NOW Full Fibre 100

NOW Full Fibre 100 offers a low-cost introduction to full fibre broadband, with average download speeds of 100Mbps

Lyndsey Burton
Lyndsey Burton - Founder & Managing Director, Choose

NOW Full Fibre 100 is a full fibre broadband plan available to around 7 in 10 UK homes on Openreach's full fibre network.

It's currently NOW's cheapest plan, despite being faster than Full Fibre 75, making it a good entry point for those moving to full fibre for the first time.

Customers still get a home phone line and the Sky Broadband Hub included as standard.

now full fibre 100
Illustration: Choose.co.uk

Quick verdict

NOW Full Fibre 100 delivers average download speeds of 100Mbps and uploads of 18Mbps, with a minimum guaranteed download speed of 90Mbps. That's enough for two or three people to stream, game and work from home at the same time. It's available to around 7 in 10 UK homes on Openreach's full fibre network, and is currently NOW's cheapest plan, despite being faster than Full Fibre 75.

You get the WiFi 5 Sky Broadband Hub and a home phone line with pay-as-you-go calls, which many rivals no longer include. The main upgrade is Sky WiFi Max, which adds the WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub and WiFi Pods to extend coverage in larger homes.

The catch is Sky. NOW's prices change often, but Sky Full Fibre 150 currently costs the same and gives you an extra 50Mbps of download speed. Unless NOW drops its price, going straight to Sky is the better deal.


At a glance

Monthly price £23
Setup cost £5 (Refundable)
Minimum term 24 months
Annual price increase Price may rise
Download speed 100Mbps
Upload speed 18Mbps
Minimum guaranteed
download speed
90Mbps
Usage allowance Unlimited
Router Sky Broadband Hub (WiFi 5)
WiFi guarantee 10Mbps for £6/mth
(includes WiFi 6 router upgrade)
Parental controls Sky Broadband Shield
Home phone Included
Anytime calls £18 (inc. UK mobiles)
TV Optional: Sky TV
Pros Cons
Competitive pricing for 100Mb full fibre broadband Sky TV bundles don't offer exclusive discounts
Includes digital home phone line at no extra cost No longer offers discounts for bundling NOW TV Memberships
Now powered by Sky, customers benefit from Sky's excellent customer service record In-contract prices may rise
Monthly price Broadband Contract
£24 100Mb
18Mb upload
24 months
£5 setup
Offer: £5 refundable setup fee
Price may change during the minimum term

What does NOW Full Fibre 100 include?

Full Fibre 100 is NOW's entry-level plan, but the core package is the same as on its faster tiers. Where it differs is speed, and how much that affects what you'll want to add on.

Included as standard:

  • 100Mbps average download, 18Mbps average upload
  • Minimum guaranteed download speed of 90Mbps
  • Unlimited usage
  • Landline with pay-as-you-go calls
  • Sky Broadband Hub (WiFi 5)
  • WiFi guarantee of 3Mbps in every room
  • Sky Broadband Shield

Optional extras:

  • Sky WiFi Max: WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub, Sky WiFi Pods and a 10Mbps per-room guarantee
  • Talk Evenings & Weekends or Talk Anytime call plans
  • Sky Essential TV, at standard price

At 100Mbps, the router matters less than on faster plans. The Sky Broadband Hub's WiFi 5 has plenty of capacity for this speed, so most homes won't notice any bottleneck. Sky WiFi Max is only really worth it if WiFi struggles to reach certain rooms, as the Pods do far more for coverage than the new router does for speed.

The 90Mbps guarantee is also tight to the advertised speed, which is reassuring. If your connection falls below it and NOW can't fix it, you can leave without paying an exit fee.

Getting set up costs nothing in the end. The £5 credit check fee taken at sign-up is credited back on your first bill.


Who is NOW Full Fibre 100 best suited for?

NOW Full Fibre 100 suits smaller households that want reliable full fibre without paying for speed they won't use. With average downloads of 100Mbps and uploads of 18Mbps, it comfortably handles a typical evening of streaming, gaming and browsing for two or three people.

