Your guide to Virgin Media broadband packages
Dan Howdle | October 3rd, 2024
If you live somewhere you can get it, Virgin Media broadband is a solid option. Forget about the negative customer reviews doing the rounds – with its 99.85% uptime, excellent equipment and very fast broadband, most of its customers experience a flawless service with a raft of benefits unique to Virgin Media.
You've no doubt already checked to see whether you can get it using our Virgin Media postcode checker at the top of the page. But, if you're down here reading, what you're really looking for is more information and, hopefully, we can cover everything you need to know about getting a Virgin Media broadband deal and answer any question or questions you may have.
For a better idea of what we think of Virgin Media broadband, read our Virgin Media broadband review.
Key features
- Wide range of packages – Virgin Media offers a variety of broadband packages, ranging from M50 (54Mbps) to Gig1 (1.1Gbps), and the severely availability-limited Gig2 (2Gbps), catering to everyone from casual users to gamers and beyond
- Reliable Wi-Fi coverage – Virgin Media’s Wi-Fi Guarantee ensures strong coverage throughout your home, with the option to add Wi-Fi Pods for enhanced reception in areas with weak signal
- Volt bundles with O2 SIMs – Combine Virgin Media broadband with an O2 SIM through Volt bundles, which offer double mobile data and faster broadband speeds (unless you're already on the top speed)
- Great router with all packages – Virgin Media provides either the Hub 3 or Hub 5 (Hub 4 was discontinued) depending on your package. The top-tier Gig2 plan comes with the Hub 5X
- Great bundles – You can bundle your broadband with TV, phone, and mobile for added convenience on billing and the chance to save some money
- No landline required – Virgin Media broadband does not require a phone line, making it an ideal if you just want broadband. It used to have this market to itself, but other Full Fibre providers have caught up on this front. Still a feature, but no longer an exclusive one
Broadband speeds and pricing
Virgin Media was the first widely available provider to offer speeds in excess of 1Gbps. And its 1.1Gbps 'Gig1' service remains a headliner. As with all Virgin Media broadband packages, it's reliable, well-priced, and feature-rich. And there's even now a Gig2 package reaching an almost incomprehensible 2Gbps, albeit only to around 3% of UK homes. But those flagship packages aren't the full story, and most people would be well advised to choose something a little less high-end.
| Broadband Package | Download Speed | Upload Speed | Contract Length | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M125 Fibre Broadband | 132Mbps | 20Mbps | 18 months | £26.50 per month |
| M250 Fibre Broadband | 264Mbps | 25Mbps | 18 months | £30.50 per month |
| M350 Fibre Broadband | 362Mbps | 36Mbps | 18 months | £27.99 per month |
| M500 Fibre Broadband | 516Mbps | 52Mbps | 18 months | £33.99 per month |
| Gig1 Fibre Broadband | 1.1Gbps | 104Mbps | 18 months | £39.99 per month |
| Gig2 Fibre Broadband | 2Gbps | 200Mbps | 18 months | £84 per month |
The sweet spot for many households in 2024 – in the opinion of Cable.co.uk – remains Virgin Media's M125. 132Mbps is enough to cover multiple 4K video streams, home office work, and still have enough room left over for gamers to not have to wait days for the latest titles to download. It's also in the sweet spot when it comes to price/value in our opinion, faring well against competitors offering similar speeds.
With several speed tiers available above M125, there's plenty of room to go faster though, should you need the extra oomph. All packages up to M500 are on the same Hub 3 router, so faster speeds can be switched on in an instant, should you need to upgrade.
On the other hand, should you be in a household of avid gamers and downloaders, you may just want the fastest speed you can get, and that's going to be Gig1, or Gig2 if you happen to be one of the lucky 3% who can get it. Gig1 has its own router, the Hub 5, so if this speed is where you think you'll end up, it's best to dive straight in rather than get a lower speed and work your way up.
