12-month broadband deals: the balanced choice

Twelve months is the market's sweet spot: £5 to £15 a month cheaper than rolling, worth £60 to £180 across the year, yet only £3 to £5 a month dearer than a 24-month lock-in, and it hands you a repricing point every single year while prices fall and fibre spreads. This page shows the three-way maths honestly, the situations where twelve months is exactly right, the ones where it is not, and the live 12-month deals at your address.

Adrian James, Broadband Editor at BroadbandSwitch.uk
Adrian James Broadband Editor · wrote this guide
Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith, Head of Editorial at BroadbandSwitch.uk
Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith Head of Editorial · reviewed it
First published . Last updated . Next review by . Market figures as published at 5 August 2026. How we rank deals · Corrections log
Straight to the 12-month deals at your address

The live comparison further down is pre-filtered to 12-month contracts, or run the full check here and see every contract length side by side.

Independent and free. Or jump to the 12-month deals below.
One rise or two? Price the real gap A 12-month term catches one April rise; a 24-month term catches two. Start from the page's £25 versus £22 example with the typical £4 rise, then type your real quotes.
True totals include the disclosed rise for the months after each April inside the term: one rise on a 12-month deal, two on a 24-month. Assumes the quoted price otherwise holds and setup as entered; pounds-and-pence disclosure is required at sign-up, so the rise figure is in your paperwork. Full clause detail in the 2026 rises guide.
  • £22 to £35typical UK monthly range for 12-month fibre
  • £60 to £180saved across a year against rolling deals
  • £3 to £5typical monthly uplift against a 24-month term
  • Month 12your built-in point to reprice or switch
Twelve payments, one promise

What a 12-month contract actually offers

You commit to twelve monthly payments; the provider, able to spread its acquisition costs across a year, discounts the price without demanding two of them. Leave before month 12 and the early-termination fee typically equals the remaining monthly payments, so quitting a £25 deal at month six costs roughly £150. The commitment only makes sense when you expect to see out the year, which is why the honest fork in the road is this: genuinely uncertain, read the rolling 1-month analysis; reasonably settled, keep reading.

A month of free broadband a year

The savings case against rolling

Rolling fibre runs £28 to £45 a month; 12-month equivalents run £22 to £35. That £5 to £15 monthly gap compounds to £60 to £180 across the year, roughly a month of free broadband annually at the £10 midpoint. The commitment is the price of the discount: past the 14-day cooling-off, the remaining months are owed if you leave. And the most common mistake in the market cuts the other way: picking rolling "in case we move", then staying the full year and donating a flexibility premium that was never used. Concrete move plans buy rolling; feelings do not.

What the second year really costs

The flexibility case against 24 months

Going longer saves less than the headline suggests. The 24-month discount is typically £3 to £5 a month, £36 to £60 a year, £72 to £120 across the full term, and it buys the provider your second year. Three questions decide whether that trade works: will the job, tenancy and life that put you here still apply in two years; is full fibre likely to reach your street inside that window, making month-12 freedom valuable; and is the market still cheapening around you, in which case an annual repricing point catches gains a 24-month term misses? There is also the quieter cost the calculator above prices: a second April rise. Settled homeowners with fibre already in the wall take the 24-month discount happily; renters, first-time buyers and fibre-imminent postcodes usually keep the option.

Two contract timelines compared: a 12-month term crosses one April and catches one disclosed price rise, while a 24-month term crosses two Aprils and catches two. A £4 rise across the extra months can erase the 24-month discount, so run your own numbers.
Figure 1. One April rise or two: the quiet variable in the 12-versus-24 decision. Timing illustrative; amounts as disclosed at sign-up.
The whole market in one chart

The three-way maths, drawn honestly

Take the page's worked example: rolling at £35, 12-month at £25, 24-month at £22, all with nothing upfront. At six months of stay, rolling wins once you add roughly £100 of exit fees to the 12-month route and about £400 to the 24-month. At exactly twelve months the 12-month contract is the clear winner: £300 against £420 rolling, £120 saved, while leaving the 24-month early erases its discount. At twenty-four months the longer term finally pulls ahead by £72. The pattern to remember: rolling for under six months, 12-month for a year to eighteen months with any year-two doubt, 24-month only when year two is certain.

Total cost by length of stay for rolling at £35, 12-month at £25 and 24-month at £22 per month, with early-exit costs added before each minimum term ends. At month 12 the 12-month contract beats rolling by £120 and beats the 24-month once its exit fee is counted; by month 24 the longer term saves £72.
Figure 2. Where each contract wins: the page's worked example plotted to 24 months. Your quotes will differ; the calculator uses yours.
Three honest columns

When 12-month is right, and when it is not

  • Take the 12-month when balance is the pointYou expect to stay a year or two but year two is not certain; the tenancy is twelve months with likely renewal; fibre rollout is underway nearby; local prices are still falling; the gap to the 24-month quote is £5 a month or less; or you simply want the annual moment to reprice. This is the profile the term was made for.The sensible default
  • Go rolling when uncertainty is realA move inside six months looks likely, the stay is a short let, or the situation is genuinely in flux. The rolling guide prices the flexibility premium properly, and for very short needs it is almost always the right answer.Concrete plans only
  • Go 24-month when nothing is movingFive-plus settled years at an owned home, fibre already delivered, and a 24-month quote £5 or more a month cheaper: take the 24-month discount. And before signing anything standard, anyone on qualifying benefits should check social tariffs first, which can beat every promotional price on this page.Certainty, paid for properly

The contract length guide holds the full three-way treatment.

