Compare Virgin Media Broadband Deals

For most homes, M250 and M500 are the best deals to compare first. M250 is suitable for typical households, while M500 gives more bandwidth for larger households, 4K streaming, gaming downloads and several active users. Gig1 is the better choice for heavy users who want gigabit broadband. Gig2 is only worth considering where the 2Gbps full fibre service is available.

Today’s Top Deals

Virgin Media broadband-only deals are best for customers who want fast internet without a TV bundle or landline. They are usually the cheapest way to get Virgin Media broadband.

Broadband-only is ideal if you already use streaming apps such as Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, ITVX and YouTube through a smart TV, games console or streaming stick.

Choose broadband-only if:

• you do not need a landline
• you do not watch live TV often
• you want the lowest monthly price
• you already pay for your own streaming apps
• you want fast downloads without extra bundle costs

M125 is enough for smaller homes. M250 is better for most typical households. M500 is better for larger households. Gig1 is best for heavy users.

Virgin Media broadband and phone deals are suitable for customers who still use a home phone. These deals combine a broadband plan with a Virgin Media landline. Current broadband and phone deals come with Anytime Chatter as standard, which includes calls to UK landlines and UK mobiles at any time of day.

Choose broadband and phone if:

• you still use a home phone
• you call UK landlines regularly
• you want broadband and landline billing together
• you need an international calling option

Here are the call plans:

• International anytime chatter – adds selected international calls too
• Weekend chatter – unlimited calls across the UK on weekends
• Evenings & weekend chatter – free calls during evenings and weekends
• Anytime chatter – all-day unlimited UK calls

Virgin Media broadband and TV deals are available as Flex TV, Entertainment, Cinema, Sport, Sport + Cinema and Max Volt packages. Flex TV is the lighter option, while the other bundles give a fuller TV package with more channels and selected premium extras.

Flex TV is suitable if you want flexible TV without a long TV contract. It includes 150+ essential channels, catch-up players, optional entertainment subscriptions you can turn on or off each month, and a 30 day rolling TV contract.

Entertainment bundle is suitable if you want a fuller TV package without Sky Sports or Sky Cinema. It includes 200+ channels, free-to-air channels, Netflix Standard with Ads, the Virgin TV Ultra HD channel and M350 broadband or faster.

Cinema bundle is suitable if you want films but do not need the full Sky Sports pack. It includes 200+ channels, Sky Cinema HD Collection, Netflix Standard with Ads, the Virgin TV Ultra HD channel and M350 broadband or faster.

Sport bundle is suitable if you want live sport but do not need Sky Cinema. It includes 200+ channels, Sky Sports HD Collection, live Premier League action, Netflix Standard with Ads, the Virgin TV Ultra HD channel and M350 broadband or faster.

Sport + Cinema bundle is suitable if you want Sky Sports and Sky Cinema in one package. It includes 210+ channels, Sky Sports HD, Sky Cinema HD, Netflix Standard with Ads, the Virgin TV Ultra HD channel and M350 broadband or faster.

Max Volt is the premium bundle. It includes 230+ channels, Sky Sports HD, Sky Cinema HD, Kids TV, Netflix Standard with Ads, the Virgin TV Ultra HD channel, an O2 SIM and Gig1 broadband.

Volt combines Virgin Media broadband with O2 Pay Monthly mobile services. It can give customers a broadband speed boost to the next Volt is available when you combine Virgin Media broadband with an eligible O2 Pay Monthly mobile plan. It adds extra benefits to both services, so it is best for customers who already use O2 or want an O2 SIM with their broadband.

The main Volt benefit is the broadband speed boost. It gives you the speed of the next Virgin Media plan, up to 1Gbps. For example, M125 Volt increases from 132Mbps to 264Mbps, giving you M250 speed at no extra cost.

Volt includes:

• Broadband speed boost: next Virgin Media speed level, up to 1Gbps
• Double O2 mobile data: on eligible O2 Pay Monthly plans
• WiFi Max: included at no extra monthly cost
• Wi-Fi guarantee: at least 30Mbps download speed in every room or £100 bill credit
• O2 roaming benefits: included where the O2 plan qualifies

Volt is worth comparing if you want broadband, mobile data and WiFi Max together. Choose broadband-only if you do not need an O2 SIM, extra mobile data or whole-home Wi-Fi extras.

Virgin Media student broadband is usually available around the summer and September student moving period for the new academic year. It comes with a 12 month contract, £0 setup cost and unlimited broadband. A valid university ac.uk email address is usually needed to order.

Student broadband is available on Virgin Media’s main speed plans, from M125 to Gig1, with average download speeds from 132Mbps to 1,130Mbps and upload speeds from 20Mbps to 104Mbps.

Virgin Media also offers 30 day rolling broadband options for students who need a shorter contract. Students can add Flex TV for £5 per month on a 30 day rolling contract, with 150+ free-to-air channels, catch-up players and optional entertainment subscriptions.

