TalkTalk’s budget focus versus Plusnet’s award-winning service excellence demonstrates how different approaches to customer service can dramatically affect overall value.
Speed and Performance
TalkTalk provides Full Fibre speeds from 65Mbps up to 900Mbps through Openreach infrastructure. Their packages include Full Fibre 65, Full Fibre 150, Full Fibre 500, and Full Fibre 900.
Plusnet offers speeds from 38Mbps to 900Mbps through the same Openreach network. Their Full Fibre packages include 145Mbps, 300Mbps, 500Mbps, and 900Mbps options.
Winner: Tie for maximum speeds
Pricing
TalkTalk pricing starts at £35.95/month for Full Fibre 65, £40.95/month for Full Fibre 150, and £47.95/month for Full Fibre 500.
Plusnet offers superior value starting from £23.99/month for Full Fibre (rising to £27.99 from March 2026). Full Fibre 500 costs £31.99/month and Full Fibre 900 is £33.99/month.
Winner: Plusnet for significantly better pricing
Network Coverage
Both TalkTalk and Plusnet use identical Openreach infrastructure, providing the same coverage across 96% of UK premises.
Winner: Tie – identical network
Customer Service
TalkTalk remains the most complained-about broadband provider according to Ofcom, with 13 complaints per 100,000 customers, primarily related to faults, service provisioning, and billing issues.
Plusnet achieved outstanding 89% customer satisfaction according to Ofcom’s 2025 data and 93% according to Uswitch – the highest rating among major providers.
Winner: Plusnet by an enormous margin
Awards and Recognition
TalkTalk has not received recent positive customer recognition and continues to face service quality criticism.
Plusnet won three major Public Choice awards in 2025: National Broadband Provider of the Year, Best Value for Money, and Best Customer Service.
Winner: Plusnet for customer-voted excellence
Contract Terms
TalkTalk uses 24-month contracts with no setup fees advertised but charges £10 per month early termination fees plus administrative costs.
Plusnet offers 24-month contracts with £0 activation fees and transparent pricing with fixed £4 annual increases clearly communicated to customers.
Winner: Plusnet for transparency and fairness
Service Quality
TalkTalk has faced persistent criticism for slow fault resolution, billing issues, and poor customer service response times.
Plusnet focuses exclusively on delivering exceptional broadband service with high-quality customer support and reliable performance.
Winner: Plusnet for service excellence
Value Proposition
TalkTalk targets extremely budget-conscious customers but fails to deliver good value due to service quality issues.
Plusnet provides genuine value through competitive pricing combined with award-winning customer service and reliability.
Winner: Plusnet for true value delivery
Support Quality
TalkTalk consistently receives complaints about lengthy wait times, poor problem resolution, and inadequate customer support.
Plusnet provides focused, high-quality customer support with shorter wait times and superior resolution rates.
Winner: Plusnet decisively
The Verdict
Choose Plusnet for better pricing, award-winning customer service, transparent contracts, and proven reliability. They offer superior value across every measurable metric.
Avoid TalkTalk unless you have absolutely no other options. Their persistent customer service issues, higher pricing, and poor satisfaction ratings make them a poor choice even for budget-conscious customers.
Plusnet delivers everything TalkTalk promises but fails to provide – competitive pricing with excellent service quality. The comparison isn’t close; Plusnet represents dramatically better value for UK broadband customers seeking reliable, affordable service.
