THE BIG PLUSNET REVIEW
Plusnet broadband review: Is it any good?
Once the groovy independent, it’s fair to say the Plusnet brand has seen better days. Nevertheless, its now one of only a couple of providers that’ll let you join without a credit check. Let’s take a proper look.
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Plusnet overall scorecard
Six key areas. One overall score. All calculated using our transparent methodology.
Packages and speeds
Available speeds, package range, upload speeds, gaming features, working from home suitability and changing your package.
Joining, switching and cancelling
Ease of joining, credit checks, installation, compensation, switching from another provider, moving home and cancelling your service.
Customer service
Customer experience, contact options, when something goes wrong, complaints policy, help for vulnerable customers and online support.
Routers and equipment
Wi-Fi quality, Wi-Fi range, whole-home Wi-Fi, wired connectivity, router controls and using your own router.
Value for money
What comes as standard, included router value, annual price rises, the cost of upgrades and extras, end-of-contract pricing and service guarantees.
Contracts and small print
Your contract commitments, price rise terms, early-exit fees, speed guarantees, equipment ownership, restrictions, penalties and hidden catches.
Fibredog Package Speed Calculator
Enter the number of people, TVs, consoles and so on and we'll match you with the right package speed.
Fibredog Upload Speed Comparison
Compare any provider's upload speeds with any other as absolute numbers or as a ratio of download speed.
Fibredog Package Change Rules Checker
Answer a few simple questions to see if you should upgrade, downgrade or switch.
Fibredog Interactive Customer Experience Chart
Use the buttons to examine this provider's customer experience performance in every dimension.
Fibredog Router Comparison Tool
Compare this provider's routers with each other, or with any other national provider.
Fibredog Whole Home Wi-Fi Calculator
Calculates whether you need additional mesh routers, how many, and even where you should put them.
Fibredog Router Range Estimator
Provides a visual mock-up of how Wi-Fi is likely to behave in your home with this provider's routers.
Fibredog Exit Fees Calculator
Tell us who you're currently with and how long there is left on your contract, and we will tell you your early exit fees.
Fibredog Broadband Buyout Calculator
Check whether you're in the zone where you can make good use of this provider's broadband buyout offer.
Fibredog Annual Price Rise Comparison
See how much each of these provider's packages will go up every April and compare that to any other provider.
Fibredog Rollover Price Calculator
Tell us who you're with and what you're paying and we will tell you how much your price will go up when your contract ends.
Fibredog Speed Guarantees Test
Tell us who you're with and we will check if they're delivering you the minimum speed they promised.
Joining, switching and cancelling
You can join Plusnet entirely online, switch through One Touch Switch and leave without making a cancellation call if another provider handles the move. Several unusually fair policies sit beneath that simple journey, including no broadband credit check and excellent automatic compensation. Moving home and cancelling involve more friction, while Plusnet offers nothing towards your old provider’s exit fee.
The online order really is online
Enter your postcode, check the available Full Fibre packages and complete the whole order online. Plusnet doesn’t funnel you towards a salesperson at the final step. Telephone ordering is also available if you need to discuss installation or switching before committing.
The missing options are live chat and a sales callback. That leaves you choosing between doing everything yourself online or making a phone call. Those routes cover the essentials, but Plusnet gives you less choice than providers offering more flexible sales support.
INTERACTIVE TOOL
What could your broadband bill roll on to?
Estimate what your monthly broadband price could look like by the end of your minimum term, and what it will jump to if you let the deal roll over.
Step 1: Choose your provider and package
Start by choosing your broadband provider, then select the package your contract is based on.
Step 2: Tell us the starting month of your contract and what you pay
Use the first full monthly price before any mid-contract April increases.
Step 3: Estimate the rollover shock
This is an estimate. Your provider’s end-of-contract notice will be the exact figure.
Your estimate
Where would you like to go next?
Plusnet leaves your credit file alone
Plusnet doesn’t run a credit check for residential broadband. Applying won’t add a hard search to your credit file, and damaged or limited credit history won’t be used to reject your order. Among major providers, that’s exceptionally rare and genuinely valuable.