"Discounting the very limited Gig2 service, Virgin Media is no longer the fastest broadband available to a wide audience – that award goes to EE Broadband and Vodafone Broadband, both of which offer a 1.6Gbps service to about 62% of the UK. However, neither of those providers can compete when it comes to bundle options or indeed for value for money."
Dan Howdle, Broadband and mobile expert
Broadband packages
Here's an overview of the Virgin Media broadband packages available where you can get Virgin Media (or to a fraction of them in the case of Gig2):
M125 | M250 | M350 | M500 | Gig1 | Gig2
M125 Fibre Broadband
We think Virgin Media's M125 fibre broadband only is the best all-round broadband deal if you can get it. Consistent average download speeds of 132Mbps is plenty for most households.
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- Monthly cost £26.50
- One-off cost £0.00
- Average cost per month £22.61
- Total contract cost £407.00
- Download speed (average) 132Mb
- Upload speed (average) 20Mb
- Monthly usage Unlimited
- Minimum contract length 18 months
M250 Fibre Broadband
The second tier in Virgin Media’s selection of very fast fibre broadband deals, we reckon the 264Mb downloads will suit households where several people could be streaming or gaming at the same time.
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- Monthly cost £30.50
- One-off cost £0.00
- Average cost per month £26.61
- Total contract cost £479.00
- Download speed (average) 264Mb
- Upload speed (average) 25Mb
- Monthly usage Unlimited
- Minimum contract length 18 months
M350 Fibre Broadband
Representing a great compromise between some of Virgin Media’s lower speeds and the blistering, but pricier high-end deals. Average downloads of 362Mb should be more than enough for most households.
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- Monthly cost £27.99
- One-off cost £0.00
- Average cost per month £27.99
- Total contract cost £503.82
- Download speed (average) 362Mb
- Upload speed (average) 36Mb
- Monthly usage Unlimited
- Minimum contract length 18 months
M500 Fibre Broadband
Only mid-tier in their range, but still incredibly quick broadband with average downloads of 516Mbps (and a guaranteed to be least 258Mbps), we think this is all the speed most users would ever need.
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- Monthly cost £33.99
- One-off cost £0.00
- Average cost per month £31.21
- Total contract cost £561.82
- Download speed (average) 516Mb
- Upload speed (average) 52Mb
- Monthly usage Unlimited
- Minimum contract length 18 months
Gig1 Fibre Broadband
Virgin Media’s top-of-the-line broadband package. It’s quite simply the fastest widely available broadband in the UK with blistering average download speeds of 1130Mbps and they're expanding their coverage all the time.
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- Monthly cost £39.99
- One-off cost £0.00
- Average cost per month £39.99
- Total contract cost £719.82
- Download speed (average) 1.1Gb
- Upload speed (average) 104Mb
- Monthly usage Unlimited
- Minimum contract length 18 months
Gig2 Fibre Broadband
Virgin Media’s top-of-the-line broadband package. It’s quite simply the fastest widely available broadband in the UK with blistering average download speeds of 1130Mbps and they're expanding their coverage all the time.
