KPN vs Ziggo
KPN and Ziggo are the two providers most people in the Netherlands end up choosing between. They are not really competing on the same thing: KPN runs a fibre and DSL network, Ziggo runs a cable network. That single difference decides most of what follows — how fast your upload is, whether you can get it at your address at all, and which of the two is even an option for you.
The short answer
If your address has fibre and you upload as well as download — video calls home, working from home, cloud backups, sending large files — KPN is the better choice. On fibre, KPN gives you the same speed up as down. That is the one thing cable cannot match.
If your address has no fibre, or you want television with a large channel line-up alongside your internet, Ziggo is the better choice. Cable reaches far more Dutch homes than fibre does, and Ziggo’s download speeds are genuinely fast.
In a lot of cases the decision is made for you by your postcode. Check availability first, then compare — not the other way around.
The real difference: fibre versus cable
Ziggo delivers internet over the coaxial cable network. Cable is fast to download on and it is available in most Dutch towns and cities, but it is asymmetric: the upload speed is a fraction of the download speed. On Ziggo’s 1 Gbit/s package you download at 1000 Mbit/s and upload at 100 Mbit/s.
KPN delivers internet over fibre to the home, and over DSL at addresses where fibre has not been rolled out yet. Fibre is symmetric: KPN states that on fibre, uploading is as fast as downloading. On a 1 Gbit/s fibre connection that means 1000 Mbit/s in both directions.
For streaming, browsing and gaming the download number is what you notice, and both providers are comfortably fast enough. Upload is where they separate. If you are on video calls for work, or you back up photos and files to the cloud, a tenfold difference in upload is something you feel every day.
KPN also offers 5G Internet at Home (5G-Internet Thuis) for addresses where neither fibre nor a decent DSL line is available. It is a useful fallback rather than a first choice.
Speeds side by side
The speed tiers each provider sells, as listed by KPN and Ziggo themselves. Note the upload column — that is the whole story of fibre versus cable in one table.
| 100 Mbit/s | Snel 100 — 100 Mbit/s down / 100 up (offered at addresses without fibre) |
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| 200 Mbit/s | Sneller 200 — 200 Mbit/s down / 200 up | Internet 200 — 200 Mbit/s down / 25 up |
| 500 Mbit/s | SuperFiber 500 — 500 Mbit/s down / 500 up | Internet 500 — 500 Mbit/s down / 50 up |
| 1 Gbit/s | SuperFiber 1000 — 1 Gbit/s down / 1 Gbit/s up | Internet 1 Gbit/s — 1000 Mbit/s down / 100 up |
| 2 Gbit/s | — | Internet 2 Gbit/s — 2000 Mbit/s down / 120 up |
| 4 Gbit/s | SuperFiber 4000 — 4 Gbit/s, KPN’s fastest connection | — |
Ziggo goes higher on paper at the top end with 2 Gbit/s, and KPN goes higher still with SuperFiber 4000. In practice, almost nobody needs either. The 200 to 500 Mbit/s range covers a household comfortably, and at that range the upload difference matters far more than the headline download figure.
What each provider sells
KPN sells internet on its own, internet with television, and an all-in-one package (Alles-in-1) that adds calling. KPN’s fibre packages are branded SuperFiber. If you also take a KPN mobile subscription, the Combivoordeel discount applies — KPN states up to €7.50 per month off your mobile plan.
Ziggo sells internet on its own, internet with television, and an all-in-one package. Television comes in three tiers — Start, Complete and Max — which differ in how many channels you get and which extras are included. Ziggo’s television line-up is the larger of the two, which is the main reason people pick Ziggo over KPN.
On prices: we deliberately do not list monthly prices here. Both providers price per address and run promotional rates that change from month to month, so any figure we printed would be wrong within weeks. Check the current price for your own postcode directly:
Check KPN prices Check Ziggo prices
Check what your address can actually get
This is the step most people skip, and it decides the comparison more often than any feature does. Cable covers most of the country, so Ziggo is available at the large majority of Dutch addresses. Fibre coverage is growing fast but is still not everywhere — and without fibre, KPN falls back to DSL, where the symmetric-upload advantage disappears.
Both providers have a postcode check on their website. Run it for your address before you compare anything else. Two practical notes if you are moving into a rental:
- Ask the landlord or the previous tenant what was already installed. If there is a working cable or fibre connection in the flat, activation is usually quicker and cheaper than a fresh installation.
