1 Gbps home fibre costs $13 a month in Romania — and $246 in Oman
Giraffy's gigabit fibre price index: what a typical provider charges for its cheapest 1 Gbps home broadband plan, across 36 markets and 261 live plans on 15 October 2026. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman are the three most expensive.
A typical provider's cheapest 1 Gbps home fibre plan costs $13.00 a month in Romania and $245.78 in Oman — a 19× gap. Across the 36 markets we could rank, the middle market pays $38.43. The three most expensive places to buy gigabit broadband are all in the Gulf: Bahrain ($117.02), Saudi Arabia ($186.67) and Oman ($245.78).
تبلغ تكلفة أرخص باقة ألياف ضوئية منزلية بسرعة 1 غيغابت في الثانية لدى المزوّد النموذجي 13 دولاراً شهرياً في رومانيا مقابل 245.78 دولاراً في عُمان. وتأتي أغلى ثلاثة أسواق في المؤشر جميعها من الخليج: البحرين (117.02 دولاراً، حيث تعرض بتلكو وزين وstc باقة 1 غيغابت بسعر 44 ديناراً)، والسعودية (186.67 دولاراً)، وعُمان (245.78 دولاراً)، أي نحو خمسة أضعاف متوسط الأسواق الأوروبية (نحو 37.46 دولاراً). البيانات من 261 باقة حيّة على Giraffy في 36 سوقاً بتاريخ 15 أكتوبر 2026.
Key takeaways
- The Gulf pays about five times Europe. The 22 European markets in the index have a median of about $37.46 for gigabit fibre; the three ranked Gulf markets have a median of $186.67. In Bahrain, Batelco, Zain and stc all list their 1 Gbps plan at BD 44 ($117.02).
- Eastern Europe and Asia are the bargains. Romania ($13.00), Portugal ($16.77), Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and Estonia are all under $25.00; Hong Kong ($24.59, 10 providers) is the cheapest market in Asia, and the eight Asian markets have a median of $33.64.
- The US ($75.00) is the most expensive market outside the Gulf, ahead of Switzerland ($59.98) and Norway ($57.78). The UK ($51.57) has the widest spread of any ranked market: 16 providers list gigabit plans from $26.45 to $121.67 a month, so shopping around matters more there than anywhere else in the index.
| Rank | Market | Typical price / month | Provider range | Plans | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romania | $13.00 | $8.39–$13.63 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Portugal | $16.77 | $11.18–$34.66 | 8 | 7 |
| 3 | Lithuania | $22.92 | $20.12–$24.60 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Poland | $23.27 | $21.74–$24.30 | 6 | 6 |
| 5 | Latvia | $23.48 | $22.36–$24.60 | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | Hong Kong | $24.59 | $10.83–$25.36 | 13 | 10 |
| 7 | Estonia | $24.60 | $23.48–$26.83 | 3 | 3 |
| 8 | Sweden | $27.92 | $24.91–$39.92 | 8 | 7 |
| 9 | Italy | $28.50 | $22.25–$39.13 | 18 | 10 |
| 10 | South Korea | $28.74 | $27.91–$28.74 | 4 | 4 |
| 11 | Singapore | $31.10 | $28.83–$38.89 | 7 | 5 |
| 12 | Spain | $32.98 | $27.95–$39.13 | 8 | 8 |
| 13 | Thailand | $33.44 | $29.71–$38.63 | 5 | 4 |
| 14 | France | $33.54 | $25.70–$39.13 | 10 | 10 |
| 15 | Taiwan | $33.84 | $30.43–$37.23 | 5 | 5 |
| 16 | Japan | $35.44 | $27.66–$37.52 | 11 | 11 |
| 17 | Germany | $35.78 | $22.35–$44.71 | 11 | 11 |
| 18 | Malaysia | $37.72 | $34.05–$60.99 | 5 | 4 |
| 19 | Netherlands | $39.13 | $33.54–$62.61 | 16 | 15 |
| 20 | Czechia | $41.07 | $36.27–$41.78 | 4 | 4 |
| 21 | Philippines | $41.31 | $23.82–$55.61 | 6 | 5 |
| 22 | Finland | $44.61 | $39.02–$50.20 | 9 | 9 |
| 23 | Ireland | $44.72 | $27.95–$72.67 | 8 | 7 |
| 24 | Austria | $50.30 | $44.72–$50.31 | 3 | 3 |
| 25 | Denmark | $50.77 | $37.29–$56.76 | 6 | 6 |
| 26 | Canada | $50.95 | $35.14–$66.77 | 8 | 6 |
| 27 | Greece | $51.43 | $50.31–$52.55 | 3 | 3 |
| 28 | United Kingdom | $51.57 | $26.45–$121.67 | 18 | 16 |
| 29 | Luxembourg | $55.90 | $55.79–$61.38 | 4 | 4 |
| 30 | New Zealand | $56.04 | $35.03–$64.45 | 7 | 7 |
| 31 | Norway | $57.78 | $52.52–$68.30 | 7 | 7 |
| 32 | Switzerland | $59.98 | $47.86–$71.86 | 5 | 5 |
| 33 | United States | $75.00 | $50.00–$89.99 | 13 | 9 |
| 34 | Bahrain | $117.02 | $117.02–$117.02 | 4 | 3 |
| 35 | Saudi Arabia | $186.67 | $146.67–$253.07 | 4 | 3 |
| 36 | Oman | $245.78 | $109.23–$259.43 | 4 | 3 |
Method
Source: every live home-internet and fibre listing in Giraffy's database on 2026-10-15 (1,366 listings scanned). We kept consumer plans billed monthly with an advertised download speed of 900–1,100 Mbps — the "gigabit" tier. Business plans, 5G/4G/fixed-wireless and satellite products, and multi-month prepaid bundles are excluded, as are plans priced under a third or over three times their market's median gigabit price (likely mis-listed).
Each provider counts once, at its cheapest remaining gigabit plan, so a provider with many bundles cannot dominate a market. A market is ranked when at least 3 providers qualify (36 markets, 261 plans); the figure is the median of those provider entry prices. The UAE, Qatar and Kuwait did not have 3 providers with a listed gigabit plan and are not ranked.
Currency: local prices converted to US dollars at ExchangeRate-API reference rates published 2026-10-15. Prices are as advertised by providers (VAT treatment follows the provider's listing) and exclude installation, router and one-off fees. Listings are re-checked on a rolling basis; the plan-level CSV records each listing's last update. On 2026-10-15 we re-checked Batelco (BD 44 a month for 1 Gbps) and Ooredoo Oman (OMR 95 a month before 5% VAT) on the providers' own sites and both matched; the Saudi listings were last updated in December 2025.