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- Monthly cost £84.00
- One-off cost £0.00
- Average cost per month £84.00
- Total contract cost £1512.00
- Download speed (average) 2Gb
- Upload speed (average) 200Mb
- Monthly usage Unlimited
- Minimum contract length 18 months
Types of broadband packages
Virgin Media offers a wide range of broadband packages – something for everyone, in fact. Whether you're looking for broadband only or prefer to bundle it with TV, phone, or an O2 SIM, there’s an option to suit you. Here's a breakdown of what Virgin Media has to offer:
- Virgin Media broadband only – If you just need internet access, Virgin offers broadband-only packages with no phone line required. You can choose from speeds starting at 54Mbps, right up to their ultrafast Gig1 option, delivering speeds of 1.1Gbps – ideal if you need fast and reliable broadband for demanding activities
- Virgin Media broadband and phone bundles – You can pair most Virgin Media broadband packages with a phone line. If you still use a landline, this is a useful option, and you can also add call packages, such as inclusive weekend or anytime calls, depending on your needs
- Virgin Media broadband, TV, and phone bundles – Virgin Media offers bundles that combine broadband with TV services and a phone line. These packages give you access to a vast number of TV channels along with fast broadband and capable phone services. This is a great option if you’re looking to have all your services under one provider
- Volt bundles (broadband + O2 SIM) – Virgin Media's Volt bundles combine broadband with O2 mobile plans. If you need both services, these bundles provide that, plus you get additional perks like faster a broadband speed and extra mobile data
- Gig2 Fibre (limited availability) – If you live in selected areas, Virgin Media’s Gig2 package offers astonishing speeds of up to 2Gbps. No one needs broadband this fast, but that hasn't stopped Virgin Media. The Gig2 package also comes with Virgin's most advanced router – the Hub 5x – designed to handle multiple simultaneous high-speed connections
You don’t need to be a Virgin TV or phone customer to sign up for Virgin Media broadband, but you do need to be a Virgin Media broadband customer to get Virgin TV.
Virgin broadband versus major providers
There are a host of features beyond speed and the other headline stuff. Here, we'll take a quick glance of how some of those other factors compare against Virgin Media's main competitors.
| Provider | Speed range | Customer service satisfaction | Extra features | Contract length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BT Broadband | 10Mbps to 900Mbps | 83% | Complete Wi-Fi, Digital Voice, Halo for extra features | 24 months |
| Plusnet | 66Mbps to 910Mbps | 89% | Smart wireless, good range, family-friendly features | 24 months |
| Sky Broadband | 61Mbps to 900Mbps | 82% | Wi-Fi guarantee, Sky Shield security, parental controls | 24 months |
| TalkTalk | 67Mbps to 900Mbps | 78% | HomeSafe security, future-proof Wi-Fi 6 options | 18 months |
| Virgin Media | 54Mbps to 2Gbps | 81% | Intelligent Wi-Fi, security features, child-friendly filters | 18 months |
| Vodafone Broadband | 35Mbps to 1.6Gbps | 83% | Pro Broadband with mesh extenders, 4G backup | 24 months |
Customer satisfaction source: Ofcom
Buying tips and advice
Beyond speeds and pricing there are a number of other elements you need to be aware of when taking out a Virgin Media broadband deal that you won't find in the standard package information, but that it's a good idea to know about before signing up. It's always best to go in with your eyes open.
Virgin Media installation
There are two types of installation process with Virgin Media, depending on what's coming into your home cables-wise. They are:
Self-install (Quickstart) – If you already have Virgin Media sockets in your home, that means you won't need the full installation and can set things up yourself. With Self-install, Virgin Media will post you your router and all you need do is unbox it and plug it in, followed by a couple of simple steps to get yourself up and running.
Engineer installation – If you don't have Virgin Media running into your home already, you will need to book an engineer visit. The engineer will run a cable into your home, which will usually mean drilling through your wall – and that means you need to either own your home or have permission from the landlord to have the work done.
Both types of installation take about two weeks.
Setup fees and upfront costs
Virgin Media waives installation fees on all of its packages and has done for so long we can barely remember a time when installation fees were present. When they did exist, they were £35, and indeed you will still see Virgin Media claiming this 'Usually £35' as money off. But the reality is no one has been charged installation fees for some years, barring certain unusual circumstances.
Annual price rises
Virgin Media has shorter contracts than most other providers now, with the market moving towards 24 month contracts, and Virgin Media sticking rigidly to 18 months. Good for them. This is relevant because as things currently stand, all broadband providers, including Virgin Media, raise their prices annually at a rate of CPI Inflation plus 3.8%. You will certainly experience at least one price rise during your initial term, though this is likely to be only around 5-8%.
