Virgin Mobile vs Three: comparing their networks and benefits

✔ Virgin's overall mix of 4G/3G/2G coverage is better than Three’s

Virgin Mobile now use Vodafone’s network (they used to use EE), meaning they get access to one of the most widespread networks for call signal (2G/3G) and for 4G data signal (see 5G further down).

More of the UK’s landmass is covered with call signal on Virgin than on Three, meaning you’re more likely to stay connected while you’re on the go, even in some pretty surprising locations.

You’ll also stay connected to 4G more often on Virgin if you’re out in the countryside. In urban areas there’s little difference between the networks for both call signal and 4G data.

In any case, you should use both networks' coverage checkers below to see how coverage is in your area. Check everywhere you’ll actually use your phone, that’s more important than the national picture.

Useful link: More about Virgin Mobile's network

✔ 5G in far more UK towns and cities on Three

If your phone is 5G-ready, then you can get 5G on both Three and Virgin on all of their plans. While both are expanding their networks rapidly, it seems Three is coming out ahead of Virgin.

Three cover 300+ UK towns and cities while Virgin cover a comparatively low 120+ towns and cities. But, 5G is still only on a street by street basis. So how well do each network cover their declared locations?

On both networks you’ll only really get 5G in the busier, more populated areas. This includes train stations and other transport hubs as well as stadiums and high streets. Neither network is great at covering whole towns and cities.

Both sell 5G at no extra cost. You'll get it on every SIM only plan or phone contract, as long as the model itself has 5G data as a feature.

Useful link: Latest news on Three's 5G rollout

✔ 4G speeds are almost neck and neck between them

Both Virgin and Three sit in the middle for fastest 4G speeds. They’re not the fastest, nor the slowest. We use the results of independent network tester Opensignal who take millions of measurements from volunteer phones.

They measure Three’s speeds at around 25.2 Mbps and Virgin’s hosts Vodafone at around 21.6 Mbps. But these are only averages and don’t give you the whole picture.

Since there’s no speed caps on Virgin, we can say you get the same peak speeds of around 80 Mbps in city centres and lows of 6 Mbps in rural areas as we got in our tests. Three got peaks of 44 Mbps and lows of around 10 Mbps.

So from our experience we’d say you can get higher peak speeds on Virgin, but if you’re out in the sticks you might get better 4G speeds on Three. If you’re not satisfied you can always return your SIM within 14 days of receiving it.

Useful link: Three's 4g+ Big Network Build news

✔ Three are racing ahead for 5G speeds

Since 5G has been live for a while on both networks, we can make some pretty accurate predictions of typical 5G speeds using results from Opensignal and Speedtest by Ookla.

Speeds on Three fall between 103.9 Mbps to a blistering 246.65 Mbps vs speeds on Virgin’s host network of 73.3 Mbps to 159.40 Mbps. Both have a lot of variation in results, so we think it’s dependent on your location.

Both are revolutionary compared to 4G and will allow more advanced features to be developed for phones that weren't previously possible. But if you want bragging rights, Three are probably the current best bet.

The reason Three currently have the advantage is that they've secured more radio spectrum in the same more-optimal wavelengths to broadcast their 5G on. It's paying off now but as more spectrum gets sold, Three may not have a permanent advantage.

Useful link: What speeds might Three's 5G achieve?

✔ Three's WiFi calling supports more phones than Virgin’s

Three’s overall call signal is weaker than Virgin’s and tends to suffer more indoors, as their frequencies aren’t as good at getting through building materials. But indoor signal can suffer on all networks.

To help out, both networks have got WiFi calling (lets your phone make calls via WiFi where no mobile signal) and 4G calling (utilises more types of signal for calls, so better chance of having reception).

Three’s is much better overall. With Virgin’s you can’t transfer a call from WiFi signal to 4G signal without your call dropping. Their list of supported devices is also quite short, and if your phone isn’t on there it’s not likely to work.

We think Three's list of supported phones is actually a little defensive (the phones the guarantee rather than the models that might work). It kicks in easily when needed and supports SMS texting too.

Useful link: Our guide to the best WiFi calling networks

✔ Virgin Mobile offer more WiFi hotspots than Three

Virgin Mobile customers get a real advantage from joining a mobile provider that's also part of a broadband supplier: Virgin Media. You can tap into their broadband expertise.

On any of Virgin’s pay monthly plans you’ll get access to a network of 4.3 million+ hotspots, which are usually located in places like restaurants, transport hubs (including the London Underground) and on the high street.

This is useful as it saves on using up your mobile data allowance. You get unlimited usage. Using less data means you could in theory choose a smaller, cheaper plan (although the actual savings are hard to predict).

Three don’t offer nearly as many hotspots, but you do get free WiFi on the London Underground, which pairs well with their great WiFi calling to keep you connected (here's how to get that on Three).

Useful links: Free UK-wide WiFi on Virgin Mobile | Three's free WiFi on the Underground

✔ Three have scrapped their Go Binge streaming benefit

There used to be an excellent benefit on Three called Go Binge. It gave you an effectively unlimited data allowance to stream a selection of apps on your phone, even if you were on a plan that had a data cap.

There are a few networks still offering similar schemes, which you can read about here. But Three aren't one of them. Virgin do have something similar, for social media messaging data, which you can read about below.

