BT broadband vs NOW broadband

NOW Broadband and BT sit at opposite ends of the broadband market - one built around low prices, the other around premium extras.

NOW's pricing starts lower for entry-level broadband and home phone, while BT costs more but offers faster tiers, TV bundles, and 4G back-up.

For most households, NOW will do the job for less. But for those who want faster speeds or a more resilient connection, BT has the edge.

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At a glance: BT vs NOW Broadband

Top picks: BT and NOW broadband deals

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Price

Winner: NOW Broadband is cheaper at entry level, but BT undercuts it at 300Mb - and the gap narrows further when extras are factored in.

NOW Broadband is one of the cheapest broadband deals in the UK, starting from £23 per month for its Full Fibre 75 plan.

BT's closest equivalent - the Full Fibre 2, delivering a similar 74Mb average - costs £25.99 per month. Here are the two plans side by side:

The picture changes at higher speeds. BT's Full Fibre 300 costs £28.99 per month - actually cheaper than NOW's equivalent at £30. For households considering 300Mb, BT is the better deal on price alone.

Home phone is another area where NOW has a structural advantage. NOW includes a digital landline with pay-as-you-go calls as standard; BT charges an extra £5 per month for the same. Anytime call plans are similarly priced - £17 per month with NOW, £18 with BT - so the main saving is in the line rental itself.

Both providers offer a WiFi guarantee add-on, but at very different prices. NOW's WiFi Max costs £6 per month; BT's Complete WiFi costs £10. Both provide up to three boosters and a whole-home coverage guarantee, though NOW's add-on also upgrades the router to WiFi 6 - something BT's doesn't. It's worth noting that the same WiFi Max add-on costs just £4 per month with Sky broadband, which often makes Sky cheaper overall than NOW once extras are added. Read more in our Sky vs NOW comparison.

On annual price rises, BT applies a fixed £4 per month increase every March - confirmed for new customers from March 2027. NOW's £3 per month rise lands in April 2026 and is already baked in for new customers signing up from February 2026, with no exit right for that specific increase. Future NOW rises remain unconfirmed under "prices may rise" terms, with a 30-day exit window if they do.

NOW is cheaper at entry level and includes more as standard, but BT closes the gap at higher speeds - and for households that don't need a home phone, the price difference is smaller than it first appears.

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Broadband packages

Winner: BT offers a wider range of speed tiers, but NOW is cheaper for entry-level full fibre and includes more as standard.

Both providers use Openreach's network, so availability is matched across all plans. The key differences are speed range, price, and what comes in the box:

• Speed ceiling - NOW tops out at 300Mb; BT goes up to 900Mb
• Price - NOW is cheaper at entry level; BT undercuts at 300Mb
• Home phone - included with NOW as standard; costs £5/month extra with BT
• WiFi guarantee - Wall-to-Wall included free with NOW; Complete WiFi costs £10/month with BT
• Router upgrade - WiFi 6 available via WiFi Max (£6/month) with NOW; BT has no WiFi 6 option
• TV - BT customers can choose between EE TV and Sky TV; NOW customers can add Sky TV but without a bundling discount

Full fibre

NOW and BT both offer full fibre plans up to 300Mb, but the tiers don't map neatly onto each other. Where NOW offers 75Mb, 100Mb and 300Mb, BT offers 74Mb, 150Mb and 300Mb.

BT's 150Mb plan at £26.99 is faster than NOW's 100Mb plan at £25, so while BT costs more, customers get a notably faster connection for the extra £2.

At 300Mb the tables turn - BT charges £28.99 against NOW's £30, making BT the better value at that tier.

Both providers' plans are on 24-month contracts with free setup - NOW's £5 fee is refunded against the first bill. NOW is cheaper at 75Mb, but BT pulls ahead at 300Mb, and its 150Mb plan offers more speed for just £2 more than NOW's 100Mb equivalent.

Faster full fibre

Above 300Mb, only BT's packages extend further - the difference is in the line-up, not availability, as both providers use the same Openreach network. Customers on either provider can access faster speeds if they switch, but NOW simply doesn't sell them.

