Broadband in Manchester

Manchester has above average coverage of independent full fibre networks, or alt-nets, so many residents will be able to benefit from faster symmetrical speeds.

Providers including Hyperoptic and Brsk are available, as well as 4th Utility, BeFibre, and Netomnia in select areas too.

Virgin Media also has good coverage with their existing cable network, and Openreach has so far passed over 45% of homes with their full fibre broadband, so Manchester's residents have plenty to choose from.

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Most popular broadband deals in Manchester

Manchester benefits from wide coverage from a number of independent full fibre networks, including Brsk, Hyperoptic, BeFibre, 4th Utility, and Netomnia (YouFibre). That means pricing and offers will vary more substantially between different addresses in the city.

Alt-nets, like these mentioned, pass over 50% of homes in Manchester, while Openreach has only built their full fibre broadband to just over 45%.

So, fewer properties will also have the choice of Openreach retailers like BT, Sky, Plusnet, TalkTalk, and Vodafone, although more than 60% will have access to Virgin Media's cable network as well, or, instead of.

Here are four of the best broadband deals available in Manchester:

	Package	Broadband	Monthly price	Upfront price	Contract term
	Rebel 115	115Mb average	£35	Free	24 months
	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: £50 Reward Card + Save over £12/mth + No setup fee + Exclusive offers and discounts for Plusnet customers (Ends 01/01/2025)
	BetterNet150	150Mb average	£24	Free	24 months
	Offer: Save £1/mth + Free installation (worth £150)
	M125 Fibre Broadband	132Mb average	£26.99	Free	18 months
	Offer: Reduced price: £26.99 per month + No setup fee (was £35)

According to Ofcom, most households moving to full fibre broadband are taking plans offering 100Mb - 299Mb download speeds, so we've listed those here, although over 90% of homes in the city can access gigabit broadband if they want it.

Deals are likely to vary quite widely between addresses due to the high number of alt-nets in the city, so, what's available will depend upon your exact address in Manchester, so use our free postcode tool to check availability and find the best deals for you.

Cheapest broadband in Manchester

We've used the postcode M12 4HP, or Northmoor Road, which is a residential street in Longsight, in Manchester, to check broadband availability and prices in the area.

Here are four of the cheapest broadband deals available in Manchester:

	Package	Broadband	Monthly price	Upfront price	Contract term
	Full Fibre 75	75Mb average	£22	Free	24 months
	Offer: Free setup
	BetterNet150	150Mb average	£24	Free	24 months
	Offer: Save £1/mth + Free installation (worth £150)
	Full Fibre 100	100Mb average	£24	£5	24 months
	Offer: £5 refundable advance fee for new customers if applicable
	Full Fibre 74	73Mb average	£24.50	Free	24 months
	Offer: £2 off for Vodafone pay monthly customers

Manchester has 45% coverage of Openreach full fibre broadband so far, which offers some of the UK's cheapest broadband deals, like NOW Broadband's Full Fibre 75 plan for just £22 per month, or Vodafone's Full Fibre 74 plan for £24.50 per month.

A number of addresses, like Northmoor Road, will also have access to independent full fibre networks, including Brsk, Hyperoptic, 4th Utility, and BeFibre, who may offer even cheaper prices.

For example, Hyperoptic offer a 30Mb plan for just £17.99 per month, while prices with 4th Utility start at just £15 per month for 50Mb.

Where available, Brsk and BeFibre both offer a 150Mb plan for £24 per month, while those living in areas only served by Openreach FTTP can access 100Mb with NOW Broadband for £24 per month, or 150Mb with Vodafone for £25 per month.

Virgin Media also have good coverage across Manchester, with over 60% of homes passed by their existing cable network, as well as some coverage via the faster full fibre Nexfibre network. Virgin's pricing starts at £26.99 per month for their M125 Fibre Broadband plan.

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

How fast is broadband in Manchester?

The average broadband download speed in Manchester is 202.1Mb, according to crowd sourced data collected by ThinkBroadband and our own speed test tool. Average upload speeds are also reported as being fast at 79.9Mb.

The top 20% of speed reports had average download speeds as high as 364Mb, while the bottom 20% was only as slow as 40.5Mb, which is still fairly reasonable, although faster speeds in such an urban area aren't too surprising.

