How fast is your internet? How fast would it be if you lived in a different country? The web is, of course, worldwide – but broadband speeds vary significantly by country and so does the cost. Where in world is it cheapest to connect to the web?
Top 10 Cheapest Countries
- Israel
- Finland
- Denmark
- Austria
- Lithuania
- Australia
- France
- Sweden
- Singapore
- Estonia
Top 10 Most Expensive
- Switzerland
- South Korea
- Norway
- United States
- Belgium
- Canada
- United Arab Emirates
- New Zealand
- Taiwan
- Japan
Full Data
| Countries | No. mobile plans | No. of broadband plans | Avg. Mobile Download Speed (Mbps) | Avg. Mobile Upload Speed (Mbps) | Avg. Broadband Download Speed (Mbps) | Avg. Broadband Upload Speed (Mbps) | Avg. Cost of 1GB of data ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israel | 25 | 102 | 22.63 | 12.06 | 85.71 | 18.77 | $0.90 |
| Finland | 20 | 29 | 48.05 | 14.57 | 83.71 | 37.83 | $1.16 |
| Denmark | 24 | 29 | 48.58 | 18.44 | 130.28 | 101.34 | $1.36 |
| Austria | 59 | 43 | 49.12 | 14.82 | 53.58 | 16.13 | $1.88 |
| Lithuania | 11 | 30 | 47.53 | 13.32 | 101.87 | 98.96 | $2.06 |
| Australia | 56 | 116 | 63.85 | 14.7 | 42.2 | 19.07 | $2.47 |
| France | 49 | 51 | 46.82 | 10.22 | 139.65 | 93.85 | $2.99 |
| Sweden | 58 | 30 | 47.23 | 12.98 | 134.83 | 108.73 | $3.66 |
| Singapore | 37 | 34 | 55.21 | 19.17 | 202.21 | 208.41 | $3.67 |
| Estonia | 31 | 26 | 46.32 | 13.5 | 61.61 | 48.17 | $3.67 |
| Spain | 56 | 62 | 36.23 | 12.46 | 125.18 | 114.89 | $3.79 |
| Ireland | 24 | 47 | 27.12 | 9.51 | 75.96 | 26.38 | $3.95 |
| Hong Kong | 51 | 40 | 34.45 | 11.55 | 169.78 | 165.59 | $4.00 |
| Luxembourg | 17 | 19 | 50.25 | 13.96 | 118.79 | 77.44 | $4.39 |
| Qatar | 21 | 71 | 82.59 | 21.04 | 76.08 | 42.78 | $4.62 |
| Czech Republic | 22 | 31 | 49.03 | 16.78 | 55.75 | 31.15 | $4.91 |
| United Kingdom | 60 | 812 | 35.21 | 10.42 | 65.82 | 18.74 | $6.66 |
| Germany | 58 | 48 | 36.29 | 11.74 | 79.31 | 21.19 | $6.96 |
| Latvia | 13 | 29 | 34.55 | 11.36 | 100.7 | 106.48 | $7.12 |
| The Netherlands | 41 | 41 | 68.5 | 15.52 | 109.1 | 58.89 | $7.99 |
| Japan | 60 | 92 | 32.12 | 9.22 | 100.44 | 120.81 | $8.34 |
| Taiwan | 35 | 58 | 45.77 | 13.85 | 119.44 | 101.22 | $9.49 |
| New Zealand | 42 | 175 | 50.92 | 14.52 | 108.89 | 70.42 | $9.79 |
| United Arab Emirates | 21 | 73 | 87.01 | 24.51 | 93.19 | 45.37 | $10.23 |
| Canada | 60 | 328 | 71.03 | 13.8 | 124.58 | 51.84 | $12.02 |
| Belgium | 60 | 30 | 50.52 | 14.85 | 83.93 | 16.92 | $12.30 |
| United States | 32 | 614 | 41.23 | 10.55 | 134.77 | 51.53 | $12.37 |
| Norway | 49 | 37 | 66.49 | 16.71 | 119.47 | 99.88 | $13.21 |
| South Korea | 15 | 17 | 83.9 | 17.62 | 124.39 | 138.45 | $15.12 |
| Switzerland | 12 | 27 | 57.81 | 19.91 | 146.81 | 94.26 | $20.22 |
UK Broadband Providers
| Providers | Number of users/subscribers | Cheapest Offer (First Year) (£) | Download Speed (Mbps) | Upload Speed (Mbps) | Satisfaction (Stars) | Customer Service (Stars) | Speed (Star) | Reliability (Stars) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zen Internet | 126,000 | £356.00 | 112.2 | 20.8 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.2 |
| Virgin Media | 5,271,000 | £371.00 | 250.6 | 10.5 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| Vodafone | 687,000 | £263.00 | 49 | 15 | 2.9 | 3 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
| Post Office | 400,000 | £191.00 | 38.7 | 9.8 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2 | 2.4 |
| TalkTalk | 4,300,000 | £239.00 | 38.7 | 9 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2.6 |
| Sky | 6,200,000 | £310.00 | 35 | 10.2 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.7 |
| BT | 9,339,000 | £320.00 | 40.8 | 9.8 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.8 |
Uk Mobile Providers
| Provider | Average Star Rating | Total Roaming locations (no extra charge) | 5G Destinations | Cheapest Sim-Only Plan (Monthly £) | Most Expensive Sim-Only Plan (Monthly £) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vodafone | 4 | 110 | 45 | £5.00 | £40.00 |
