10 Best Internet Providers for Gaming 2021

Everyone knows the worst part of gaming is laaag. So it’s important to get an internet provider that gives you the fastest download and upload speeds plus the lowest latency in your area.

So we analyzed more than 20 large internet service providers (ISPs) and their download speeds, upload speeds, latency, data caps, prices, and availability. We used our fastest ISPs report and latency data from the first three months of 2020 to see which providers made the cut.

We picked Xfinity, Verizon Fios Home Internet, AT&T Fiber, Spectrum, and Suddenlink as the victors in this skirmish. But some other ISPs, including local providers, might be a better teammate. So let’s go ham and “Leeroy Jenkiiinnnsss!” straight into our top 10 internet providers for gaming.

How to pick the best internet for gaming

Consider this your walkthrough guide to defeating the uncertainty boss and picking the best internet for your gaming habits.

So here’s what you should look for when choosing an ISP for gaming so you don’t d/c before it’s gg. Ready? Queue it up!

5 things gamers should look for in an internet plan

1. Fast download speeds
2. Fast upload speeds (mostly if you livestream)
3. Low latency or ping
4. Enough data for game patches and new downloads
5. Optimized setup

1. Download speeds of at least 75 Mbps

You don’t necessarily need gig speeds to game, but you should have enough speed to support your adventure through the New World open beta test while all your other devices and roommates are connected to the internet too.

So, even though the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recommends a measly 3–4 Mbps for gaming, we recommend much faster download speeds than that.¹

Why? Because you’ll likely need extra speed to watch a YouTube video while you game.  And you don’t want to lag out when your buddy catches up on the latest plays his football team made over the weekend. And your mom might be watching Facebook cat videos on her phone while you try to earn Play of the Game on Overwatch.

2. Upload speeds of at least 10 Mbps if you livestream

Don’t worry about upload speeds unless you livestream or upload YouTube videos. (Or work from home to support your gaming habits.) If you do do these things, aim for at least 5–10 Mbps upload speeds.

If you want to become the next Twitch star, you’re gonna need some upload speed to keep your fans happy. Twitch recommends 3–6 Mbps upload speeds for livestreaming, but just like download speeds, more is usually better.

Our resident video expert over at the Reviews.org YouTube channel, Craig, recommends aiming for 10 Mbps or faster upload speeds. Having faster upload speeds lets you publish your videos faster—and it lets you handle longer videos with larger file sizes without pulling out your hair over 2004-style wait times.

“If your file is more than 500 MB or so, 10+ Mbps will serve better. When I had 10 Mbps, it took about 30–45 minutes per video to upload,” says Craig.

3. Low latency around 50 ms or lower

Latency (also called lag, ms, or ping) is how long it takes for your computer to send and receive data from your game server. So with high latency, you might notice some lag between the time you execute your skill shot and when it actually launches toward an enemy player.

Latency isn’t really under your control, but you can kind of get an idea of how much latency, or lag, an ISP will have based on its connection type and past performance.

Average latency by internet connection type

• Satellite: 594–612 ms
• DSL: 24–42 ms
• