Sky broadband vs Virgin Media broadband

Virgin Media offer gigabit broadband widely across the UK, with speeds up to 2Gb in full fibre areas, while Sky offer up to 900Mbps nationwide and up to 5Gb in CityFibre locations.

Pricing between the two is now closely matched across most plans, with differences depending on bundles, offers and whether a home phone is included.

Sky remain stronger on customer service, with lower complaint levels, while both providers offer discounts when bundling broadband with TV.

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At a glance: Sky vs Virgin Media

Top picks: Sky and Virgin Media broadband deals

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Price

Winner: It's a tie overall, with Sky edging lower tiers and Virgin Media offering better value at higher speeds and in bundles.

Virgin Media and Sky are now closely matched on headline pricing, with differences emerging once you factor in speed tiers, add-ons, and what's included as standard.

At entry level, the two are effectively level on price. Virgin Media's M125 starts at £23.99 per month on a 24-month contract with no upfront cost, while Sky Full Fibre 150 is £24 per month with a £5 refundable setup fee. Sky is slightly faster at this tier, but the difference is small in practice, and the overall cost depends more on how extras are handled - with Sky including a phone line as standard, while Virgin Media treats it as an add-on.

Here's how the entry-level plans compare:

At mid-range speeds, Sky edges ahead slightly on price. Full Fibre 500 costs £28 per month compared to £28.99 for Virgin Media's M500. The gap is modest, but Sky's lower base price keeps it marginally ahead at this tier, depending on whether extras are added.

Here's how the 500Mb plans compare:

At gigabit speeds, the balance shifts. Virgin Media's Gig1 comes in at £31.99 per month, undercutting Sky Gigafast at £34. Virgin Media also includes WiFi boosters at this level, while Sky charges £4 per month for WiFi Max - taking the comparable total to £38. That makes Virgin Media clearly cheaper at the top end, particularly for households that would otherwise add mesh WiFi.

Here's how the top-tier plans compare:

Mid-contract price rises also affect the overall cost across a 24-month term. Virgin Media applies a fixed £4 per month increase from April 2027. Sky's increases are variable rather than fixed in advance - for example, a £3 per month rise was applied in 2026 - but customers are given 30 days' notice of any change and can leave without exit fees if they choose not to continue.

On extras, the two take different approaches. Sky includes a basic phone line with all plans, but charges more for upgraded call packages, while Virgin Media charges for a line but typically offers lower-cost anytime call bundles. Whole-home WiFi is also priced differently, with Sky charging £4 per month for WiFi Max and Virgin Media £8 per month for WiFi Max, although Virgin Media includes it free on Gig1, Gig2, and Volt plans.

Both providers also offer extensive bundle discounts across TV and mobile - including O2 mobile benefits with Virgin Media, and discounts on Sky TV with Sky - meaning the overall cost can shift significantly depending on what a household already pays for and would use anyway.

Overall, pricing is closely balanced, with Sky slightly cheaper at lower tiers and Virgin Media offering better value at higher speeds and in bundles where included extras offset the base price. Always compare deals by postcode before committing.

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Broadband packages

Winner: Virgin Media, with more included at higher tiers and stronger value through bundles, while Sky keeps extras as paid add-ons across its range.

Sky and Virgin Media cover broadly the same speed tiers, from entry-level superfast through to gigabit and beyond, but what's included in each package â€" and how value is delivered â€" differs significantly.

Sky's full fibre plans include a basic home phone line as standard, but most extras sit outside the base package. WiFi Max costs £4 per month, upgraded call packages are added on top of the line, and TV is taken separately through Sky Stream or Sky Glass. Moving up the speed tiers increases performance, but doesn't materially change what's included.

Virgin Media's packages vary more by tier and bundle. Lower-speed plans are relatively stripped back, but higher tiers include more. WiFi Max, which costs £8 per month on entry-level plans, is included on Gig1, Gig2 and Volt packages. Call packages are also optional, but typically cost less than Sky's once added.

At a glance, the key package differences are:

• Sky includes a basic phone line, while Virgin Media charges extra for a line and call packages
• Sky charges £4 per month for WiFi Max across its range; Virgin Media charges £8, but includes it on Gig1, Gig2, and Volt plans
• Virgin Media includes more at higher tiers and through bundles, particularly via Volt benefits for O2 customers
• Both offer TV alongside broadband, with discounts available on bundled packages, although the structure of those bundles differs between the two providers

Here's how the main broadband plans from each provider compare:

Across comparable tiers, Virgin Media generally offers higher top-end speeds, with Gig1 averaging around 1.13Gbps compared to Sky Gigafast at 900Mbps. But package value is shaped less by speed alone and more by what is included at each level.

Sky's approach keeps broadband, TV, WiFi and calls largely separate. The base plan stays the same across all tiers, with the total monthly cost increasing as extras are added.

Virgin Media builds more into higher-tier plans and bundles. WiFi boosters are included on faster packages, and bundling broadband with TV or O2 mobile can materially improve what's included.

TV is where the difference becomes clearer. Virgin Media's Flex and Mega TV bundles are designed to sit alongside broadband as a combined package, often reducing the effective cost when taken together. Sky also offers discounts when broadband is bundled with Sky Stream or Sky Glass, but the services remain more distinct, with pricing adjusted across the bundle rather than more features being included within the broadband plan itself.

Bundles are also central to Virgin Media's overall value. Volt benefits for O2 customers can include speed boosts and free WiFi boosters, effectively upgrading both performance and coverage without increasing the base price. This means the real value of a Virgin Media package often depends on what a household already uses.

Beyond gigabit, both providers offer multi-gigabit plans in select areas. Sky offers up to 5Gb through CityFibre, while Virgin Media's Gig2 averages around 2Gb in Nexfibre full fibre areas, with optional symmetrical uploads available. Availability remains limited for both, so postcode checking is important.

At package level, Sky keeps pricing simpler but builds the total cost through add-ons, while Virgin Media includes more at higher tiers and through bundles, often delivering better overall value where those extras are needed. Read more in our full reviews of Sky broadband and Virgin Media broadband.

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Broadband speed

Winner: Virgin Media offer a faster average download speed than Sky Gigafast, and their gigabit plan also boasts wider availability.

Virgin Media and Sky broadband are delivered over different networks, which means there is more variation in the speed of their service compared to resellers of the same network.

Virgin Media offer a fibre network with coaxial cable connections to homes in areas not yet upgraded to full fibre. Sky on the other hand offer a mix of fibre to the cabinet and fibre to the home depending upon location.

There are some speed differences between Sky and Virgin Media, with Virgin Media offering the fastest average download speeds, while Sky offer faster average upload speeds on certain plans.

Here's how their headline download speeds compare side-by-side:

Broadband providers can only advertise speeds at least 50% of their customers receive during the peak hours of 8pm to 10pm in the evening. So, advertised broadband speeds are now a lot more reliable than they used to be.

While package prices vary, we can see from the table above that Virgin Media offer faster download speeds on average in comparison to Sky broadband.

Upload speeds

Virgin Media boosted the upload speed on their M500 and Gig1 plans in May 2023, and also increased speeds on their entry-level deal from 10Mb to 20Mb in October 2022.

These recent changes have made Virgin Media faster for uploads, as well as downloads, than Sky broadband, on all but their mid-tier M500 plan where Sky is still slightly faster.

Most broadband customers won't notice upload speeds too much as the majority of Internet activities involve receiving data, rather than sending it. However, upload speeds can play a part for people who work from home on shared projects, people uploading a lot of large files like videos and photos to the cloud, and high definition video calling.

Here are the upload speeds of the provider's main packages:

As you can see, Virgin Media offer faster upload speeds on average than Sky for their gigabit broadband plan, but Sky has faster upload speeds on average on other plans.

For customers living in Virgin Media full fibre enabled areas, those connected by Nexfibre, they also now have the option to upgrade to symmetrical speeds with the upload speed boost add-on, which costs £6 per month.

Customers in these areas can also opt for their latest Gig2 package as well, which offers average download speeds of 2000Mbps, with optional symmetrical upload speeds. Availability is much more limited however, with only around 1.5 million premises passed so far.

Overall, Virgin Media is the fastest broadband provider for both download and upload speeds when compared to Sky broadband.