| Three | 4 | 71 | 66 | £5.00 | £24.00 |
| EE | 4 | 53 | 79 | £6.00 | £39.00 |
| Sky Mobile | 4 | 36 | 43 | £6.00 | £25.00 |
| BT Mobile | 4 | 47 | 60 | £7.00 | £35.00 |
| Plusnet | 3 | 52 | 0 | £5.00 | £40.00 |
| O2 | 3 | 47 | 43 | £6.00 | £35.00 |
| Virgin Mobile | 3.5 | 43 | 0 | £6.00 | £32.00 |
| Giffgaff | 37 | 0 | £6.00 | £25.00 | |
| Tesco Mobile | 3 | 48 | 43 | £7.50 | £30.00 |
Methodology
We analysed the 30 most technologically advanced countries in the world to find the countries that are paying the most and least to stay connected. The countries have been ranked by the average cost of 1GB data, we then looked into the average download and upload speeds as well as the number of plans available to compare the prices they pay for data. We have decided to only use the countries that rank the highest and the lowest.
In addition, we used Techadvisor and ISPreview to analyse the top mobile and broadband providers in the UK. A index has been created scoring the individual data points where the higher the number, the better score. For the most expensive sim only plan, the lower the number, the better the score. We have then weighted the scores, applying the higher importance to the cost whilst other metric have been weighted equally.
Data collected on 10/03/2020 – 12/03/2020
Most Popular Pages:
- Leased Line Providers
- Business SIM Only Deals
- FTTP Providers
- Business Phone and Broadband
- Business Mobile Phone Plans
- Business Phone Line Providers
- SIP Trunk Providers
- Business VOIP Providers
- FTTC Broadband
- Business Phone Systems
- Compare Business Broadband
Sources
- https://www.ispreview.co.uk/review/top10.php
- https://www.broadband.co.uk/broadband/reviews/
- https://www.cable.co.uk/broadband/reviews/
- https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/broadband/best-phone-network-uk-3681692/#toc
- https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/guides/mobile-phone-coverage/
- https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/guides/mobile-phone-coverage/
- https://store.virginmedia.com/virgin-media-mobile/our-mobile-network/data-roaming-abroad.html
- https://www.bt.com/mobile/data-roaming/
- https://5g.co.uk/coverage/o2/
- https://www.simsherpa.com/networks/bt-mobile/review-and-guide
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/387202/most-used-mobile-networks-uk/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_network_operators_of_Europe#United_Kingdom
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BT_Mobile
- https://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/News/article/sky-upwardly-mobile-breaches-million-user-mark
- https://www.tescomobile.com/who-we-are
- https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jul/30/giffgaff-fined-overcharging-mobile-phone-customers-ofcom
- https://www.giffgaff.com/sim-only-plans
- https://www.gfmag.com/global-data/non-economic-data/best-tech-countries
- https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2019/03/uk-ranked-136th-out-of-230-countries-for-its-high-mobile-data-price.html
- https://www.cable.co.uk/mobiles/worldwide-data-pricing/#highlights
- https://www.speedtest.net/global-index
- https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2019/03/uk-ranked-136th-out-of-230-countries-for-its-high-mobile-data-price.html
- https://www.cable.co.uk/broadband/speed/worldwide-speed-league/
- https://isp.today/
Josh says
You have a picture of Hong Kong in the New Zealand box…
Dave Eversden says
Dave at Forever Group here. We specialise in Business Mobile services here in the UK. I’ve noted that certainly to use the UK as an example, mobile data speeds on a national average basis can vary wildly between carriers in certain countries. For example between O2 and EE in Wales the variance is 50%. I am curious to know where this data is coming from, was one carrier tested in each location or is this somehow amalgamated from the main carriers in each country. For example in the UK the Rootmetrics report top 3 carrier average speeds added / 3 = result.