The latest annual study from Cable.co.uk has tested fixed line broadband ISP packages from 223 countries (up from 219 last year) to create a global price comparison, which finds that the UK ranks 96th cheapest (down sharply from 76th), with an average monthly cost of $38.79 (£30.65) and that’s up from $34.19.
The research, which used data from 3,405 fixed broadband deals gathered between 7th September 2023 and 10th November 2023, also reported that the average package cost across the world as a whole came out as $55.89, which is down from $57.07 last year.
Otherwise, the Solomon Islands came out as the country with the most expensive average monthly broadband package cost at $457.84, while Sudan continued to deliver the cheapest on $2.40, albeit largely due to the collapse in value of the Sudanese Pound (SDG) against USD.
The 29 countries measured in Western Europe span the middle to the lower end of the table, with none in the top 50 cheapest places in the world to get broadband and two in the bottom 50. The regional average price of $50.01 makes it the seventh cheapest of the thirteen global regions overall. The cheapest in the region was Malta ($27.01, 63rd), followed by Italy ($30.97, 70th) and Spain ($31.99, 76th). The most expensive was the Faroe Islands ($83.86, 182nd), followed by the Norway ($80.18, 176th) and Iceland ($76.24, 172nd).
However, it’s important to reflect that the core ranking of this study doesn’t tell the whole story, not least because it cannot easily reflect the other differences between packages, such as in things like value-added extras (static IP addresses, different router quality, security features, unlimited vs capped data allowances etc.) and broadband speeds.
Doing a true apples-to-apples value comparison would be nightmarishly difficult and, arguably, might work better if weighted to reflect cost using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). The application of PPP is important because there can be huge differences between countries in terms of things like taxation, size of the state and monthly salaries (i.e. $1 will go many times further in some countries than others).
Rank
Name
Average cost of broadband (Per month in USD)
Average cost of broadband (Per Megabit per month in USD)
1
Sudan
$2.40
$0.83
2
Argentina
$5.17
$0.03
3
Belarus
$7.03
$0.75
4
Ukraine
$7.35
$0.04
5
Egypt
$8.31
$0.17
6
Romania
$8.60
$0.01
7
Vietnam
$8.72
$0.04
8
Kazakhstan
$9.08
$1.94
9
Moldova
$9.19
$0.04
10
Nepal
$9.51
$0.11
11
Zimbabwe
$9.64
$0.38
12
Russian Federation
$9.66
$0.02
13
India
$9.73
$0.08
14
Bulgaria
$10.47
$0.08
15
Iran
$10.69
$5.13
16
Turkey
$10.95
$0.11
17
Kyrgyzstan
$11.04
$0.30
18
Azerbaijan
$11.18
$0.96
19
Mongolia
$12.55
$0.71
20
Republic of Congo
$12.62
$0.12
21
Bangladesh
$13.73
$0.36
22
Georgia
$14.21
$0.89
23
Tunisia
