Broadband in Brighton & Hove

Last updated: 17 December 2024   By Lyndsey Burton

Brighton & Hove has a range of broadband networks to choose from, including Openreach, CityFibre, and Virgin Media.

Brighton and Hove has very good gigabit broadband coverage at over 90% of homes, and surrounding villages are also well served by full fibre broadband.

Broadband speeds are available up to 1.8Gbps thanks to multi-gigabit options from both CityFibre and Openreach FTTP across the city.

While the cheapest broadband in Brighton goes to residents of Coldean, Bevendean, Moulsecoomb, Portslade and Southwick who can access Vodafone's CityFibre pricing.

brighton aerial
Credit: Gorma Kuma/Shutterstock.com

Most popular broadband deals in Brighton & Hove

Brighton & Hove benefits from good coverage from three major broadband networks; Openreach, Virgin Media and CityFibre, and around 90% of homes are able to get gigabit broadband.

That means, most residents will have the choice of at least two fibre networks, while nearly every home can choose from a gigabit broadband plan if they want to, with over 90% of homes covered across the city.

Here are four of the best broadband deals available in Brighton and Hove:

Package Broadband Monthly price Upfront price Contract term
Rebel 115 115Mb average £35 Free 24 months
offer Offer: £60 Amazon Gift Card with code WIFIREBEL + Fixed Price Guarantee + Tri-band Wi-Fi extender £5/mth each
Full Fibre 145 145Mb average £27.99 Free 24 months
offer Offer: £50 Reward Card + Save over £12/mth + No setup fee + Exclusive offers and discounts for Plusnet customers (Ends 01/01/2025)
M125 Fibre Broadband 132Mb average £26.99 Free 18 months
offer Offer: Reduced price: £26.99 per month + No setup fee (was £35)
Full Fibre 150 + Super WiFi 150Mb average £32 Free 24 months
offer Offer: £2 off for Vodafone pay monthly customers

Most residents will be able to receive Openreach full fibre broadband deals from providers including BT, Sky, Plusnet, TalkTalk and Vodafone, so we've focused on those deals here.

However, residents living in CityFibre areas, including Coldean, Bevendean, Moulsecoomb, Portslade and Southwick, will be able to get broadband from major providers like Vodafone, but with prices often cheaper than for those served only by Openreach.

So, what's available can vary depending on your exact address in Brighton & Hove, so use our free postcode tool to check availability and find the best deals for you.


Cheapest broadband in Brighton & Hove

We've used the postcode BN16GB, or Chester Terrace near Fiveways, which has the most similar coverage to the rest of Brighton & Hove.

Here are four of the cheapest broadband deals available in Brighton & Hove:

Package Broadband Monthly price Upfront price Contract term
Full Fibre 75 75Mb average £22 Free 24 months
offer Offer: Free setup
Full Fibre 74 73Mb average £24.50 Free 24 months
offer Offer: £2 off for Vodafone pay monthly customers
Full Fibre 150 150Mb average £25 Free 24 months
offer Offer: £2 off for Vodafone pay monthly customers
Full Fibre 75 75Mb average £25 £5 24 months
offer Offer: WiFi Max just £4/mth + (£5 refundable setup fee for new customers if applicable)

It's worth noting that where homes are actually served by CityFibre, the cheapest broadband prices could be even lower than these, with Vodafone Full Fibre 150 costing just £23 in areas such as Coldean, Bevendean and Moulsecoomb, as well as in parts of Queen's Park and Woodingdean, Portslade and Southwick.

Most of Brighton has Openreach FTTP and Virgin Media availability however, where prices go as low as £22 per month for full fibre broadband with NOW Broadband, and competitive prices also with Vodafone and Sky.

The cheapest broadband prices in the UK start at just £22 for nationwide availability, so prices in Brighton & Hove are competitive.

So, availability at specific addresses could vary, so use our free postcode tool and order by 'Lowest price' to find the cheapest deals for your home in Brighton.


How fast is broadband in Brighton & Hove?

The average broadband download speed in Brighton is 182.4Mbps, while the average upload speed is 48.2Mbps. This is based on speed tests carried out in the central Brighton area, or the Brighton Pavilion constituency borders.

To the east, in Brighton Kemptown and along the coast into Peacehaven, the average download speed is slightly slower, at 136Mbps. While in Hove and Portslade, the average broadband speed is reported as being faster at 235.1Mbps. Faster speeds also continue into Shoreham and Worthing, where an average speed of 208.7Mbps is reported.

Average maximum download speed Average maximum upload speed
Brighton Central (Pavilion) 182.4Mb 48.2Mb
Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven 136Mb 38.5Mb
Hove & Portslade 235.1Mb 46.1Mb
East Worthing & Shoreham 208.7Mb 51.2Mb
Lewes 124.7Mb 45.9Mb
East Sussex 136.3Mb 68.3Mb

These average broadband speed figures are based on crowd sourced data from speed tests carried out around the UK, including from our own free speed test tool.

It's interesting to note that surrounding semi-rural towns, like Lewes, are also benefiting from faster full fibre broadband and reporting average speeds around the same as those in Brighton.

The availability of full fibre broadband and gigabit broadband is generally good in Brighton & Hove, although the faster speeds reported in Hove and Worthing don't necessarily match up with increased penetration of faster connections.

