Virgin Media is one of the leading ISPs (Internet Service Providers) in the UK but finding the ideal VPN to partner with your Virgin Media account is getting increasingly difficult.

Many VPN providers are slow and unreliable and others are geared directly towards US customers.

Add to that the fact some just don’t work well with Virgin Media and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Virgin Media blocks access to a lot of content that Virgin Media subscribers are interested in, such as streaming sites and torrenting services.

So, you need the top VPN client that will let Virgin Media users establish a reliable VPN connection, secure your online data, promote internet privacy, and browse the internet risk-free.

Over the past few years, I’ve been testing a range of VPN services with my Virgin Media account, mostly due to various Virgin Media blocks, and armed with this knowledge and feedback have concluded the seven leading options.

The seven providers I’ve selected below ultimately offered the best service at the best prices.

So, if you’re a Virgin Media customer, keep scrolling to discover which VPN is the best VPN for Virgin Media.

Top 7 Virgin Media VPN services

1. ExpressVPN

With more than 3,000 servers in 94 countries around the world, ExpressVPN offers one of the biggest VPN networks allowing you to access content blocked by Virgin Media from around the world.

This is great if you want to watch streaming services like Netflix, Android TV, Amazon Prime Video, or BBC iPlayer from the US, SBS from Australia and a whole lot more.

If you find yourself with buffering when streaming video then the unlimited bandwidth and unlimited speeds allowed will come in handy.

A total of five simultaneous connections are allowed giving you the ability to protect your desktop, tablet and mobile in the home. This is good but, if we are honest, not as many as most other providers on this list.

There is a massive 30-day money-back guarantee available, however, allowing you to test the service with your Virgin Media subscription, and it has great security features, such as DNS leak protection and a kill switch on top of robust 256-bit AES encryption and a strict no logs policy aided by being based in the British Virgin Islands.

As far as VPNs for Virgin Media go, this is one of the best, if not the best in the industry with all kinds of other protections that can shield you from malicious websites, protect you from bandwidth throttling, and if you ever have any issue, you can always turn to its live chat support.

• Read our ExpressVPN review to discover more.

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2. IPVanish

IPVanish performed as one of the best VPNs for the Virgin Media Internet Service Provider thanks to its excellent speeds and impressive all-around service

Every VPN service will have some speed loss but this was minimal when connected to their UK VPN servers. There are more than 2,000 servers available overall including multiple UK-based servers across four locations nationwide.

Torrent and P2P access are allowed on the service which is good news because Virgin Media aren’t exactly torrent-friendly. Unfortunately you can’t use it to stream Virgin Media Player and IPVanish is not good with other streaming sites like BBC iPlayer and Netflix.

It also means you can avoid traffic shaping by Virgin Media which usually limits your speeds on Torrents and Usenet in peak hours allowing you to get your maximum internet speed.

Zero traffic logs are stored which means that neither Virgin, the UK government nor anyone else can snoop on what you’re doing online. There is also 256-bit AES encryption and key security features like a kill switch and DNS leak protection too.

You also can enjoy unlimited simultaneous connections to the one package protecting your whole household. Another great VPN for Virgin Media.

• Read our IPVanish review

3. NordVPN

If you’re hugely concerned about your online privacy then it’s best to deal with VPNs for Virgin Media that aren’t one of the “Five-Eyes” countries.

Five-Eyes countries are the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand which share information amongst themselves.

• We’ve also picked the Top VPN services for the UK

NordVPN is registered in Panama which essentially makes them an “off-shore” provider who in theory doesn’t have to play by the rules that “on-shore” providers may have to. This means the no-user logs guarantee offered by NordVPN is absolutely watertight.

The service stores no logs of what you do while connected and they have “double-hop” servers that encrypt your data not just once but twice.

Naturally, it is an expert in unblocking streaming services, and that includes streaming Virgin Media via your Android TV, as well as all the services and sites blocked by Virgin Media such as BBC iPlayer and all the other big streaming sites.

Other mode-specific servers are available for Tor, Ultrafast TV streaming, Anti DDoS and Dedicated IP Servers. The server Network from NordVPN is a sizeable one with multiple UK-based servers available.

NordVPN comes with all the key features like a kill switch, up to 6 simultaneous connections, and everything you need to keep your internet connections secure. A great low-cost Virgin Media VPN.

• Read our NordVPN review

4. VPN.ac

VPN.ac are a provider you may not have heard of and you won’t often find them listed on other “Comparison” websites.

The good news is they’re actually one of the best and fastest providers around and definitely deserve to be listed in the best VPNs for Virgin Media subscribers.

Testing the service with our Virgin Media account using their UK and Netherlands servers resulted in some of the best download speeds I’ve seen.

They’re not quite as beginner friendly as some of the other services and are more geared towards strong encryption. They also lack a lot of the bells and whistles of larger providers but if you are looking for core features like a kill switch you are in luck.

