We all want faster and faster broadband speeds, but those fast downloads don’t come cheap. The faster things go, the more you’ll pay and it seems many of us are signing up for impressive deals that far exceed the speeds we actually need. This is the latest alert from the team at Go.Compare who say that around 9.5 million households in the UK are looking for broadband access that is probably way too fast.

In fact, the comparison site estimates that £53 million is spent on unused speeds every month – that’s a whopping £637 million a year. With Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offering enticing speed increases, it can be easy to sign up with the goal of increasing those speeds. Netflix movie binges or PS5 downloads.

However, depending on what you actually do online, you may find that the basic plans are perfectly suited to your needs.

According to the findings, the majority of Brits pay for some of the fastest broadband speeds. Around a third (34%) have speeds above 150 megabits per second (Mbps), but it is estimated that only a fifth (21%) of internet users actually need broadband that fast.

As a quick guide, if you live alone and just send a few emails, watch for rare Netflix box at base resolution and surf the web, you should be satisfied with speeds of around 36 Mbps.

Even a house with two people watching Netflix in 4K will not suffer from buffering if they have access to 72 Mbps.

The only reason to take things up a notch is if you have a house full of connected gadgets and family members who are constantly on the web and downloading huge files or watching content in 4K.

Think of your broadband as a highway: the more it is used, the slower it can become.

Commenting on the findings, Matt Sanders, broadband expert at Go.Compare, said: “Our latest research suggests that much of the country is spending more than necessary on broadband, which is a real kick in the pants. teeth when times are tough. so tight.

“Everyone’s broadband needs are different, so it can be difficult to know what speeds you actually need. Key factors to keep in mind are the number of people in your household and what you typically use your broadband for. Certain activities like online gaming and streaming 4K videos require faster speeds to work properly, and these speeds will be diluted if multiple devices are using the Internet at the same time.

“So if you live alone and only use the Internet for general browsing like email and shopping, you should be able to get by with relatively slow speeds. But if your household is four people with multiple devices on the go, you may need to get faster speeds so everyone can use the internet at the same time without being slowed down.

If you’re not sure how fast your Wi-Fi is, run a speed test and then review your usage. If you don’t need very fast speeds, it’s worth talking to your provider, as reducing speeds will save you money.