It's a good fit for:

  • Couples, small families and flat shares of up to three people
  • Streaming in Full HD or 4K on a couple of screens at once
  • Online gaming on Xbox, PlayStation and PC
  • One or two people working from home, with HD video calls
  • Moving from part-fibre broadband to full fibre for the first time

Gaming works well too. Full fibre's low latency matters more than raw speed for online play, so 100Mbps feels just as responsive as faster plans. Where you'll notice the difference is downloading games, as a large title can take over an hour at this speed.

There's currently no reason to consider NOW's Full Fibre 75, as it's slower and costs more than Full Fibre 100.

Bigger households, or homes where several people download large files, should look at NOW Full Fibre 300. At £26 per month, it's only £3 more for three times the download speed.

Before signing up, it's also worth checking Sky Full Fibre 150. It currently costs the same £23 per month as NOW Full Fibre 100, and comes from the same company, but gives you an extra 50Mbps of download speed.


How much does NOW Full Fibre 100 cost?

NOW Full Fibre 100 costs £23 per month on a 24-month contract, making it the cheapest way to get full fibre from NOW. It runs over Openreach's full fibre network, which now reaches more than 23 million UK homes.

For that price, you get 100Mbps downloads, 18Mbps uploads, unlimited data, a home phone line and the Sky Broadband Hub. The only upfront cost is a £5 credit check fee, which is returned on your first bill. Here's how the deal looks:

Monthly price Broadband Contract
£24 100Mb
18Mb upload
24 months
£5 setup
Offer: £5 refundable setup fee
Price may change during the minimum term

The main optional extra is Sky WiFi Max, at £6 per month. That adds the WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub and Sky WiFi Pods, and raises the WiFi guarantee to 10Mbps in every room. On a 100Mbps plan, it's worth paying for mainly if WiFi struggles to reach parts of your home. If you use the landline often, call plans start at £9 per month, and are covered in more detail below.

Expect the price to go up during your contract, too. NOW's terms allow price rises during the minimum term without setting the amount, but its last two increases, in July 2025 and July 2026, were both £3 per month. As with Sky's price rises, you'll be given notice beforehand, along with the option to leave your contract if you don't want to accept the increase.

NOW Full Fibre 100 + calls

The included digital phone line works on a pay-as-you-go basis, charging 27p per minute to UK landlines and mobiles, plus 25p to connect each call. That's fine for the odd call, but costs add up quickly if the landline gets regular use.

Two inclusive call plans are available:

Inclusive calls Monthly price
Talk Evenings & Weekends Calls to UK landlines and UK mobiles Monday to Friday evenings, 7pm to 7am, and all weekend £9
Talk Anytime Calls to UK landlines and UK mobiles at any time £18

On a plan this cheap, call plans make a big difference to the total bill. Talk Anytime almost doubles the monthly cost, so it's worth checking first whether your mobile already includes unlimited minutes.

Inclusive calls last up to an hour, after which charges apply, so hang up and redial for longer conversations. Call plans also have their own 24-month minimum term and can't be cancelled early, so only add one if you're sure you'll use it.

NOW Full Fibre 100 + Sky TV

Sky TV can be added when you order NOW Full Fibre 100, but there's no saving for doing so. Sky Essential TV costs £15 per month, the same as taking it on its own, and includes Sky Atlantic, Netflix Standard with Ads and Discovery+ Entertainment, alongside the main free-to-air channels.

TV & apps Broadband Monthly price Contract
Discovery+
Netflix
Sky Atlantic
900Mb
90Mb upload
£35 24 months
Free setup
Price may change during the minimum term
Discovery+
Netflix
Sky Atlantic
100Mb
18Mb upload
£39 24 months
£5 setup
Offer: Sky Essential TV £3/mth off + £5 refundable setup fee
Price may change during the minimum term

Taking Sky TV with Sky's own broadband is much better value. Every Sky Broadband plan with Sky Essential TV currently costs £35 per month, whether you choose Full Fibre 150, Full Fibre 500 or even Gigafast. Once you take off the £15 for Sky TV, that's £20 per month for broadband, even at gigabit speeds.