- In some apartment buildings the building itself is connected to only one of the two networks. That decides it for you.
Just arrived? Start here
Comparison sites aimed at Dutch households skip the things that actually hold up new arrivals. Find your situation in the left column and do what it says — in that order.
| No BSN or Dutch bank account yet | Do not order broadband yet — you cannot complete the sign-up. Get a prepaid SIM with data to bridge the gap, and sort the BSN and bank account first. |
| Staying less than a year | Ignore the promotional rates — they are tied to one or two year contracts. Take a plan you can cancel monthly, even at a higher rate. Leaving the country does not end a fixed-term contract. |
| Working from home, daily video calls | KPN, if the postcode check confirms fibre at your address. Symmetric upload is the one thing cable cannot match. |
| No fibre at your address | Ziggo. Without fibre, KPN falls back to DSL and loses its main advantage. |
| You want television with a broad channel line-up | Ziggo. The larger line-up of the two, in three tiers (Start, Complete, Max). |
| You want support in English when something breaks | Ziggo. Phone and live chat in English, seven days a week. KPN’s self-service is Dutch-first. |
| You also want a Dutch mobile plan | KPN, for the Combivoordeel discount — KPN states up to €7.50 per month off the mobile plan. |
| Moving to another address in the Netherlands later | Either, but check that the new address is on the same network. A move is then a transfer, not a cancellation. |
The single most common mistake: comparing packages before checking what your address can get. Run the postcode check first. If only one provider serves you, there is nothing left to compare.
The detail behind the table:
- Service in English. Ziggo offers customer service in English by phone and live chat, which is the main practical reason expats lean towards Ziggo. KPN’s support is extensive but its website and much of its self-service is Dutch-first — workable with a translator, awkward when something breaks.
- You will need a BSN and a Dutch bank account. Both providers set up payment by direct debit from a Dutch IBAN. If your BSN or bank account is not sorted yet, this is the bottleneck, not the provider choice. A prepaid mobile data plan bridges the gap in the meantime.
- Installation takes time. Plan on a couple of weeks between ordering and having a working line, longer if a technician has to visit. Order before you move in if you can.
- Check the contract term against how long you are staying. Promotional rates are typically tied to a one or two year commitment. If you are here on a shorter posting, a monthly-cancellable plan at a higher rate can work out cheaper than paying to break a contract.
- Moving house within the Netherlands is usually handled as a transfer rather than a cancellation, but the new address has to be on the same network. Another reason to check coverage before you commit.
KPN in one overview
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Symmetric fibre: upload as fast as download. Own nationwide network – fibre, DSL and 5G home internet – no activation costs – Combivoordeel discount with a KPN mobile plan. |
Symmetric fibre: upload as fast as download. KPN runs its own nationwide network and offers fibre, DSL and 5G home internet, with speeds up to 4 Gbit/s on SuperFiber.
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9.2
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Visit KPN.nl |
Ziggo in one overview
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Available at most Dutch addresses. English-speaking customer service 7 days a week by phone or live chat, and the larger television line-up of the two. Outstanding! |
Available at most Dutch addresses. English-speaking customer service 7 days a week by phone or live chat, and the larger television line-up of the two. Outstanding!
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8.6
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Visit ziggo.nl |
The verdict: which should you choose
Choose KPN if fibre is available at your address and you care about upload speed — remote work, video calls, cloud backups, uploading large files. Also if you want a KPN mobile plan, because the Combivoordeel discount then applies to both.
Choose Ziggo if fibre is not available at your address, or television with a broad channel line-up matters to you, or you want the reassurance of customer service in English from day one. For a lot of new arrivals that last point outweighs the upload difference.
Still unsure? Run the postcode check for both. If only one of them serves your address, the comparison is over. If both do, the question is simply whether you value upload speed (KPN) or television and English-language support (Ziggo) more.
Neither of these is a bad provider. They are the two largest in the Netherlands for good reason, and the wrong choice here costs you a few euros a month, not your sanity.
FAQ about KPN vs Ziggo internet
Ziggo offers customer service in English by phone and live chat, seven days a week. For many people who have just moved to the Netherlands that is the deciding factor, and it is the main practical reason expats lean towards Ziggo.
KPN has extensive customer service with a lot of channels, including phone support around the clock, chat, and physical stores. Its website and much of its self-service are Dutch-first, though. That is workable with a browser translator when you are ordering, and more awkward when something breaks and you need help quickly.