Manchester benefits from 83% coverage of full fibre broadband so far, and over 90% of homes also have access to gigabit-capable connections, thanks to wide availability from Virgin Media's long-standing cable network.

Manchester also has a number of independent full fibre networks building in the city, with good availability in select areas from Brsk and Hyperoptic.

When we look at speed reports from individual constituencies in Manchester, we find areas such as Stockport, Ashton-under-Lyne and Stretford have some of the fastest broadband speeds, while also benefiting from being served by symmetrical full fibre broadband from Brsk.

Brsk offers symmetrical download and upload speeds up to 2Gb per second, which beats the asymmetrical speeds of Openreach FTTP and Virgin Media cable, who currently have top speeds of 1.6Gb and 1.13Gb respectively.

Salford and Manchester Central benefit from Hyperoptic's symmetrical speeds, as well as some Virgin Media upgrades to full fibre with Nexfibre, bringing symmetrical speeds up to 2Gbps as well. While those living around Blackley are served by Netomnia (sold by YouFibre).

Openreach FTTP and Virgin Media are also available across Manchester and Greater Manchester, although coverage in the city is patchier than you might expect, with Openreach only passing 45% of homes in the city, and Virgin Media passing just over 60%.

Undoubtedly, this has opened the door to more full fibre networks, like Brsk, Hyperoptic and Netomnia, rolling out their faster technologies.

Fastest broadband deals in Manchester

Using the postcode M12 4HP, or Northmoor Road, which is a residential street in Longsight, in South Manchester, we can find out the fastest broadband available in the area.

The overall fastest broadband deal in M12 4HP, Manchester, is Brsk's BetterNet2000, which offers symmetrical download and upload speeds of 2Gb per second.

Residents can also get 1.6Gbps with Vodafone's Pro II Full Fibre 1.6 plan on the Openreach FTTP network, as well as Virgin Media's Gig1 Fibre Broadband which offers average download speeds of 1.13Gbps at peak times.

Here are four of the fastest broadband deals available in Manchester:

	Package	Broadband	Monthly price	Upfront price	Contract term
	BetterNet2000	2Gb average	£55	Free	24 months
	Offer: Free installation (worth £150)
	Pro II Full Fibre 1.6	1.6Gb average	£70	Free	24 months
	Offer: £4 off for Vodafone pay monthly customers
	Gig1 Fibre Broadband	1.13Gb average	£40.99	Free	18 months
	Offer: Reduced price: £40.99 per month + No setup fee (was £35)
	Rebel 1000	1Gb average	£55	Free	24 months
	Offer: £100 Amazon Gift Card with code WIFIREBEL + Fixed Price Guarantee + Tri-band Wi-Fi extender £5/mth each

Different addresses in Manchester also have coverage with Hyperoptic, BeFibre, 4th Utility and Netomnia (YouFibre), and so the fastest broadband deal will vary across different locations, with 2Gbps the fastest available, and 1Gbps available to over 90% of homes.

It's worthwhile then to use our free postcode tool and order by 'Broadband speed' to find the fastest deals for your home in Manchester.

Summary: Who is the best broadband provider in Manchester

Manchester has a wide selection of broadband providers to choose from, with many residents benefiting from roll outs by independent networks including Hyperoptic, Brsk, BeFibre, and Netomnia.

Indeed, residents in Manchester are reporting faster download and upload speeds in areas of the city covered by Brsk, Hyperoptic and Nexfibre, with the average download across Manchester now sitting at 202.1Mb.

When we looked at residential locations in Manchester we found the following:

• The cheapest broadband in Manchester is with: NOW Broadband for £22 per month, although some households will be able to access deals as cheap as £15 with 4th Utility, or £17.99 with Hyperoptic
• The fastest broadband in Manchester is with: Brsk, who offer symmetrical 2Gb speeds across South Manchester as well as around Ashton-under-Lyne
• The best broadband with TV in Manchester is with: Virgin Media who pass over 60% of homes

Households who want to keep hold of their home phone number when moving to full fibre broadband should look to providers including Sky, Vodafone and NOW Broadband who all include line rental at no extra cost, while BT and Virgin Media are also an option for an extra fee.

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.