If you’re a techie then you’ll love their policies and encryption standards but if you’re a beginner you should stick with ExpressVPN which is easier to use, has more apps available, and a larger server network. VPN.ac’s is much smaller but still covers off all the main locations.

You can have up to 6 simultaneous connections so most devices connected to your Superhub Wi-Fi or Wired connection can be protected with one account.

• Read our VPN.ac review

5. CyberGhost VPN

If you like to stream content from official TV services then a CyberGhost VPN subscription is definitely worth considering as one of the best VPNs for Virgin Media.

They have dedicated servers to unlock all the most popular streaming services and their download speeds are good enough to view in high quality. Their VPN apps are also among the most user-friendly of any VPN service.

Of course, you also get all the benefits of any VPN service too so if protecting your online privacy while connected to Virgin Media is top of your priority list then you’re covered.

You also get up to seven simultaneous connections so if you want to protect your entire family then you’re covered and there are apps available for all major devices.

There will be no bandwidth throttling with this premium VPN at your side, and all VPN users will be maximally protected.

It definitely deserves its place on the list of the best Virgin Media VPNs, and it is easily one of the best VPNs for any other purpose, as well.

• Read our CyberGhost review to find out more.

6. Surfshark

Nearing the end of the list, we have a fairly new virtual private network known as Surfshark.

Like the others, this one offers everything you need to have in a reliable VPN, from DNS leak protection and a kill switch to the strict no-logs policy and safe internet traffic. It unblocks Virgin Media, of course, as well as anything else.

Streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and even torrent sites can be accessed. Sadly like other apps, Virgin TV isn’t accessible.

It can even unblock many regions of Netflix, and all the while keep your online activity confidential and protect you from malicious websites.

Not to mention that it has ‘military-grade’ encryption, a kill switch, it also offers unlimited bandwidth, and, it is one of a rare few VPNs that offers unlimited simultaneous connections.

That means that you can use it to protect an unlimited number of devices at the same time. Also, this is likely your best stealth VPN option.

It has a total of 3,200 servers around the world, located in 65 different countries, and you can connect to any one of them from anywhere in the world.

In the UK, Surfshark has servers in London, Manchester, and Glasgow.

One issue that you may encounter is that its system, which is meant to identify the fastest servers that can secure your online presence and increase your VPN speed to the maximum – does not always seem to work.

Other than that, it is a good VPN that can offer private internet access, hide your actual location, and protect your personal data during internet usage.

7. Private Internet Access

Lastly, we have Private Internet Access, a US-based VPN that has been used for pretty much everything over the years from accessing any streaming service to using VPN apps to hide from your internet provider, employing IP leak protection, and, of course, it will serve you just as well for unblocking Virgin Media.

Private Internet Access is an old and reputable VPN even though it is located in a data-hungry country such as the US, which many already see as a major flaw.

Still, Private Internet Access went through audits that have proven that it is legitimate, so if you wish to access Virgin Media content, it can definitely deliver.

It has a kill switch to keep your identity safe, it can access and unblock almost any streaming service that you need, even if it is blocked by Virgin Media, and it has pretty fast connection speeds.

In terms of servers, Private Internet Access has them in 78 countries, and each subscription is accompanied with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Also, you can protect and use up to 10 devices at once. So, if you need to unblock Virgin Media, this is definitely a VPN to consider.

As far as VPN websites go, they might work a bit more on their transparency, but other than that, it is considered one of the best VPN services around today.

How to choose the best VPNs for Virgin Media

Choosing the best VPNs for Virgin Media is much like choosing a VPN service for any other UK ISP but there are a few Virgin-specific features that a VPN service can help with.

Below we’ve listed a few benefits of using a VPN with Virgin Media.

How to enable a VPN on your Virgin Media Superhub

Before you get started, you should consider which VPN protocol you want to use with Virgin.

There are several main protocols available.

• PPTP – The fastest but insecure
• L2TP/IPSec – Secure but not as widespread
• OpenVPN – The standard protocol which most VPNs will default to
• WireGuard/Lightway (ExpressVPN only) – The ultimate choice and most secure, the one we recommend.

With a VPN service such as ExpressVPN you can select the protocol you want to use in the Settings -> Connection area of their software.

We always recommend OpenVPN as the bare minimum level you should opt for. Older protocols are both slower and less secure and not worth using unless you have a very specific reason to do so, which most users won’t.

WireGuard is the new, lightweight, super-fast VPN protocol which is taking the industry by storm. It is available on most VPNs with the exception of ExpressVPN which has, for reasons best known to itself, decided to develop its own equivalent protocol known as Lightway.

Both WireGuard and Lightway are secure and fast and offer a reliable VPN protocol option for Virgin Media users.

If you need to use PPTP or L2TP for a specific reason you’ll need to enable their use on your Superhub. You can find instructions on how to do this below.