If you are not comfortable handling a technical problem in Dutch, weigh that against the upload speed advantage KPN has on fibre.
KPN sells fibre packages up to SuperFiber 4000, which is 4 Gbit/s and its fastest connection. Below that it offers SuperFiber 1000 at 1 Gbit/s, SuperFiber 500 at 500 Mbit/s, and Sneller 200 at 200 Mbit/s. At addresses without fibre, KPN offers Snel 100 at 100 Mbit/s, and 5G Internet at Home where no decent fixed line is available.
The number that matters more than the headline speed is the upload. Because fibre is symmetric, a KPN fibre connection uploads as fast as it downloads. On a cable connection the upload is a fraction of the download, so a 1 Gbit/s cable package uploads at around 100 Mbit/s while a 1 Gbit/s fibre package uploads at 1 Gbit/s.
For a normal household, 200 to 500 Mbit/s is comfortable. Paying for the very top tier rarely changes what you notice day to day.
They run different networks, and that decides almost everything else. KPN delivers internet over fibre to the home, and over DSL at addresses where fibre has not been rolled out yet. Ziggo delivers internet over the coaxial cable network.
The practical difference is upload speed. Fibre is symmetric, so on KPN fibre your upload is as fast as your download. Cable is asymmetric, so on Ziggo the upload is a fraction of the download: on the 1 Gbit/s package you download at 1000 Mbit/s and upload at 100 Mbit/s.
For streaming, browsing and gaming both are fast enough and you will not notice a difference. If you work from home, join video calls or back up large files to the cloud, the upload gap is something you feel every day.
KPN network is a highly reliable one. The service provider is prudent in offering DSL as well as optic fiber internet connectivity options. The different options are useful for customers with additional needs.
Even mobile subscribers with KPN can get hotspots at several places in the country and outside one. KPN through its reliable network has ensured that none of its customers ever experiences any network issues. However, if you still face any, you can reach out to the customer support team.
KPN is one of the best internet services providers in the whole of the Netherlands. It is known for its excellent customer service. Customers can reach out to the executives through a multiple channels and readily contact the customer service department. Therefore, instead of relying on making calls, one can start an interaction on Facebook or Twitter and be sure to get a response in no time.
Ziggo has the larger television line-up of the two. Its TV packages come in three tiers, Start, Complete and Max, which differ in the number of channels and the extras included. For most households that want a broad channel selection, Ziggo is the stronger option and it is the main reason people choose Ziggo over KPN.
KPN sells television alongside internet as well, either as Internet en TV or in its Alles-in-1 package, and adds the option of combining it with a KPN mobile subscription for a monthly discount.
Both providers require you to take internet together with television, so this is not a separate decision from your internet choice. Check the current channel line-up on the provider website before you commit, because both change their packages regularly.
No. This is a common misunderstanding, partly because Ziggo markets its cable connection with language that sounds like fibre. Ziggo internet is delivered over the coaxial cable network, not over fibre to the home.
That does not make it slow. Ziggo sells packages up to 2 Gbit/s download, which is faster on paper than most fibre packages people actually buy. The limitation is upload: cable upload speeds stay well below the download speed.
If you specifically want fibre, KPN is the provider to check. Run the postcode check first, because fibre coverage in the Netherlands is growing but is still not everywhere. Where there is no fibre, KPN falls back to DSL and the upload advantage disappears.
In practice, yes. Dutch providers set up payment by direct debit from a Dutch bank account, so you will need an IBAN before you can complete an order. Providers also commonly ask for a BSN, your Dutch citizen service number, as part of the sign-up and credit check.
For most new arrivals this is the real bottleneck, not the choice between providers. Registering at your municipality gets you the BSN, and most banks need that BSN before they will open an account, so the order matters.
Until that is arranged, a prepaid SIM with mobile data is the practical bridge. It gets you online within a day and needs no BSN, no bank account and no contract.
Leaving the country does not automatically end a fixed-term contract. If you signed up for a one or two year term, you are generally still bound to it, and ending it early usually means paying for the remaining months.
This matters if you are here on a shorter posting. Promotional rates are almost always tied to a longer commitment, so the cheapest advertised price is often the worst fit for a one-year stay. A plan you can cancel monthly at a higher rate can work out cheaper than paying to break a contract.
Moving within the Netherlands is different and is usually handled as a transfer rather than a cancellation, as long as the new address is on the same network. Check the notice period and the early termination terms before you sign, and ask the provider directly what happens if you move abroad.