Five minutes before you sign

The five-step 12-month check

  1. Price it against both neighboursRolling, 12 and 24-month side by side in the comparison. Ideally the 12-month sits within £5 a month of the 24-month quote; a wider gap deserves scrutiny of what the longer deal is hiding.
  2. Read the rise wordingAny scheduled uplift must be stated in pounds and pence before you sign. A £3 or £4 April rise on a £25 deal is meaningful across the year, and the calculator above turns the wording into totals.
  3. Confirm setup and delivery feesMost 12-month deals ship the router free, but £30 to £80 activation fees exist, and £60 of setup on a £25 deal is two and a half extra months of cost in disguise.
  4. Ask for the exact exit-fee formulaTypically the remaining monthly payments minus any introductory discount, sometimes plus a small admin charge, and sometimes waived entirely for moves to an address they cannot serve. Get that last clause confirmed in writing; the fees guide shows the maths.
  5. Diarise month 11After the term, most contracts roll onto a rate £10 to £20 a month higher. A reminder at month eleven leaves time to reprice, renegotiate or switch under One Touch Switch before the silent overpayment starts.
The mid-term what-if

Moving home inside the twelve months

  • Transfer the contractWhere the provider serves the new address, most will move the contract with no exit fee and at most a small house-move activation charge, with the term simply continuing: month six stays month six.The usual happy path
  • Cancel where they cannot serve youMany providers waive the exit fee entirely when the new address sits outside their network. Confirm this clause at sign-up if a move is even faintly possible; it converts the contract's biggest risk into a soft landing.Ask before, not after
  • Pay the fee and start freshThe worst case, costing roughly the remaining months, and only rational when the new address offers something meaningfully better, such as full fibre where the old home had FTTC. The moving home guide walks the whole decision.Last resort, occasionally right
Live · filtered to 12-month contracts

Live 12-month deals at your postcode

Everything below is limited to 12-month packages, sorted by monthly price. Enter your postcode for availability at your address, and check each quote against its rolling and 24-month siblings to confirm the balance holds.

Loading live 12-month deals...

Twelve-month terms are common across majors, altnets and mobile-network broadband, though availability varies by postcode, and the full comparison shows every contract length together.

Keep comparing

Related ways to compare

Common questions

12-month broadband, asked and answered

Are 12-month deals more expensive than 24-month?

Slightly: typically £3 to £5 a month more from the same provider, which is £36 to £60 over the year and £72 to £120 across a two-year horizon. What that buys is the month-12 renewal point, worth real money wherever prices are falling or fibre is spreading, and the gap narrows further once a second April rise lands on the longer term, which is exactly the sum the calculator above runs.

Can I get full fibre on a 12-month term?

Yes, widely: the majors routinely sell 12-month FTTP alongside their 24-month deals, and many altnets do the same, with only some premium gigabit-plus and business-grade tiers held back for longer terms. The full fibre deals page and the live comparison above show which FTTP options carry a 12-month term at your address.

Does One Touch Switch work with 12-month contracts?

Yes, for fixed-line switches: the new provider coordinates the whole move, which makes the end of your minimum term the ideal moment to jump. The practical trick is the calendar reminder at month eleven, giving you time to compare before the contract rolls onto the out-of-contract rate, with the switch itself then taking care of the cancellation.

What about price rises during the twelve months?

Any scheduled rise must be stated in pounds and pence before you sign, not tied to inflation. A single April uplift is the common pattern inside a 12-month term, against two inside a 24-month, so read the wording for the exact amount and month and add it to your totals; the calculator above does that arithmetic from your quotes.

Can I leave a 12-month contract early without penalties?

Usually not: the exit fee typically equals the remaining monthly payments minus any introductory discount. The main exception is moving to an address the provider cannot serve, which many waive entirely and which is worth confirming at sign-up, alongside rarer cases such as sustained service failures or a rise that was never disclosed in your paperwork.

Do 12-month deals include the router and installation?

Mostly yes: free router delivery and plug-and-play setup are standard, and first-time FTTP installs generally include the engineer visit. The exception to catch is an activation or delivery fee of up to £80 on some deals, which belongs in your first-year total, since £60 of setup on a £25 contract is two and a half hidden months of cost.

How do 12-month deals compare with social tariffs?

For eligible households on qualifying benefits, social tariffs often match or beat 12-month promotional pricing, saving £60 to £200 a year at similar speeds, with some offered rolling and some on 12-month terms. Check eligibility before committing to a standard deal, because qualification can beat everything else on this page.

What happens after the twelve months end?

Left alone, the contract rolls onto an out-of-contract rate typically £10 to £20 a month higher, with the provider required to notify you as the term closes. Three good moves at that point: renegotiate a fresh promotional rate with retentions, switch to a better deal under One Touch Switch, or drop to rolling while you decide, and the month-11 reminder is what makes any of them happen on time.

About this guide. Compiled by Adrian James and reviewed by Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith, with market figures, the worked example and the rise patterns stated as published at 5 August 2026. The calculator runs in your browser on your own numbers and stores nothing. Minimum terms, exit-fee formulas and rise clauses vary by provider and tariff, so always verify in the provider's own terms before ordering. We earn commission when you order through the comparison, which never changes the price you pay: see how we rank deals, the editorial policy and the affiliate disclosure, or submit a correction and a human will read it.

References

Ready when you are

Twelve months if the balance fits, rolling or 24 if it does not, and thirty seconds either way to see the real prices at your door.

Independent and free. Also worth a look: 24-month deals and this month's verified deals.
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