New research has found that 9.5 million households in the UK are paying for broadband speeds they don’t need. Just over a third (34%) of internet users overpay for their broadband packages, equal to an estimated £53 million spent on unused speeds each month. This translates to a jaw-dropping £637 million over the course of a year.
The figures come from Go.Compare, which surveyed users on their internet habits and the broadband speeds they pay for. After calculating the speeds households would actually require based on their usage, it revealed just how much they could be overpaying.
The comparison site says that those who overpay spend an average of £5.58 per month more than they need to on their broadband. This means £66.96 is wasted over 12 months – enough to cover a streamer’s standard Netflix subscription for a year.
According to the findings, the majority of Brits pay for some of the fastest broadband speeds. Around a third (34%) have speeds of over 150 megabits per second (Mbps), but it’s estimated that just a fifth (21%) of internet users actually need broadband as fast as this.
Similarly, more than a quarter (27%) pay for speeds between 51 and 100Mbps, but only 12% of internet users need speeds in this range. Meanwhile, only 3% of the country settles for the slowest speeds of 15Mbps or less, yet this would be enough for 13% of users.
Users who only need 15Mbps also tend to overpay the most, as just 4% of these users said they pay for speeds around this level. One in 10 of these users stated that they pay for some of the fastest speeds at over 150Mbps – despite the slowest offerings being enough for their usage. As a result, they overspend by £9 per month, equating to £113 being wasted every year.
Matt Sanders, broadband expert at Go.Compare, said: “Our latest research suggests that a large chunk of the country is spending more than it needs to on broadband, which is a real kick in the teeth when times are so tight. Everyone’s broadband needs are different, so it can be difficult to know what speeds you actually need.
“The key factors to keep in mind are the number of people in your household and what you tend to use your broadband for. Certain activities like online gaming and streaming 4K videos need faster speeds to run smoothly, and these speeds will be diluted if multiple devices are using the internet at once.
“So, if you live alone and only use the internet for general browsing like emails and shopping, you should be able to manage on relatively slow speeds. But, if your household is a family of four with multiple devices on the go, you might need to get faster speeds so that everyone can use the internet at once without being slowed down.”
More information on the different speeds needed for broadband users can be found on Go.Compare’s website.
Methodology
To estimate the number of Brits overpaying for their broadband, Go.Compare first identified the speeds needed by different groups of internet users using a YouGov survey. These groups were identified by asking respondents what they use their broadband for and the number of people in their household, then comparing their responses to the speeds required to meet these needs. These speeds were based on figures from Which.
It then asked each group what internet speeds they were actually paying for to identify how many respondents were overpaying for their broadband. This number was applied to the overall number of broadband users in the survey to estimate the percentage of broadband users overpaying.
This percentage was then applied to the estimated number of UK households using broadband to estimate the number of households overpaying. The estimated number of UK households using broadband was calculated by applying the percentage of UK broadband users (according to the survey) to 2023 ONS figures on the number of households in the UK.
To estimate the amount overpaid on broadband, Go.Compare first calculated the average broadband price per month split by the following speeds:
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0 to 15Mbps
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16 to 50Mbps
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51 to 100Mbps
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101 to 149Mbps
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150Mbps+
This was based on 210 broadband deals on Go.Compare. This was then applied to the YouGov survey results to find out how much each group of internet users was overpaying on their broadband. The researchers then applied the average amount users overpay on their broadband to the total number of households overpaying for broadband to estimate the total amount overpaid on broadband across the country each month. This was then multiplied by 12 to give the yearly figure.