Moving to Glasgow, or living in the city, and looking for a new broadband deal?
In this guide, we’ve reviewed 5 of the best broadband deals, including cheap and fast fibre options, available in Glasgow in 2024.
After, we’ve explained some key things to consider when shopping for a broadband deal in Glasgow.
Quick comparison table
Best broadband deals Glasgow
In this part of the article, we’ve reviewed and compared 5 of the best broadband deals available for Glasgow residents at the moment.
1. BT Fibre 1
BT isn’t the cheapest broadband provider in Glasgow, however they perform quite well, from our testing.
We’ve used their Fibre 1 and Fibre 2 plans at different addresses, and found BT to offer consistent speeds, and good customer service.
Their UK-based support team is easy to reach on the phone, and they have been helpful whenever we’ve had any issues.
You have to commit for 24 months when you join BT, which is a bit of a downside. However, they offer a reward card for new customers, which acts a bit like a prepaid debit card, and allows you to offset your first bill or two, which is nice.
BT offers download speeds of up to 900 Mbps in most parts of Glasgow, especially the city centre. And although their monthly costs aren’t the lowest, we think they’re worth paying a bit more for, in return for the level of customer service that BT provides.
Pros
- Great customer service.
- Offers consistent speeds in our experience.
- Wi-Fi router provides good signal.
- Most deals come with a BT Reward Card.
Cons
- 24 month minimum contract.
2. NOW Broadband Super Fibre
If you want a short-term broadband deal, or just want to save as much money as possible, NOW Broadband is a good choice.
Unlike most other broadband providers, you can only get a download speed of up to 63 Mbps with NOW Broadband in Glasgow, on their Super Fibre plan.
However, because they’re a relatively simple provider compared to most other options, they offer some of the lowest monthly costs on the market, and their upfront fee is normally quite low too.
The default contract is just 12 months long, and you can also choose to get broadband on a month-to-month basis as well. Very few other providers allow you to buy fibre broadband on a pay as you go basis like this.
The main downside to NOW Broadband is because they’re quite basic, there aren’t many rewards or extras included, although you can easily bundle a NOW TV membership if you want to watch Sky TV channels.
Pros
- Low monthly costs.
- 12 month default contract.
- Can join on a month-to-month basis.
- Only a small upfront cost.
Cons
- Quite basic – no ultrafast plans.
3. Vodafone Pro II Broadband
Vodafone has a range of basic broadband plans, similar to NOW Broadband, except you can get ultrafast download speeds of up to 910 Mbps, and their deals come with a 24 month contract.
If you want fast broadband for a low monthly cost, these tariffs are definitely worth looking at.
However, if you pay more, you can also get Vodafone Pro II Broadband, no matter what download speed you choose. This type of tariff comes with:
- A WiFi 6E router, giving you better speeds and Wi-Fi signal than most other providers’ routers offer.
- A Wi-Fi booster, helping ensure you get good Wi-Fi all the time if you have a large house.
- A 4G internet backup device, keeping you connected to the internet if your broadband ever goes offline.
There are also add-ons to get an Apple TV 4K device and Apple TV+ subscription, as well as anytime calls to landlines and mobiles in the UK.
Basically, Vodafone allows you to either save as much money as possible, or get a comprehensive broadband package with a number of quite useful add-ons.
Although their Pro II Broadband deals are not cheap, they do offer a lot of value, and there are no upfront fees no matter which package you choose.
Pros
- Regular plans have a low monthly cost.
- Pro II plans come with a range of quite useful extras.
- No upfront fees.
Cons
- Minimum 24 month contract.
4. Virgin Media Gig1
Virgin Media currently offers the fastest widely-available broadband deals in Glasgow.
With their Gig1 plan, you can get a download speed of up to 1,130 Mbps, which is significantly faster than the 900 Mbps offered by most other providers, like BT.
Given the download speeds on offer, Virgin Media’s monthly costs are quite reasonable. They also have a huge range of cable TV channels available to include, as well as landline calling plans, if needed.
Currently, Virgin Media isn’t as widely available in Glasgow as most other providers, although they do have good coverage in the city. You can get their service:
- On most of the northern bank of the River Clyde, especially in the west.
- Around Woodside, Hamiltonhill, Hillhead, and most of the north-west.
- Around Dennistoun and surrounding suburbs.
- In Garrowhill and Baillieston.
- In many of the southern suburbs such as Spittal and Burnside.
Put in your postcode on their website to check for service.
Pros
- Offers the fastest broadband in most parts of Glasgow.
- Reasonable monthly fees.
- Huge range of add-ons you can pick and choose from.
Cons
- Not available everywhere in the city.
5. Hyperoptic Hyperfast
Hyperoptic is another full fibre broadband provider that has its own independent network available in the city of Glasgow.
They offer download speeds of up to 900 Mbps, but unlike with most other providers, their upload speeds match their download speeds. This means that your uploads will be a lot faster compared to using Virgin Media or BT.
