BT social broadband tariff price increases

The price of BT's social broadband tariffs are increasing by £1 per month for new customers from 2nd May 2025.

BT Home Essentials (No income plan) will rise from £15 per month to £16 per month, while the Fibre Essential and Fibre 2 plans will be rising to £21 and £24 per month respectively.

Existing customers will only be protected from these price increases until their 12-month contract ends and they're reviewed for eligibility.

BT Home Essentials price rise

New terms and conditions published on BT's website reveal new prices for BT's social broadband tariffs from 2nd May 2025.

BT Home Essentials (No income plan) will be increasing from £15 per month to £16 per month, while the Fibre Essential and Fibre 2 plans will also be increasing by £1 per month to £21 and £24 per month respectively.

It's not a huge increase in prices, around 4.3 to 6.7%, however it's so far been fairly unusual for the price of social tariffs to increase at all.

Social broadband tariffs by their nature are meant to be protected from annual price rises, which ensures vulnerable customers don't find their price increasing beyond their means.

BT seem to be getting around this point by only increasing the price for existing customers when their 12-month contract comes to an end and they are reviewed again for eligibility before continuing on a new 12-month plan.

It feels like a little bit of a loophole however, with Ofcom rules saying customers on social broadband tariffs "won't pay any more than what you agreed at the start of the contract".

The price rises across these plans from 2nd May 2025 look like this:

The price for customers on BT Home Essentials Unlimited Broadband who are living outside of a part-fibre enabled area on an ADSL package will remain at the same £15 per month.

Customers on or taking BT's Home Essentials Call Only plan, without any broadband package, will also remain paying just £10 per month.

A BT spokesperson said, "We're committed to providing support to our customers when they need it most - so we're continuing to offer low-income customers a range of connectivity options. From 2nd May 2025, new customers can now join our broadband social tariff Home Essentials, which offers the cheapest quality connectivity for zero income customers from £16 a month. Our yearly eligibility checks ensure we're offering customers the right tariffs at the right time".

BT Home Essentials eligibility

Despite this small increase in price social broadband tariffs, including BT Home Essentials, remain a lifeline to help people stay online who might otherwise not be able to afford to.

To qualify for BT's Home Essential No income plan, which includes both BT fibre broadband and a home phone line with unlimited call plan, customers must have no income at all from paid employment, or have anyone else in their household receiving any income from paid employment. They must also be in receipt of:

• Universal Credit
• Jobseeker's Allowance (income based or with contributory allowance that is less than the income-based portion)
• Employment and Support Allowance (income based or with contributory allowance that is less than the income-based portion)

For those who do have some income from employment, they may qualify for the Fibre Essential or Fibre 2 Home Essential plans instead. For these, customers must be in receipt of one of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit)
• Income Support
• Jobseeker's Allowance (income based or with contributory allowance that is less than the income-based portion)
• Employment and Support Allowance (income based or with contributory allowance that is less than the income-based portion)

Read more in our review of BT Home Essentials.