VGA Cables Price Comparison
Compare 302 VGA cables from Lindy, StarTech.com, kenable and more — find the best price across multiple UK retailers in one place.
VGA Cables price comparison UK
VGA may be decades old, but it refuses to disappear. Projectors in meeting rooms, legacy monitors in offices, industrial displays and older workstations still rely on the HD15 connector — and when you need a replacement or extension cable, the sheer number of options can be genuinely confusing. We've catalogued 302 products across this category, with prices ranging from 3 £ for a basic 1m connector up to 8 £ for professional-grade, long-run coaxial cables from specialist brands.
The market splits fairly cleanly into two camps. On one side, budget-friendly options from kenable and connektgear sit well below 4 £ and cover the vast majority of everyday use cases — connecting a laptop to a projector, or a desktop to a secondary monitor. On the other, brands like Lindy, Vivolink and Black Box command significantly higher prices for a reason: coaxial construction, double shielding, ferrite cores and fully wired 15-pin HD15 connectors that actually matter when you're running a cable across a boardroom or through a wall conduit. Our analysis shows Lindy alone accounts for 43 products in this catalogue, with an average price that reflects their professional positioning.
One thing worth flagging: the single most common mistake buyers make here is getting the length wrong. Too short is obvious, but too long is a real problem too — excessive coiled slack acts as an antenna for EMI, introducing the kind of colour fringing and ghosting that makes you think your monitor is failing. For runs beyond 5 metres, shielding quality and wire gauge (AWG) stop being optional extras and become the deciding factor. StarTech.com's coaxial range handles this well, and their cables are among the most-compared on the site. For KVM setups or multi-display installations, it's also worth checking whether you need a specific gender configuration — male-to-female extension cables serve a very different purpose to the standard male-to-male run.
If you're sourcing cables for a business or AV installation, Microconnect and Kramer Electronics offer solid mid-range options around 4 £ that balance build quality with sensible pricing. Kramer in particular is well regarded in the AV integration world. For home or office use where runs stay under 3 metres, honestly, most fully wired cables in the 3 £–4 £ bracket will do the job without fuss. Compare current offers across retailers like Amazon, Currys and specialist AV suppliers — prices shift more than you'd expect on what looks like a commodity product. You can also explore our wider networking cables and USB cables categories if you're refreshing a full cable setup.
How to Choose the Right VGA Cable
Most people grab the cheapest VGA cable they can find and wonder why the picture looks soft or washed out. The truth is that cable quality matters far more than the VGA spec itself — especially once you go beyond 3 metres. Here's what actually makes a difference.
Get the length right — then add a margin
Measure the actual distance between your video source and display, then add 0.5–1 metre for routing around furniture or cable management. Cables that are too short create tension on connectors and cause intermittent signal loss; cables that are too long and left coiled pick up electromagnetic interference. The sweet spot for most office and home setups is 1m–3m. Beyond 5m, you're in territory where cable construction becomes critical — don't just buy the longest cable available as a catch-all.
Fully wired vs partially wired: don't assume
A fully wired VGA cable connects all 15 pins of the HD15 connector, supporting full colour depth and all video modes including DDC (Display Data Channel, which lets your monitor communicate its capabilities to the PC). Partially wired cables — common in very cheap options — can cause missing colour channels, resolution caps, or monitors that fail to be detected at all. Always check the product description explicitly states 'fully wired' if you're buying below 4 £. Connektgear and Cablenet both advertise this clearly, which is why they feature prominently in our most-compared listings.
Shielding and construction for longer runs
For cables up to 3m in a typical office environment, single-shielded PVC cables are generally adequate. Push beyond 5m — or run cables near power conduits, fluorescent lighting or other RF sources — and you need coaxial construction with foil-plus-braid double shielding. StarTech.com's coaxial range is specifically designed for high-resolution, long-distance runs and is worth the price premium over 4 £ for these scenarios. Ferrite cores at the connector ends add another layer of high-frequency noise suppression; their presence is a reliable quality indicator.
Connector type: HD15, D-Sub9 or Mini-VGA?
The vast majority of VGA cables use the HD15 (15-pin D-Sub) connector — three rows of five pins. However, some older serial peripherals use the visually similar D-Sub9 (9-pin), and certain laptops use a Mini-VGA port that requires an adapter. Confusing these is a very easy and very frustrating mistake. Check both ends of your connection before buying. The Digitus D-Sub9 extension cable in our catalogue is a legitimate product for serial data applications, not a video cable — it's listed here because of connector family overlap, but it won't carry a VGA signal.
Resolution support: does it actually matter?
For standard 1080p or lower resolutions at short cable lengths, almost any fully wired cable will work. Where it matters is at higher resolutions (1600×1200, 1920×1200) over longer distances. A cable rated for 300 MHz bandwidth will maintain signal integrity at these resolutions where a 110 MHz cable will show softness or colour fringing. If you're running a 1080p signal over 7m or more, look for cables explicitly rated for high resolution — StarTech.com and Lindy both publish bandwidth specs, which is a good sign.
- Budget picks (From 3 £ to 4 £) : Connektgear and kenable dominate this bracket with basic male-to-male cables in 1m–5m lengths. Perfectly adequate for short runs to a monitor or projector in a home or small office. Check explicitly for 'fully wired' — not all cables at this price point are. Don't use these for runs over 3m if image quality matters.
- The reliable middle ground (From 4 £ to 4 £) : StarTech.com's coaxial cables and Digitus's better-specified options sit here. You get proper shielding, ferrite cores, and published resolution specs. This is the sweet spot for most professional office environments and AV setups up to 7m. Microconnect also offers solid value in this range.
