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BT broadband vs Virgin Media: Which is better?
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Last updated: 23 January 2023
BT vs Virgin Media: At a glance
| BT Broadband | Virgin Media | |
|---|---|---|
| Do they offer superfast broadband? | Yes | Yes |
| Do they offer ultrafast full fibre broadband? | Yes, with download speeds of up to 910 Mbps on average | Yes, with download speeds of up to 1,130 Mbps on average |
| How much is their cheapest broadband contract? | £27.99 per month for 36 Mbps | £26.99 per month for 108 Mbps |
| Do they offer TV? | Yes, with over 130 channels (when including sports and Now membership channels) | Yes, with over 190 channels available, depending on the package you opt for |
| Is a phone line required for broadband? | No. For BT's Full Fibre deals a phone line is not required. | No. Virgin Media use fibre optic cable for their broadband and phone services. |
Which is faster?
Virgin Media speeds
The line commonly trotted out about Virgin Media is that they offer 'the fastest widely available internet' in the UK. And that's basically true, if a bit vaguely defined.
Virgin only offer fibre connections, delivered through their own proprietary network. They do not offer ADSL connections. This means that their speeds bottom go all the way up to a blisteringly fast 1,130 Mbps.
The faster connections are less readily available but, if you can get Virgin at all, the chances are high that you'll get a perfectly serviceable line. A 100 Mbps+ connection is usually the slowest Virgin Media make available to the properties it is available.
BT Broadband speeds
BT Broadband has genuinely one of the fastest connections of any provider in the country - its 910Mbps, close-to-gigabit, Full Fibre 900 plan will be more than enough for any household that can afford it. But it's only available in a small handful of areas.
BT does offer ADSL connections, and serves a lot of households who can't get fibre with them. But this means a lot of BT customers are sat on around 10Mbps. Which isn't great. If you live out in the sticks though, there's a much higher chance you'll be able to get BT ADSL than Virgin Fibre.
Winner:
In terms of superfast fibre speeds, Virgin edges BT. They have a faster top speed package than BT, but also the lowest package they offer averages 108 Mbps.
It all depends on what technology is available in your area though; if you live in area where full fibre broadband hasn't rolled out in any capacity, the only option that will be available to your out of these two will be BT.
| Virgin Media speeds: | BT speeds: |
|---|---|
| Virgin Media M100 – 108 Mbps | BT Broadband – 10 Mbps |
| Virgin Media M200 - 213 Mbps | BT Fibre Essential – 36 Mbps |
| Virgin Media M350 - 362 Mbps | BT Fibre 1 – 50 Mbps |
| Virgin Media M500 - 516 Mbps | BT Fibre 2 – 67 Mbps |
| Virgin Media Gig1 - 1,130 Mbps | BT Full Fibre 100 - 150 Mbps |
| BT Full Fibre 500 - 500 Mbps | |
| BT Full Fibre 900 - 910 Mbps |
Which is cheaper?
Cheap broadband
At the lower end, the cheapest package from each provider costs similar amounts, but there is a sizeable difference in the speed on offer.
Virgin Media's M100 Fibre Broadband Only package will set you back £26.99 per month for a 108 Mbps connection.
Virgin Media Broadband
M125 Fibre Broadband Only
132Mb / second
Average speed
Unlimited
Usage
£26.50 / month
£0 upfront fees
BT's cheapest package is their Fibre Essential package, which costs £27.99 per month for a 36 Mbps connection.
BT Broadband
Fibre Essential
36Mb / second
Average speed
Unlimited
Usage
£33.99 / month
£31.99 upfront fees
Pricing may change during contract
In the budget range, Virgin Media offer the better deal to consumers; not only is their cheapest contract £1 per month cheaper, it is 3 times the speed of BT's cheapest offering.
Mid-range broadband
In the mid-range, Virgin wins out again.
For 34.99 per month you can get BT's Full Fibre 100 package, which comes with a 150 Mbps download speed.
BT Broadband Full Fibre 100 £50 BT Virtual Reward Card 150Mb / second Average speed Unlimited Usage £0 / month for 3 months Then £29.99 / month
Pricing may change during contract
But for £2 less per month, you can get Virgin Media's M200 Fibre Broadband only package, which comes with a 213 Mbps download speed.
Virgin Media Broadband M250 Fibre Broadband Only 264Mb / second Average speed Unlimited Usage £30.50 / month £0 upfront fees
Once again, if you are choosing between one of these two packages, we would recommend opting for the Virgin option due to the bigger bandwidth it offers.
Broadband and TV packages
If you are interested in including a television subscription with your broadband, what is offered by both providers here varies in price quite a bit!
Broadband and sport
BT Broadband Sport + Fibre 2 £50 BT Virtual Reward Card 67Mb / second Average speed Unlimited Usage £52.99 / month £31.99 upfront fees
Pricing may change during contract
Virgin Media Broadband Bigger Sports Combo HD Bundle 362Mb / second Average speed Unlimited Usage £62.00 / month £0 upfront fees
If sport is your thing, you can access sport channels for cheaper through BT than you can through Virgin. With Virgin's option you get a much faster broadband connection though.
