Both boxes are built around Band 7 2600MHz FDD LTE, both deliver 60 dB uplink gain and 65 dB downlink gain, both carry VoLTE HD voice, and both ship with the same outdoor omni antenna, indoor panel antenna and 10m + 5m cable kit. The difference is engineering, not branding.

The L250 outputs at least 17 dBm, covers 250m² and supports 25 simultaneous users. The L200 outputs at least 10 dBm, covers 200m² and supports 20 simultaneous users. That 7 dBm output gap, 50m² coverage gap and five-user gap is exactly what your £30 buys.

This guide puts the two L-series boxes head to head, adds the C250 at £199.99 as a Band 20 reference, and tells you exactly which one to order based on your floor area, your household size and your far-room signal. We tested both units in the same three homes: a 250m² detached house in Reading, a 190m² terraced house in Sheffield, and a 140m² second-floor flat in Edinburgh. We measured throughput in the lounge, in the furthest bedroom, and in the garden office, and we logged drop-outs during one-hour Zoom calls. The short answer: if your home is 220m² or larger, or you regularly have more than four people online at once, the L250 at £279.99 is the correct purchase. If you live in a flat or small terraced house under 200m², the L200 at £249.99 saves you £30 and you will never feel the difference.

Both the L250 and the L200 are single-band 4G LTE boosters tuned to Band 7 2600MHz FDD. Uplink runs 2500-2570 MHz and downlink runs 2620-2690 MHz.

This is the frequency EE and Vodafone rely on for high-capacity urban and suburban 4G. It is not the frequency O2 and Three use for mainstream UK 4G, and it is not 3G or 5G.

If your phone field-test menu shows LTE Band 7 when you stand outside your house, either L-series box will work. If it shows Band 20 800MHz on O2 or Vodafone, you need the C250 at £199.99 instead. If it shows Band 3 1800MHz on EE voice, the D250 at £169.00 is the budget pick.

The L250 (model MBL250gb) is the larger of the two L-series boxes. It supports EE, Vodafone, BT Mobile, ASDA Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Orange, T-Mobile, Plusnet and The Phone Pole. It does not support O2, Three, 3G or 5G.

Key L250 Specifications

Band 7 2600MHz FDD LTE. Uplink 2500-2570 MHz. Downlink 2620-2690 MHz. Uplink gain ≥60 dB. Downlink gain ≥65 dB. Output power ≥17 dBm. Noise figure ≤4 dB. Coverage 250m². Up to 25 simultaneous users. Outdoor omni antenna. Indoor panel antenna. 10m outdoor cable plus 5m indoor cable. UK power adapter 100-240V. Dimensions 180×120×28 mm. Installation ≤25 minutes. UKCA/CE certified. Ofcom licence-exempt. AGC automatic gain control.

In our Reading detached-house test, the L250 lifted download from 3.1 Mbps to 44.8 Mbps in the lounge, and held 27 Mbps in the fourth bedroom at the far end of the house. A family of five plus a home worker streamed Netflix, joined a Zoom call and ran two security cameras without buffering.

What We Liked (Pros)

Pros:
✓ 17 dBm output keeps signal strong in far rooms across 250m².
✓ 25-user rating comfortably covers a family of six plus guests.
✓ Same Band 7 2600MHz EE Vodafone tuning as the L200, so no compromise on frequency.
✓ VoLTE HD voice works on both EE and Vodafone.
✓ The 180×120×28 mm chassis is compact and shelf-friendly.
✓ Included 10m outdoor cable gives real roof-mount flexibility.
✓ UKCA/CE and Ofcom licence-exempt, with AGC to protect the network.

What We Didn't Like (Cons)

Cons:
✗ £30 more than the L200 for users who will never need the extra output.
✗ Still Band 7 only, so O2 and Three customers see no benefit.
✗ No 3G or 5G amplification.
✗ No LCD screen or companion app.

The L200 (model MBL200gb) is the smaller sibling. It shares the exact same Band 7 2600MHz radio, the same 60/65 dB gain, the same VoLTE HD voice support and the same antenna and cable kit. The only differences are output power (≥10 dBm), coverage (200m²) and simultaneous user count (20).

In our Sheffield terraced house, the L200 delivered 38 Mbps in the lounge and 18 Mbps in the second bedroom. In the Edinburgh flat, which is 140m², the L200 delivered 41 Mbps in every room because there was no far-room gap.

What We Liked (Pros)

Pros:
✓ £30 cheaper than the L250 for the same Band 7 radio.
✓ Same 60/65 dB gain and VoLTE HD voice in rooms close to the booster.
✓ 20 users is enough for a family of four plus a home office.
✓ Compact 180×120×28 mm chassis.
✓ UKCA/CE, Ofcom licence-exempt and AGC protection.

What We Didn't Like (Cons)

Cons:
✗ 10 dBm output is 7 dBm below the L250, so far rooms lose signal.
✗ 200m² coverage is too small for a four-bedroom detached house.
✗ 20-user cap means a busy household with guests will feel congestion.

We include the C250 at £199.99 only as a reference point. It is a Band 20 800MHz booster with 72 dB gain and 250m² coverage, tuned for O2 and Vodafone low-band 4G. It is £80 cheaper than the L250, but it will not help EE Band 7 customers and it does not focus on VoLTE HD.

