Plusnet vs BT Broadband

It may seem strange that Plusnet should be pitted against its parent company, BT, since you would expect both to offer a similar experience. However, as a two-time winner of our Expert Reviews Broadband Awards, Plusnet is clearly doing something different.

If you’re wondering why you might pick one over the other, you can get all the finer details by reading our full reviews of Plusnet and BT Broadband. However, if you just want to know how they stack up in a head-to-head comparison, then read on to see which is the best broadband for your needs.

Plusnet vs BT Broadband: Pricing

Plusnet wins

While BT Broadband isn’t that much more expensive than Plusnet, in this economy every penny counts. While the exact amount you’ll pay depends on the specific package you choose (or which deals you get) on average we found BT Broadband to be more expensive than Plusnet.

It’s worth noting that both Plusnet and BT Broadband are expected to increase their prices, and neither company scored particularly well for value for money (Plusnet bagged a fairly respectable 66% versus BT’s lowly 44%). If you’re looking for the best prices, take a look at our best broadband deals first before signing any paperwork.

Plusnet vs BT Broadband: Customer Service

Plusnet wins

Customer service is something often overlooked by new buyers or subscribers, and it’s hard to judge upfront, especially if problems with a service are rare. You may be happy for years until you inevitably run into a technical issue, only to realise that the service provider you’re using falls short when it comes to helping out when things go wrong.

Customer service is by far Plusnet’s strong suit, and in our survey only Zen Internet did better, with BT Broadband relatively far down the rankings. While one would hope that nothing ever goes wrong with your broadband connection, if it ever does, you’ll be happy that you’d chosen Plusnet over BT Broadband. It’s interesting that the two companies can have such different approaches to customer service, but based on our research it seems this is undeniable.

Of course, this single factor can’t be taken in isolation, since no matter how great the customer service might be, you don’t want to spend all your time on the phone complaining about speed and reliability issues, so we’ll look at those next.

Plusnet vs BT Broadband: Performance

BT wins

Connection speed is the big number that most internet providers use to sell you on their services. Everyone likes a fast internet connection, but outright speed isn’t the only thing you should consider. A service should provide a fast and consistent connection across all types of internet traffic and at all hours of the day. This is hard to put in an advert, but we’ve looked at the experiences of customers in the real world to get a sense of how satisfied they are with the speeds on offer.

While both Plusnet and BT Broadband use the same Openreach network, BT Broadband has a higher level of reported satisfaction when it comes to speed. While the difference isn’t groundbreaking, if you’re hoping to get the best speeds for your money in this shootout, BT Broadband is the way to go.

Just remember that speed partly depends on where you live and what infrastructure is available. Also, the maximum speed your connection is rated for and the actual speed you’ll get are bound to be different, but many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) now show a “minimum guaranteed speed” in your paperwork, so be sure to look out for that before signing on the dotted line.

Plusnet vs BT Broadband: Reliability

BT wins

As we rely on the internet for more of our daily lives, a connection that goes down for just a few hours can be a major disruption. If you work from home or otherwise have mission-critical internet applications, then reliability is perhaps the most important factor of all.

Going hand-in-hand with its speed rating, customers of BT Broadband rate the reliability of the service higher than that of Plusnet. Again, the difference we note in our individual reviews aren’t miles apart, and you should keep in mind that when things go wrong as a BT Broadband customer, their customer service rating is relatively low compared to Plusnet (and many other providers in the market).

Plusnet vs BT Broadband: Our verdict

Despite having only average scores in the speed and reliability department, we feel that given a choice between these providers, we would go with Plusnet. While BT’s services appear to be a little faster and go wrong less often, when it does, their customer service experience leaves much to be desired.

If Plusnet could transfer its customer service skills and affordability to BT Broadband, it would make them unstoppable, but as things stand, if you’re split between these two, Plusnet is the one to go for.