Prices always change on April 1 (not a joke), but it's worth noting that if you signed up during the same calendar year, the price rise may not apply to you. Virgin Media regularly resets the goalposts when it comes to who gets a rise and who doesn't though, so if it's something you're concerned about, check with Virgin Media and/or read our full guide on Virgin Media price rises in 2024.
Broadband routers
Virgin Media routers are pretty great on the whole, but it's worth knowing that you won't get the same router on all packages. Packages from M50 to M500 come with the Hub 3, while Gig1 comes with the Hub 5. Only the Hub 5 has Wi-Fi 6 though, so if that's a must have features (Wi-Fi 6 can handle more devices and faster Wi-Fi speeds), then Gig1 (and Gig2 with its 5X router) come with Wi-Fi 6. You can read more about Virgin Media routers in our detailed guide if you wish, but in the meantime, here are the basics:
Hub 3: Most Virgin Media broadband customers will get this router and find it does a very decent job, both with Wi-Fi reception and with the number of concurrent devices you can hook up to it. No Wi-Fi 6 though, so don't expect record-shattering Wi-Fi speeds.
Hub 4: This router was rolled out to early adopters of Gig1, but had its fair share of issues and has since been discontinued. We mention it here because some existing customers may still have one.
Hub 5: It's an all-singing, all dancing, powerful router hub, with plenty of ins and outs including a 2.5Gbps LAN port (important if you want to make use of the full 1.1Gbps offered by Gig1 to a single device), allowing connection to a dizzying number of concurrent devices, and equipped with Wi-Fi 6.
Hub 5X: Only Gig2 customers will get this, and only 3% of UK homes can get Gig2. If you can and do get it, this is Virgin Media's top-tier router offering everything you'd expect to handle those crazy speeds.
Contract length
Virgin Media is being rather generous with its contracts. The entire industry has moved to 24 months as standard, barring one or two exceptions. But Virgin Media has thus far resisted and offers 18-month contracts across the board. Shorter contracts offer better flexibility, and you're unlikely to suffer more than one price rise during the term of your contract.
Do remember that when your contract term expires, the price of your broadband is going to go up considerably. Virgin Media will always email or post to you the details of the rise, and you can talk to them to re-contract and avoid it.
Discounts, vouchers and rewards
Virgin Media tends not to offer reward cards and cashback, as per just about every other main competitor. Instead, it usually chooses bill credit as its new-customer sweetener, or in the case of TV and Volt bundles, a free gift.
Bill credits
This is a simple system whereby the amount of bill credit (£100, say), is taken from your first few bills, making your first two or three months free.
Free gifts
Tending to be on bundles only, Virgin Media sometimes offers a substantial free gift for signing up, provided you're a new customer. In recent times that has been a 42-inch TV worth about £300, but there's no saying they won't swap that out for something else in future.
Both these types of new customer offer do not run year-round. Rather, you will only see them pop up from time to time. So, of you see one of these deals on right now, do snap it up – it may be gone tomorrow.
Network reliability
Virgin Media is on its own network, where most other providers (Sky, TalkTalk, BT and so on) are on the Openreach network. Comparisons of reliability then are fair. Virgin Media states it has 99.85% uptime, meaning its network is up and running for each customer, on average, for that proportion of time. During your typical week, that would mean it's down about 15 minutes per week.
Of course, it doesn't quite work like that, because when there are faults, things are typically down for a whole afternoon and then run flawlessly for the rest of the year. By comparison, Openreach doesn't state its uptime figure, but when you consider that much of its network is quite old, we're certain it's not going to be as good.
Availability
Virgin Media broadband is not available to everyone in the UK. It's been stuck at around 60% for quite a few years now. The reason for that is that you will most likely be able to get Virgin Media in urban centres and populous suburbs, and unlikely to get it in rural locations. We don't see that 60% figure rising by much any time soon.
With the launch of Gig2 – 2Gbps broadband that operates on a whole different fibre technology – earlier this year, Virgin Media now operates two networks, with the new XGS-PON network (Gig2) only available to around 3% of UK homes at the time of writing.