- Professional-grade (From 4 £ to 5 £) : Lindy, Kramer Electronics and Cablenet's DDC2-rated cables occupy this bracket. Expect double-shielded coaxial construction, metal connector housings, and full DDC2 support for plug-and-play monitor detection. Appropriate for boardrooms, AV installations, and any run where signal integrity is non-negotiable.
- Specialist and long-run (Over 5 £) : Vivolink, Black Box and the upper end of Lindy's range. These are cables for permanent installations, very long runs (15m+), or environments with extreme EMI. Overkill for a home office, but the right tool for AV integrators and IT infrastructure projects. Lindy's average price in this category reflects their professional catalogue depth.
Top products
- connektgear 3m VGA Monitor Connector Cable - Male to Male - Fully Wired (connektgear) : The most-compared cable in this category and for good reason — fully wired, sensibly priced, and 3m covers the majority of real-world setups. Not the most robust build, but entirely fit for purpose in a home or office environment.
- StarTech.com 5m Coax High Resolution Monitor VGA Video Cable - HD15 to HD15 M/M (StarTech.com) : The go-to recommendation for anyone running a cable beyond 3 metres. Coaxial construction with proper shielding makes a genuine difference at 5m — this is where the StarTech premium actually earns its keep.
- StarTech.com 10m Coax High Resolution Monitor VGA Cable - HD15 M/M (StarTech.com) : One of the few cables in this catalogue genuinely rated for long-distance, high-resolution runs. At 10m, coaxial construction isn't optional — and StarTech delivers. Overkill for a desk setup, essential for a boardroom or AV rack.
- Lindy 1m Premium SVGA Monitor Extension Cable, Black (Lindy) : Lindy's build quality is noticeably better than budget alternatives — metal connector housing, premium shielding. At 1m it's arguably over-specified, but if you're extending an existing cable run and need reliability, this is the right choice.
- Cablenet 3m SVGA DDC2 HD15 Male - Male Black PVC Cable (Cablenet) : Explicit DDC2 support and a clean PVC jacket make this a dependable choice for plug-and-play monitor setups. Priced above the budget bracket but the DDC2 certification removes any guesswork around monitor detection — worth it for a permanent installation.
Related categories
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum length for a VGA cable before signal quality degrades?
Signal quality typically starts to degrade noticeably beyond 5–7 metres with standard cables. With a high-quality coaxial, double-shielded cable rated at 250 MHz or above — such as those from StarTech.com or Lindy — you can reliably run up to 10–15 metres at 1080p without visible artefacts. Beyond 15m, active signal boosters or a different connection standard (DisplayPort, HDMI) are a more practical solution.
Do I need a fully wired VGA cable, or will a cheaper partially wired one do?
Always buy fully wired unless you have a specific reason not to. Partially wired cables omit pins used for colour channels and DDC communication, which can result in your monitor not being detected, resolution being capped, or colours appearing incorrect. The price difference is negligible — most cables from 3 £ to 4 £ are fully wired, but it's worth confirming in the product description before purchasing.
What's the difference between a standard VGA cable and a coaxial VGA cable?
A coaxial VGA cable uses individual coaxial conductors for each of the three colour signals (red, green, blue), surrounded by foil and braid shielding. This construction dramatically reduces signal attenuation and EMI pickup compared to standard twisted-pair cables. The practical difference is minimal at 1–2 metres, but becomes significant at 5m and beyond — coaxial cables maintain sharper, more colour-accurate images over longer distances. StarTech.com's HD15 coaxial range is a good benchmark for this construction type.
Can I use a VGA cable for audio as well as video?
No — VGA carries video signals only. The HD15 connector has no pins allocated for audio. If you need audio alongside a VGA video connection, you'll need a separate 3.5mm audio cable or a different video standard altogether. This is one of VGA's key limitations compared to HDMI or DisplayPort, both of which carry audio natively.
Are expensive VGA cables worth it, or is it a marketing gimmick?
For short runs under 3 metres at standard resolutions, no — a well-specified cable from 3 £ to 4 £ will perform identically to one costing five times as much. The premium is justified for longer runs, higher resolutions, or environments with significant electromagnetic interference. What you're paying for is coaxial construction, higher AWG wire, ferrite cores, and metal connector housings — all of which have measurable impact on signal integrity over distance. Gold-plated contacts, on the other hand, are largely cosmetic at VGA frequencies.
What does DDC2 mean on a VGA cable, and do I need it?
DDC2 (Display Data Channel version 2) is a communication protocol that allows a monitor to send its capability information — supported resolutions, refresh rates, colour profiles — to the connected PC. A DDC2-compatible cable (fully wired, with all 15 pins connected) enables plug-and-play monitor detection and automatic resolution selection. Most modern monitors expect DDC2 support; without it, Windows may default to a generic low-resolution display mode. Cablenet's DDC2 HD15 cables explicitly support this, as do most fully wired cables above 4 £.
What pitfalls should I avoid when buying a VGA cable online?
The biggest trap is buying on price alone without checking the specification. Watch out for: cables listed without 'fully wired' confirmation; lengths that seem too good to be true (a 10m cable for under 3 £ is a red flag); and D-Sub9 cables masquerading as VGA cables due to similar connector appearance. Also avoid buying the longest cable available 'just in case' — excessive length coiled behind a desk actively degrades signal quality. Check retailer return policies too; John Lewis and Amazon offer straightforward returns if the cable turns out to be incompatible.