The first month’s payment is ordinary advance billing, not a poor-credit deposit or a way around a failed assessment. Plusnet’s obvious omission is a social tariff for people receiving qualifying benefits. Eligibility is unusually open, but affordability support remains disappointingly absent.
Plusnet handles the switch, but not your old bill
One Touch Switch lets Plusnet contact your existing provider and coordinate the transfer, removing the need to cancel the old service yourself. Delayed activation and missed appointments receive automatic compensation, while an existing landline number can be transferred if you add Plusnet’s optional phone service.
Plusnet offers no switching credit or contract buyout. If your old minimum term hasn’t ended, its early-exit fee remains entirely yours. That omission can make switching early poor value, particularly when several competitors will help cover the cost of leaving.
COMPARISON CHART
How much will Plusnet pay to buy you out?
This chart shows which providers currently offer broadband contract buyout, and how much they may pay toward leaving your old contract.
Broadband contract buyout by provider
Maximum buyout amount by provider
Where would you like to go next?
The national average benchmark only includes providers that currently offer broadband contract buyout in our database.
A free home move buys another contract
Plusnet asks for four weeks’ notice before you move, which is inconveniently long when completion dates and rental arrangements can change quickly. It then checks the new address and arranges any installation needed to transfer your broadband.
Starting a fresh minimum term normally removes the home-move fee, while keeping your existing agreement can cost extra. That isn’t truly a free move. If Plusnet can’t supply your existing service at the new address, however, you can leave without an early-exit fee.
Fair cancellation rules with dated practicalities
Plusnet accepts cancellation by telephone or post and requires 14 days’ notice. There’s no complete online route, despite broadband being available to buy online. Posting a printed form is a thoroughly dated alternative, although One Touch Switch removes that problem when another provider handles your move.
Early-exit charges reflect the costs Plusnet saves rather than demanding every remaining payment in full. Returning the Hub Two is less considerate. Plusnet covers postage but gives you 14 days to find packaging, generate a label and visit a Post Office, with no free collection service.
Cancelling Plusnet at a glance
A quick view of the routes, notice periods, fees and equipment-return rules you may need to deal with.
Installation problems come with proper protection
A working Openreach Full Fibre line can usually be activated remotely, while a new connection may need an engineer or survey. If unexpected work is required, Plusnet explains the delay and any additional charge before you decide whether to proceed.
Qualifying activation delays and missed appointments earn automatic compensation without a separate claim. Plusnet also refunds applicable payments when installation proves impossible. You remain responsible for access and property permissions, but failures belonging to Plusnet or Openreach are handled exceptionally well.
Customer service
Plusnet’s customer service is difficult to judge from reputation alone. Ofcom’s latest figures are excellent, while Trustpilot makes the provider look dreadful. Behind that contradiction sits a capable support operation with long telephone hours, useful fault tools, exceptional accessibility help and an unusually clear complaints process. The missing app and live digital contact routes feel increasingly dated.
Ofcom and Trustpilot describe different providers
Ofcom reports high overall satisfaction, fewer complaints than average, better complaint handling and dramatically shorter call waits. Plusnet has recovered impressively from a difficult period between 2020 and 2022, and its latest controlled results compare extremely well with the wider broadband market.
Trustpilot offers a brutal counterargument. More than three quarters of reviewers award Plusnet one star, leaving its public reputation in pieces. Ofcom’s broadband-specific research deserves greater weight, but feedback this hostile can’t simply be dismissed as a handful of unhappy voices.
INTERACTIVE CHART
Interactive Plusnet customer experience chart
You can use the various buttons here to see the Plusnet customer experience in a number of different ways.
Overall service satisfaction
Ofcom satisfaction with service overall
Sources: Ofcom, Trustpilot.
Excellent phone support, fewer modern alternatives
Plusnet’s telephone lines open for 12 hours every day, giving you 84 staffed support hours each week. Online diagnostics, fault reporting, service-status information and 24-hour testing by text mean you’re not forced to call whenever something goes wrong.
There’s no live chat, WhatsApp, general support email or customer app. An online contact form, community forum and official social channels provide alternatives, but the choice still feels narrow. Plusnet covers the important jobs well without offering the modern flexibility found elsewhere.
