The year, not the teaser

A broadband advert is a close-up of month one. Your bank statement is a film of twelve. The gap between those pictures is where people overpay: a £27 teaser that becomes £35 in month seven, a £30 “free setup” that was never free once you add the couriered router, a £60 exit fee that quietly eats the saving.

The sum we actually use

On OneTouchSwitch, estimated first-year cost is: the promotional monthly price times the number of intro months, plus the in-contract monthly price for the rest of the year, plus upfront charges (activation, installation, equipment, delivery). We do not subtract hoped-for cashback. We do not invent a future inflation number. If a mid-contract pounds-and-pence rise is known and falls inside the first twelve months, it belongs in the remaining months — not in a footnote you will not read.

Put the exit fee on the same page

An early-termination charge is not part of the new deal’s first-year cost. It is part of the decision. If leaving now costs £120 and the new deal saves £8 a month, the break-even is after the first year. Waiting can be the calmer arithmetic. Our Should I switch tool is there for that estimate; the live figure still has to come from the current provider.

Where this sits in ranking

First-year cost feeds the value score. It is not the whole Recommended model. Preferences, availability confidence, speed suitability, contract fit, price-rise clarity, an editorial quality score and a capped commercial factor all sit beside it. Partner commission cannot dominate the order. You can still sort by lowest monthly, lowest first-year, speed, contract or rating if you want a simpler lens.

The point is not to make you distrust every low number. It is to stop a low number from being the only number in the room.