BT's 500Mb plan costs £29.99 per month and its 900Mb plan £31.99 - competitive in the context of the wider market. Sky, for comparison, charges £28 for 500Mb and £33 for 900Mb, making BT marginally cheaper at 500Mb and meaningfully cheaper at gigabit level.

Part fibre

For households where full fibre isn't yet available, both providers offer a superfast part-fibre option over Openreach's FTTC network, with average speeds around 61-67Mb.

NOW is cheaper here at £23 per month against BT's £25.99, and includes a home phone line as standard.

What's included

Both providers run on 24-month contracts. BT offers free setup while NOW charges £5, refunded against the first bill - so in practice the two are equivalent there.

The most meaningful package-level difference is the home phone. NOW includes a digital landline with pay-as-you-go calls on every plan; BT charges £5 per month extra for the same. It's a small but consistent saving, and one that adds up over a 24-month contract.

Both providers supply a WiFi 5 router as standard - NOW's Sky Broadband Hub and BT's Smart Hub 2, both released in 2018-2019. WiFi 5 handles everyday browsing and streaming without issue, but households with newer devices will get better wireless performance from WiFi 6, which is more efficient at managing multiple connections simultaneously.

NOW customers can upgrade via the WiFi Max add-on at £6 per month, which swaps the router for the WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub, adds up to three mesh pods, and includes a guarantee of at least 10Mb/s in every room on plans up to 100Mb, or 25Mb/s on Full Fibre 300. BT has no router upgrade option - the Smart Hub 2 is what customers get for the length of their contract.

Customers who want a WiFi 6 router from a BT-owned provider would need to look at EE, which includes the WiFi 7 Smart Hub 7 Plus as standard on full fibre plans.

BT's Complete WiFi costs £10 per month for coverage pods and a signal guarantee, but the router stays the same and there's no WiFi 6 upgrade included.

On TV, Sky TV can be added to a NOW package at checkout, though without a bundling discount. BT customers have more flexibility - they can choose between EE TV and Sky TV.

Read more in our BT broadband review and NOW Broadband review.

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Broadband speed

Winner: BT offers faster speed tiers up to 900Mb, but NOW has stronger minimum speed guarantees on equivalent plans.

Both providers run on Openreach's network, but that doesn't guarantee identical performance - each manages their own backhaul and network traffic differently. The more meaningful difference is simply range: BT goes up to 900Mb, NOW tops out at 300Mb.

Here are NOW Broadband's available speed tiers:

And BT's, which extends considerably further:

These are the speeds received by at least 50% of each provider's customers during peak hours - 8pm to 10pm - making them a more reliable benchmark than headline figures.

On equivalent plans, speeds are closely matched, which is what you'd expect from two providers on the same underlying network. One difference worth noting is upload speeds - BT's Full Fibre 300 averages 49Mb upload against NOW's 40Mb, a gap that matters for households that video call, work from home, or use cloud storage regularly.

Minimum guaranteed speeds

Both NOW and BT are signatories of Ofcom's broadband speeds code of conduct, meaning they provide a personalised speed estimate and a minimum guaranteed speed at sign-up. If that minimum isn't met for three consecutive days and the provider can't resolve it within 30 days, customers can leave penalty-free.

We tested two locations - one part-fibre, one full fibre - and were given the following estimates:

Despite using the same Openreach network, NOW's minimum speed guarantees come out higher than BT's on several equivalent plans. NOW guarantees 90Mb on its Full Fibre 100, while BT guarantees just 34Mb on its Full Fibre 2 - a significant gap. At 300Mb, NOW again guarantees more: 200Mb against BT's 150Mb.

Both providers go beyond the standard Ofcom code with their own speed guarantees.

NOW customers benefit from Sky's Speed Guarantee - if speeds fall below the minimum for three or more days and can't be resolved within 30 days, customers receive one month's broadband subscription back. It can only be claimed once per 24-month term.

BT's equivalent is the Stay Fast Guarantee, with the same 30-day resolution window. The payout is a flat £20 virtual reward card rather than a month's subscription, but it can be claimed up to four times per year.