• Visit your Virgin Media Superhub admin page by opening a new web browser.
• In the address box type, http://192.168.0.1 and press enter.
• Log in with your admin username and password (you can find this on the back of the Superhub itself).
• Press Advanced Settings. You will need to press Yes to confirm you want to enter that area.
• Press Firewall.
• Tick IPSec Pass-Through and PPTP Pass-Through.
• Press Apply and then Yes to confirm the settings.

You will now be able to go back to the VPN software on your device and connect with both PPTP and L2TP protocols.

Remember though that you don’t need to do this for OpenVPN or Wireguard/Lightway which will work out of the box.

What can I watch on Virgin Media?

If you want to watch Virgin Media, there is plenty of content for you to enjoy. Virgin TV offers a huge selection of live TV as well as on-demand TV shows and films.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to use a VPN to watch Virgin TV outside the UK because there is a strong geo-restriction on the service.

Just a few of the TV channels you can watch on Virgin Media include

• BBC One
• BBC Two
• ITV
• Channel 4
• Channel 5
• Sky One
• Sky Two
• ITV 2, ITV 3 and ITV 4
• Dave
• Comedy Central
• Syfy
• Universal
• Fox
• Paramount

That’s a lot of TV channels and whole host of terrific content for you to enjoy when you watch Virgin Media. Just a few of the most popular shows that you can enjoy on Virgin Media include:

• The Walking Dead
• Line of Duty
• Grey’s Anatomy
• Wolf Creek
• Ash Vs Evil Dead
• S.W.A.T.
• Prime Suspect
• Criminal Minds

Can I use a Free VPN with Virgin Media?

If you wish to use a free VPN for Virgin Media, you can, of course, do so, but we would strongly advise against it.

A VPN costs money to run and if this is not being recuperated from fees, then the VPN provider must be getting it from somewhere else.

Usually, they will be selling their most valuable asset; your user data. This is worth a lot of money and will be sold off to the highest bidders which could be absolutely anyone. Online privacy simply does not exist in the world of free VPNs.

There are many other reasons not to use a VPN that is free too. Some come bundled with malware and spyware, others dump loads of unwanted software onto your device, while some even have links to the regimes in countries like the People’s Republic of China or Iran.

Then there are the service limitations that come with most free VPNs. Most offer few if any, server options and ISP throttling is common to stop servers available from being overwhelmed.

You will rarely be allowed to connect multiple devices simultaneously with a free VPN while VPN protocols and apps available for users will be hugely limited. There will be limited IP Addresses available which increases the likelihood of streaming services not working with them.

If you want to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Virgin TV with a free VPN, you can pretty much forget it.

A good VPN will set you back no more than a few dollars a month. That’s about the price of a cup of coffee. For all the benefits that brings to Virgin Media customers, it really is a no-brainer.

The short conclusion; you can use a free VPN with Virgin Media but you would be much better off not doing so and choosing one of the VPN services recommended in this guide instead.

Is it legal to use a VPN with Virgin Media?

The short answer to this is yes.

VPNs are 100% legal to us in the UK and most other countries around the world. It is only in places like China, Russia, and Iran where VPN use is illegal.

Indeed, it was not too long ago that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was actively encouraging the people of Russia to use VPNs to bypass Putin’s state censorship and read the truth about their war in Ukraine.

Having said all that, using a VPN can sometimes be in breach of Virgin Media’s terms of service.

If this is the case, Virgin Media could potentially suspend or even cancel your account. We are not aware of this ever happening and if you use your VPN kill switch, which all the best VPNs for Virgin Media come with, properly it shouldn’t be possible.

It isn’t a criminal offence either. But it is worth clarifying as well that using a VPN to try and cover up a criminal offence does not make that activity any less illegal.

If you use a VPN for any criminal activity, including breach of copyright, that is still a breach of the law and you could face consequences. But, those will be for the crime, not for using a VPN.

Conclusion

Virgin Media is a UK Internet service provider with a track record of throttling users and a legal requirement to log user data for a minimum of 12 months.

Our view is that all Virgin Media users should be using a VPN when connected to the internet with their ISP in order to protect their online privacy and to ensure that they are getting the full-speed service they are paying for.

Choosing a VPN can be tough which is why in this article, we have outlined no fewer than seven VPN providers that will work well with Virgin Media.

Without a doubt, the best VPN for Virgin Media right now is ExpressVPN because you get more for your money.

ExpressVPN is one of the fastest VPNs around. Its slick and well-designed apps are available for almost every device (including VPN router options too) and even its website is head and shoulders above most VPN websites you might visit.

With ExpressVPN, Virgin Media customers will get robust encryption, a wide range of online security features, a no-user logs policy that is independently verified and 100% reliable, a huge server network including dozens of UK-based VPN servers and much, much more.

All of the VPNs we have recommended in this guide will do a good job for Virgin Media users, but ExpressVPN is the pick of the bunch of the best VPNs for Virgin Media, and by some distance too.

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