Support channels at a glance
Plusnet gives customers several ways to get help. This view shows which practical contact, account and fault-support routes are recorded in the fibredog dataset.
Checked from live provider data. Fibredog tracks contact routes, account tools and fault-help options separately, so this information updates soon after anything changes.
Fault handling is thorough, but there’s no backup
You can check service information, test your line through My Account and continue into online fault reporting. Plusnet’s 24-hour text service can run connection tests, arrange an engineer or organise a callback, giving you a useful route even when the phone team is closed.
Automatic compensation covers qualifying activation delays, missed appointments and lengthy total outages. Slow connections also come with a 30-day fix process and a penalty-free exit if Plusnet can’t restore the guaranteed speed. The major omission is mobile broadband backup, so a serious fault can still leave you completely offline.
Additional-needs support has real substance
Eligible people can receive priority fault repair, nominate someone to manage the account and request documents in large print, Braille or audio. Relay UK and British Sign Language support provide accessible contact routes, while Plusnet also documents help for bereavement and financial difficulty.
This is one part of Plusnet that hasn’t been stripped back. The support is detailed, practical and designed around genuine needs rather than producing an accessibility page for appearances. The only serious gap is the lack of a Plusnet social tariff for people receiving qualifying benefits.
Accessible complaints support
Plusnet provides accessible complaint handling, including Relay UK for people with hearing or speech impairments, alternative-format copies of its complaints code, and extra help through its accessibility team for registered customers.
The complaints process is exceptionally clear
You can complain by phone or through an online ticket, with Plusnet aiming to reply to online complaints within five working days. Its published process explains internal escalation, deadlock and accessible support without making you fight through vague layers of corporate procedure.
The Communications Ombudsman becomes available after six unresolved weeks or sooner when Plusnet issues a deadlock letter. Ofcom’s latest figures also show better-than-average complaint handling and relatively few escalations. Plusnet’s wider reputation is mixed, but the formal complaints policy itself is about as complete as it could be.
Independent ADR provider
If Plusnet can’t resolve your broadband complaint, the Communications Ombudsman is the approved ADR scheme for its services.
- Communications Ombudsman, P.O Box 730, Warrington WA4 6WU
- 0330 440 1614
- enquiry@commsombudsman.org
- commsombudsman.org/ee
Capable online help in a dated wrapper
My Account covers bills, package changes and routine account management, while the searchable Help Centre and active community provide plenty of guidance. The fault tools are particularly useful, taking you from checking service status through line diagnostics and into reporting the problem online.
Everything remains tied to the website and separate text service. There’s no customer app, live chat, WhatsApp, support email or chatbot bringing the experience together. Plusnet has built the important functions, but accessing them feels more like assembling several useful parts than using one modern support system.
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Routers and equipment
Every Plusnet Full Fibre package receives the same Hub Two, including Full Fibre 900. It’s a capable example of an old Wi-Fi 5 router, with respectable wireless hardware and useful Gigabit Ethernet. Unfortunately, Plusnet offers no newer model, mesh system or supported coverage upgrade. Its excellent third-party-router policy provides an escape, but you’ll have to fund it yourself.
A respectable router from another era
Seven internal antennas, beamforming and capable 5GHz Wi-Fi give the Hub Two more substance than its age suggests. It should serve an ordinary collection of phones, televisions and computers reasonably well, particularly in a modest home without too many competing devices.
Wi-Fi 5 is badly dated for a new Full Fibre service, though. You don’t get Wi-Fi 6 efficiency, the 6GHz band or WPA3 security. Supplying the same router with Full Fibre 900 makes those omissions especially difficult to defend.