NOW Full Fibre 100 with Sky Essential TV comes to £38 per month, so going to Sky directly saves £3 per month and can get you up to nine times the download speed. If TV is part of your plans, NOW is hard to justify.

See the latest Sky broadband and TV bundle prices.


NOW Full Fibre 100 vs NOW Full Fibre 300

The only step up within NOW's range is Full Fibre 300. For £3 more per month, you get three times the download speed and more than double the upload speed:

Monthly price Broadband Contract
£24 100Mb
18Mb upload
24 months
£5 setup
Offer: £5 refundable setup fee
Price may change during the minimum term
£27 300Mb
40Mb upload
24 months
£5 setup
Offer: £5 refundable setup fee
Price may change during the minimum term

Beyond speed, the two plans are almost identical. Both come with the Sky Broadband Hub, a home phone line, the same call plans and the option to add Sky WiFi Max. The only other difference is the WiFi guarantee with Sky WiFi Max, which promises at least 10Mbps in every room on Full Fibre 100, compared to 25Mbps on Full Fibre 300.

Should you upgrade?

For £3 per month, the upgrade is good value, but whether you'll notice it depends on how your household uses the connection. Streaming, browsing and video calls all work just as well on 100Mbps, so smaller households won't see much benefit.

The difference shows up with large downloads and uploads. A 50GB game takes over an hour to download at 100Mbps, compared to around 20 minutes at 300Mbps, and the faster 40Mbps upload speed makes backing up photos and videos far quicker. Households of four or more, with several people online at busy times, will also benefit from the extra capacity.

If you do decide to upgrade, compare it with Sky Full Fibre 500 first. At £26 per month, it costs the same as NOW Full Fibre 300 and offers 500Mbps.


How does NOW Full Fibre 100 compare?

NOW Full Fibre 100 usually costs around £23 per month, though its price tends to move by a pound or two. It's also an unusual speed tier. Most major providers skip 100Mbps and go straight to a 150Mbps plan, so in most cases NOW's rivals give you more speed for similar money:

Monthly price Broadband Contract
£24 100Mb
18Mb upload
24 months
£5 setup
Offer: £5 refundable setup fee
Price may change during the minimum term
£21.99 145Mb
30Mb upload
24 months
£9.99 setup
Offer: £130 Reward Card
£25.99 from March 2027, then £29.99 from March 2028
£24 150Mb
27Mb upload
24 months
£5 setup
Offer: £5 refundable setup fee
Price may change during the minimum term
£24 150Mb
27Mb upload
24 months
Free setup
Offer: £75 bill credit & £2/mth off for Vodafone mobile customers
£27.50 from April 2027, then £31.00 from April 2028

The most awkward comparison is Sky Full Fibre 150. It's the same £23 per month with the same £5 refundable setup fee, and comes from the same company. But it's 50Mbps faster, has quicker 27Mbps uploads and includes the WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub instead of NOW's WiFi 5 Sky Broadband Hub. Both include a home phone line, so there's nothing NOW offers that Sky doesn't.

Plusnet's 145Mb plan is a penny cheaper per month, with a £145 Reward Card on top. There's a £9.99 upfront fee, and it's broadband only, with no home phone line. Its Hub Two router is WiFi 5, the same standard as NOW's.

Vodafone Full Fibre 150 costs £1 more per month, but has no setup fee and includes £75 of bill credit, with £2 per month off for Vodafone mobile customers. It also comes with a WiFi 6 router and a home phone line, so it's better equipped than NOW on both counts.