Full fibre broadband coverage Gigabit broadband coverage
Brighton Central (Pavilion) 60% 94%
Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven 49% 89%
Hove & Portslade 63% 87%
East Worthing & Shoreham 81% 96%
Lewes 60% 63%
East Sussex 72% 73%

Gigabit broadband availability is good in Brighton thanks to good coverage of Virgin Media's existing cable network, which offers download speeds up to 1.13Gb per second on average at peak times.

In the Brighton Pavilion constituency for example, Virgin Media pass almost 90% of homes, while full fibre broadband is only available to just over 60%. It's a similar story in other locations, with Kemptown, Peacehaven, Shoreham and Worthing all benefiting from Virgin Media's gigabit network.

Lewes also has some Virgin Media presence, although it's not available across the whole town, and while Nexfibre is expanding in Sussex, they've so far only been building in nearby Haywards Heath, Horsham and Southwater.

Brighton also benefits from CityFibre availability in the city, principally in areas untouched by Openreach FTTP including Coldean, Bevendean and Moulsecoomb, as well as coverage from some smaller alt-nets, including Brighton Fibre, Hyperoptic (including at the Marina), and Grain.

Surrounding towns and villages are also served by providers including Community Fibre (previously Box Broadband) in Hassocks, Hey! Broadband in Burgess Hill, Lightning Fibre in Eastbourne, Swish Fibre in Haywards Heath, and Trooli in Newhaven, Seaford, Lewes and Hassocks.


Fastest broadband deals in Brighton & Hove

Full fibre coverage in Brighton & Hove is somewhat split, because CityFibre have looked to rollout in parts of the city where Openreach FTTP and Virgin Media are unavailable. That means homes that can get Openreach FTTP are unlikely to also have CityFibre coverage, and to some extent, vice versa too.

So, to discover the fastest broadband deals in Brighton & Hove, we'll use two postcodes: BN16GB, which is Chester Terrace near Fiveways, and BN24LA, or Norwich Drive in Bevendean.

The overall fastest broadband deal is Vodafone's Pro II Full Fibre 1.8 plan, however, for those without CityFibre coverage, the top speed will be 1.6Gb instead.

Here are four of the fastest broadband deals available in Brighton & Hove:

Package Broadband Monthly price Upfront price Contract term
Pro II Full Fibre 1.8 1.8Gb average £70 Free 24 months
offer Offer: £4 off for Vodafone pay monthly customers
Gig1 Fibre Broadband 1.13Gb average £40.99 Free 18 months
offer Offer: Reduced price: £40.99 per month + No setup fee (was £35)
Rebel 1000 1Gb average £55 Free 24 months
offer Offer: £100 Amazon Gift Card with code WIFIREBEL + Fixed Price Guarantee + Tri-band Wi-Fi extender £5/mth each
Full Fibre Gigafast 900Mb average £41 £5 24 months
offer Offer: WiFi Max just £4/mth + (£5 refundable setup fee for new customers if applicable)

The fastest deals available to you will vary due to the nature of different full fibre networks operating in the city and surrounding towns, so, it's worth using our free postcode tool and order by 'Broadband speed' to find the fastest deals for your home in Brighton.

Vodafone Pro II Full Fibre 1.8 and Lit Fibre for example are only available where CityFibre has rolled out, while Vodafone Pro II Full Fibre 1.6 and plans from providers such as BT, Sky, and Plusnet will only be available in Openreach enabled areas.

Virgin Media also has wide coverage in Brighton and Hove, with download speeds up to 1.13Gbps, as well as in surrounding areas, like Shoreham, Worthing, Woodingdean, Saltdean and Peacehaven.


Summary: Who is the best broadband provider in Brighton & Hove

Brighton and Hove, as well as surrounding towns including Shoreham, Worthing, Peacehaven, Newhaven and Lewes, have good full fibre broadband coverage, and even better access to gigabit broadband thanks to Virgin Media.

Most residents in the city will have a choice between at least two fibre networks, be it Openreach and Virgin Media, or CityFibre and Virgin Media, as well as other smaller providers, such as Brighton Fibre, Grain, and Hyperoptic.

Surrounding rural and semi-rural towns like Burgess Hill, Hassocks, Ditchling and Lewes, have also been connected by independent full fibre networks Trooli, Box Broadband (now Community Fibre), and Hey! Broadband.

When we looked at two residential areas in Brighton & Hove, we found:

  • The cheapest broadband in Brighton & Hove is with: Vodafone and NOW Broadband, with those lucky enough to live in a CityFibre area able to access the best prices
  • The fastest broadband in Brighton & Hove is with: Vodafone, with speeds available up to 1.6Gb or 1.8Gb across the city
  • The best broadband with TV is Brighton & Hove is with: Virgin Media

Virgin Media have a good existing cable network across the majority of Brighton & Hove and into surrounding towns like Worthing too, making them a good third option for fast broadband speeds and TV bundles.

Households who want to keep a home phone line while switching to full fibre broadband should look at providers including Vodafone, Sky, and NOW Broadband, who all include line rental at no extra cost.

Ultimately, residents should use our free postcode tool to see exactly what's available to them, and then order deals by price, special offer, broadband speed, or contract length, to find the deal that's right for them.

Which broadband deals are available in your area?

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