Point Topic’s latest report reveals that unlike most other goods, the average residential 5G tariff in Europe was $50.11, down from $52.22 recorded in Q3 2024
5G tariffs continue to offer better value for money than 4G in Europe, both in terms of cost per GB of data and cost per Mbps (bandwidth), according to the latest Mobile Broadband Tariffs dataset from Point Topic. The analysis, based on more than 1,000 tariffs from all major mobile broadband providers from the EU-28, Norway and Switzerland found that in Q4 2024, the average residential 5G tariff in Europe was $50.11 purchasing price parity (PPP), down from $52.22 PPP recorded in Q3 2024. It varied from $87.89 PPP in Malta to $8.29 PPP in Romania.
The average residential 4G tariff in Europe was $37.87 PPP, up slightly quarter-on-quarter from $37.74. It varied from $76.37 PPP in Norway to $6.58 PPP in Romania. It’s a big disparity but in Norway the average data cap was 63GB and the average downstream bandwidth was 292Mbps, while in Romania the average data cap was 27GB, with the average bandwidth at 142Mbps.
Meanwhile, the average 5G data cap in Europe was 535GB, down from 550GB in Q3 2024. It varied from 1,000GB / unlimited data in Romania, Finland and Malta to 113GB in Belgium. The average 4G data cap was 396GB, up from 371GB in Q3 2024. It varied from unlimited data (1,000GB) in Finland, Switzerland, Spain and Greece[1] to 25GB in Estonia.
As a result, the average European cost per GB was lower on 5G plans ($0.12 PPP) compared to 4G tariffs ($0.27 PPP) (residential tariffs). This indicator stayed the same on 5G while on 4G it has gone up from $0.20 PPP that we recorded in Q3 2024. The European average 4G business tariff was $38.58 PPP, having dropped from $40.61 PPP in Q3 2024. For 5G the average business tariff was $54.46 PPP and stayed exactly the same as in the previous quarter.
5G premium?
In all countries except Norway, Bulgaria and Italy Point Topic found the average 5G tariffs were higher than 4G tariffs, as one would expect given typically higher bandwidth and data caps, and lower latency on 5G networks. It is more difficult to work out the advantage for operators rolling out 5G in those three countries however. In 18 out of the 30 countries, the average 5G data allowance was lower than the European average of 535GB. The average itself dropped from 550GB that Point Topic recorded in Q3 2024.
In some countries, high average data allowance came with a relatively low average monthly subscription, or vice versa. This resulted in varying average cost per GB across Europe. This resulted in varying average cost per GB across Europe. In the case of 5G, the average cost per GB varied from $0.01 PPP in Romania to $0.33 PPP in Belgium. The differences were more pronounced for 4G tariffs – the average cost per GB on these plans ranged from $0.02 PPP in Spain to $1.50 PPP in Estonia, where the average 4G data cap was only 25GB.
UK laggard
Where the data is available, the average downstream speed on residential 5G plans ranged from 1,500Mbps in Malta to 61Mbps in the UK. The average downstream bandwidth on residential 4G tariffs varied between 533Mbps in Sweden and 2Mbps in Switzerland. The average European 5G speed was 428Mbps (down from 458Mbps in Q3 2024), compared to 146Mbps (up from 145Mbps in Q3) on 4G tariffs.
Business rates
For 5G the average business tariff in Europe was $54.46 PPP, with 11 countries exceeding it. Interestingly, the average European 5G business tariff stayed exactly the same as in the previous quarter, while the 4G average dropped from $40.61 PPP to $38.58 PPP. Switzerland and Greece led in terms of the average 4G data included in the tariffs, with unlimited data on offer. Point Topic highlighted that, in both countries, this was higher than the average 5G data allowance. Germany was at the bottom with 24GB average data cap on 4G.
Latvia and Ireland offered businesses the highest average 5G data (unlimited / 1,000GB), while Belgium was at the bottom of the ranking with 201GB average data cap. The average 5G data cap in the 30 European countries was 524GB (down from 557GB in Q3), compared to 384GB (up from 372GB) on 4G tariffs.