INTERACTIVE TOOL
Compare routers from any provider
This provider’s routers are pre-selected for comparison with one another. However, you can use this tool to compare any router from any major provider using the dropdown menus below.
| Feature | Choose router | Choose router |
|---|---|---|
| Fibredog rating | — | — |
| Router included as standard | — | — |
| Router manufacturer | — | — |
| Router model | — | — |
| Wi-Fi standard | — | — |
| Wi-Fi bands | — | — |
| 2.4GHz supported | — | — |
| 5GHz supported | — | — |
| 6GHz supported | — | — |
| Beamforming | — | — |
| Antenna count | — | — |
| Maximum connected devices | — | — |
| Stated coverage | — | — |
| Total Ethernet ports | — | — |
| MU-MIMO | — | — |
| OFDMA | — | — |
| WPA3 security | — | — |
| Guest network | — | — |
| Antenna type | — | — |
| Gigabit Ethernet ports | — | — |
| 2.5Gb Ethernet ports | — | — |
| 5Gb Ethernet ports | — | — |
| 10Gb Ethernet ports | — | — |
| WAN port speed | — | — |
| USB ports | — | — |
| Telephone ports | — | — |
| ONT Ethernet input | — | — |
| Coaxial input | — | — |
| Power connection | — | — |
| Mesh support | — | — |
| Provider mesh product | — | — |
| Third-party router use | — | — |
| Modem mode | — | — |
| Compatible broadband technology | — | — |
| App management | — | — |
| Parental controls | — | — |
| QoS | — | — |
| Automated QoS | — | — |
| Device prioritisation | — | — |
| Anti-bufferbloat controls | — | — |
| Manual queue management (SQM/CAKE) | — | — |
| Smart channel selection | — | — |
| Security features | — | — |
| Gamer mode | — | — |
| Game traffic prioritisation | — | — |
| Gaming QoS profiles | — | — |
| Server ping routing tools | — | — |
| Latency dashboards | — | — |
| Per-device gaming presets | — | — |
| Gaming VPN routing features | — | — |
| Work from home mode | — | — |
| Automatic firmware updates | — | — |
| Firmware update notes | — | — |
| Router height | — | — |
| Router width | — | — |
| Router depth | — | — |
| Router weight | — | — |
| Power consumption | — | — |
| Router orientation | — | — |
| Wall mountable | — | — |
| Router colour | — | — |
| Self-installation | — | — |
| Browser admin interface | — | — |
| WPS | — | — |
| Status light control | — | — |
| Reset button | — | — |
| Wi-Fi on/off button | — | — |
| Where would you like to go next? | See all tools | See all tools |
Whole-home Wi-Fi is simply missing
Plusnet offers no mesh system, Wi-Fi boosters, upgraded router or coverage guarantee on any package. There isn’t even a paid provider-managed option. The Hub Two must cover your entire property alone, whether you live in a small flat or a long house with several floors.
A faster package won’t fix a Wi-Fi blackspot caused by walls or distance. You can buy third-party mesh equipment or another router, but choosing, configuring and supporting it becomes your job. Plusnet’s answer to poor coverage is effectively to leave you to it.
INTERACTIVE TOOL
Whole Home Wi-Fi Calculator
Just follow these simple steps and we will calculate how many, if any, ‘Whole Home Wi-Fi’ pods you will need from your provider.
Start here. Work through the steps in order.
Step 1: Agree to M-Lab’s data policy
M-Lab stores test data, including your IP address. Tick to agree before testing.
Step 2: Connect to your home Wi-Fi
Make sure the phone, tablet or laptop you are using is connected to your home Wi-Fi network.
Step 3: Turn mobile data off
If your device has mobile data, turn it off before you start walking around the house.
Step 4: Test next to your router
Stand next to your main Wi-Fi router and press the button below. This gives us your baseline speed.
Step 5: Test your ground floor corners
Walk to each corner of your ground floor and run a test. If your home is not a perfect rectangle, do not overthink it. Just pick four sensible far-apart spots and keep the same numbering if you add another floor.
Last step: Add another floor or calculate
If you have another floor to test, add it below. If you have tested every floor you care about, press calculate.
Your Whole Home Wi-Fi result
Where would you like to go next?
Reasonable reach with no promises behind it
The Hub Two’s seven antennas, beamforming and dual-band Wi-Fi should provide usable coverage across many smaller and average-sized homes. Its 2.4GHz signal offers better reach, while 5GHz provides more speed when you’re nearer the router.
