If you are just looking for a number, a 100 Mbps leased line starts at around £139/month and a 1 Gbps line at £203/month, but only in the best-connected areas of the UK.
In reality, most companies that we talk to pay £139 to £300+ a month for 100Mbps and £300 to £800 a month for 1 Gbps. Installation is free if you commit to a 36- or 60-month contract, barring any extra building work uncovered in the survey.
| Speed | Typical Monthly Price | Lowest Published Price | Installation |
|---|---|---|---|
|
100 Mbps |
£139 to £300 |
From £139 |
Usually free on 36+ months |
|
1 Gbps |
£203 to £800 |
From £203 |
Usually free on 36+ months |
|
10 Gbps |
£450 to £2,000+ |
From £450 |
Survey and quote. |
Note: All prices mentioned above exclude VAT. How much you’ll ultimately pay depends on three factors: your postcode, the length of your contract, and the provider you choose.
Key Takeaways
Monthly Cost: Most UK businesses pay £130 to £300 for 100Mbps, £203 to £800 for 1Gbps and £450 to £2,000+ for 10Gbps.
Installation: Usually free on 36- and 60-month contracts. Expect £500 to £2,000 on a 12-month contract.
Construction Charges: If the survey finds new ducts or digging is needed, excess construction charges (ECCs) apply. You can usually cancel at that point at no cost.
Contract Length: A 60-month contract is typically 10 to 20% cheaper per month than a 36-month contract.
Location: London and other well-connected cities are cheapest; rural sites pay more.
Use ComparedBusiness UK to find the top leased line providers in your area.
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What Is A Leased Line?
A leased line is a private fibre connection that runs directly from your premises to your provider’s network. No one uses it except you.
Your upload speed equals your download speed, and your provider commits to a service level agreement (SLA) guaranteeing minimum uptime and repair time. This connection is also called dedicated internet access.
If you are new to the topic, read our article about leased lines to learn the basics.
Leased Line Prices By Speed
Speed is the biggest factor influencing your cost. The following table shows the typical monthly costs that UK businesses pay for a dedicated fibre leased line on a 36-month contract.
| Speed | Typical Monthly Cost | Best For | Detailed Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
|
100 Mbps |
£139 to £300 |
Offices of up to 20 staff, VoIP and cloud apps |
|
|
200 Mbps |
£180 to £350 |
Growing teams on video calls every day |
|
|
500 Mbps |
£250 to £600 |
Heavy cloud use and large file uploads |
- |
|
1 Gbps |
£300 to £800 |
Larger offices, hosted desktops, multiple sites |
|
|
10 Gbps |
£450 to £2,000+ |
Data-heavy firms, data centres, campuses |
|
|
100 Gbps |
£3,000 to £20,000+ |
Enterprise and carrier networks |
Key Note: The difference between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps is smaller than most people expect. Where a provider already has fibre nearby, published prices for 1 Gbps are only £60 to £275 a month more than for 100 Mbps, so it’s worth asking for both prices.
Leased Line Prices By Provider
Most providers only publish their ‘from’ prices, and your actual price will depend on your postcode. However, these ‘from’ prices are a good starting point when you ask providers for a quote.
| Provider | Published Starting Price/Month | Speed | SLA |
|---|---|---|---|
|
BT (BTnet) |
Starts from £245/month |
Up to 10 Gbps |
100% uptime and a 5-hour target fix |
|
Virgin Media Business |
100 Mbps from £312, 500 Mbps from £332, 1 Gbps from £358 |
Up to 10 Gbps |
6-hour fault response |
|
Vodafone Business |
From £222 |
Up to 100 Gbps |
Quote-based |
|
TalkTalk Business |
Quote-based |
Up to 10 Gbps |
99.995% uptime, 4-hour maximum fix time |
|
Zen Internet |
Quotes-based |
Up to 10 Gbps |
99.9% uptime; 100% with resilience option |
|
Spitfire |
100 Mbps from £139, 1 Gbps from £203 and 10 Gbps from £450 |
100 Mbps to 10 Gbps |
100% uptime target, 5-hour fix target |
These prices exclude VAT and are subject to frequent changes, so use them as a starting point for quotes.
Are BT Leased Lines Worth The Extra Cost?
BTnet is usually one of the most expensive options. While it starts at £245/month, other providers’ starting prices start from £139/month
What you get for this extra charge is a 100% availability SLA, a 5-hour target fix time and BT’s own engineers. If one hour of downtime is likely to cost your business more than a few hundred pounds, this SLA may cover its cost.
