Spending a little time with a comparison site looking into deals can be worth the effort in the long term, as prices for both phone line rental and phone calls themselves. Unless you use your phone a lot, the largest chunk of your money will be spent on paying out monthly for the rental itself. Even if you don't intend to use your home phone to make calls at all, you'll still need one installed if you want to use most UK broadband services.

Switching to a different home phone service or spending more time looking into the best provider when moving home can provide you with a lower monthly cost of line rental. If you've already got a supplier you could also be eligible to receive deals designed for new customers of other companies, which means you could save even more if you move at the right time. These deals are usually reserved only for new customers, so the longer you stay on the same provider the more you could be missing out.

These days, the market is no longer ruled by BT, even though they are still the first choice for many people. However, many different providers can now buy wholesale line rental from BT and charge their customers whatever they like. What this means is that you aren't limited to just choosing BT for your line rental anymore. This is good news if you want to find a better deal as there are many budget providers springing it up as well as provider that offer special deals and bundle offers which can refer reduce your monthly fees. Well known secondary providers include Sky and TalkTalk, but there are many others including Primus, Direct Save Telecom and YourCalls.net.

When looking for a provider, there's more than just pure price to keep in mind, however. While paying less is an important part of choosing a good supplier, a good comparison site can provide you with far more details about a provider than simply the price. You should also be looking at exactly what you'll be getting for your money. For example, it's worth checking out you both pay for your bills and how you receive them, as some providers offer paperless billing which can reduce costs even further. You should always opt to pay for line rental through a direct debit service.

Also remember to think about how you're likely to be using your phone. If you still use your home phone as your primary means of making calls, you'll want to find a provider that offers a good free call service. Don't buy an Anytime package just for the sake of it though - if the vast majority of your calls are going to take place outside of usual working hours, you're better off just getting an evening and weekends deal.