Claire Nottage | August 30th, 2022

YouFibre broadband review: Is it any good?

YouFibre is one of the newest names on the full fibre broadband block, so can it be trusted, or is it a breath of fresh air in the overcrowded broadband market?

Our review of YouFibre broadband

YouFibre specialises exclusively in pure fibre connections for the home in select areas across the UK, provided in association with its partner company and network operator, Netomnia. So what does YouFibre have to offer when it comes to broadband packages?

YouFibre offers FTTP (fibre to the property) ultrafast broadband, with a choice of speeds, namely 50Mbps, 150Mbps, 500Mbps and 1000Mbps (1Gbps). A top speed of 10,000Mbps (10Gbps) is also available in certain places on request.

YouFibre customers can choose whether to commit to an 18-month contract or just sign up for a one-month rolling contract. The price for both the 50Mbps package and the 150Mbps package is the same regardless of which contract length you choose, and the price for the 500Mbps and 1Gbps packages is only an extra fiver for those wanting the one-month option. There are no upfront fees required for any contract period.

To ensure you get the best possible signal and speed around your home, YouFibre offers customers the option to bolt on its mesh system for an extra few pounds a month, and guarantee a minimum of 10Mbps in every room – you can claim a full refund if not. Customers signing up for the YouFibre 1000 package will receive the YouMesh system at no extra cost.

The main negative of YouFibre is the lack of widespread availability. At the time of writing, the service is available in select towns and cities across the UK.

At the time of writing these are: East Kilbride, Hamilton, Irvine, Falkirk and Coatbridge in Scotland; Durham, Stockton, Peterlee, Spennymoor, Darlington and Houghton in the North East; Liverpool, Carlisle, Dalton-in-Furness, Barrow, Bamber Bridge, Oldham, Lancaster and Horwich in the North West; Pontefract and Wakefield in Yorkshire; Grantham, Mansfield, Boston and Spalding in the East Midlands; King’s Lynn, Wisbech, Purfleet, St Neots, Doddington and Bedford in East Anglia; Barry and Bridgend in Wales; Trowbridge, Frome, Stroud and Cheltenham in the South West; and Gravesend, Guildford, Maidstone, Canterbury, Ashford and Oxford in the South East.

As YouFibre is purely a broadband provider there is no option for a TV service, which may disappoint some customers. However, with a fast and reliable fibre broadband service, customers can watch TV online or via apps, using a streaming stick such as a Roku or Amazon Firestick.

The fact that YouFibre is a relative newcomer to the broadband market, having started operations in 2019, means it lacks the brand familiarity of a company like BT, which some customers may find reassuring. However, looking at the latest reviews on Trustpilot, we would suggest that its newness is not a cause for concern.

Overview

Here’s a quick summary of what speeds are on offer from YouFibre broadband, along with other key details.

Broadband speeds

For the average home, a broadband speed of 50-100Mbps is plenty. This will enable you to keep several devices connected at once and stream video in HD (or UHD) if you wish. However, everyone’s home is different, and you may find that you need more or less bandwidth depending on how you use your internet connection. Also, the more devices you have (from doorbells and fmridges to TVs and tablets) that require an internet connection, the more download speed you will need.

Upload speeds

For most people, upload speeds are not a priority, since it is download speed that dictates how easily you can stream music and video, and how quickly you can load webpages. This is why broadband providers tend not to openly advertise their upload speeds much of the time, focussing instead on promoting the download speed.

The majority of broadband providers offer accompanying upload speeds that are only a fraction as fast as the download speed. For example, a 65Mbps connection with BT will have an upload speed of around 20Mbps. This is where YouFibre is different, because all its upload speeds are the same as the download speeds. This is known as having symmetric speeds. So YouFibre 50 will have a 50Mbps download speed and a 50Mbps upload speed. The same applies to all YouFibre’s speeds.

Most people won’t be too bothered by this, but if you are a gamer, or you upload a lot of large files to the internet regularly, or you use video calling a lot, you will appreciate the difference. Zoo and FaceTime calls will be sharp and gameplay will be free from lag and delay.

If you aren’t sure which speed to choose, you can check our guide which will help you work out which broadband speed you needfor your household.

Packages

Being a purely broadband-focussed business, YouFibre does not offer a TV service of any kind with its fibre deals, but customers can choose to add on a phone service. As there is no landline required for a YouFibre connection, instead customers can choose to pay for a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service, whereby audio calls are connected over your internet connection, just like WhatsApp.

At the time of writing, it costs £3 per month for unlimited weekend and evening calls to landlines or £8 per month for unlimited anytime calls to UK landlines. You can choose to keep your existing phone number if you wish.

