Shield, a free parental control tool that lets parents block inappropriate content across devices on the home network, without needing to set blanket filters on the router.

It also protects against phishing websites, although it shouldn't be used as a replacement for other forms of security.

Read more about Sky Broadband Shield and keeping your home router safe.

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Customer service

Summary: NOW Broadband customers are now looked after by Sky, which has one of the strongest customer service records in the industry.

Customer service is where NOW Broadband's move to Sky makes the biggest difference.

Before the relaunch in June 2024, NOW was running into trouble. Complaints rose sharply that year, and NOW became the most complained-about broadband provider in Ofcom's figures, with Ofcom pointing to poor complaints handling.

New customers now sign up through Sky and deal with Sky's support teams, so NOW's own record matters far less. In fact, NOW has now disappeared from Ofcom's broadband complaints table altogether: since the Q3 2025 report, its remaining standalone customer base has been too small to be counted.

That leaves Sky's record as the real measure of what NOW customers can expect, and it's a good one.

In Ofcom's latest Q1 2026 figures, Sky generated just 5 complaints per 100,000 customers, beaten only by Plusnet, at a time when complaints across the industry have fallen to a record low.

This isn't a one-off, either. Sky was the least complained-about broadband provider every year from 2021 to 2024, and while Plusnet has since edged ahead, and Virgin Media briefly matched it in Q4 2025, Sky has stayed comfortably below the industry average throughout.

Ofcom's research into how customers are treated tells a similar story. Sky customers are more satisfied than most with how their complaints are handled, and Sky is quicker than average to fix problems on the first call. Calls are typically answered in under a minute, far quicker than the industry average of around two minutes.

The one blemish is the landline. NOW still appears in Ofcom's landline complaints figures, and while its record has improved, it's still slightly above average and behind Sky. This mostly reflects older customers who haven't yet moved onto Sky's systems.

Like Sky, NOW Broadband uses a mix of UK-based and overseas call centres.

Overall, NOW's customer service problems look like a thing of the past. New customers effectively get Sky's service, which ranks among the best of any major provider.

Read more about the best broadband customer service.

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Summary: Is NOW Broadband worth it?

NOW Broadband is still one of the cheapest ways to get full fibre in the UK, and since moving under Sky's wing, it's a far more dependable service than it once was.

Customers get Sky's network, Sky's customer service and a home phone line, all for around £23 per month. Speeds top out at 300Mbps, but that's still plenty for most households, and the WiFi Max upgrade is there for anyone who needs better coverage at home.

The problem is that NOW's biggest rival is now its own parent company.

At the moment, Sky offers faster 150Mb full fibre for the same price as NOW's 100Mb plan, with a WiFi 6 router included as standard and better deals for those who want to add Sky TV. With the service behind both brands now practically identical, there's little reason to choose NOW over Sky right now.

That could change. NOW remains Sky's budget brand, and it may yet be used to undercut the market with sharper prices in future. For now, though, NOW Broadband's main selling point has been matched by Sky itself.

Ultimately, NOW Broadband is a solid, simple choice, but it's well worth comparing deals with Sky first, as the same service with a faster connection and a better router is likely to cost the same or less.