Normally, video and music streaming are some of the data-hungriest activities you can do on your phone, so not having this count towards your data usage on Three was a real advantage.

Overall, Three are getting in danger of becoming a bit of a low-frills provider. They've stripped out other benefits too recently, like their Wuntu Rewards app and their easyJet upgrade offer.

Useful link: Read Three's existing customer guide for Go Binge

✔ Virgin Mobile's free data focusses on social media apps

Virgin don't have anything quite as generous as Three's Go Binge was in terms of writing off the cost of data for specific apps but they do still have something:

If you're on a pay monthly phone or SIM only contract, they'll not charge you for data you use for pictures and texts via the messaging apps Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger. And also the social network Twitter.

It effectively means you can use these as much as you like without worrying about the data. In our guide to networks that offer free data, we point out that you use this type of app a lot but that they're not really the biggest consumers of data.

We're basically saying it's a nice feature if you use your phone with these apps a lot but don't expect it to save you huge amounts of data.

Useful link: Data-free messaging on Virgin Mobile

✔ Three no longer offer free inclusive roaming

On any of Three’s pay monthly plans you used to be able to roam in 71 worldwide destinations and this was one of our favourite roaming schemes. But you no longer get access to this if you’re new to Three.

Instead you have to pay a daily charge while you’re abroad to be able to access your regular UK allowance. It’s currently £2 per day in the EU and £5 worldwide.

It’s not too terrible for worldwide roaming, but there are still a lot of networks that offer inclusive EU roaming. It’s sad to see our former favourite for roaming Three not even offer EU roaming now.

Nowadays, £5 a day doesn’t sound too bad when compared to some of the really expensive rates you’ll have to pay in worldwide destinations. Virgin’s rates are particularly high. But either way it’ll get expensive fast.

Useful link: Full details on Three's free roaming scheme

✔ Virgin Mobile promise to keep inclusive EU roaming

While mobile networks no longer have to offer free inclusive EU roaming, Virgin Mobile have promised to keep their roaming scheme in place. You can check all their roaming destinations here.

Virgin Mobile don’t go beyond this basic provision though. And have quite a few finickity rules about how much of your normal data you can use abroad (see their roaming calculator here to work it out).

So if you mainly travel within the EU, you’re covered with Virgin. But if you regularly go further afield, you might want to check Virgin’s extra roaming costs here as you could end up paying a lot for even using a little bit of data.

You can set a cap to make sure you don’t accidentally overspend. While Virgin’s roaming scheme isn’t anything special, it’s still nice that they offer it. And it’s a lot better than Three’s scheme for EU roaming.

Useful link: Virgin's guide to all their roaming costs

✔ Virgin Mobile offer free social media data

Virgin offer a decent benefit that helps you save a bit of your data when using certain social media apps. It won’t save you quite as much as a free data streaming data scheme would, but it’s still nice to have.

If you're on a pay monthly phone or SIM only contract, they'll not charge you for data you use for pictures and texts via the messaging apps Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger. And also the social network Twitter.

This means you can browse these apps without having to think about how much data you’re using. As we said in our guide to free data schemes, this won’t save you a lot of data, even if you use these apps a lot.

We're basically saying it's a nice feature if you use your phone with these apps a lot but don't expect it to save you huge amounts of data.

Useful link: Data-free messaging on Virgin Mobile

✔ Virgin Mobile offer data rollover on all plans

Most people's data usage varies from month-to-month, depending on what you've been doing with your phone. Sometimes you'll get right near your data-limit or over, sometimes you'll get nowhere near.

Virgin offer a solution to the annoyance of losing your unused data and help you get the most of what you paid for (see all the networks that offer it here).

It's called Data Rollover on Virgin, and it comes with every pay monthly SIM only plan or phone contract. It lets you keep unused data to use next month instead. It's a second chance to use it.

We think it pairs well with their WiFi hotspot network and free social media data as you can save a lot of data then roll it over for your next month. Three don’t offer any form of data rollover, not even on pay as you go.

Useful link: Everything you need to know about data rollover

✔ Virgin Mobile give you more flexibility in your plan

Virgin offer what are known as “split contracts” for their phone deals. This is where you have a separate finance agreement (loan) for the cost of your phone and one payment for your usage (mins, texts, data).

This means you can pay off your loan and upgrade your phone early, you can change or leave your usage plan whenever while still paying off your phone and they also let you set your contract length at either 24-months or 36-months.

Also you’ll need a good credit rating, because most of Virgin Mobile’s smartphone contracts are based on credit agreements (basically loans).

Otherwise, you’ll find a decent range of iPhone, Samsung and some other cheaper Android models with Virgin Mobile, all with no upfront costs.

Useful link: See Virgin's full range of phones

✔ Three's contracts are more conventional

Getting a contract on Three is very different to getting one on Virgin. All their contracts are 24-months only and there’s no credit agreements or early upgrades. It’s a lot simpler, but a lot less flexible.

Three's phone range is very similar to Virgin's. We've built a new tool for you to compare phone contract prices on Three, Virgin and other mobile networks.

Just search for the phone you want, click on it, set the usage plan you want and it’ll show you a comparison of what sort of prices you’ll get on each network.

Or look at our popular model example comparison further down the page to compare Virgin Mobile and Three's starting prices on some of the best selling phones.

Useful link: Compare mobile phone contracts