Need to choose between TalkTalk and Plusnet? Both are budget broadband providers offering reliable, fast, low-priced broadband with great features.
In addition to the amazing savings, fibre broadband packages offered by these providers are great options for streaming, sharing and playing games online.
But, which provider is better for you – Plusnet or TalkTalk? Let’s compare.
Speed
TalkTalk and Plusnet offer similar broadband plans which deliver more or less same kind of average download speeds and upload speeds.
However, you can get minimum speed guarantee and estimated speed range when you enter the location details like postcode and address, while you sign up.
| *Download speed | *Upload speed | *Peak time speed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plusnet Unlimited | 10Mb | 1Mb | 12.9Mb |
| TalkTalk Fast | 11Mb | 1Mb | 11Mb |
| Plusnet Unlimited Fibre | 35Mb | 9Mb | 32.8Mb |
| TalkTalk Fibre 35 | 38Mb | 9Mb | 33.4Mb |
| Plusnet Unlimited Fibre Extra | 66Mb | 18Mb | 61Mb |
| TalkTalk Fibre 65 | 67Mb | 17Mb | 64.1Mb |
- *Download and upload speeds are based on average speed which is achievable by 50% of the customers.
Cost
Both TalkTalk and Plusnet offer broadband deals offer great value for money with the discounts and promotional offers.
- Standard broadband – Plusnet Unlimited (10Mbps) is quite cheaper than TalkTalk Fast (11Mbps)
- Fibre broadband – Fibre packages from Plusnet and TalkTalk come with similar price range, however, the deals are much cheaper than BT, Sky and EE.
- In addition, TalkTalk and Plusnet offer gifts like vouchers and reward cards generously to the new customers.
Features
| Plusnet | TalkTalk | |
|---|---|---|
| Truly unlimited broadband | yes | yes |
| Fibre WiFi router | yes | yes |
| Home Phone | yes | yes |
| Inclusive calls | yes | yes |
| TV service | yes | yes |
| Mobile plans | yes | no |
| Public WiFi | no | no |
| Cloud storage | no | no |
| Parental controls | yes | yes |
| UK based customer support | yes | no |
| Fixed price | no | no |
| Flexible 12 or 18 month contracts | yes | yes |
Truly unlimited
Both Plusnet and TalkTalk do not have fair usage cap – absolutely no usage limit applies. Neither there is any traffic management which means these providers will not reduce the speeds during peak times.
Fibre routers
TalkTalk Fast (ADSL) package includes SuperRouter. TalkTalk fibre customers get the new WiFi Hub router.
By comparison, Plusnet Unlimited customers get Hub Zero and Plusnet fibre packages (Unlimited fibre & Unlimitd fibre extra) include Hub One router.
| Router specs | Plusnet Hub Zero | TalkTalk SuperRouter | Plusnet Hub One | TalkTalk WiFi Hub |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Sagemcom 2704N | HG635 | BT hub 5A | Sagemcom Fast 5364 |
| Built-in modem | ADSL/VDSL modem | VDSL modem | VDSL modem | |
| WiFi bands | Single ( 2.4GHz ) | Dual (2.4GHz & 5GHz) | Dual (2.4GHz & 5GHz) | Dual (2.4GHz & 5GHz) |
| Wireless | 802.11b/g/n | 802.11b/g/n/ac | 802.11b/g/n/ac | 802.11ac Wave 2 |
| Antennas | 3 x 3 | 2 | 3 x 3 | |
| Ethernet | 4 LAN ports (upto 100Mbps) | 4 LAN ports (upto 1000Mbps) 1 WAN | 4 LAN ports (upto 1000Mbps) 1 WAN | 4 LAN ports (upto 1733Mbps) 1 WAN |
| USB port | yes | yes | yes | |
| Setup | WPS | Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) | Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) | Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) |
| Security | WPA2 | WPA2 | WPA2, WPA, WEP | WPA2, WPA, WEP |
| Cost | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Delivery charge | Free | Free | Free | Free |
Home Phone
Plusnet and TalkTalk broadband packages include home phone, line rental and pay as you go calls.
Additional call plans will cost extra.
However, TalkTalk call plans come with flexible 1 month contract.
| Home Phone | Plusnet | TalkTalk |
| Line rental | yes | yes |
| PAYG calls | yes | yes |
| Eve & weekend & mobile | £5 a month | no |
| Unlimited UK & mobile | £9 a month | £12 a month |
| International | £9 a month | £10 a month |
Online Security
TalkTalk offers HomeSafe parental controls for safer browsing. Supersafe which is advanced internet security feature is included on selected plans. Supersafe protects devices from viruses and malware.
SafeGuard is similar feature from Plusnet to help users block specific websites and categories.
Customer Satisfaction
Ofcom’s latest reports on customer complaints and customer service clearly show that Plusnet is better than TalkTalk, when it comes to customer support.
| Plusnet broadband |
TalkTalk broadband |
Plusnet Homephone |
TalkTalk Homephone |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complaints per 100,000 customers (Q3 2019) |
22 | 22 | 17 | 17 |
| Satisfaction (April 2019) | 86% | 80% | 89% | 81% |
Coverage
Both Plusnet and TalkTalk are based on Openreach platform, so they have similar range of coverage or availability.
TalkTalk offers a few more faster fibre plans, when compared to Plusnet.