Price rises change the picture over a full contract. Plusnet adds £4 per month in March 2027 and again in March 2028, and Vodafone adds £3.50 in April of each year. NOW doesn't set its rises in advance, but if it repeats the £3 increases of the last two years, it'll rise more slowly. Even so, once rewards are included, Plusnet works out around £85 cheaper than NOW over 24 months, and Vodafone around £20 cheaper.

NOW Full Fibre 100 isn't expensive, but it's outclassed at this price. Sky gives you more for the same money, Vodafone adds a better router for little extra, and Plusnet can work out as the cheapest option with the Reward Card if you don't need a landline.


How fast is NOW Full Fibre 100 broadband?

NOW Full Fibre 100 averages 100Mbps downloads and 18Mbps uploads at peak times. That puts it in the middle of NOW's range:

Average download speed Average upload speed
NOW Full Fibre 75 75Mb 16Mb
NOW Full Fibre 100 100Mb 18Mb
NOW Full Fibre 300 300Mb 40Mb

Full Fibre 75 currently costs more than Full Fibre 100, so in practice, this is the slowest plan worth considering from NOW. That also means there's no cheaper fallback within NOW's range if your budget is tight. Your options are this plan or paying £3 more for Full Fibre 300.

What 100Mbps means for downloads: a 4K stream uses around 15Mbps, so three people can stream, browse and video call at the same time with capacity to spare. Things change in bigger households. Add a fourth or fifth person, a console downloading a game and a phone backing up photos, and the connection will start to feel stretched at busy times. If that sounds like your home, Full Fibre 300 is the safer choice.

What 18Mbps means for uploads: this is the plan's real weakness. It handles video calls without trouble, but uploading a 1GB video takes around eight minutes, and uploading slows your downloads while it's running. For anyone who works from home with large files, streams to Twitch or YouTube, or uses cloud backup heavily, this will be noticeable. Sky Full Fibre 150 offers 27Mbps uploads for the same price, which is a meaningful step up.

What full fibre means for reliability: advertised speeds have to be achieved by at least half of customers between 8pm and 10pm, and because fibre runs all the way into your home, distance from the street cabinet doesn't affect your speed. In practice, you should get close to 100Mbps whether you're streaming at 9pm on a Saturday or working at midday on a Tuesday.

What it means for your WiFi: at 100Mbps, the included WiFi 5 Sky Broadband Hub isn't a bottleneck in most homes. Unlike on faster plans, you're unlikely to need a router upgrade to get the speed you're paying for, which keeps the overall cost down.

Minimum guaranteed speeds

NOW follows Ofcom's voluntary code of practice on broadband speeds, so you'll be given a personalised speed estimate and a minimum guaranteed download speed before you order. We checked an address with Openreach full fibre:

Estimated download speed Estimated upload speed Minimum guaranteed download speed
NOW Full Fibre 100 100 - 108Mb 18 - 19Mb 90Mb
NOW Full Fibre 300 298 - 314Mb 39 - 47Mb 200Mb

The 90Mbps guarantee covers 90% of the advertised speed, compared to two-thirds on Full Fibre 300. For you, that means stronger protection. If your speed drops even slightly below what you're paying for, you have grounds to complain and, if NOW can't fix it within 30 days, to leave without an exit fee.

Note that the guarantee only covers download speed, not uploads. If your upload speed falls short, you have no equivalent right to leave.

To use the guarantee, keep a record of the minimum speed you're given at sign-up, and test with a device plugged into the router by Ethernet cable. WiFi tests are affected by walls, distance and interference, so they won't count as evidence of a fault.

You can read more about minimum guaranteed download speeds in our guide.


Router

NOW Full Fibre 100 comes with the Sky Broadband Hub, a WiFi 5 router first released in 2019. Sky still sends it to its own part-fibre customers, and it's comparable to the routers BT, Plusnet and TalkTalk supplied for years, such as the BT Smart Hub 2 and Plusnet Hub Two. It's not the newest hardware, but on a 100Mbps plan, that matters less than you might expect.

sky broadband hub

Sky Broadband Hub. Credit: Choose.co.uk

The reason is capacity. WiFi 5 on the 5GHz band can comfortably carry several hundred megabits per second close to the router, so a 100Mbps connection leaves it with plenty of headroom. In a flat or an average-sized house, most phones, laptops and TVs should get the full speed you're paying for, and you're unlikely to see a difference from a newer router. That's a different story from NOW's faster plans, where WiFi 5 can start to limit what reaches your devices.

