Internet Service Providers in
Chicago, IL

As a Chicagoan, you probably know where to get the best hot dogs, cracker-crust pizza, and brownies—but what about the best home internet? The most populous city in the Midwest offers so many internet providers that it's hard to choose. So I've pulled the top three options for you to consider. You might like Xfinity Internet, which is available in almost every neighborhood in the city. AT&T Fiber is also stellar for its fast speeds and fair prices. And if neither of those do it for you, you can also look at Google Fiber Webpass, an avant-garde fixed wireless option for folks who love fast speeds at a bargain deal.

—Brianne Sandorf

According to the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, AT&T Fiber is the internet service in Chicago that users are most happy with. As one of our best-rated internet providers, it tops ubiquitous cable provider Xfinity in terms of speeds and symmetrical uploads, while the prices are nice too. Just make sure that you can actually get fiber when you sign up and not AT&T's wireless option, Internet Air, which isn't as reliable.

Comcast's Xfinity Internet has the biggest coverage area in Chicago, claiming 97.43% of the city, according to FCC data. You can scarcely swing a bat in the Windy City without hitting an Xfinity service locale! But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck with the cable provider if you don’t want it—there are still other internet services with broad availability in the city, including AT&T and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet.

If there's one thing you can rely on for Xfinity internet, it's getting fast download speeds almost anywhere in Chicago. Most Windy City residents can get Xfinity speeds ranging from 75Mbps to 800Mbps, although we recommend paying $55 a month for the 400Mbps Xfinity Fast plan for most Chicago residents. It hits that sweet spot of being affordable while providing enough internet speed for a household of four or fewer. You can also save some money on your internet and cell phone bill if you sign up for an Xfinity cell phone plan along with your internet plan. Xfinity Mobile offers one of the better cell phone plans, so it's worth checking out if you're not in love with your current carrier.

We recommend a "fiber or bust" approach with AT&T Internet. In other words, you should only go for AT&T if it offers fiber in your part of Chicago. AT&T Fiber is some of the best in the country. It's affordable but also very fast—download and upload speeds range from 1,000Mbps to a mind-boggling 5,000Mbps, depending on the plan. You don't need to worry about data caps or contracts, either. But if your area only offers AT&T Air, we recommend looking at a different cable or 5G home internet provider instead. AT&T just isn't worth it without fiber.

This unique service from Google Fiber uses an antenna to dispatch a fixed wireless connection to apartment buildings and multi-family dwellings, giving customers speeds up to a gigabit for as low as $63 a month. The cost beats the pricing for AT&T's gigabit fiber plan, and you don't need to pay for installation fees, annual contracts, or data overage charges. But you do need to live with the fact that you can't get data speeds over 1,000Mbps.

Yes, there are plenty of other internet options in Chicago besides Comcast Xfinity. While Xfinity service is accessible across nearly 100% of Chicago, most citizens have other internet options if they don’t wish to enroll with Xfinity.

Nationwide, top cable and internet bundle prices average about $135. Precise cable and internet costs in Chicago depend on which providers you sign up for and where in the city you live. Check out Best Cable TV and Internet Bundles for a ballpark estimate of how much cable television and other home services might cost you.

According to the FCC National Broadband map, Charter-owned internet provider Spectrum Internet isn’t offered in Chicago. However, other cable providers, such as Xfinity, are.

Chicago students and their families may be eligible for Chicago Connected, a program that connects students to the internet at no cost. To learn about more subsidized internet options, you can also read our piece about what to do after the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program.

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