Vodafone Broadband Review 2023

Author: Matt Powell

Last updated: 29 November 2023

Vodafone Broadband review 2023

Vodafone home broadband delivers impressive speed for low prices. However, there are ongoing concerns over its customer service support.

Vodafone Broadband: in summary

You can find a couple of the best Vodafone broadband deals below:

Vodafone Broadband Speed

Vodafone offers a variety of broadband speeds throughout its range. This includes a very fast FTTP broadband option for those of you lucky enough to have full fibre access in your area.

Vodafone Fibre 1

• Download speed: 38Mb
• Upload speed: 9Mb

The entry-level Vodafone broadband package provides a download speed of 38Mb and an upload speed of 9Mb.

This is enough for most homes. But if you have more than a couple of people sharing and everyone is using broadband for activities like streaming, it may struggle.

Vodafone Fibre 2 

• Download speed: 67Mb
• Upload speed: 18Mb

With an average download speed of 67Mb and an upload speed of 18Mb. This is the fastest standard fibre service Vodafone offers.

This is a good option for larger homes, and it’s often available for the same price as Fibre 1. So it's worth going for, even if you don’t think you need the extra speed.

Vodafone Pro II Fibre 1

• Download speed: 38Mb
• Upload speed: 10Mb

This upgrade to Pro Fibre 1 comes with additional features, including a free 4G back-up connection. This does come at a cost though

Vodafone Pro II Fibre 2

• Download speed: 67Mb
• Upload speed: 18Mb

This is the same as Fibre 2, but with extra Pro features for an increased fee.

Vodafone Full Fibre 100

• Download speed: 100Mb
• Upload speed: 20Mb or 100Mb

This is the entry-level full fibre Vodafone service, with an average download speed of 100Mb. 

The upload speed varies depending on whether your FTTP connection is provided by Openreach or CityFibre. On Openreach, it’ll be 20Mb, and with CityFibre, it’s 100Mb.

Vodafone Full Fibre 200 & 500

• Download speed: 200Mb or 500Mb
• Upload speed: 27Mb, 68Mb, 200Mb or 500Mb

If your FTTP connection is CityFibre, your line is symmetrical. That means the download and upload speeds are the same — 200Mb or 500Mb. 

These upload rates are a lot better than many competing providers and will be particularly useful for gamers, streamers, and remote workers.

However, if you have Openreach FTTP, your maximum upload speed will be lower, up to around 70Mb on Full Fibre 500.

Vodafone Full Fibre

• Download speed: 910Mb
• Upload speed: 105Mb or 910Mb

The fastest Vodafone fibre optic service offers a rapid average download speed of 910Mb. 

With CityFibre connections, it also has an incredible 910Mb upload speed. Openreach FTTP customers will receive around 115Mb.

Vodafone Broadband speed summary

Vodafone customers seem fairly happy with the broadband they’re getting. The respondents of our survey gave it an average satisfaction score of 3.3 (66.4%), which was the average score out of all providers.

According to data gathered by Ofcom, published in March 2023, the average speed of Vodafone Fibre 2 was 89.5% of its advertised speed. This is a poorer performance compared to most other providers.

The advertised speeds of its standard services aren’t surprising. For these, it uses the Openreach network like almost all other providers. So averages will be similar to fibre services available elsewhere.

Not everyone can match its FTTP deals, where you can enjoy anything from a respectable 100Mb up to a staggering 910Mb. 

The catch is that you need to be in an FTTP-enabled area to get these services.

You also need to be aware of the difference in upload speeds. CityFibre will provide you with better speeds than Openreach will.

The upload speeds on Openreach FTTP aren’t shabby and are still better than even Virgin Media. But even those are dwarfed by the amazing symmetrical fibre service available with a CityFibre link.

Vodafone Customer Service

Sadly, Vodafone fell short of the average score for customer service satisfaction in our 2023 Broadband Awards. It ranked 3.22 vs. 3.35 for the average.

Vodafone is one of the providers studied in the Ofcom customer service report. It received the following scores in the most recent publication (18th May 2023):

• Overall satisfaction: 83% (average broadband score 82%)
• Satisfaction with speed of service: 82% (average broadband score 80%)
• Customers with a reason to complain: 22% (average broadband score 20%)
• Overall complaint handling satisfaction: 49% (average broadband score 51%)
• Call waiting time: 3:19 (average waiting time 2:37)

Although it scored with general satisfaction and speed, it’s concerning that Vodafone is performing worse than average in several categories when it comes to complaints.

See more: Vodafone customer service and complaints contacts

Vodafone Broadband Value for Money

With a winning combination of fast speeds and low prices, Vodafone ranked third for best value in our 2023 Broadband Awards.

Vodafone is one of the cheapest fibre broadband providers, with Fibre 1 and Fibre 2 costing less than some ADSL deals. They’re also often available for the same price, so there’s no harm in going for the faster option even if you’re not sure you need it.

Moving to a Pro II package does raise the monthly price, but you’ll get some useful extras in exchange.