Where the Sky Broadband Hub falls short is coverage. Eight internal antennae and 4x4 MU-MIMO on both bands give it decent range, but signal still drops through thick walls, between floors and into extensions or garden offices. If you already have rooms where WiFi struggles, a new connection won't fix that on its own, as the issue is the distance between the router and your devices, not the broadband speed.

Sky Broadband Hub Sky Max Hub
WiFi protocol WiFi 5 (802.11ac) WiFi 6 (802.11ax)
WiFi bands Dual-band Dual-band
2.4GHz 4x4 4x4
5GHz 4x4 4x4
Antennae 8 8
Ethernet LAN 4 x 1Gb 4 x 1Gb
Security WPA2 WPA3
Mesh Yes Yes

That's what Sky WiFi Max is really for. For £6 per month, it replaces your router with the WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub, and Sky checks your home for weak spots and sends up to three Sky WiFi Pods if they're needed. The Pods link up with the router to create a single mesh network, so your devices switch between them automatically as you move around. It also raises Sky's WiFi guarantee from 3Mbps to 10Mbps in every room.

The Sky Max Hub has some genuine improvements. WiFi 6 handles busy networks more efficiently, which helps in homes with lots of smart devices, and WPA3 security makes your WiFi password much harder to crack. But at 100Mbps, the Pods are what make the difference. If your WiFi already reaches every room well, the add-on adds £72 a year for little noticeable benefit.

Sky Max Pods mesh boosters

Sky WiFi Max includes up to three Sky Max Pod mesh boosters. Credit: Choose.co.uk

It's also worth considering what £6 per month means on a plan this cheap. Adding Sky WiFi Max takes NOW Full Fibre 100 to £29 per month, more than Sky Full Fibre 150 at £23, which already includes the Sky Max Hub. If a better router is important to you, going to Sky is cheaper than upgrading with NOW.

Whichever router you have, the four Gigabit Ethernet ports are worth using. Plugging in a games console, desktop PC or TV streaming box near the router frees up WiFi for everything else. Sky Q customers should also note that the Sky Max Hub isn't compatible with Sky Q boxes, so they'll need to keep the Sky Broadband Hub. Sky Stream works with either router.


Verdict: Is NOW Full Fibre 100 any good?

NOW Full Fibre 100 does its job well. For two or three people, 100Mbps is plenty for streaming, gaming and working from home, the 90Mbps minimum guarantee is one of the strongest you'll find relative to the advertised speed, and the included WiFi 5 router is fast enough that most homes won't need an upgrade. It's also currently cheaper than NOW's own Full Fibre 75, so if you're set on NOW, this is the plan to pick.

The weak spot is the 18Mbps upload speed, which will frustrate anyone regularly uploading large files or videos. And it's hard to ignore that Sky Full Fibre 150 costs the same £23 per month while offering 50Mbps more download speed, faster 27Mbps uploads and the WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub. With the same network, the same customer service and the same home phone line, there's no trade-off in choosing Sky.

That's even more true if you want TV. NOW Full Fibre 100 with Sky Essential TV costs £38 per month, while Sky's own broadband and TV bundles start at £35, with speeds up to gigabit included.

Outside of Sky, Vodafone and Plusnet both work out cheaper over a full contract, with Vodafone adding a WiFi 6 router and Plusnet the cheapest option if you can do without a landline.

Overall, NOW Broadband no longer stands out as a budget alternative to Sky. NOW Full Fibre 100 is a solid plan at a fair price, but unless NOW drops its price below Sky's, Sky Full Fibre 150 is the better buy.

Which broadband deals are available in your area?

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