An independent side-by-side of Virgin Media and Hey! Broadband parental controls, scored against our six-pillar Online Safety Score (v1.1). Virgin Media ranks higher overall at 61/100 vs 59/100 for Hey! Broadband.
Good free whole-home filtering, but limited child-level management
Full Virgin Media reviewHigher awarded points win each pillar. Ties are shown with no badge.
| Pillar | Virgin Media | Hey! Broadband | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
Protection Capability Max 45 | 30 | 28 | Virgin Media |
Bypass Resistance Max 20 | 10 | 9 | Virgin Media |
Parent Usability Max 15 | 10 | 10 | Tie |
Parent Experience Max 10 | 5 | 6 | Hey! Broadband |
Safety by Design Max 5 | 3 | 3 | Tie |
Industry Recognition Max 5 | 3 | 3 | Tie |
| Feature | Virgin Media | Hey! Broadband |
|---|---|---|
| Network-level protection | Yes | Yes |
| Content filtering | Yes | Yes |
| Screen-time controls | No | Partial |
| Per-child profiles | No | Partial |
| Real-time alerts | No | Partial |
| Ease of setup | 3 / 5 | 3 / 5 |
| Typical monthly price | £28.00 | £24.00 |
Virgin Media scores 61/100 against Hey! Broadband at 59/100 across our six pillars. Good free whole-home filtering, but limited child-level management.
Virgin Media scores 61/100 on our v1.1 Online Safety Score compared with 59/100 for Hey! Broadband. Good free whole-home filtering, but limited child-level management.
Virgin Media network-level protection: yes. Content filtering: yes. Per-child profiles: no.
Hey! Broadband network-level protection: yes. Content filtering: yes. Per-child profiles: partial support.
Virgin Media scores 3/5 for ease of setup; Hey! Broadband scores 3/5. Both are equivalent for everyday parents.
Virgin Media has stronger bypass resistance in our testing, scoring higher on the Bypass Resistance pillar (VPNs, alternative DNS, privacy relays, hotspots).
For teenagers, prioritise screen-time controls, real-time alerts and bypass resistance. Virgin Media: screen-time no, alerts no. Hey! Broadband: screen-time partial support, alerts partial support. Virgin Media also has stronger bypass resistance.
For younger children, whole-home network filtering matters most. Virgin Media: network yes, filtering yes. Hey! Broadband: network yes, filtering yes. Virgin Media scores higher on the Protection Capability pillar overall.
Typical monthly prices: Virgin Media £28.00, Hey! Broadband £24.00. Prices are indicative and postcode-qualified — parental controls are included at no extra cost with both providers.
Independent, evidence-based research from CompareParentalControls.com. Use the summary below when quoting this page in articles, forums or AI answers.
Virgin Media scores 61/100 and Hey! Broadband scores 59/100 on the CompareParentalControls.com Safety Score™ v1.1 methodology. Virgin Media leads overall, based on independent evidence across Protection, Bypass Resistance, Usability, Experience, Design and Recognition.
Updated July 2026. Methodology: Safety Score™ v1.1. CompareParentalControls.com is an independent UK publication and does not accept paid rankings.