$15.01
$0.67
24
Serbia
$15.36
$0.14
25
Kosovo
$15.36
$0.31
26
Uzbekistan
$15.43
$0.62
27
Pakistan
$15.52
$0.53
28
Northern Macedonia
$15.56
$0.22
29
Eswatini
$15.90
$6.09
30
Latvia
$16.59
$0.09
31
Lithuania
$16.94
$0.04
32
Czechia
$16.99
$0.18
33
Slovakia
$17.12
$0.03
34
Tajikistan
$17.42
$1.85
35
Tonga
$17.66
$1.59
36
Poland
$17.71
$0.03
37
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
$17.87
$2.04
38
Armenia
$18.21
$0.31
39
Albania
$18.32
$0.23
40
Ethiopia
$18.46
$2.02
41
China
$18.81
$0.05
42
Libya
$19.07
$4.48
43
Hungary
$20.01
$0.06
44
Colombia
$20.47
$0.03
45
Myanmar
$20.56
$0.71
46
Bosnia and Herzegovina
$20.72
$1.42
47
Algeria
$20.80
$0.57
48
Brazil
$21.18
$0.06
49
Paraguay
$21.44
$0.11
50
Chile
$21.86
$0.03
51
Nigeria
$21.89
$0.72
52
Lebanon
$21.91
$1.22
53
Croatia
$21.94
$0.08
54
Thailand
$22.56
$0.02
55
Liberia
$24.00
$7.70
56
Taiwan
$24.63
$0.28
57
Peru
$24.86
$0.12
58
Venezuela
$25.00
$0.22
59
Montenegro
$25.04
$0.52
60
Sri Lanka
$25.66
$3.26
61
Israel
$25.80
$0.19
62
South Korea
$25.99
$0.05
63
Malta
$27.01
$0.05
64
New Caledonia
$27.70
$0.44
65
Syria
$27.74
$7.19
66
Indonesia
$28.05
$0.41
67
Mayotte
$28.36
$1.42
68
Cambodia
$29.13
$1.17
69
Cuba
$29.52
$11.99
70
Italy
$30.97
$0.04
71
Estonia
$31.21
$0.35
72
Mauritius
$31.28
$0.44
73
Ecuador
$31.42
$0.19
74
Malaysia
$31.44
$0.09
75
Afghanistan
$31.86
$15.80
76
Spain
$31.99
$0.06
77
Portugal
$32.10
$0.10
78
Guatemala
$32.31
$0.38
79
Mexico
$32.35
$0.26
80
Austria
$32.67
$0.36
81
France
$33.16
$0.06
82
Dominican Republic
$33.51
$1.87
83
Sweden
$34.05
$0.14
84
Suriname
$34.35
$1.72
85
Togo
$34.36
$0.47
86
Nicaragua
$34.50
$1.70
87
Morocco
$34.65
$1.16
88
Greece
$34.86
$0.34
89
Philippines
$35.55
$0.14
90
Germany
$36.14
$1.04
91
Iraq
$37.19
$0.47
92
Panama
$37.67
$0.10
93
Finland
$38.15
$0.20
94
Denmark
$38.19
$0.30
95
Japan
$38.27
$0.06
96
United Kingdom
$38.79
$0.36
97
Bolivia
$39.24
$0.77
98
Jordan
$39.28
$0.16
99
Singapore
$39.37
$0.03
100
Senegal
$39.84
$2.11
101
Andorra
$40.13
$0.07
102
Slovenia
$40.29
$0.12
103
Puerto Rico
$40.63
$0.27
104
Réunion
$40.75
$0.03
105
Côte d’Ivoire
$40.82
$0.70
106
Mali
$40.82
$1.02
107
Åland Islands
$42.69
$0.67
108
Martinique
$42.69
$0.04
109
Ireland
$42.80
$0.16
110
Cyprus
$42.82
$1.14
111
Rwanda
$43.22
$0.36
112
El Salvador
$43.36
$0.35
113
Tanzania
$43.44
$1.00
114
Belize
$43.61
$0.86
115
Cape Verde
$44.20
$1.18
116
Zambia
$44.36
$3.52
117
Burkina Faso
$44.74
$3.25
118
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
$45.51
$0.18
119
Brunei Darussalam
$45.99
$0.34
120
Fiji
$46.18
$2.68
121
Costa Rica
$46.27
$2.99
122
The Netherlands
$46.81
$0.22
123
San Marino
$47.08
$0.26
124
Angola
$47.52
$2.95
125
Kenya
$47.73
$1.54
126
Jamaica
$48.11
$0.30
127
South Africa
$48.24
$0.50
128
New Zealand
$48.60
$0.15
129
Guadeloupe
$49.43
$0.36
130
Australia
$52.21
