Free or low-cost ways to get online in 2026

The National Databank is run by Good Things Foundation, a digital inclusion charity, which describes it as like a foodbank, but for mobile data. It gives free mobile SIM cards, donated by Virgin Media O2, Vodafone and Three, to people who can't get online. It launched in July 2021.

Good Things Foundation says over 4,000 Digital Inclusion Hubs offer the National Databank and that over 400,000 data packages have been given out (checked 14 October 2026). A Digital Inclusion Hub is a local organisation in Good Things Foundation's network that helps people get online or learn to use the internet for free.

GOV.UK says your local library provides free internet access, along with free reading and learning materials, study space and community activities, and that many areas also have a home library service or a mobile library.

• England and Wales: GOV.UK has a library finder that covers England and Wales.
• Northern Ireland: Libraries NI says membership is free and that anyone who lives, works or studies in Northern Ireland can use its services. Over-16s can join online: you set a four-digit PIN and get a membership number, which together log you on to the free Wi-Fi on a phone, tablet or laptop at all 98 libraries. Every branch has print options. For children, Libraries NI says a parent or guardian needs to give permission on a Children's Wi-Fi Access Form, which library staff can provide, and the children's service adds content filtering.
• Scotland: library services are run by each council, so check your council's library service for what's available near you.

What's on offer varies from one library service to the next, so before your first visit, ask:

• Do I need to join, and what should I bring?
• Are there computers as well as Wi-Fi, and do I need to book or keep to a time limit?
• Can I print or scan, at what charge, and can someone help if I'm not confident online?

Good Things Foundation's National Digital Inclusion Network (founded in 2011 as the Online Centres Network) is made up of over 8,000 organisations across the UK that help people access or learn to use the internet for free. Not every hub offers everything: some focus on internet access, others on devices or free digital skills sessions.

To build confidence at your own pace, Good Things Foundation's free Learn My Way website covers over 100 beginner topics, including managing money online and applying for jobs. Other places to try:

• Homeless day centres. Shelter says most day centres are run by charities, and the practical help they offer could include internet access and somewhere to charge your phone, as well as food, showers, laundry and safe storage for bags.
• Community rooms and libraries connected by broadband providers. Community Fibre says it gives free broadband connections to community hubs and libraries with councils and housing associations, over 700 spaces so far, in the parts of London, Surrey and West Sussex its network reaches (see our Community Fibre broadband page). Hyperoptic also lists free connectivity for selected community hubs on its page for housing providers. Social housing tenants can ask their landlord about a connected community room; our guide to broadband for social housing tenants covers what else to ask.

Data is little use without a device. Good Things Foundation's National Device Bank provides laptops, mobile phones and tablets to people who don't have a suitable device, and Good Things Foundation describes them as free refurbished devices. As with the Databank, it doesn't give devices directly to people: hubs in its network apply for devices once a quarter and pass them on.

Good Things Foundation is upfront that demand is high and it can't guarantee you'll get a device from a hub. It says over 28,000 people have received a device since 2022 (checked 9 October 2026). Practical tips:

• Ask a hub whether it has used or plans to use the National Device Bank, and if so, when it next expects to apply for devices.
• If you're offered a phone, ask whether it can take a SIM from any network, so a Databank SIM will work in it.
• Meanwhile, use library computers, where available, for bigger-screen tasks.

If Jobcentre Plus is helping you look for work, raise internet access at your next appointment. Citizens Advice's guidance on phone and internet bills (written for England) mentions six months of free internet that may be open to people with a Jobcentre Plus work coach, and says the work coach can tell you whether you qualify. It doesn't say who provides it or on what terms, so ask:

• Is it available here now, and what do I need to show?
• Is it home broadband or a data SIM, who provides it, and is there a contract or credit check?
• What happens after six months: does it stop or move onto a paid plan, and do I return any equipment?

If a free period would roll onto a paid plan, set a reminder a few weeks before it ends, and compare deals at your postcode before deciding whether to stay.

Free options have limits: opening hours, journeys, data that runs out. If your household needs to be online every day, a low-cost home connection may suit you better.

Temporary accommodation makes broadband especially tricky. Shelter says you may stay in temporary housing for months, or even years in some areas, and you might have to move from one place to another in that time. It could be a room in a shared house, a privately rented home, a hostel, refuge or other supported housing, or a short-term council or housing association tenancy, possibly in another council area (Shelter's advice covers England).

Because you may not know how long you'll stay, our suggestion is to avoid tying yourself to a long contract at a single address until things settle. Options that don't need one:

• The free routes above: a Databank SIM, the library and hubs.
• A mobile plan with plenty of data, SIM-only if you already have a phone, shared with a laptop if the plan allows tethering (check before you rely on it).
• A 4G or 5G home broadband hub on a short contract, such as Three's 1-month option, which needs no phone line or engineer. If you might move, ask whether you can use the hub at a new address, and check the mobile signal there.

A fixed-line installation needs more thought. For a Full Fibre installation, Openreach asks renters to get the landlord's go-ahead for drilling, indoors or out, and wants a decision maker over 18 at home for the whole appointment. Before you order anything, ask the person or organisation managing your accommodation:

• Is Wi-Fi already included, and is it reliable enough for what you need?
• Am I allowed to install my own broadband, and who gives permission for drilling?
• Can I use a 4G or 5G router instead?
• Are there house rules about equipment or cables?

Rules matter: Shelter says breaking them, or your tenancy terms, could mean being asked to leave.

If your current bill has become too much, speak to your provider before you miss a payment or sign up elsewhere. Citizens Advice says a provider told you're struggling might let you leave the contract early without a fee, and a social tariff from your own provider, if you qualify, costs nothing to move onto. For how to start that conversation, see our guides to telling your provider you need extra support and coping with a broadband bill you can't pay.

Free internet often means a shared computer or public Wi-Fi. Things to know:

• Look for the padlock. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital rights organisation, explains that HTTPS (the padlock in your browser) encrypts what you send to a website, so other people on the network can't read your logins or messages, though they can see which site you're on. It says most web traffic now uses HTTPS.
• Log out on shared computers. Sign out of email, benefits and banking accounts when you finish, and don't let the browser save your password.
• Children on public Wi-Fi. The UK Safer Internet Centre says the Friendly WiFi symbol shows that a public Wi-Fi network has filtering in place. In Northern Ireland, the Libraries NI children's Wi-Fi service adds its own content filtering.