For most customers the Sky/NOW refund will be worth more in cash terms - but BT's can be claimed more frequently if problems recur.

It's also worth understanding what the minimum guarantee covers: it's the speed delivered to the router, not over WiFi. Wireless speeds will always be lower depending on device, distance, and home layout - which is part of why both providers offer a WiFi guarantee as an add-on.

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Router

Winner: NOW Broadband customers can upgrade to a WiFi 6 router - BT offers no equivalent, and its Smart Hub 2 is now seven years old.

Both providers supply a WiFi 5 router as standard - NOW's Sky Broadband Hub and BT's Smart Hub 2, both released in 2018-2019.

For most households they'll handle everyday use without issue, but WiFi 5 is showing its age. Some providers have already moved to WiFi 7 - EE and Sky include it on select plans - and newer devices increasingly expect better.

Being locked into 2018-era hardware for a 24-month contract is worth factoring in before signing up.

Where the two providers diverge is in what happens next. NOW customers can upgrade to the WiFi Max add-on at £6 per month, which replaces the standard hub with the Sky Max Hub - a WiFi 6 router with WPA3 security and mesh support. BT has no router upgrade path at all.

The Sky Broadband Hub edges the BT Smart Hub 2 on spec - one extra antenna - but the real gap is between the Smart Hub 2 and the Sky Max Hub.

WiFi 6 handles multiple connected devices more efficiently and delivers faster wireless speeds to compatible devices. WPA3 is also a meaningful step up from WPA2 for network security.

BT's Complete WiFi add-on costs £10 per month and provides up to three coverage discs and a whole-home signal guarantee - but the router stays the same.

At £10 per month it's notably more expensive than NOW's £6 WiFi Max, which includes the router upgrade itself.

Customers who want a WiFi 6 router from a BT-owned provider would need to look at EE (compare BT vs EE broadband), which includes the WiFi 7 Smart Hub 7 Plus as standard on all full fibre plans.

On hardware, NOW has the clearer upgrade path - and at a lower cost than BT's add-on.

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WiFi guarantee

Winner: NOW's WiFi guarantee offering is stronger and cheaper - a free baseline included as standard, with a paid upgrade that also includes a router upgrade that BT's equivalent doesn't.

NOW includes the Wall-to-Wall WiFi guarantee free with every plan - a baseline promise of 3Mb/s in every room, with one month's subscription back if it isn't met.

Customers who want more can upgrade to WiFi Max at £6 per month, which adds a WiFi 6 router, mesh pods, and a higher speed guarantee.

BT's only option is the paid Complete WiFi add-on at £10 per month. Here's how all three tiers compare:

The differences here are meaningful. BT's Complete WiFi costs £10 per month - £4 more than NOW's WiFi Max - and doesn't include a router upgrade. NOW's paid tier replaces the standard hub with the WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub, a significantly better piece of hardware for households with multiple devices.

BT's guarantee also doesn't commit to a specific speed in every room - just a "strong signal", which is a vaguer standard than NOW's measurable Mb/s threshold.

BT's Complete WiFi costs £240 over a 24-month term with no option to cancel - regardless of whether the coverage is satisfactory. NOW's WiFi Max is cancellable if the guarantee isn't met, so customers aren't locked in if it doesn't deliver. BT's £100 bill credit if the guarantee fails is a reasonable payout, but it doesn't offset the cost of a non-cancellable £10 per month add-on.

For households comparing the two on WiFi coverage alone, NOW is the stronger and cheaper option - and the more flexible one too.

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Call plans

Winner: NOW includes a home phone line as standard - BT charges extra for the same, and its anytime calls cost more too.

NOW includes a digital home phone line with pay-as-you-go calls on every plan. BT charges £5 per month extra for the same - a cost that adds up to £120 over a 24-month contract before a single call is made.

Call plans are also cheaper with NOW. Anytime calls cost £17 per month against BT's £18, and NOW also offers an international calls option that BT doesn't. Here's how the two providers' call plans compare:

NOW Broadband call plans:

BT call plans:

The gap is modest on call plan pricing, but the home phone inclusion is a meaningful structural difference. For households that still use a landline, NOW is the cheaper starting point - and the only one where the line is included without an extra monthly fee.

