Is BT broadband faster than Sky broadband?

Both sell broadband over the same Openreach network, so real-world speed at a given address is largely the same regardless of provider. Both offer a flagship tier around 900 Mbps; the actual limiting factor is what infrastructure has reached the specific address, not which of the two providers is chosen.

Which has a better complaints record, BT or Sky?

Sky, clearly. Ofcom's Q1 2026 report recorded Sky at 5 complaints per 100,000 customers, among the best of any major provider, against BT's 7, just above the industry average of 6.

Should I choose BT or Sky for TV bundles?

Sky is the better fit if TV matters, with a more mature bundle range including Sky Sports and combined streaming packages. BT's proposition is more focused on broadband itself, backed by extras like its Complete Wi-Fi mesh service.

Which is better for rural broadband, BT or Sky?

BT generally has the edge for rural households, reaching around 98% of UK premises against Sky's 95%, both via the same underlying Openreach network.

Head-to-head

BT vs Sky Broadband: Which Is Better in 2026?

Q: Which is cheaper, BT or Sky broadband?

As of August 2026, they are nearly identical: Sky from £23.00 a month, BT from £23.99, both on 24-month contracts. This is a real change from the past, when Sky was meaningfully cheaper and offered a shorter contract.

BT and Sky are two of the biggest Openreach-based broadband brands in the UK, and their prices have converged to within a pound of each other.

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The quick answer

BT and Sky are two of the biggest Openreach-based broadband brands in the UK, and their prices have converged to within a pound of each other. The real differences now are Ofcom complaints record and coverage breadth.

Updated 24 August 2026·Reviewed by BroadbandPicker editorial team

Quick Verdict

Prices are now within a pound of each other, so the decision comes down to priorities: Sky for a stronger, independently regulated complaints record and TV bundles, BT for the widest coverage and a more transparent future price-rise structure.

BT vs Sky: customer-review evidence

These signals are shown separately because they measure different things. Ofcom complaints record serious escalations, surveys measure experiences across a sample, and public reviews reflect self-selecting recent sentiment. We never combine them into an invented trust score.

BT

Ofcom complaints

7 per 100,000

Q1 2026

Above the fixed-broadband industry average of 6. Lower is better.

Ofcom complaints report

Public reviews

4.0 out of 5

Checked 2026-08-23

BT has two active profiles, around 4.0 for bt.com and 1.5 for the older broadband-specific profile. We do not merge them.

Trustpilot profile used in this review

Sky

Ofcom complaints

5 per 100,000

Q1 2026

Below the fixed-broadband industry average of 6. Lower is better.

Ofcom complaints report

Public reviews

2.7 out of 5

Checked 2026-08-24

A self-selecting public-review signal. Provider invitations and who chooses to review can affect the headline score.

Trustpilot profile used in this review

Missing a metric does not mean a provider performed badly. Some providers are below Ofcom’s reporting threshold or were not named in a comparable survey. Read our evidence dashboard and review methodology.

BT

Best for: Widest UK coverage, at around 98% of homes

From

£23.99/mo

Max speed

900 Mbps

Coverage

98%

Trustpilot

4.0 / 1.5 (two pages)

The UK's widest broadband network, reaching around 98% of homes via Openreach
A flat £4 a month price rise every March, disclosed upfront, on every current package
Ofcom ranked BT third for complaints in Q1 2026, an improvement on the previous quarter

Get Deal →Read BT review

Sky

Best value

Best for: A stronger Ofcom complaints record and TV bundle options

From

£23.00/mo

Max speed

900 Mbps

Coverage

95%

Trustpilot

2.7

One of the best Ofcom complaints records of any major provider, 5 per 100,000 customers in Q4 2025
A flat £3 a month price rise from April 2026, its first year using pounds and pence instead of a percentage
Sky Broadband Shield parental controls and strong TV bundle options included

Get Deal →Read Sky review

At-a-Glance Comparison

Metric	BT	Sky
From price	£23.99/mo	£23.00/mo
Max speed	900 Mbps	900 Mbps
Setup fee	£30 (reward card offsets)	£0 (currently advertised)
Typical contract	24 months	24 months
Coverage	98%	95%
Trustpilot	4.0 / 1.5 (two pages)	2.7

Pros and Cons

BT

Widest realistic coverage of any UK provider, useful where other options are limited
Reward cards worth up to £140 offset the £30 upfront setup cost if claimed
Full Fibre 900's Stay Fast Guarantee pays out automatically if speed drops below a set minimum
Ofcom complaints data has improved year on year, from eighth to seventh per 100,000 customers

More expensive than most budget and mid-market rivals at a comparable speed
A scheduled £4 a month price rise every March is built into every current contract
Only 24-month contracts are offered, with no shorter or rolling option
Reward card value must be actively claimed, or the net cost is higher than it first appears

Sky

Best-in-class Ofcom complaints record alongside Plusnet, well below the industry average
No setup costs on current advertised packages
Strong, mature TV bundle range for households that also want Sky TV or Sky Sports
Good parental controls via Sky Broadband Shield, included as standard

Low Trustpilot score, around 2.7 out of 5, despite the strong Ofcom record
Only 24-month contracts are offered, with no shorter or rolling option
Contract terms for years after the first only say prices "may rise," without a fixed future figure disclosed at sign-up
Average upload speeds on the Superfast and Ultrafast copper-based tiers

Key Differences

Pricing

Now nearly identical: BT from £23.99 a month, Sky from £23.00, both on 24-month contracts. This is a real change from the larger gap and different contract lengths seen previously.

Ofcom complaints

Sky recorded 5 complaints per 100,000 customers in Ofcom's Q1 2026 report, among the best of any major provider. BT recorded 7, just above the industry average of 6.

Coverage

BT reaches around 98% of UK premises via Openreach, slightly ahead of Sky's 95%, a genuine edge in harder-to-serve or rural locations.

Trustpilot

BT has two separate Trustpilot pages showing very different scores, 4.0 on bt.com against around 1.5 on the older btbroadband.com. Sky has one page, around 2.7.

Price rises

BT applies a flat £4 a month rise every March, fully disclosed at sign-up. Sky's April 2026 rise was a flat £3, its first year using pounds and pence, but its contract terms for future years only say prices "may rise" without a fixed figure disclosed upfront.

Bundles

Sky has the more mature TV bundle range, including Sky Sports and combined streaming packages. BT focuses on broadband plus support-led extras like its Complete Wi-Fi service.

How We Think About This Matchup

BT and Sky both sell broadband over the Openreach network, so line quality and top available speed at a given address are largely the same regardless of which is chosen. As of August 2026, their entry prices have converged to within a pound of each other, £23.99 for BT against £23.00 for Sky, both on standard 24-month contracts, a genuine change from the larger price gap and different contract lengths this comparison showed in the past.

With pricing this close, the real differences are Ofcom's independently regulated complaints data, total coverage, and how each provider structures its future price rises, not the headline monthly figure.

Final Verdict

Choose BT if maximum coverage matters most, since it reaches around 98% of UK homes against Sky's 95%, or if a clearer, more predictable future price-rise structure matters.

Choose Sky if a stronger, independently regulated complaints record matters, or if bundling Sky TV or Sky Sports onto the same bill is a genuine priority.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Editorial and Source Notes

We review provider comparisons against the same published methodology used across our provider reviews, then add source links where they help verify pricing context, methodology, and trade-offs.