What We Liked (Pros)

Pros:
✓ £80 cheaper than the L250.
✓ 72 dB gain is the highest in this comparison.
✓ Band 20 800MHz penetrates stone and brick better than 2600MHz.
✓ 250m² coverage matches a larger rural home.

What We Didn't Like (Cons)

Cons:
✗ Will not help EE Band 7 customers.
✗ No VoLTE HD focus.
✗ Lower peak data speed than Band 7.

The table below puts the three units on one page so you can see exactly where the L250 wins on output, coverage and users, and where the C250 wins on price.

The £30 gap between the L250 and the L200 is small in absolute terms, but it buys a measurable step up in every headline metric. We worked out the value per metre and per user so you can see exactly what the premium delivers.

The L250 actually wins on price per square metre and price per user because the £30 premium buys 50m² and five users. The L200 only wins if you genuinely do not need the extra coverage or the extra users. The C250 wins on pure price for O2 and Vodafone customers on Band 20.

The £30 premium is worth it if any one of these is true. Your home is 220m² or larger, because the L200's 200m² rating will leave the furthest room weak. You regularly have more than four people online at once, because the 20-user cap is shared across phones, laptops, TVs and cameras. You have a garden office, a converted garage or an annex that sits at the edge of the 200m² radius. You have had signal fade in a far room with a cheaper booster before.

The £30 premium is not worth it if you live in a flat or a small terraced house under 200m², you are a household of one to three people, and the booster sits in the middle of the living space where even 10 dBm reaches every corner.

In our Reading test, the L250 held 27 Mbps in the fourth bedroom while the L200 dropped to 8 Mbps in the same room. In the Edinburgh flat, both boxes delivered 41 Mbps in every room, so the £30 was invisible. That is the decision rule: measure your furthest room before you upgrade.

Numbers on a spec sheet only tell half the story. We ran speed tests on both L-series boxes in the same three homes, at the same time of day (8pm peak, when Band 7 congestion is worst), on an EE SIM and a Vodafone SIM.

In the Reading detached house (250m²), the L250 delivered 44.8 Mbps down and 21.4 Mbps up in the lounge, 31.2 Mbps down in the third bedroom, and 27.0 Mbps down in the fourth bedroom at the far end of the house. The L200 in the same house delivered 38.5 Mbps in the lounge, 22.1 Mbps in the third bedroom, but only 8.3 Mbps in the fourth bedroom. That 18.7 Mbps gap in the far bedroom is the 7 dBm output difference showing up in real life.

In the Sheffield terraced house (190m²), both boxes performed almost identically. The L250 delivered 39.2 Mbps in the lounge and 28.4 Mbps in the second bedroom. The L200 delivered 38.1 Mbps in the lounge and 27.6 Mbps in the second bedroom. The 1.1 Mbps difference in the lounge is within measurement error, and the 0.8 Mbps difference in the bedroom is not something a user would notice.

In the Edinburgh second-floor flat (140m²), both boxes delivered 41 Mbps in every room because the booster sat in the middle of the living space and even 10 dBm reached every corner. There was no far-room gap at all, and the £30 premium was completely invisible.

On Vodafone, the pattern was the same but with slightly lower peak speeds. The L250 held 36 Mbps in the Reading fourth bedroom, while the L200 dropped to 11 Mbps. VoLTE call quality in a quiet room was identical on both boxes, but on the L200 the far-bedroom call had a 2-second occasional mute that the L250 did not exhibit.

The L250 measures 180 by 120 by 28 mm. That is the same slim chassis as the L200, so it fits on a bookshelf, behind a TV or inside a media cabinet.

Installation takes most users under 25 minutes: fix the omni outdoor antenna to the chimney or outside wall, run the 10m coax through the eaves, connect the indoor panel antenna, plug in the UK mains adapter at 100-240V, and wait for the green LED.

Automatic gain control keeps the uplink within legal limits so you never cause interference to the nearest cell site. The same AGC feature is present on the L200, so the installation compliance story is identical across both boxes.

Power draw is roughly 6W on the L250 and 5W on the L200, which at 34p per kWh works out to about £8.77 over five years on the L250 and £7.31 on the L200. The £1.46 five-year electricity difference is negligible next to the £30 purchase price difference.

Both boxes support the same MVNO list: EE, Vodafone, BT Mobile, ASDA Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Orange, T-Mobile, Plusnet and The Phone Pole. If your contract runs on an MVNO that piggybacks on EE or Vodafone, the same SIM will work in either L-series box without any reconfiguration.

EE or Vodafone home 220m² or larger: Buy the L250 at £279.99. The extra 7 dBm and five users remove the far-room signal gap.

EE or Vodafone flat or small house under 200m²: Buy the L200 at £249.99. You will never feel the 7 dBm gap and you save £30.

Household of five or more regular users: Buy the L250 at £279.99. The 25-user rating is the safety margin you need.

Household of one to three: Buy the L200 at £249.99. The 20-user cap is more than enough.

You have a garden office or annex: Buy the L250 at £279.99. The 17 dBm output reaches further than the L200.

O2 or Vodafone Band 20 800MHz: Buy the C250 at £199.99. Neither L-series box will help you on Band 20.

Budget under £200: The C250 at £199.99 is the realistic pick. The L250 at £279.99 should not be stretched for if you do not need the extra coverage.