If that’s not the case, you can often find the same Openreach fibre from another provider at a lower price.
Leased Line Installation Costs
Installation is usually free on 36- and 60-month contracts. On a 12-month contract, expect an upfront installation fee of typically £500 to £2,000, depending on how far your premises are from the nearest fibre.
| Contract Length | Typical Installation Cost |
|---|---|
|
12 Months |
£500 to £2,000 |
|
36 Months |
Usually free (excluding ECCs) |
|
60 Months |
Free, and the lowest monthly price |
What Are Excess Construction Charges (ECCs)?
ECCs cover any work outside a standard installation. That may include laying additional ducts, clearing a blocked duct, opening up the road or pavement, or routing fibre into a difficult-to-reach building.
You won’t know whether you need them until the site survey is conducted. ECCs can add thousands of pounds to the cost, so always ask for them to be capped. However, not all installations require them; it depends on the survey results.
Here are three important questions you should ask the provider before signing:
- Is standard installation included in the price?
- Do they cap ECCs, and if so, at what amount?
- If the survey detects ECCs, do I have the right to cancel the deal before installation without any fees? (BT, for example, gives you this option.)
How Long Does Installation Take?
It usually takes 45 to 90 days to install a leased line, from order to go-live. Installation can take longer if new ducts, roadworks or a wayleave (landlord permission) are needed. Relocating the office? Order your leased line at least three months before moving.
Leased Line Prices By Location
Location matters, as providers’ prices are lower in areas where their fibre already goes past the door. In general, businesses located in the capital benefit from the best tariffs. Find out more about how to get the best leased line in London.
| Location | 100 Mbps/month | 1 Gbps/month |
|---|---|---|
|
London |
£186 to £234 |
£203 to £350 |
|
Major Cities (Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol) |
£204 to £280 |
£288 to £358 |
|
Suburban Areas |
£222 to £323 |
£327 to £491 |
|
Rural Areas |
£220 to £320+ |
£203 to £650 |
Managed vs Wires-Only Leased Lines
A managed leased line means getting the router from the provider, who also installs and monitors it. With a wires-only leased line, the customer gets just the connection and is responsible for the equipment and its maintenance.
| Factor | Managed | Wires-Only |
|---|---|---|
|
What You Get |
Connection, router, setup, monitoring and support |
Connection only |
|
Price |
Higher |
Lower; one published example is £610 vs £875 a month for 1 Gbps. |
|
Best For |
Businesses without in-house IT |
Businesses with their own network team and equipment |
Note: If you don’t have your own IT department, opt for the managed line. Any savings you gain through wires-only will vanish when you need to pay someone to fix a router issue.
Total Cost Of A Leased Line Over 3 Years
The monthly fee is only one of the factors. Below is the estimated cost of a 36-month contract, including free installation, a managed router, a 5% annual price rise, and a backup connection at £30 per month.
| Cost Item | 100 Mbps (£139/month) | 1 Gbps (£203/month) |
|---|---|---|
|
Year 1 Rental |
£1,668 |
£2,436 |
|
Year 2 Rental (+5%) |
£1,751.4 |
£2,557.8 |
|
Year 3 Rental (+5%) |
£1,838.97 |
£2,685.69 |
|
Installation |
£0 |
£0 |
|
Backup Connection (£30 x 36) |
£1,080 |
£1,080 |
|
Total Over 3 years |
£6,338.37 |
£8,759.49 |
Note: Annual price increases vary from one provider to another. Check your contract for details and, if the survey identifies ECCs, add them to the final cost.
Hidden Leased Line Costs To Consider
Here are some hidden factors you should consider before signing the contract:
- Annual Price Increase: Many contracts increase the monthly fee every year. Make sure you know the annual price increase before signing.
- Router and Equipment: Included in the managed leased line price. With a wire-only leased line, the customer is responsible for buying and maintaining their router.
- Backup Connection: A secondary connection (FTTP, 4G/5G, etc.) keeps you connected if the main leased line fails. Cost: £30 to £100/month.
- Excess Construction Costs: These appear only after the survey (see above).
- Early Termination: Usually the rental is left on the contract.
- VAT: Most published prices don’t include VAT at 20%.
7 Factors That Affect Leased Line Prices
Here are the top factors that affect the leased line prices:
1. Type Of Connection
A full fibre Ethernet leased line costs more than Ethernet First Mile (EFM) or EoFTTC, but it’s far faster. Our guide to the types of leased lines explains the differences.