You can choose between a 12 month, 24 month, or monthly rolling contract with Hyperoptic, and their monthly costs are quite reasonable, especially on the 24 month plan.
Plus, unlike most other major providers, Hyperoptic promises not to increase your costs mid-contract, which is a nice touch.
Currently, you can get Hyperoptic in certain Glasgow suburbs such as Hutchesontown, Cessnock, Govan, Partickhill, Thornwood, Haghill, Shettleston, and the city centre, among other areas.
Put your postcode in on their website to see if Hyperoptic is available on your street.
Pros
- Very fast upload speeds.
- Low monthly costs.
- Can choose your contract length.
Cons
- Not as widely available as Virgin Media or BT.
What you need to know
Now, we’ll explain what you need to know when shopping for a broadband deal if you live in Glasgow.
Which broadband providers are available in Glasgow?
In Glasgow, the following broadband companies are available to choose from:
- Openreach providers like BT, Sky, Vodafone, Plusnet, TalkTalk, and Shell Energy Broadband are available at nearly every address in the city.
- Virgin Media is available in approximately 61% of Glasgow.
- Hyperoptic is available in certain districts, especially in the city centre.
Which is the fastest broadband provider in Glasgow?
Currently, Virgin Media is the fastest widely available broadband provider in Glasgow.
Their Gig1 fibre broadband plan comes with an average download speed of 1,130 Mbps. By comparison, most Openreach full fibre providers only offer a download speed of up to 900 Mbps.
However, the Openreach full fibre network is currently undergoing an upgrade, which is allowing it to deliver even faster speeds.
In some areas, you can get download speeds of up to 1.6 Gbps (1,600 Mbps) with EE Broadband in Glasgow. In future, these ultrafast packages are likely to roll out at more addresses in the city.
Which is the cheapest broadband provider in Glasgow?
Depending on the deals currently on offer, NOW Broadband and Vodafone are typically the cheapest broadband providers in Glasgow.
It’s worth putting in your postcode on each provider’s website, to see which offers the best value at the moment.
Just remember, when looking at Vodafone, do not select their Pro II Broadband package if you want to keep your monthly costs as low as possible.
What broadband speed do I need?
If you’re looking to save money, you might be wondering what broadband speed it’s actually worth paying for.
Fibre broadband can get very expensive, very quickly, especially if you want a tariff with fast download speeds.
Essentially, the more people live at home, and the more data-intensive internet activities you do (such as streaming 4K video) the more bandwidth you need.
To get a more exact idea of what broadband speed your household needs, you can use our online calculator.
What broadband speed can I get in Glasgow?
Although Scotland’s broadband speeds are typically worse than the rest of the UK, in most parts of Glasgow, especially the city centre, and in new build developments, you can get ultrafast broadband speeds of at least 300 Mbps.
Currently, approximately 72% of the city centre can get fibre to the premises (FTTP) broadband, giving you maximum download speeds of about 900 Mbps, or slightly higher with some providers.
Outside of the city centre, especially in the southeast, you might find yourself limited to superfast fibre broadband speeds of 30-300 Mbps.
To find out what download and upload speeds you can get, use our broadband postcode checker.
How to find a provider with good customer service
While it’s always a good idea to shop around for a broadband deal with a low monthly and upfront cost, it’s also important to consider how good a given provider’s customer service is before buying.
To find out whether or not a broadband provider’s customer support is any good, you can:
- Read reviews from people who have used the providers for a number of years, like we have among our writing team. We’ve found that BT and Plusnet offer good customer support, while Virgin Media weren’t as helpful.
- Read Ofcom’s broadband customer service report. Every two years, the telecommunications regulator surveys customers of each major British broadband provider, and also publishes data on customer complaint numbers. At the moment, BT, Sky, Plusnet, and NOW Broadband perform well, while Virgin Media and Vodafone are below average.
Conclusion
For most Glaswegians, BT is a great choice if you want fast broadband with good customer service.
On the other hand, NOW Broadband is worth considering if you want to save as much money as possible, while Virgin Media is the best pick if you want the fastest possible speeds.
Still not sure which broadband provider to choose? Leave a comment below, and we’ll get back to you.
About the author
Tom is the founder of Broadband Savvy. He has more than five years’ experience writing broadband tutorials, reviewing routers and internet service providers, and explaining broadband-related concepts. Tom is experienced as a writer, and also produces videos for the Broadband Savvy YouTube channel.
He currently specialises in writing content for Broadband Savvy designed to help people understand broadband jargon and terminology, increase their download and upload speeds, and improve their Wi-Fi connectivity. Tom also occasionally contributes to buyer’s guides and review articles on Broadband Savvy, utilising his knowledge of the broadband market in the UK.
When he’s not writing about broadband, you’ll find him walking his dog (Rex) or playing agar.io.
I found it very helpfully as I will be getting broadband installed very soon.