YouFibre offers a good choice of broadband speeds that will suit any household, from a regular 50Mbps to the fantastically fast 10Gbps, although this top speed is only available on request. Here is a rundown of the different speeds offered by YouFibre and what they can support.

YouFibre 50

A 50Mbps download speed is offered by various other providers including BT and Virgin Media. It will allow you to easily browse, game, do online banking, send emails and stream music and video. To stream in UHD however, you will need at least 25Mbps, which doesn’t leave much for anyone else in your home. However, for a small household looking to stream TV in standard or high definition, do some online shopping and general browsing, a 50Mbps connection is perfectly sufficient.

YouFibre 150

YouFibre’s next step up brings you 150Mbps. A number of other providers also offer a similar download speed, advertised as 145Mbps, including BT, Sky, TalkTalk and EE. A download speed of 150Mbps allows your online experience to be much faster and much smoother, and in medium households, allows the option to stream in UHD without slowing the connectivity of everyone else’s devices.

YouFibre 500

A 500Mbps speeds things up a lot, enabling several UHD streams to run at once (should you wish), as well as comfortably supporting numerous devices. A 30GB file will download in about eight minutes, compared to 26 minutes on a 150Mbps connection, to give you an idea of the increase in speed. The accompanying upload speed of 500Mbps will mean that video calling is smooth and gaming is glitch-free, and large files, such as high definition videos, will upload quickly without any waiting around at all.

YouFibre 1000

A 1000Mbps is equivalent to 1 Gigabit per second (1Gbps). Virgin Media was the first widely available broadband provider to offer its Gig1 broadband service, but now a number of other providers are catching up, offering an average of 920Mbps download speeds. However, they do not come with the symmetric upload speed of 1000Mbps, which is where YouFibre and other full fibre networks have the advantage. A 30GB file will download in just four minutes on a 1Gbps connection, and it offers sufficient bandwidth to stream in UHD on up to 20 devices.

YouFibre 10000

YouFibre 10Gbps is the top speed available and only listed as a business option, costing £250 per month on an 18-month contract, or £500 per month on a 12-month contract. Residential customers can purchase this package if they wish, but it is hard to imagine any domestic property that would require a 10Gbps download speed costing up to £500 per month.

Routers and installation

YouFibre includes the well-received eero 6 Pro router with all its packages. This wifi 6 router is comfortably capable of supporting up to 1000Mbps and being a triband router will easily keep over 75 devices connected, automatically using the best frequency at all times.

To ensure that your internet service reaches every corner of your home, customers can choose to purchase the YouMesh Whole Home Wifi system for an additional £7 per month. This guarantees wifi in every room in your home, with a minimum download speed of 10Mbps. If not, you can claim your money back.

YouFibre will supply you with as many extra eero routers as needed (usually a maximum of three is sufficient), and you will also have access to an app that lets you monitor how each router is performing.

Installation

Installation usually takes place between three and 14 days once you have put your order in; this depends on the location and the availability of the installation team in your area. If you have limited times when you can be in for the engineer, you can request installation take place on a certain day and time.

Once at your property, the engineer will need to drill a small hole in your property’s wall for a cable that will connect an outer box to an inner box inside your home. The engineer will consult you on this before drilling, and will also advise on the best location for it. Once connected, the engineer will switch on your router and check the connection is live.

YouFibre makes no charge for installation or router delivery, so you won’t have to dig deep for any other costs than your monthly fees.

Customer service

According to the latest reviews on Trustpilot, YouFibre scores an impressive 4.7/5 stars with 85% of customers giving it five stars. This compares favourably against Virgin Media with just two stars and BT with just 1.6/5.

Customers can get in touch with YouFibre via Live Chat on the website, by sending a message using the online contact form, or by calling 0800 270 0000. Customer service is available Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm. You can also get in touch via social media, on Facebook or Twitter.

Our verdict: Very good

YouFibre is one of a growing number of relatively small, full fibre broadband providers now operating in the UK. Although the coverage is limited, the feedback from customers is generally extremely good. The ultrafast, symmetric speeds are impressive, the customer service appears to be very good and the installation is organised and timely. The prices offer very good value for money and compare very favourably against Virgin Media and BT for similar speeds.

The lack of a TV service is unlikely to be much of a drawback for most people, and the inclusive Cisco OpenDNS Family Shield security software ensures you can have peace of mind against online attacks. The router is one of the best available for home broadband, and the option to add a mesh system for optimal coverage is a modestly-priced bonus.

In summary, we would say that if you are looking for a new broadband service, and you live in one of the areas covered by YouFibre, it is definitely worth a look. Plus, with the current offer of free broadband for up to six months, you will be hard pushed to find a better deal elsewhere.

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