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TV

Winner: BT customers have more TV flexibility - access to both EE TV and Sky TV, with TNT Sports cheaper through EE TV than through Sky.

Both providers give customers access to TV, but BT has the broader choice. BT customers can bundle EE TV directly, or add Sky TV separately - NOW customers can only add Sky TV at checkout, and without a bundling discount.

From 26 March 2026, both providers' TV options gain HBO Max. Sky Ultimate TV - available to add with NOW - includes it alongside Disney+, Hayu, Netflix, Discovery+, and Sky Atlantic. EE TV gains HBO Max via NOW from the same date.

Where BT has a clear edge is TNT Sports. At £20 per month through EE TV, it's £8 per month cheaper than the same package through Sky - the only TV option available to NOW customers.

Sky Cinema and Sky Sports, on the other hand, are cheaper through Sky TV. And on content breadth, Sky Ultimate TV remains the more comprehensive package overall.

Here are a couple of bundle prices side by side:

NOW customers don't receive a bundling discount when adding Sky TV - the price is the same as taking it separately. BT customers bundling EE TV do receive a combined package price. For households that want TV included, BT's bundling makes it the more straightforward option.

Read more in our guide to Sky TV vs BT TV.

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Customer service

Winner: Sky's complaints record is stronger than BT's on current Ofcom data - and new NOW customers are served by Sky's teams directly.

Since the 'powered by Sky' rebrand in June 2024, all new NOW customers are served directly by Sky's customer service teams. NOW no longer appears separately in Ofcom's broadband complaints data - its standalone broadband base has fallen below the reporting threshold - though it remains listed separately for landline services.

In Ofcom's Q3 2025 report, Sky recorded 6 complaints per 100,000 customers against BT's 9 - both below the industry average of 8, but Sky performing notably better.

Here's how both providers compare on Ofcom's latest satisfaction metrics:

The figures are close on overall satisfaction - 85% for BT against 84% for Sky. But Sky performs better on complaints handling satisfaction and resolves more complaints on first contact. BT's call waiting time of 3 minutes 33 seconds is notably longer than Sky's 46 seconds.

Before the rebrand, NOW's own complaints record was poor - it became the most complained-about provider in Q1 2024, a trend that continued into Q2 2024. That period is behind new customers now, who are served by Sky directly.

BT operates call centres across the UK and Ireland. Sky operates a hybrid model - some UK-based, some overseas - though this hasn't yet materially affected its complaints record.

On current data, Sky - and by extension new NOW customers - has the better complaints record. But BT's overall satisfaction scores are marginally higher, and for a provider of its size, its complaints performance is reasonable.

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Verdict: BT vs NOW Broadband - which is best?

Overall winner: NOW Broadband for budget households - BT for those who need faster speeds, TV flexibility, or a more resilient connection.

NOW and BT are genuinely aimed at different customers, which makes this comparison less about who wins outright and more about what a household actually needs.

NOW is the cheaper option at entry level, includes a home phone line as standard, and has a stronger WiFi guarantee offering than BT. For straightforward broadband at a low price, it's hard to beat.

BT costs more but goes further. Faster speeds up to 900Mb, EE TV and Sky TV both available to customers, and BT Halo for those who need 4G back-up and a resilient connection for home working. These aren't features NOW can match.

On customer service, Sky's complaints record is stronger than BT's on current Ofcom data - and new NOW customers are served by Sky directly. That's a genuine improvement on where NOW was in early 2024.

Choose NOW if:

• You want the lowest entry-level price with a home phone included
• 300Mb is sufficient for your household
• You want a free WiFi guarantee and a cheaper paid upgrade option

Choose BT if:

• You need speeds above 300Mb
• You want TNT Sports at the cheapest available price
• You need 4G back-up or a more resilient connection for home working
• You want the flexibility to choose between EE TV and Sky TV

For most households, NOW is the better value day-to-day. BT is the right choice when the extras matter.

Read more in our guides to NOW Broadband vs Plusnet and BT broadband vs Sky.