How to get cheap BT broadband if you get benefits

BT was one of the first broadband providers to introduce reduced rates for low-income families who would otherwise struggle to pay for internet access. It’s called Home Essentials and anyone on Universal Credit (along with other benefits) in the UK can sign up for it.

BT Home Essentials costs £15 a month and has download speeds of up to 40Mbps: the exact speed will depend on what’s available at your address – it could be lower. BT offers a ‘Stay Fast Guarantee’, which is the minimum speed you can expect and you can find out by entering your postcode on the BT website.

The discounted rate is reduced from the usual price of £26.99 per month. The only extra to pay is a one-time postage charge of £9.99 to send the BT Smart Hub router, which is included in the plan.

For those who can afford more and want faster speeds, for an extra £5 a month you get up to 74Mbps which is twice as fast plus there’s unlimited phone minutes instead of 700 with the fee of £15 per month.

You’ll need to sign up for a 12-month contract regardless of which plan you choose. But since there is no early exit fee, you can cancel at any time without being penalized. Thus, you will continue to pay the reduced rate even if you no longer benefit from the services during this period. After 12 months, your eligibility is reassessed.

The discounted tariffs, which BT say are provided “at cost”, offer savings of over £330 a year – a welcome amount for those hardest hit by rising energy prices, fuel and food.

Get BT Home Essentials Broadband

BT Home Essentials at a glance

£15 per month for an average download speed of 36Mbps, with 700 minutes calling to UK landlines and mobiles or;
£20 per month for an average download speed of 67Mbps, with unlimited calls (to UK landlines and mobiles)
£9.99 postage and packaging
No additional line rental charges
12 months discount even if benefits end during this period
No early exit fees

The actual upload and download speeds you’ll get depend on your zip code: the numbers in the image below are just an example.

Am I entitled to a broadband discount?

BT Home Essentials is available for those:

On universal credit
Benefit from a pension credit (guarantee credit)
On jobseeker’s allowance (you must be eligible)
On income support
On Employment and Support Allowance (you must be eligible)

If you’re already using BT broadband and qualify for the reduced rate, you should be able to upgrade to the new plan immediately, at no additional cost.

You’ll need to enter your postcode on the BT website to see the maximum speeds available in your area. Find out which speed is right for you in our broadband guide.

BT also offers a call-only plan for £10 per month with unlimited minutes too, a service that otherwise costs £39.05 a month – that’s a saving of £348 in a year. However, it’s not particularly competitive when many SIM-only deals offer mobile data with unlimited minutes for less than £10 a month.

You can also see the best broadband deals we’ve found this month.

Cheap BT Broadband with Universal Credit

To register online, enter your postcode on the BT website to see what is available at your address. You will need to provide your date of birth And National insurance number so that BT can verify your eligibility.

If you are eligible, you’ll have access to Home Essentials for one year, even if your benefits end before that time. BT will carry out another eligibility check after one year to see if you are still eligible for the reduced rate and will contact you if anything changes.

You can pay your BT bill via:

Debit
Debit or credit card
Telephone, using a debit or credit card
payment
A payment point

Which broadband providers offer discounted broadband rates for Universal Credit users?

BT isn’t the only provider to offer a special low-cost scheme: Vodafone has a similar offer, Essentials Broadband, offering download speeds of up to 38Mbps for just £12 a month. The difference with BT’s offer is that it also includes 700 minutes of calls to UK landlines and mobiles, unlike Vodafone.

Virgin has an Essential Broadband plan, but that only gets you 15Mbps for £15 a month.

Hyperoptic has a Fair Fiber plan which has download speeds of 50Mbps for £15 a month (and no activation fee) or £20 for 150Mbps. Coverage is limited, so you’ll need to enter your postcode to see if you can get Fair Fibre.

Similarly, Community Fiber is only available for certain London postcodes, but offers 20Mbps for £12.50 per month.

If you’re a one-person household, you might prefer to share your smartphone’s internet connection and use it as a mobile router. Discover affordable SIM-only deals, as well as the best SIM-only deals for kids. The only downside is that most affordable SIM-only plans have a data cap, while all broadband plans give you unlimited data, so you can stream as much Netflix (or TikTok) as you want.