Satisfaction with speed of service

In our independent survey of broadband customers, we found greater satisfaction with speed amongst Virgin Media customers, compared to Sky broadband customers.

63% of Virgin Media customers rated them 4 or above (out of 5) for satisfaction with the speed of their service. In comparison, only 49% of Sky customers rated them 4 or above for speed.

One point worth noting here is that our survey covered all customers including Sky broadband customers on slower copper or part-fibre deals. So, it's likely more Virgin Media customers were on faster packages to begin with, than Sky broadband customers.

For extra clarity, we can also look at another independent survey on customer satisfaction, this time carried out by Ofcom, and published in May 2023.

Ofcom also found more Virgin Media broadband customers were satisfied with the speed of their service than Sky, with 82% of Virgin Media customers satisfied, compared to 80% of Sky customers.

However, more of Sky broadband's customers were satisfied with their service overall, beating Virgin Media by 1%.

Both Sky and Virgin Media's customer satisfaction levels were higher or in line with the industry average on both metrics.

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Router

Winner: Sky offer all full fibre broadband customers their new WiFi 6 router, while this is only available on Virgin Media's fastest Gig1 and Gig2 plans.

All Sky full fibre broadband customers are now provided with the Sky Max Hub when they sign up. However, other customers and those with existing deals can also upgrade the router by taking the WiFi Max add-on.

The Sky Max Hub supports the latest WiFi 6 (802.11ax) protocol as well as offering updated security with support for WPA3 encryption. It's ideal for Sky customers who also take Sky Stream or Sky Glass as these devices also support WiFi 6.

It has 8 internal antennae, which provide good wireless signal and four 1Gb Ethernet LAN ports for wired connections. However, it also supports mesh and works seamlessly with the WiFi Max add-on, which provides additional Plume WiFi Pods to boost signal around a home.

Virgin Media customers will be provided with one of Virgin's branded WiFi Hubs, although this could be the Hub 3, Hub 4, Hub 5 or 5x, depending on the package a customer chooses.

Most Virgin customers will get the Hub 3 or Hub 4, those opting for Virgin Media's fastest Gig1 plan will be sent the latest Hub 5, and those in full fibre areas will get the Hub 5x.

The Hub 5 and 5x also support the latest WiFi 6 protocol, and have an additional Ethernet LAN port which supports up to 2.5Gbps, so customers can benefit from download speeds over 1Gbps through wired connections.

The Virgin Media Hub 5 was released in 2021, compared to 2023 for Sky's Max Hub, so it misses out on the latest security advancement to WPA3.

Here are the specifications of each provider's latest routers side-by-side:

The Virgin Media Hub 3 and Hub 4 have similar specifications to the Sky Broadband Hub, so most customers will receive similar devices to those on Sky part fibre plans.

However, the benefit to Sky broadband is the ability for all customers to upgrade their router if they wish, which Virgin Media customers can only do by taking a faster broadband plan.

Both Sky and Virgin Media support intelligent mesh, and now use the same Plume WiFi Pods in their whole home WiFi guarantees, which we look at below.

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WiFi guarantee

Winner: Virgin Media promise minimum speeds over wireless of 30Mbps on all packages, while Sky only promise 25Mbps on their faster full fibre plans.

Virgin Media's WiFi Max service offers customers a faster minimum download speed guarantee than Sky's WiFi Max.

Virgin Media customers are promised speeds over wireless of at least 30Mbps in every room, while Sky promise speeds of 25Mbps in every room for full fibre customers with download speeds of 150Mbps or more, or 10Mbps in every room for those on part fibre or slower full fibre connections.

Sky also include added extras such as daily line checks, free off-peak engineer visits, and 2GB of free mobile data for a Sky Mobile plan if their fixed-line broadband goes down.

Here's how each WiFi guarantee looks side-by-side:

Both Sky and Virgin Media provide customers with up to three WiFi Pod boosters to try and achieve those minimum speeds around their home. For customers who don't get those minimum speeds in every room, Virgin Media promise to give customers a £100 bill credit and the option to cancel the WiFi Max add-on.