Broadband and entertainment
BT Broadband Entertainment + Fibre 2 £50 BT Virtual Reward Card 67Mb / second Average speed Unlimited Usage £56.99 / month £31.99 upfront fees
Pricing may change during contract
Virgin Media Broadband Big Bundle + Drama & Docs + O2 SIM 362Mb / second Average speed Unlimited Usage £49.99 / month £0 upfront fees
If you are looking for entertainment channels, Virgin's bundle is cheaper than BT's but you do get a lot more with BT's package. Not only do you get access to channels from NOW TV's entertainment pass, you get access to Netflix as well.
Winner:
Overall, Virgin beats BT for price at most levels in terms of bang for your buck.
BT TV vs Virgin Media TV: Which is better?
BT and Virgin both offer impressively large TV packages. Along with Sky, they're the largest and best known providers in the UK.
They break up their packages differently: BT go for a modular approach, with themed channel bundles that you can add, remove, and swap in and out throughout your contract. Virgin operate a sliding scale with more and more channels in each package:
| BT TV packages | Virgin TV packages |
|---|---|
| Entertainment | Big |
| Film | Big + Drama & Docs |
| Kids | Bigger |
| Drama | Bigger + Sports |
| Documentary | Ultimate Volt |
| Comedy | |
| Sport (& Big Sport) |
BT's biggest sell is probably BT Sport, which means you can watch the Premier League. But BT Sport is available as an extra on Virgin anyway.
BT will also allow you to customise your package with extras like Amazon Prime, NOW TV, and Netflix, among others. Mostly you'll get an introductory free month on any of these with your BT subscription, but otherwise you'll pay a standard price so it's only slightly better value than if you got any of the subscriptions independently.
Winner:
Overall, BT and Virgin are about even when it comes to TV. The chances are you'll be able to watch whatever you want on either, especially combined with a streaming service.
Which is better for line rental?
One possible advantage of Virgin Media broadband deals is that you don’t need line rental in order to sign up. Not many of us use home phones these days, so it can feel a bit galling to have to pay for the line to just sit there.
Because BT runs off the Openreach Network, you need line rental in order to purchase a deal. Luckily, this is always factored into the advertised cost, and doesn't really make much of a difference to the overall price of the package. This does mean that BT offers more comprehensive phone-based deals, so if that’s something you need, then we’d suggest looking at BT instead of Virgin.
Winner:
If you want a homephone, BT is probably your better option. if you don't, Virgin wins here.
Which offers better customer service?
According to an extensive report in 2019 from market regulator Ofcom, Virgin Media boast 85% customer satisfaction, compared to 80% from BT.
BT has a relatively high rate of customers needing to raise issues to Ofcom about the service they receive; 79 per 100,000 subscribers lodged complaints, compared to 51 per 100,000 for Virgin Media.
On Trustpilot, both score pretty badly for customer service. BT get 1.4/5, and Virgin sit just ahead on 1.6/5. It's worth noting that these kind of ratings tend to skew negative (more people with bad experiences are likely to go and leave a review), but it still doesn't look good for either.
Winner:
Based on this evidence, Virgin Media offer better customer service, but the difference is marginal.
For more help deciding, see our BT vs Sky broadband comparison.
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Routers and tech
Both BT and Virgin (like many other suppliers these days) make quite a big fuss about their router tech. The differences are marginal enough that they're unlikely to be the deciding factor if you're picking between tariffs from each.
Where they differ most substantially is in their booster packages. Both providers promise big about that strength of their WiFi. Too much of a fuss in some cases - BT were the subject of a complaint from the Advertising Standards Agency in 2019 over claims that their router provided the 'UK's most powerful WiFi'. Nevertheless, the stock routers both providers offer are pretty impressive. Both offer booster packages if your WiFi doesn't reach every room in your house.
For a monthly fee on top of your bill, you'll get a set of extenders that create a mesh network so that your connection is unbroken throughout your house or flat. Virgin's is half the price of BT's. Although BT offer a £100 money-back guarantee if their extender service doesn't work, this is probably not much consolation if you're still tied into an 18 month contract and can't get WiFi in your bedroom.
Here's how the main routers stack up:
| BT Smart Hub | Virgin Hub 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Max speed | 1,773Mbps | 1,300Mbps |
| WiFi | 802.11ac | 802.11ac |
| Ethernet Ports | 4 | 4 |
| Antennae | 7 | 5 |
| Booster cost | £10 per month (with £100 money-back guarantee if it doesn't work) | £5 per month (free for Ultimate Volt or Gigabit customers) |
Winner:
Virgin, just about. The routers themselves are pretty similar - BT's top speed is higher, but both are higher than what basically any household will ever need. Virgin's cheaper boost package clinches it.
Overall verdict
It's a close call but Virgin Media just about beats BT on balance for most customers. The most important criteria are price and speed here - you get more for your money, on average, from Virgin, and they have a wider range of fibre speeds on offer.
| Winner | |
|---|---|
| Speed | Virgin |
| Price | Virgin |
| Routers | Virgin |
| TV | Tie |
| Customer Service | Virgin |
| Line Rental | BT |
If both BT and Virgin Media are available where you live, you're most likely better off going with Virgin. However, depending on where you live, there's a decent chance that you might not have fibre available at all, in which case BT (or one of the smaller suppliers that use its network like Plusnet) might be you're only option. In which case you'll still end up with a perfectly fine provider.
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