EE vs BT broadband: same group, two brands

EE and BT are two brands of the same company. Both belong to BT Group, both sell broadband on Openreach's lines, and both sell the same EE TV bundles, so at most addresses the line and the speed are identical. What differs is the packaging: set-up fees, reward cards, the 1.6Gb tier only EE sells, a landline only BT sells, and a social tariff only BT offers. If you came here asking whether EE broadband is BT in a different box, the honest answer is nearly, but not quite.

How do EE and BT compare at a glance?

The table takes prices, speeds, contract lengths, set-up fees, rewards and scheduled price rises from our live deal feed, so it matches the deals on our comparison pages today. The network, guarantee and exit-fee rows come from each provider's own pages, checked on 11 October 2026.

Is EE broadband cheaper than BT?

At the entry level the monthly price is the same, and the extras decide it. When we checked on 11 October 2026, both EE and BT sold Full Fibre 150 at £23.99 a month on 24 months, rising to £27.99 and £31.99 on 31 March each year. EE charged a £30 set-up fee and offered switching credit; BT charged nothing to set up and paid a £90 reward card.

Higher up, EE is cheaper on the month. Its Full Fibre 900 was £27.99 with no set-up fee and a £140 reward card, against BT's Full Fibre 900 at £32.99 with a £175 card. Both rise by £4 each March, so EE's £5 a month advantage at 900Mbps holds for the whole contract, and the £35 difference between the two reward cards doesn't close it. EE's Full Fibre 500 was £25.99 with a £10 set-up fee and no card, against BT's £27.99 with a £175 card, which leaves BT cheaper across a full contract there.

Both sets of prices are online offers and they change, so read the live table rather than either headline.

Do the speeds differ?

Only at the top. Both sell the same part-fibre and full fibre tiers, and EE adds a 1.6Gbps tier that BT doesn't sell. EE's uploads are a little higher at 150 and 500, as the table shows.

Can the price go up during the contract?

Yes with both, by the same amount. EE's price-change page describes an "annual increase to your plan price on 31st March each year" during the minimum term. BT's says broadband rises by £4 a month on 31 March each year for products bought on or after 10 April 2024. Every broadband deal from either in our feed carries a £4 step on 31 March 2027 and 31 March 2028; the TV bundles step up by £6. On a £23.99 deal that means £27.99 after the first rise and £31.99 after the second.

Neither rise comes with a way out. Because the amount and dates are set out in the contract, Ofcom's rules don't give you a penalty-free exit when the rise lands. Our price rise guide explains the rules.

Which rewards, which set-up fee?

BT pays more to join. Its reward cards in our feed run from £70 on Fibre 2 to £175 on Full Fibre 500 and 900, with nothing on Fibre 1 and Fibre Essential, plus "Claim up to £200 switching credit". Set-up is £0 on every BT deal. EE's reward cards are £140 on Full Fibre 900 and £80 on 1.6Gb, and its site offers "Up to £200 towards your leaving fees, or up to £300 if you're switching TV too". EE's set-up fee is £30 on most tiers, £10 on Full Fibre 500 and £0 on Full Fibre 900 in our feed.

EE's other lever is mobile. Its broadband page offers an "exclusive monthly saving of up to £20 when you add an unlimited data SIM". If you'd take an EE SIM anyway, that changes the sums more than any reward card.

Do you want a landline or TV?

TV is the same product from either. Both sell EE TV bundles, from £38.99 a month in our feed with Netflix included, which our EE TV channels guide covers. The landline is the difference: BT's "+Pay As You Go" versions add a line for about £5 a month more in our feed, while EE's deals in our feed carry no landline at all. If you still use a home phone, that points to BT.

Which one guarantees your speed?

Both are signatories to Ofcom's Broadband Speeds Code, so both give you a minimum guaranteed speed when you order and a right to leave without penalty if it isn't met and can't be fixed within 30 days. EE's help page puts it plainly: "Your broadband comes with your own personal speed guarantee, which guarantees the speed to your hub". If EE doesn't meet it, "you can choose to exit your contract without paying a charge for cancelling it early". BT's Stay Fast Guarantee adds a £20 reward card for each failed fix, up to four times a year. Both providers' deals in our feed are part of Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme.

How do their service records compare?

Ofcom reports the two brands separately. Its complaints figures for January to March 2026 put EE at 6 complaints per 100,000 broadband customers, level with the industry average, and BT at 7. Both appear in the Trustpilot row of the table above, with the caveat that sits under it. Our complaints rankings guide has the full tables.

What does it cost to leave early?

The two methods are cousins. EE's help page starts with "We add together all outstanding monthly (or other periodic) charges, excluding VAT". It then takes account of any recurring discount and reduces the charge for "any costs we save as a result of you leaving early". Finally it takes off "an amount for early receipt", multiplies by the months left and adds VAT. Its worked examples deduct £10.49 and £13 a month for costs saved.

BT's Consumer Price Guide, effective 25 September 2026, follows the same shape: VAT off, £15 a month of saved costs off in its example, 1% off for early receipt, VAT back on. Its example is £35 a month with four months left, which comes to £67.32. Our exit fee calculator has both providers' rules built in, using each company's own example figures.

Where can you get both?

Almost everywhere, because both sell on Openreach, so every one of our 153 broadband area pages lists both providers. The speed on offer at a given address is the same from either, with one exception. EE's 1.6Gb tier needs Openreach full fibre and a newer piece of kit on the wall, so it isn't available at every full fibre address. Check your postcode for the exact tiers.

Why you might choose EE

• You want the 1.6Gbps tier, which BT doesn't sell.
• You want the lower monthly price at 500Mbps and above, and the £140 card at 900Mbps.
• You'd take an EE unlimited SIM and want the monthly saving that comes with it.
• You're switching TV as well and want EE's larger switching credit.
• You want the brand with slightly fewer complaints in Ofcom's latest figures.

Why you might choose BT

• You want no set-up fee and the bigger reward card at 150 to 500Mbps.
• You want a landline with your broadband.
• You want a social tariff: BT Home Essentials is open to new customers on qualifying benefits, and EE has none.
• You'd rather deal with the BT brand, which BT Group now aims at landline and mainstream customers.

How do you switch between them?

It is a new contract either way, not a transfer between brands. Both use Openreach, so the switch is a line transfer under One Touch Switch. Order with the new brand, it tells the old one, and the line moves on the agreed day with no more than one working day without service under Ofcom's rules. Our One Touch Switch guide walks through it.

If you're mid-contract, the exit fee above applies to the brand you leave, and each offers switching credit towards the other's fee on the terms we checked. Being the same group doesn't waive it. If you have a BT landline number you want to keep, ask EE about porting before you order, because EE's deals in our feed don't include a line.

Sources and how we checked

Prices, speeds, contract lengths, set-up fees, rewards and scheduled rises come from our live deal feed, checked on 11 October 2026 and refreshed whenever the site updates. The rest comes from the sources below, read on the dates shown.

• EE, read 11 October 2026: broadband page, price change page, early termination charges page and speed guarantee page.
• BT, read 10 October 2026: price change page, broadband page, terms and the Consumer Price Guide effective 25 September 2026 at bt.com/tariffguide.
• Ofcom: telecoms complaints data for January to March 2026, and codes of practice for Speeds Code membership.
• ISPreview: BT Group's brand positioning, May 2026.

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