Pre 2017 almost all ISP's (Internet service providers) offered some form of discount if you paid for your line rental in advance. Fast forward to 2022 and you will now find very few telephone providers offering a pre-payment discount. BT & Direct Save Telecom are two of a few remaining providers that do still offer a discount.
As of 29th April 2022 BT charge £23.05 per month for line rental, or £219.84 if you pay for the whole year in advance. This is the equivalent of £18.32 per month - a saving of over £56 per year!
Despite the discount, BT are not the cheapest telephone provider, so it's worth considering other options. Switching to Direct Save Telecom could reduce your phone line rental to as little as £14.50.
The cost of phone line rental is constantly on the increase and typically bundled within the cost of your broadband package. However, despite the increases there are still ways that you can save money on your telephone bill. If you regularly use your landline, don't pay for your phone calls on a 'pay as you go' plan. Almost all telephone providers offer a heavily discounted call plan to bundle 'Evening & Weekend' calls or 'Anytime' calls. Calling plans typically include calls to UK landlines starting 01,02,03 and 0870. Calls to mobiles and international numbers may not be included. Telephone providers like; EE, BT, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk & SSE include calls to mobiles as well as UK landlines when you purchase the basic calling plan. Direct Save Telecom offer calling plans from as little as £3 per month.
Compare home phone line rental prices
We have updated the table below to reflect the current home phone line rental charges for 2022
|
Line rental saver |
Line rental |
Calling plan |
| BT |
Yes |
£23.05 per month or £18.32 with line rental saver |
Pay as you go calls - Calling plans available |
| Direct Save Telecom |
Yes |
£16.99 per month or £14.50 with line rental saver |
Evening and weekend calling plan (additional £3 per month) or upgrade to inclusive anytime calls for £5 per month |
| EE |
Discontinued |
No line rental only option |
- |
| John Lewis |
No |
No line rental only option. Requires broadband subscription which starts from £20.50 per month |
Inclusive evening and weekend calls |
| Now TV |
No |
No line rental only option. Requires broadband subscription which starts from £21 per month |
Now Broadband regularly offer unlimited anytime calls for the first year (new customer offer only) |
| Plusnet |
Discontinued |
£23.19 |
Evening and weekend calling plan which includes mobiles (additional £5.71 per month) |
| Sky |
No |
£18.99 |
Evening and weekend calling plan which includes mobiles (additional £5 per month) |
| TalkTalk |
Discontinued |
No line rental only option |
- |
| Virgin Media |
Discontinued |
£19.00 |
Inclusive weekend calls to landlines and Virgin Media mobiles |
| Zen |
No |
£16.99 |
Optional unlimited anytime calls to UK landlines* can be added for £6.51 per month |
When comparing phone line rental prices
When comparing phone line rental prices, please bear in mind that most ISP's have stopped offering inclusive evening and weekend calls with their phone line rental. So, the cost of adding a call plan may mean that you end up paying more for your home phone package.
Virgin Media & John Lewis still offer free inclusive calls. Sky charge £5 per month, Vodafone charge £4 per month, Plusnet charge £5.71 per month & SSE £5 per month (but they also include calls to UK mobiles). The maximum free call duration can also vary, so look out for that.
If you're looking for a low cost home phone provider with cheap calling plans, we'd recommend you take a look at Direct Save Telecom or Zen both of which offer phone line rental for £16.99 per month.
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