Compare, then switch once

What the list is sorting

The default order is first-year cost: introductory months, the price after that, setup and a router charge if there is one. A lower headline can lose to a flat price once the year is added up. You can change the sort; the maths does not change.

Speed filters use the typical download on the plan, not a speed test of your current line. If you work from home, look at upload before you celebrate a gigabit download.

Availability before price

Openreach retailers, Virgin Media cable, and alt-nets such as Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, YouFibre and toob do not cover the same doors. A deal that cannot be installed is not a saving. The address check is the product; the price is what you do after it.

If a match fails, the usual cause is the address format or a missing flat number, not a broken switch. Correct it before you agree a date.

A checklist before you order

The list below is the difference between a comparison and a phone call you regret. None of it requires an account on this site. It does require the number your current provider will give you for an early-termination charge, and the address as the landlord or the council writes it.

• Premises, including flat or unit, not just the postcode.
• Current provider, monthly price today, and contract end date.
• Early-termination charge in pounds if you would leave early.
• Download and upload you actually need, not the largest number on the page.
• Whether a phone line, a TV package, or a care alarm depends on the current line.
• A date you can be in if an engineer is required.
• The price after any introductory months, plus setup or router fees.
• Confirmation that you will order with the new provider and not cancel the old one first.

How the first-year table should be read

Take each deal as a small table, even when the page shows it as a card. Column one is the monthly price during the introduction and how many months that lasts. Column two is the monthly price after that. Column three is setup, delivery and any router charge. Column four is the early-termination charge you would pay to leave your current contract. Add columns one through three across twelve months, then add column four if you are not free to leave. That sum is the comparison.

A deal with a lower column one and a higher column two often loses. A rolling deal with a higher monthly price and a zero in column four often wins if you will move within the year. Sort tools help. They do not replace reading the four numbers.

Speed sits beside the table, not inside it. A cheaper total on a low upload is the wrong winner if your household sends video all morning. Filter the speed first if that is your constraint, then compare cost inside the plans that remain.

What the address check is doing

The check answers a narrower question than “what is the best broadband in my town”. It asks whether the postcode is in the published postcode list, then shows reviewed catalogue rows that name that area, or that named no area. It does not test the line. A short list can be the area filter, not a bug, and it is still not an order.

If the postcode is not in the published list, the page says so and does not fill the gap with sample prices. A new plot or a missing flat can be absent from that file even when a provider can sell there. Ask the provider.

The figures are the ones read from provider pages on the catalogue date. If the provider’s own page disagrees, believe the provider. A from-price is not given a single contract total. An unknown exit fee is not treated as zero. Cashback is not deducted.

After you choose

Order with the gaining provider if you are ready. Keep a copy of the confirmation, the planned date, and what they said about TV, the phone number, and the router. Do not return the old router that day. Do not assume a social tariff was applied because you mentioned benefits in a comparison form. This site does not collect benefit status.

If you are not ready, the useful output of the page is the shortlist and the exit-fee question, not an order. Waiting until a minimum term ends is sometimes the highest-saving ‘switch’ available.