Plusnet publishes no coverage figure, room guarantee or minimum in-home Wi-Fi speed. Thick walls, floors and interference can still defeat the signal, and every property receives the same router. If it falls short, Plusnet has no better model waiting.
INTERACTIVE TOOL
Router range estimator
See how wall materials and router choice affect the quality of Wi-Fi around a typical home.
Where would you like to go next?
Three wired sockets cover the essentials
The Hub Two has four Gigabit Ethernet sockets, with one used to connect it to the Openreach Full Fibre equipment. That leaves three for a television, games console, computer or any other device that benefits from a steadier wired connection.
Each socket is fast enough for every current Plusnet package, including Full Fibre 900. There’s no multi-gigabit connection for advanced home networks, but that won’t trouble most households. If three sockets aren’t enough, an inexpensive Ethernet switch can add more.
How a simple wired Plusnet network works
Plugging devices directly into your router gives them a steadier connection than Wi-Fi. These router diagrams show the physical Ethernet ports, including any ONT or internet port used by the broadband connection itself.
Check which port is the internet input before counting how many wired device ports you have spare.
Use the fastest spare LAN port for the device or switch that needs the most speed.
Useful controls scattered across several places
The Hub Two has a traditional browser settings page, while Plusnet SafeGuard supplies parental filtering and its broadband firewall adds basic network protection. Automatic updates and smart channel selection cover several important everyday jobs without requiring much attention.
There’s no router app, guest network, device prioritisation or joined-up control centre. Managing the router, parental controls and security means moving between separate browser-based services. The essentials are present, but the experience feels fragmented and firmly rooted in the past.
Plusnet router controls at a glance
Here’s a quick look at the router controls you can expect, including app management, browser admin tools, Wi-Fi settings, security features and the physical buttons on the router itself.
Checked from manufacturer specifications. Fibredog tracks dozens of router specification parameters across dozens of provider routers. When a provider changes its router or features, this table is swiftly updated.
Your own router can take over completely
A compatible third-party router can replace the Hub Two and connect directly to the Openreach Full Fibre box on your wall. Plusnet publishes the required connection settings, so it doesn’t deliberately obstruct people who want better Wi-Fi, mesh coverage or more advanced controls.
Compatibility, setup and router troubleshooting become your responsibility. Keep the Hub Two available because Plusnet may ask you to reconnect it during fault diagnosis. Even with that caveat, this is an exceptionally clean and flexible route for using your own equipment.
Value for money
Plusnet keeps broadband simple, but simple doesn’t always mean good value. You get useful security tools and very few surprise add-ons, yet the ageing router, lack of upgrade options and steep post-contract pricing weaken the deal. Whether it makes financial sense depends heavily on the price you’re offered and whether the basic setup meets your needs.
The essentials are included, but little else is
Plusnet gives you unlimited broadband, its Hub Two router and a respectable collection of security tools. Plusnet Protect is included for the first 24 months, while SafeGuard parental controls and a network-level firewall add some useful protection without increasing your starting bill.
Beyond those basics, the cupboard is almost bare. There’s no provider email, home phone service, broadband backup, mesh system or whole-home Wi-Fi guarantee. A stripped-back package can work perfectly well, but Plusnet needs to be noticeably cheaper than better-equipped rivals to make these omissions feel worthwhile.
What you get with Plusnet
Here’s what's included as standard, what may cost extra, and what's only free on top-end packages.
Standard kit versus paid extras
This table separates everyday included features from extras that may depend on package tier, router choice or paid add-ons.
Good to know: Included features are easier to compare because you won’t need to budget for them separately.
Worth checking: Some useful extras may only be included on selected packages or as paid add-ons.
The annual rise is clear, but cheaper deals feel it most
Plusnet applies a fixed cash increase each spring, including during your minimum term. The amount is disclosed before you join, which makes it easier to understand than an inflation-linked formula. It also means you normally can’t leave without a charge when the scheduled increase arrives.
Applying the same amount to every package is less even-handed than it sounds. The rise represents a much larger percentage of a cheaper deal, so Plusnet’s most budget-conscious customers are hit hardest. Check how many spring increases fall within your contract before comparing its total cost.
