We take a look at all the different factors so you can make the best decision.
Broadband speeds
Sky Broadband offers five fibre broadband speeds plus their standard ADSL package.
| Package | Average Speed |
|---|---|
| Sky Essential | 11Mb |
| Sky Superfast 35 | 36Mb |
| Sky Superfast | 59Mb |
| Sky Ultrafast | 145Mb |
| Sky Ultrafast Plus | 500Mb |
| Sky Gigafast | 900Mb |
BT offers a range of four broadband speeds, starting with its basic ADSL package with speeds averaging 10Mb. Then their entry level fibre package, Fibre Essential, which comes with an average speed of 36Mb. Finally their two top level superfast fibre packages - Fibre 1 offers an average speed of 50Mb, and Fibre 2 offers an average of 67Mb.
BT also offer some ultrafast fibre packages with much more limited coverage. Fibre 100 offers average download speeds of 145Mb, and Fibre 250 offers average speeds of 300Mb. Some lucky customers can also get Full Fibre . BT offer two full fibre plans to around two million homes. The average speeds are 500Mb and 900Mb downloads.
BT offers the fastest superfast fibre broadband - although the packages aren't really directly comparable as Sky's Superfast Broadband straddles the area between BT's Fibre 1 and Fibre 2.
Broadband cost
In terms of pricing, Sky and BT are pretty closely matched. The main difference is the contact length - BT is a 24 month contract whilst Sky is 18 month.
Another factor is that with BT, if fibre is available in your area you will be forced to take it, even if you only want ADSL. Sky give you the option to still take ADSL if you want to.
At time of writing, Sky Superfast is quite a bit cheaper, as well as being faster, than BT’s Fibre Essential.
Sky is cheaper for its Ultrafast package at around £35, compare to £39.99 for BT Fibre 100 which gives similar speeds.
Customer service
Sky has consistently scored better than BT in the Ofcom Telecoms and Pay TV Complaints Report. They have been amongst the top of the leaderboard in the fixed broadband category for many years.
In the latest Report from Q1 2022, Sky received just 4 complaints per 100,000 customers, well below the industry average of 10. BT has shown improvement in the latest report with 7 complaints per 100,000, compared to 15 in Q1 2021.
| Ofcom complaints per 100,000 | Q1 2022 | Q4 2021 | Q3 2021 | Q2 2021 | Q1 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sky | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| BT | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 15 |
Speed and WiFi Guarantees
When you order BT Broadband you can choose to add Complete WiFi to your package for an additional £10 per month. Complete WiFi is BT’s guarantee to deliver strong WiFi in every room, or you get £100 back. Complete WiFi uses clever WiFi Discs which act as a booster and work to seamlessly extend your Smart Hub’s signal to every corner of the home, from the basement to the attic.
If you have Sky Broadband Superfast or Sky Broadband Ultrafast then you will automatically get Sky's Speed Guarantee. Sky guarantee that if your speed falls below your Guaranteed Minimum Download Speed (that’s the speed given to you when you sign up) for at least three days in a row in a 30-day period, then they'll give you money back for 1 month's Sky Broadband and Talk product subscription. You need be within your minimum term but can claim up to twice.
Customers can take this further by adding Sky WiFi Max to their package. Sky WiFi Max comes with Sky’s fastest WiFi Guarantee of either 10Mb/s if you have Sky Broadband Superfast 35, Superfast or Full Fibre 100, or 25Mb/s if you have Sky Broadband Ultrafast, Ultrafast Plus or Gigafast. You also receive the latest WiFi 6 Sky Max Hub router.
WiFi hotspots
BT customers get free unlimited access to over 5 million WiFi hotspots around the UK and 7 million overseas. Sky customers only get 20,000 hotspots throughout the UK - much less than BT.
Online protection
As a BT fibre customer, you can enjoy free security and protection on your laptops, phones and other devices. Safeguard your devices against viruses, phishing and other online attacks, for the entirety of your contract with Virus Protect, plus get more robust online security and stay in control of what your family can access online with Parental Controls.
Sky's free online security tool, Sky Broadband Shield, is just as comprehensive as BT's. Customers are protected from viruses and malware-infected sites when surfing the web. Plus, parents can easily control what content is accessible at certain times of day.
Download limits & traffic management
Both Sky and BT offer broadband with truly unlimited downloads and no traffic management, so they score evenly on that front.
Our verdict
Winner - Sky
Sky and BT are pretty evenly matched. They are both strong broadband providers with lots going for them.
Overall we feel Sky takes the lead based on its strong customer service record, good value deals and the ability to easily bundle Sky TV. Their entry level fibre is faster than BT’s for almost the same price, and whilst some may be tempted to go for the faster speeds available with BT’s top level superfast package, Fibre 2, Sky’s superfast is going to be more than fast enough for the average user.