Is 2 Gigabit enough speed for me?
A download speed of 2 gigabits per second is more than enough for basically any household, even if you live in shared accommodation with 5-6 people or more regularly online at the same time.
This is plenty of bandwidth to handle multiple 4K video streams, large file downloads, and online gaming simultaneously, without running into issues with dropouts or buffering, or anything like that.
The other good thing is that many 2 gigabit broadband deals come with symmetric download and upload speeds, meaning you don’t usually need to worry about how fast your uploads will be with this type of broadband deal.
To get an idea of the minimum download and upload speed you need as a family, you can use our internet speed needs calculator.
In almost all cases, the calculator won’t recommend 2 gigabit speeds – getting this sort of speed is more of a luxury in most cases, or something more useful for those who often perform very large file downloads or cloud uploads.
How much does a 2 Gigabit broadband plan typically cost?
2 gigabit broadband deals typically cost about £30 to £50 per month, depending on the provider, and assuming you just want a broadband-only deal with no add-ons.
The price can vary a bit depending on the broadband provider chosen, and the broadband network they’re using.
Is it worth paying more for 2 Gigabit rather than Gigabit broadband?
You might find that gigabit broadband is a fair bit cheaper than getting 2 gigabit, a lot of the time.
For many households, it can make more sense to buy a single-gigabit plan, because although you’re getting double the download speed with 2 Gb, the performance difference is not always that noticeable. This is especially true over WiFi, especially when using older devices that can’t take full advantage of a 2,000 Mb connection.
However, if you often download very large files, and have devices plugged into the router instead of using WiFi, going for 2 gigabit broadband can begin to make more sense.
Which broadband providers offer 2 Gigabit plans?
A few different broadband altnets offer 2,000 megabit broadband at the moment, including:
Virgin Media also now offers one of these plans, called Gig2, in most parts of their network that have received full fibre upgrades.
Also, on Openreach, Vodafone and EE both offer 1.6 Gbps broadband plans, though they only come with about a 100 megabit upload speed.
What to look for in a 2 Gigabit broadband deal
When comparing broadband deals with this sort of speed, consider:
- The WiFi router – you really need a tri-band WiFi 7 router to ensure you’re getting gigabit or higher speeds over WiFi most of the time (and your devices will need to support WiFi 7 as well).
- The upload speed – most of these types of plans come with symmetrical downloads and uploads, but make sure to check before buying because this isn’t always the case. In most cases though, 100-200 Mbps upload speed is plenty for most households unless you often perform very large file uploads.
- WiFi extender options – if you have a larger house, you might want to bundle WiFi extenders with your plan to ensure good speeds throughout, which many providers allow you to do for an extra monthly fee.