Brits will soon be stung by higher broadband bills as UK providers up their prices, so we’ve put their latest deals side by side to see who comes out on top
In a few weeks, many Brits will be stung by an increase in their household bills as companies increase their prices in line with inflation. This happens every April and affects the cost of energy bills and those for mobile, TV and broadband.
Major providers including Sky and Virgin Media are among those preparing to up their prices acros, which means many of us will soon be paying more for our TV and home internet contracts. Sky has confirmed its broadband packages will increase by an average of 6.2%, while Virgin’s is increasing by 7.5%.
Earlier this year, many providers introduced a new fixed annual price increase to customers who recently signed a new contract, with these prices set to rise by £3 – or £3.50 with Virgin. With all of this in mind, now is the perfect time to ensure shoppers are on the best deal – or shop around for a better one.
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We’ve looked at the latest broadband deals from Sky and Virgin Media and compared them side by side to see which is better.
Virgin Media
Virgin Media’s broadband plans now start at £23.99 per month M125 Fibre Broadband plan, which offers an average download speed of 132Mbps. Virgin says this plan is ideal for busy households with five to nine devices and is more than adequate for several devices streaming or gaming simultaneously.
However, there isn’t a huge price difference to upgrade to faster speeds, with the 264Mbps plan coming in at £28.99. Or, shoppers may want to consider paying an extra £1 to upgrade to the £29.99 M350 Fibre Broadband plan, which boosts the speed to 362Mbps.
The fastest speed Virgin offers is with the 1,130Mbps Gig1 Fibre Broadband at £36.99 per month, but how does this compare to Sky?
Sky
Sky’s rival offers are somewhat similar, with a difference of less than £1 on many plans. Sky’s entry-level broadband plan is the 150Mbps Full Fibre 150 package at £27 per month.
This is £3.01 more expensive than Virgin’s M125 plan but only offers slightly faster speeds. The better options come with Sky’s higher plans like the £29 Full Fibre 300 option – 99p cheaper than Virgins M350 plan – but there still isn’t a huge difference.
However, there’s quite a price gap between the provider’s top broadband plans, with Sky’s 900Mbps Full Fibre Gigafast plan coming in £6.01 more expensive than Virgin’s 1,130Mbps Gig1 Fibre Broadband.
The Verdict
Ultimately, there’s not a lot in it on most plans in terms of price, with many comparable contracts separated by pennies until you reach the higher options. However, although some of Sky’s entry-to-mid-range plans are slightly cheaper than Virgin’s, they’re also slightly slower.
One major difference is that Virgin’s contracts are six months shorter than Sky’s, running for 18 months compared to Sky’s 24. This means you’re able to renegotiate and move to a different plan – or leave altogether – sooner, potentially saving you money down the line.
It’s also worth noting that broadband speeds vary by area, so it’s always worth entering your postcode into each provider’s coverage checker to find out what you can get. To get better value for money, it’s worth looking at consolidating broadband with TV and broadband subscriptions.
Earlier this month, Sky brought back a popular deal on its Full Fibre 150 broadband that also comes with TV and a free Netflix subscription. Sky said its ‘lowest ever price is back’ as it reduced the Essential TV and Full Fibre 150 broadband to £35 per month, a £5 saving every month or £120 over the life of the plan.
As well as 150Mbps broadband, this also grants access to more than 100 channels like Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts and Sky Sports News, plus major free-to-air channels like BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and many more. Over at Virgin, the comparable Bigger Combo bundle is a penny cheaper at £34.99 and comes with 362Mbps fibre broadband and more than 200 TV channels.
However, bear in mind that Sky Atlantic isn’t available with Virgin, so if you want to watch the latest HBO shows like The Last of Us or The White Lotus, you may want to go for Sky. Virgin has also just launched a new deal where customers receive a free iPad when signing up for its Mega Volt bundle.
At £88.99 per month, this is the providers most expensive plan, but you get plenty of bang for your buck. As well as a free 64GB iPad (9th Gen, 2021), this includes the Virgin Gig1 Fibre Broadband, more than 230 TV channels including Sky Sports and Sky Cinema, plus Netflix and a 250GB O2 SIM card.