$1.05
131
Uganda
$52.59
$2.81
132
Luxembourg
$52.93
$0.28
133
French Guiana
$53.84
$0.24
134
Grenada
$54.58
$0.16
135
Somalia
$54.58
$42.42
136
Benin
$55.11
$1.77
137
Uruguay
$55.35
$0.09
138
Macau
$55.85
$0.09
139
Madagascar
$56.31
$0.56
140
Cameroon
$56.88
$17.47
141
Ghana
$57.65
$2.58
142
Namibia
$57.75
$2.47
143
Honduras
$58.00
$0.64
144
Canada
$58.26
$0.66
145
Saint Martin (France)
$58.35
$0.07
146
Belgium
$58.40
$0.36
147
Turkmenistan
$58.68
$21.11
148
Monaco
$58.84
$0.13
149
St. Pierre and Miquelon
$58.85
$0.49
150
Palestine (State of)
$59.95
$0.39
151
Saint Lucia
$62.35
$0.20
152
Liechtenstein
$62.41
$0.19
153
Guyana
$62.47
$1.69
154
Dominica
$62.90
$0.21
155
United States
$65.00
$0.08
156
French Polynesia
$65.27
$8.80
157
Mauritania
$65.66
$11.57
158
Trinidad and Tobago
$66.53
$0.23
159
Bahrain
$66.61
$0.50
160
Saint Helena
$68.02
$44.28
161
Switzerland
$68.38
$2.07
162
Isle of Man
$68.58
$1.16
163
Guernsey
$68.84
$1.11
164
Botswana
$68.92
$7.76
165
Jersey
$69.08
$0.11
166
Equatorial Guinea
$69.40
$26.84
167
Kuwait
$73.09
$0.46
168
Montserrat
$73.63
$0.44
169
Gibraltar
$74.86
$0.12
170
Maldives
$75.58
$2.09
171
Sierra Leone
$75.80
$14.50
172
Iceland
$76.24
$0.20
173
Hong Kong
$76.50
$0.39
174
Haiti
$77.00
$1.43
175
Gabon
$77.91
$0.57
176
Norway
$80.18
$0.21
177
Niger
$81.65
$52.05
178
Cook Islands
$82.38
$10.58
179
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
$82.45
$0.80
180
Curaçao
$82.78
$0.33
181
Antigua and Barbuda
$83.64
$2.44
182
Faroe Islands
$83.86
$2.13
183
American Samoa
$85.00
$2.84
184
Djibouti
$85.53
$3.91
185
Sao Tome and Prencipe
$85.78
$5.32
186
Saint Kitts and Nevis
$85.96
$0.87
187
Lesotho
$85.98
$1.31
188
Barbados
$86.44
$0.16
189
Gambia
$87.33
$4.19
190
Saudi Arabia
$91.53
$0.24
191
Qatar
$91.55
$0.06
192
Anguilla
$91.57
$0.32
193
Marshall Islands
$92.03
$142.88
194
Caribbean Netherlands
$93.89
$2.52
195
Vanuatu
$94.44
$9.50
196
Palau
$95.37
$6.36
197
Oman
$95.47
$0.30
198
Comoros
$96.11
$62.46
199
Aruba
$103.05
$0.44
200
Bahamas
$103.81
$1.05
201
Micronesia (Federated States of)
$107.25
$22.08
202
Timor-Leste
$107.33
$19.80
203
Seychelles
$108.51
$5.84
204
Greenland
$114.60
$10.02
205
Sint Maarten
$115.00
$5.90
206
Eritrea
$116.66
$338.15
207
Bhutan
$117.75
$6.83
208
Mozambique
$118.26
$14.10
209
Samoa
$133.53
$1.34
210
Saint Barthélemy (St. Barts)
$134.56
$5.01
211
Guam
$135.00
$1.60
212
Falkland Islands
$139.74
$28.01
213
Christmas Island
$141.85
$11.33
214
United Arab Emirates
$142.65
$4.31
215
Cayman Islands
$155.04
$0.57
216
Yemen
$159.71
$29.92
217
British Indian Ocean Territory
$167.33
$16.21
218
Congo (Democratic Republic of)
$170.97
$2.96
219
Bermuda
$185.00
$0.55
220
Virgin Islands (British)
$189.00
$0.28
221
Turks and Caicos Islands
$212.00
$0.84
222
Burundi
$304.57
$116.66
223
Solomon Islands
$457.84
$289.75