The quicker FTTP services are more expensive, with prices starting from under £25 for 100Mb FTTP. The most expensive option is the 910Mb Vodafone Full Fibre, but even this compares well to other offerings from competing networks.

Inclusive calls aren’t part of most Vodafone deals. Line rental, when applicable, is part of the monthly price. If required, you can add evening and weekend calls, anytime calls, or an international package.

Vodafone rewards

Vodafone broadband deals are often available with a free gift. This is typically an Amazon, M&S or Sainsbury's gift card with a value of £50-£100. A decent extra, for sure.

Vodafone is already cheap, so these freebies add up to a substantial bonus. With a free gift included, Vodafone Fibre 1 and 2 can have an effective monthly price of less than £20.

For general help with rewards, visit our guide to claiming free gifts and vouchers.

Vodafone Reliability

In our 2023 Broadband Awards, Vodafone scored an 'above average' score for reliability with a total of 69.2% satisfaction. 

In Ofcom's October 2023 Report: Complaints about broadband, landline, mobile and pay-TV services, Vodafone was one of the most complained about broadband providers. Vodafone received 24 complaints per 100,000 subscribers. To put this into perspective, the industry average was 12 per 100,000 subscribers. Customer complaints were mostly down to faults, service and provisioning.

You certainly can't quibble with the 4G broadband back-up available for Vodafone Pro II customers. This automatically connects to a mobile broadband network if your cabled connection experiences a fault. Of course, you have to pay a premium for this, and you'd need to be confident you have a strong 4G signal to experience a truly reliable service. 

Vodafone Bundled Wi-Fi router

All Vodafone broadband deals include a free Vodafone Intelligent Wi-Fi Hub router. If you're signed up to a Vodafone Pro II deal, you'll be sent a Vodafone Ultra Hub.

For more information on these devices, you can read our Vodafone router round-up.

Router installation

Setting up your Vodafone hub shouldn't be difficult and, unless you need to have a line installed, you'll be able to do this yourself. You can get in touch for technical support with Live Chat, as well and its late night call centre opening times every day of the week.

Vodafone also has a very helpful, supportive online community where you can seek out answers to questions easily.

The Vodafone Broadband App, however, is probably the easiest way to get help. You can use this to assist with more technical tasks such as setting up guest Wi-Fi private guest networks, managing the Super Wi-Fi Boosters that come bundled with all Vodafone Pro II packages and optimising signals (again, for Pro II customers).

In short, there's plenty of help available to make your installation an easy process.

• Vodafone broadband extras

  Vodafone Pro II

  Vodafone Pro II is a premium bundle that includes so many useful extras. It’s an optional extra for Vodafone Fibre 1, Fibre 2, and Full Fibre 100, it costs £10+ per month more than the equivalent standard package.

  Other Vodafone Full Fibre deals all include Vodafone Pro II as standard, with Vodafone Pro II Xtra available for an additional cost.

  Vodafone Pro II includes the following:

  • Router upgrade: Customers receive a Super Wi-Fi 6E Booster which allows connectivity to over 150 devices.
  • 4G broadband back-up: Automatic back-up if your broadband fails.
  • Coverage guarantee: Leave for free if you can't get reliable Wi-Fi coverage in every corner of your home.
  • WiFi Xperts: Dedicated UK support team for Pro subscribers.

  Vodafone Pro II customers can also benefit from faster broadband speeds in some areas. If supported by the network, Fibre Pro II 1 offers an average speed of 41Mb, while Fibre Pro II 2 has an average speed of 82Mb.

  Vodafone Broadband and Mobile deal - 'Vodafone Together'

  Vodafone Mobile customers can get a discount of up to £3 per month on home broadband if they connect plans. You can also add additional SIMs to this deal, with 30% off each SIM.

Vodafone Broadband: Expert Summary

Vodafone fibre optic broadband is good value for money. Not only do you enjoy low monthly prices as standard, but it’s also truly unlimited, and the bundled router is fairly powerful.

And as well as offering cheap broadband deals, Vodafone caters to high-end users with the optional Vodafone Pro II packages and ultrafast full fibre services. You’ll have to pay more, but they come with some genuinely useful extras. Especially if you’re working from home and need ultra-reliable broadband.

Unfortunately, we have some concerns about Vodafone’s customer service track record. User reviews for how issues are handled are disappointing. Ofcom's 2023 reports also show customers are struggling with Vodafone's service and faults. For this reason, we've had to take off a few review points.

Switching to Vodafone

You can easily check which Vodafone packages are available in your area by popping your address into this checker. Don't forget to use our filters, so you can compare packages by price, speed or contract length. Our tables will also show you if there are any great reward offers available, too. You'll be able to see how much money these can save you in the long-run with our clear 'Effective Monthly Price' summary.

If you’re out of contract, switching between any provider is easy.

Check out our guide on ‘how to switch broadband and get an amazing deal’ for more hints and tricks, learn how to save money and upgrade your home's internet connection with little fuss.

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