Sky is best known for its premium TV service, while Vodafone focuses on budget-friendly broadband. Both use Openreach’s network to provide broadband up to speeds of 900Mbps, as well as TV and landline bundles. Which one is better for you? To help you choose, we weigh up what each provider has to offer.
Vodafone vs Sky broadband at a glance
Vodafone | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
Can I get ADSL? | No – Vodafone doesn’t offer standard ADSL broadband | Yes, with average speeds of 11Mbps |
Can I get superfast fibre? | Yes, with average speeds of 38Mbps or 67Mbps | Yes, with average speeds of 36Mbps or 59Mbps |
Can I get ultrafast fibre? | Yes, with maximum average speeds of up to 900Mbps | Yes, with maximum average speeds of up to 900Mbps |
Download limit? | No, all packages are truly unlimited | No, all packages are truly unlimited |
TV | Yes – an Apple TV 4K-based service | Yes – get Sky TV with its Sky Q box or Sky Glass TV |
Do I have to take a home phone? | Yes – Vodafone doesn’t offer broadband-only options | Yes – Sky doesn’t offer broadband-only options |
Vodafone vs Sky: Cost
When it comes to cost, Vodafone is definitely cheaper. It’s one of the more budget-friendly providers out there, with prices starting from £22 a month for its Superfast 1 plan with speeds of 38Mbps.
New customers can often snap up vouchers that bring the monthly cost down even further. Not to mention, Vodafone doesn’t charge any set-up fees.
In comparison, Sky is a more premium service that comes with a price tag to match – particularly if you get additional services, like its high-end TV offering.
Its comparable Superfast broadband-only deal comes in at £30.50 per month. New customers can get some discounts – for example, at the time of writing (August 2022), you can get the first three months of your Superfast plan for free.
Furthermore, Sky tends to charge a set-up fee, although you can sometimes get deals that waive the one-off fee. But depending on your current home set-up and the services you’ve signed up for, a set-up charge will apply. If you’re getting ultrafast fibre or a satellite dish for Sky TV, you’ll need to pay for installation.
Vodafone vs Sky: average broadband speeds
Vodafone and Sky have a similar range of broadband speeds, with the fastest reaching up to 900Mbps.
- Vodafone’s broadband speeds: 38Mbps, 67Mbps, 100Mbps, 200Mbps, 500Mbps and 900Mbps
- Sky’s broadband speeds: 11Mbps, 36 Mbps, 59Mbps, 145Mbps, 500Mbps and 900Mbps
Vodafone vs Sky: broadband packages
Both providers broadly offer a similar breadth of fibre optic broadband packages.
Vodafone has six plans, at speeds starting at 38Mbps all the way up to 900Mbps. Speeds of 200Mbps and above are only available if you upgrade to Vodafone Pro, though – this is an add-on service that strengthens the quality of your Vodafone connection.
Sky has five fibre packages, ranging between 36Mbps with its Superfast 35 plan and 900Mbps with its Gigafast plan. You also have the option to add Sky Broadband Boost, which takes your internet service to the next level.
While Vodafone doesn’t offer standard ADSL broadband, Sky has a Sky Essentials plan with average speeds of 11Mbps.
As for contract lengths, all Vodafone packages are available on 24-month contracts, while Sky’s plans are slightly more short term, at 18 months.
- 150Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £24.50 per month
- £20.33 Avg. monthly cost
- 67Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £24.00 per month
- £21.29 Avg. monthly cost
- 74Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £24.00 per month
- £21.29 Avg. monthly cost
- 150Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £26.00 per month
- £22.25 Avg. monthly cost
- 80Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £22.50 per month
- £19.38 Avg. monthly cost
- 910Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £30.00 per month
- £28.33 Avg. monthly cost
*Average speeds are based on the download speeds of at least 50% of customers at peak time(8pm to 10pm). Speed can be affected by a range of technical and environmental factors. The speed you receive where you live may be lower than that listed above. You can check the estimated speed to your property prior to purchasing.
- 75Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £28.00 per month
- £25.50 Avg. monthly cost
- 150Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £28.00 per month
- £25.50 Avg. monthly cost
- 150Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £31.00 per month
- 75Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £31.00 per month
- 500Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £33.00 per month
- £29.04 Avg. monthly cost
- 900Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £43.00 per month
- £38.63 Avg. monthly cost
*Average speeds are based on the download speeds of at least 50% of customers at peak time(8pm to 10pm). Speed can be affected by a range of technical and environmental factors. The speed you receive where you live may be lower than that listed above. You can check the estimated speed to your property prior to purchasing.
Vodafone vs Sky: home phone
Both Vodafone and Sky broadband come with line rental included – there’s no option to get it without.
Each one comes with ‘pay as you go’ calls as standard, but you can upgrade your calls package for an extra monthly charge.
Vodafone has two call plans – Evening and weekend calls to UK landlines, and Anytime UK Landline and Mobile Calls – as well as some extra features like Voicemail Plus.
Sky offers similar plans, but with the additional option to get unlimited international calls with Sky Talk International Extra.
Vodafone vs Sky: TV
With Sky TV being one of the best, most comprehensive TV providers out there, there’s no question who the clear winner is.
There’s more info on our Sky TV page, but to give a brief overview: Sky Sports broadcasts more live Premier League games than anyone else, Sky Atlantic is home to plenty of award-winning shows, and Sky Cinema gets you access to the latest releases straight from the big screen.
Overall, Sky TV has an excellent range of channels and box sets, with the option to add extra channel packs to your plan.
Vodafone’s TV offering is much more limited, and only available with its Pro Xtra plans. It comes with a free Apple 4K TV set-top box, as well as a three-month Apple TV+ subscription. Still, if you need a place where you can stream all your favourite apps, like Netflix, Now TV and on-demand players, it’ll do just that. And it’s certainly cheaper than Sky TV.
Also, if you’re getting the Sky Q box, you’ll need to have a satellite installed outside your house. In comparison, there’s no installation required with Vodafone’s TV plans – just plug in your set-top box and go.
Vodafone vs Sky: Fibre broadband and availability
Both Vodafone and Sky use BT’s Openreach network to provide their services. This means they should have comparable availability across the UK.
To find out which packages you can get at your address, just enter your postcode in our availability checker below.
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Vodafone vs Sky: Download limits
Both providers offer truly unlimited broadband, meaning there’s no limit on how much you can use and download. Additionally, there’s no traffic management, so your speeds won’t be artificially slowed down, even during peak hours.
Vodafone vs Sky: Extras
Sky has a VIP benefit scheme, rewarding both new and loyal customers. What you can get varies – check your My Sky app – but you can expect free movies, 12 months access to discovery+ and the opportunity to win tickets and experiences.
As Vodafone is a more value-focused provider, it doesn’t have a similar reward scheme. Nevertheless, Vodafone Mobile customers can enjoy certain deals, such as a discounted upgrade to Vodafone Pro and money off their monthly broadband bill.
Vodafone vs Sky: Customer service
Sky has a good customer service track record, regularly scoring well in Ofcom’s reports on customer service and satisfaction.
On the other hand, Vodafone scores around average when it comes to customer service.
