BT vs Sky broadband

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Last updated: 28 January 2022

The main difference between BT and Sky Broadband are their TV offerings; Sky offers much more comprehensive broadband & TV packages than BT. But if TV isn't important to you, then BT offer more speed options and faster internet in general.

BT vs Sky: At a glance

	BT	Sky
Do they offer superfast broadband?	Yes	Yes
Do they offer ultrafast full fibre broadband?	Yes, with speeds of up to 910 Mbps on average	Yes, with speeds of up to 500 Mbps on average
How much is their cheapest broadband contract?	£27.99 per month for 36 Mbps	£25 per month for 59 Mbps
Do they offer TV?	Yes, with over 130 channels (when including sports and Now membership channels)	Yes, with over 300 channels, including sports, movies, and entertainment channels
Is a phone line required for broadband?	No. For BT's Full Fibre deals a phone line is not required.	No. For Sky's Full Fibre deals a phone line is not required.

BT vs Sky Broadband: Which is faster?

In terms of broadband speeds, BT comes out on top.

While both broadband providers offer standard ADSL broadband as well efficient and low-cost fibre deals, BT’s speeds clinch the top spot in terms of highest average speeds and more available options.

Despite the fact that they both run on the same Openreach network, Sky’s Superfast Broadband deal gives users an average speed of 59 Megabits per second (Mbps), compared to 67Mbps with BT Superfast Fibre 2. Furthermore, BT offer two speeds below this, 36 Mbps and 50 Mbps, if you aren't sure you require so much bandwidth.

The Sky Ultrafast package offers speeds of 145 Mbps on average, and BT's equivalent offers 150 Mbps. Not a huge difference there, but BT does offer slightly faster speeds.

Both providers offer a 500 Mbps package, but BT goes one step beyond this and also offers a 910 Mbps package. Whilst this will be overkill for most people, it is another option BT offer that Sky do not.

Sky speeds:	BT speeds:
Sky Essential Broadband Plus – 11 Mbps	BT Broadband – 10 Mbps
Sky Superfast Broadband - 59 Mbps	BT Fibre Essential – 36 Mbps
Sky Ultrafast Broadband - 145 Mbps	BT Fibre 1 – 50 Mbps
Sky Ultrafast Broadband Plus - 500 Mbps	BT Fibre 2 – 67 Mbps
	BT Full Fibre 100 - 150 Mbps
	BT Full Fibre 500 - 500 Mbps
	BT Full Fibre 900 - 910 Mbps

BT vs Sky Broadband: Which is cheaper?

While BT might be the better broadband provider for speed, it comes at a more significant price. Both Sky and BT offer 18-month contracts that have introductory rates, and then increase after a certain threshold. However, BT’s contracts are always more expensive.

Cheapest packages

Sky’s cheapest package is their Superfast Broadband contract. This is a barebones broadband deal, coming with a 59 Mbps connection for £25 per month.

36Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£28.00 / month

£0 upfront fees

BT's cheapest package is their Fibre Essential package, which clocks in at 36 Mbps and costs £27.99 per month.

36Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£31.99 / month

£31.99 upfront fees

Sky is the clear winner here; not only do they offer the cheapest package, it is much faster than BT's cheapest broadband deal.

Mid-level packages

At the mid-level, Sky’s Ultrafast Broadband package comes with a blisteringly fast 145 Mbps connection for £35 per month.

145Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£29.00 / month

£0 upfront fees

At this level, BT have more choice. Users can either opt for their Fibre 2 package, which costs £32.99 per month and comes with a 67 Mbps connection, or the more equivalent Full Fibre 100 package, which costs £34.99 per month for a 150 Mbps connection.

150Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£0 / month for 3 months

Then £35.99 / month

67Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£0 / month for 3 months

Then £35.99 / month

BT wins in the mid range here; not only do they offer a faster connection than Sky for about the same price, they have alternatives on offer in this price range should your property not yet have access to Full Fibre connection speeds.

Top-tier packages

In the top tier, both providers offer a 500 Mbps contract. With BT this will set you back £44.99 per month, or £45 per month with Sky - so pretty much the same.

500Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£0 / month for 3 months

Then £44.99 / month

500Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£34.00 / month

£0 upfront fees

However, if you are looking for Gigabit broadband, this is only an option if you opt for BT Broadband. This will set you back £54.99 per month for a 910 Mbps connection with their Full Fibre 900 deal.

910Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£0 / month for 3 months

Then £49.99 / month

BT TV vs Sky TV: Which is better?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sky TV offers users the widest range of television entertainment. They recently changed their package structuring, doing away with the Family, Box Set and Variety Bundles. Instead, their basic package is Sky Entertainment, which includes Sky Atlantic (home to Westworld and Game of Thrones), Sky One, Sky Living, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Sky News, Comedy Central and much more.

For additional cost you can include certain exciting extras such as Sky Sports, whose 10 dedicated channels cover the latest football (including the Premier League), golf, cricket, Formula 1, Rugby Union, Rugby League, boxing, darts, NFL, tennis and more. There’s also the option to add Sky Cinema, to enjoy some of the best and latest cinematic releases.

When you sign up to any Sky TV package, you automatically get the new Sky Q 1TB (terabyte) box, which allows you to pause and rewind live TV, access on demand content and record several channels whilst watching another. If you pay a little more, you can get the 2TB version, that can store twice the amount of on-demand and recorded material; a whopping 1000 hours of SD TV. Use our site to find Sky TV deals.

BT looks a little empty in comparison, with its basic package offering only 80 channels, and up to 99 on the Entertainment package. Their elite service, called Max, gets you access to 143 channels, including Nickelodeon, Disney Junior and MTV; perfect for households with young children.

It’s important not to overlook BT Sport though, whose BT Sport 1 and 2, BT Sport Europe and ESPN channels provide coverage of major events such as the Premier League, Ashes and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The BT On Demand store also hosts a wide variety of films and TV shows at the click of a button, and allows you to download Sky Cinema and Sky Sports. Look for BT TV deals on our site.

BT vs Sky: Which provider has better bundle deals?

In general, Sky bundles tend to be cheaper than their BT counterparts. BT’s internet is faster, but Sky’s entertainment capabilities eclipse that of BT.

When you compare broadband providers it’s important that you get the best deal for you, and not just to focus on the price or get too excited about an unnecessarily large list of extras, as you might not use them all.

Take a look at the options available to you to help ensure you’re making an informed decision.

BT vs Sky: Which company offers better customer service?

Despite the wonderfully speedy service promised by BT, their customer service record lacks slightly. According to an Ofcom report, BT had 115 complaints per 100,000 customers, compared to Sky’s 29. For reference, the industry average is 75/100,000.

The only place BT had the edge was in customer service operator call wait times, where on average customers had to wait 1min 40s, compared to 2min 03s for Sky.

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Author: Danny Lord

Danny is our Editor-in-Chief, and has been writing news and guides for comparison sites for the last five years.