Virgin Media Essential Broadband is the provider’s social tariff for eligible customers on certain benefits. It is a low-cost broadband option with a 30 day rolling contract, free setup and no long minimum term.

There are three Essential package options:

• Essential Broadband Plus with Flex: £20 per month, 54Mbps average download speed, 5Mbps upload speed, Stream box, 150+ channels and streaming apps, with a one-off Flex setup feent.
• Essential Broadband: £12.50 per month, 15Mbps average download speed, 2Mbps upload speed
• Essential Broadband Plus: £20 per month, 54Mbps average download speed, 5Mbps upload speed

Essential Broadband is best for households that need a lower monthly price rather than faster broadband speeds. The 15Mbps plan is suitable for basic browsing, emails, online forms, light streaming and video calls on fewer devices. Essential Broadband Plus is the better option if the household needs more speed for streaming, school work, video calls and several connected devices.

How to get Virgin Media Essential Broadband

You can apply for Essential Broadband through Virgin Media’s live chat. Virgin Media will ask for permission to check your benefit status with the Department for Work and Pensions.

You may be eligible if you receive one of these benefits:

• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-based Employment and Support Allowance

Virgin Media Business offers Voom Fibre broadband for small businesses. These are separate from residential Virgin Media deals and are intended for shops, offices, salons, cafés, small teams and business premises that need business billing, a phone line, faster fault targets and optional backup.

The main small business options are:

• Voom 400: 400Mbps download speed, 40Mbps upload speed, dynamic IP, 24 working hour issue resolution, from £44.95 per month
• Voom 600: 600Mbps download speed, 60Mbps upload speed, 1 static IP, 20 working hour issue resolution, from £51 per month after the offer period
• Voom Gig1: up to 1,000Mbps download speed, up to 100Mbps upload speed, 1 static IP, 12 working hour issue resolution

Features:

• faster fault resolution targets than standard home broadband
• Wi-Fi router with guest Wi-Fi
• unlimited downloads
• phone line with unlimited UK calls
• static IP on selected packages
• F-Secure internet security
• 4G broadband backup on selected packages

The biggest difference from home broadband is the business extras. 4G backup can keep the connection running if the fixed broadband goes down, and a static IP is useful for business systems such as remote access, CCTV, card payment setups, servers or secure office connections.

Speed

Virgin Media offers fast download speeds, with deals ranging from entry-level fibre to gigabit broadband.

• Providers that are faster than Virgin Media:
  Community Fibre and Hyperoptic can offer faster full fibre deals in some areas. Community Fibre can go up to multi-gigabit speeds, while Hyperoptic can offer gigabit full fibre where available.
• Providers with symmetrical speeds:
  Community Fibre and Hyperoptic can offer symmetrical speeds, meaning the upload speed matches the download speed. Virgin Media usually has much slower upload speeds than download speeds.
• Providers with faster upload speeds:
  Community Fibre, Hyperoptic, and some full fibre deals from Vodafone, TalkTalk, BT and Sky may offer better upload speeds than Virgin Media.
• Where Virgin Media is stronger:
  Virgin Media is best option when other providers at the address only offer slower Openreach-based fibre.

Price

Virgin Media is not usually the cheapest broadband provider, but it can be competitive when the deal includes high speeds or TV bundles.

• Providers often cheaper than Virgin Media:
  Plusnet, TalkTalk, Vodafone and NOW Broadband are often cheaper for broadband-only deals.
• Providers Virgin Media may beat on price:
  Virgin Media may offer better value than BT or Sky when it gives a faster speed at a similar monthly price.
• Where other providers are stronger on price:
  TalkTalk, Vodafone and Plusnet are better for low-cost broadband-only deals. Community Fibre and Hyperoptic may also be cheaper if they offer full fibre at the address.
• Where Virgin Media is better value:
  Virgin Media is stronger when the customer wants fast broadband, TV bundles, or promotional package deals.

Customer service

Virgin Media is not the best provider for customer service.

• Providers that often compare better:
  Plusnet and Sky are usually stronger choices for customer support and simpler broadband service.
• Providers that may compare worse:
  TalkTalk and Vodafone can attract more complaints, depending on the period measured.
• Where Virgin Media is acceptable:
  Virgin Media can still work well for customers who care more about speed and bundles than customer support.

A Virgin Media deal is worth it when the discount is on a plan you would actually use. The best deal is not always the fastest one or the cheapest one. It is the one that gives the right speed, contract length and extras without adding services you do not need.

Worth it if:

• the monthly price is lower than similar speeds from other providers.
• you want TV, sport or cinema as a package.
• you already use O2 and the Volt extras reduce your overall cost

Not worth it if:

• you are choosing a TV bundle only for one or two channels
• a cheaper full fibre provider is available at your premises