Broadband social tariffs: cheaper broadband if you receive benefits

If you receive certain benefits, you may be able to cut your broadband bill to £10–£24 a month — often less than half the average price — without sacrificing a usable speed. These deals are called social tariffs, and they’re one of the most under-used savings in the UK: Ofcom has repeatedly found that only a small fraction of eligible households are on one.

What a social tariff is

A social tariff is a discounted broadband (sometimes broadband + phone) package that providers offer to people on qualifying benefits. Compared with standard deals:

• Price: typically £10–£24 a month, held lower than the provider’s normal pricing.
• Speed: most offer 30 Mbps or faster — enough for streaming, video calls and everyday use. Check what your household actually needs with our what speed do I need? tool.
• No fee to leave the tariff, and none to move onto your own provider’s. Moving to a different provider’s social tariff is the one case Ofcom hedges — it says your current provider “might” waive the exit fee.
• Same network as the provider’s normal service — it’s the price that’s different, not the wires.

Who qualifies

Eligibility varies slightly by provider, but the core qualifying benefits are:

1. Universal Credit
2. Pension Credit
3. Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
4. Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
5. Income Support

Some providers accept additional benefits — check the provider’s own eligibility list. The benefit recipient normally needs to be the main account holder.

Which providers offer one

Social tariffs are offered by BT, Sky, Virgin Media, EE, NOW, Vodafone and Hyperoptic, plus several regional providers. (O2’s Essential Plan is a mobile social tariff, not home broadband — in the Virgin Media O2 group, the home-broadband one is Virgin Media’s Essential Broadband.) Ofcom keeps an up-to-date list of current tariffs and prices on its social tariffs page — worth checking, because names and prices change.

You don’t need to be an existing customer of a provider to take its social tariff, but the provider does need to serve your address.

How to apply

1. Check you receive a qualifying benefit (see the list above, and the provider’s own list).
2. See which providers cover your address — use each provider’s postcode checker.
3. Compare the social tariffs available to you — price, speed, and whether a phone line is included.
4. Apply directly with the provider. They’ll verify your benefit status (often electronically with the DWP, with your consent).
5. If you’re already with that provider, ask to be moved — eligible existing customers can usually switch to the social tariff without a penalty.

If you are sorting this out for a parent

Many households that qualify for a social tariff are also the ones most affected by the landline switch-off — older people, people who rely on the phone, and people who may have a telecare alarm plugged into the old line. Both are worth doing in the same phone call: the landline switch-off explained, and will my alarm still work after the switch?

Things to watch

• Exit fees on your old contract may still apply if you change provider mid-contract — estimate them with our exit fee calculator first. Moving to your own provider’s social tariff usually avoids this.
• Re-check when your benefits change. If you stop receiving the qualifying benefit, the provider will usually move you to a standard tariff.
• A social tariff isn’t always the cheapest option for your usage — a heavily discounted standard deal can occasionally beat it. Run the numbers with how to lower your broadband bill, and check whether switching makes sense with our should I switch checker.

Check which social tariffs you qualify for — answer three questions and see the matching tariffs from Ofcom’s published table, with the eligibility rules stated exactly as Ofcom states them.

→ Use the should I switch checker