INTERACTIVE CHART
How much will your bill rise by?
This interactive chart shows how much this provider adds to its package prices each April, and lets you compare that with literally any other provider in our database.
Package annual price rises
April price rise shown package by package
The provider-average benchmark is calculated from each provider that applies an annual price rise. Fixed-price providers are shown in the chart but are excluded from the benchmark.
There are very few extras waiting to inflate your bill
Plusnet deserves credit for avoiding a maze of upgrades and paid add-ons. Its useful security features are initially included, and there’s no premium router, backup service or whole-home Wi-Fi package tempting you into a more expensive version of the same deal.
The catch is that most of these extras are absent rather than free. If you need better Wi-Fi, a landline, connection backup or specialist features, you’ll have to arrange them elsewhere. Include those third-party costs when comparing packages, because the advertised price may not represent the complete setup your home needs.
Letting your contract roll over gets painfully expensive
Your broadband continues on a rolling basis when the minimum term finishes, but the introductory discount disappears. Plusnet’s standard prices can be far higher, turning an initially competitive package into poor value without changing the service you receive.
Plusnet sends an end-of-contract notice and lets you view renewal offers online, so avoiding the increase is reasonably straightforward. Don’t automatically accept the first offer, though. Compare its full contract cost with current Plusnet deals and equivalent packages elsewhere before you recontract or switch.
INTERACTIVE TOOL
What could your broadband bill roll on to?
Estimate what your monthly broadband price could look like by the end of your minimum term, and what it will jump to if you let the deal roll over.
Step 1: Choose your provider and package
Start by choosing your broadband provider, then select the package your contract is based on.
Step 2: Tell us the starting month of your contract and what you pay
Use the first full monthly price before any mid-contract April increases.
Step 3: Estimate the rollover shock
This is an estimate. Your provider’s end-of-contract notice will be the exact figure.
Your estimate
Where would you like to go next?
The fault protection is useful, although the speed promise is weak
Plusnet participates in automatic compensation for qualifying activation delays, missed appointments and complete outages. If the speed reaching your Hub Two remains below your personal minimum, Plusnet gets 30 days to investigate and restore it before you can leave without an early termination charge.
That protection is welcome, but the guaranteed minimum averages only around half the advertised package speed. It also applies to the connection reaching the router, not Wi-Fi performance around your home. Plusnet provides no whole-home coverage guarantee or broadband backup, leaving two common sources of frustration largely unprotected.
INTERACTIVE TOOL
Are you getting your minimum guaranteed speed?
Choose your provider and package, then run a speed test. For the cleanest test of the broadband speed coming into your home, plug a laptop or desktop directly into your router with a LAN cable. You can also test on a phone or tablet to check Wi-Fi speed, but make sure mobile data is switched off first.
Choose your provider and package
Choose your provider and package so we can compare the test result with the package's minimum guaranteed download speed.
Before you test
For an absolute line-speed check, use a computer connected to the router by Ethernet. If you test over Wi-Fi, the result may reflect your in-home Wi-Fi as much as the broadband line itself.
Run the speed test
Ready. Select a package, tick the data policy box, then run the test.
Your result
Where would you like to go next?
This tool uses M-Lab’s open measurement platform. A single speed test is a useful check, but it is not a formal fault diagnosis.
The Hub Two is usable, but well past its best
Every current Plusnet package comes with the same Hub Two. It has Gigabit Ethernet and should cope with ordinary browsing, streaming and video calls, but its Wi-Fi 5 technology now looks dated beside the Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 routers supplied elsewhere.
Choosing Full Fibre 900 won’t unlock better equipment. Plusnet offers no premium router or supported mesh upgrade, so weak coverage becomes your problem to solve. You can install compatible third-party equipment, but you’ll need to buy, configure and support it yourself.
Having trouble choosing a broadband provider?
Fibredog's unique Provider Matcher uses literally thousands of provider data points to find you your perfect match.
Some links on this page may earn us a small commission if you click through and buy. This never affects either what you pay, or our scores and recommendations. If, however, you'd rather bypass affiliate links, use this direct Plusnet link instead.
