BEAT 2026’s PRICE RISES
Get ready to pay more for your technology over the next 12 months. Robert Irvine reveals what will become more expensive and how to cut the cost
We’re accustomed to prices increasing in line with inflation, but there are many other factors that influence the cost of technology. In 2026, we’re likely to see some steep and disproportionate price hikes that leave us all paying more for our devices and services. Here we explain the best ways to offset these rising costs over the coming year.
Mobile and broadband contracts
As we reported in Issue 723 (page 6), O2 will increase its monthly prices by £2.50 in April 2026. The other UK mobile providers are hiking their prices around the same time.
EE customers will pay an extra £2.50 a month (£4 on handset-and-airtime plans), as will Vodafone customers who started or renewed their contracts after 12 November (up from £1.80). Likewise, Three will charge new and renewing customers (from after 9 November) £1.80 to £2.30 more, depending on their data plan.
Broadband is also getting more expensive, with BT, TalkTalk, Virgin Media, Plusnet and other providers set to increase their prices by £3 to £4 in April. Sky doesn’t usually announce its annual rises until February.