2. Bandwidth
Faster lines cost more. That said, where fibre is already in place, going from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps is often a small step up.
3. Contract Length
60-month contracts usually cost 10 to 20% less per month than 36-month ones, and both normally come with free installation.
4. Location
City sites close to existing fibre are the cheapest to connect. Rural sites may need new construction.
5. Provider
Published starting prices for 100 Mbps run from £139 to £325/month across UK providers.
6. Managed or Wire-Only
A managed service with a router and monitoring costs more than a wire-only connection.
7. Distance To The Nearest Exchange or Fibre Point
The further the fibre has to travel, the higher the installation costs and the more likely you are to face ECCs.
Leased Line Vs Business Broadband Vs FTTP: Cost Comparison
Here is a quick comparison:
| Factor | Leased Line | Business Broadband | Business FTTP |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Monthly Price |
£139 to £800 (100 Mbps to 1 Gbps) |
£20 to £60 |
£20 to £60+ |
|
Upload Speed |
Same as download |
Much lower than download |
Up to about 220 Mbps |
|
Shared or Dedicated |
Dedicated |
Shared |
Shared |
|
Guaranteed Uptime and Fix Time |
Yes, SLA-backed |
No |
Sometimes, on business plans |
|
Best For |
Businesses that cannot afford downtime |
Small offices with light use |
Most small businesses |
If you’ve got fewer than about 10 people and a few hours offline, it wouldn’t hurt much; business FTTP is usually the better buy.
A leased line makes sense when you need guaranteed uptime, fast uploads or many people on video calls at the same time. For a more detailed understanding, read our leased line vs FTTP and leased line vs broadband comparisons.
How To Find The Cheapest Leased Line
- Get at least 3 quotes. For the same postcode, prices can vary by hundreds of pounds a month.
- Choose a longer contract if you’re staying put. A 60-month term is typically 10 to 20% cheaper than 36 months.
- Ask which providers already have fibre near you. If a provider’s fibre runs down your street, they can quote far lower.
- Think about wire-only if you have an IT team and your own router.
- Buy the speed you need today. Many lines can be upgraded later over the same fibre, with no new installation.
- Check whether EoFTTC or FTTP will do for a small office. Both cost a fraction of a full leased line.
How To Choose The Best Leased Line Provider
- Price: Compare the full 3-year cost, not just the monthly figure.
- SLA: Look for at least 99.9% availability, a fix time of 6 hours or less, and service credits if the provider misses it.
- Speed and Upgrades: Make sure the line can be upgraded without a new installation.
- Installation Terms: Free installation, a cap on ECCs, and the right to cancel after the survey.
- Contract Length: Match the term to how long you’ll stay at the premises.
Want a shortlist? See our pick of the best leased line providers in the UK.
Get Leased Line Quotes With ComparedBusiness UK
Tell us your postcode and the speed you’re looking for, and we’ll match you with multiple UK leased line providers.
You’ll get free, no-obligation quotes and can compare leased line prices, SLAs and contract terms side by side.
FAQs
Lead lines are definitely more expensive than a broadband connection due to the dedicated and unshared connection they provide. Also, the high-speed connection, reliable service, service-level agreements (SLAs), guaranteed uptime, and support offered by providers may increase the cost.
Leased lines provide a dedicated connection, reliability, and low latency for an internet connection that is critical for business operations. Additionally, they offer enhanced security, guaranteed uptime, and dedicated support for their customers.
The monthly charges of a 100 Mbps leased line connection range from £185 – £270. This is only an estimate as the total cost is decided by other factors like the type of leased line and the business location, etc.
The monthly cost of a 1 Gbps leased line ranges from £300 – £650 on average. Keep in mind that this range offers an estimated cost of a leased line connection, and the actual price varies with the provider you choose.
An alternative to a leased line is a broadband connection, such as Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) or Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). These options are more cost-effective but offer shared bandwidth, which results in variable speeds compared to dedicated leased lines.
100 Mbps of speed for a leased line connection costs £21 per month. You can also refer to the above-mentioned table to get an idea of leased line prices for a 100 Mbps, 500 Mbps, 1 Gbps, and 10 Gbps leased line connection.
Leased lines are actually very reliable because you don’t share the connection with anyone else, so your internet remains stable all the time. But of course, small issues like cable damage or maintenance issues can arise with leased lines, too. If your provider offers good support, then these issues can be fixed quickly. So, even though leased lines are not 100% fault-free, they are still one of the most reliable internet options for businesses in the UK.