Sky customers will get one month's broadband and WiFi Max subscription refunded, but the 24-month WiFi Max add-on can't be cancelled early.

Virgin Media customers who take a Volt, Gig1 or Gig2 broadband plan will get the WiFi Max add-on bundled for free, while other customers pay £8 per month. In contrast, all Sky customers will have to pay monthly fees from just £4 per month.

Sky also offer all customers a 'Wall to Wall WiFi Guarantee' at no extra cost if they don't subscribe to WiFi Max, however. But this only offers a minimum 3Mbps wireless speed in all rooms or one month's broadband subscription refunded, so it won't actually help to improve wireless signal or speeds with additional devices.

Overall, Virgin Media offer a better WiFi guarantee than Sky does, promising faster minimum speeds of 30Mbps, a decent refund amount if they don't achieve this, as well as the ability to cancel with just one month's notice.

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Call plans

Winner: Sky include a home phone line as standard in all broadband packages, making it easier for customers to continue using a landline.

All Sky broadband customers will receive a digital home phone line as standard within their monthly price, and this will allow calls on a pay as you go basis.

Virgin Media customers can choose between a broadband-only plan, or pay more for a broadband and phone deal, however prices can rise so customers will want to make sure they'll use the phone line.

For those who take a Virgin Media broadband and phone deal, they'll get free calls to UK landlines included at the weekend, and the option to upgrade to more inclusive calls.

Here's how call plans for Sky and Virgin Media look side-by-side:

Virgin Media's inclusive weekend call plan only covers calls to UK landlines, while the two upgraded options also cover calls to UK mobiles. Sky also include both UK landlines and UK mobiles in their call plans.

Overall, it's close between Sky and Virgin Media, but it's likely Sky will work out cheaper as they don't have to pay more for the broadband deal to include a home phone line.

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Customer Service

Winner: Sky have much fewer complaints for broadband than Virgin Media, as well as higher levels of customer satisfaction.

Sky is a leading broadband provider for customer service, with consistently low levels of complaints and high levels of customer satisfaction.

The last four quarterly complaint reports from Ofcom, up to Q2 2024, have seen Sky with the least number of complaints for broadband out of all major providers. Virgin Media's broadband complaints have been higher however, usually sitting just above average.

Virgin Media had a complaints spike in Q3 2023, which remained high into the next quarter and was said to be due to Ofcom's investigation into their complaints handling.

At the time Virgin Media said they were "committed to providing an excellent service to our customers, and while overall these complaints represent a very small proportion of our customer base, we acknowledge there is a need for improvement, which is underway, and we're focused on getting this right."

It's reassuring that complaints for Virgin Media have now begun to come back down, with just 15 complaints per 100,000 customers in the latest Q2 2024 report.

Virgin Media, along with Sky, performed well for customer satisfaction in Ofcom's latest Comparing Service Quality report, with 81% of customers satisfied with their service.

Overall, Sky are consistently one of the best broadband providers for customer service, and won our industry award in this category in 2023.

For people looking for the highest customer service levels, Sky wins over Virgin Media in this regard.

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Verdict: Sky or Virgin Media broadband?

Overall winner: It's close, but ultimately Sky broadband offer better customer service, include a home phone line as standard, and now include a WiFi 6 router on all full fibre plans.

Sky broadband and Virgin Media broadband are both good options with fast speeds available from both providers, as well as a range of similar extras, such as whole home WiFi guarantee, WiFi 6 router, and pay TV plans.

Virgin Media's gigabit-capable broadband currently has wider availability than Sky broadband, with over 17.8 million premises passed, compared to 16 million with Sky on the Openreach FTTP network.

However, where customers have the choice of both providers, Virgin Media are offering cheaper prices except on their ultrafast 500Mb plan, where Sky's Full Fibre 500 package is cheaper.

Add-ons and service extras are fairly comparable between the providers, with both using Plume WiFi Pods to boost coverage, and both recently launching streaming TV services too.

Overall, for broadband, Sky just beat Virgin Media with their competitive pricing for new customers and better customer service record. However, for those who can get it, Virgin Media can be cheaper for the initial term, and their fast broadband is hard to beat.

Read more on Sky vs Virgin Media for TV.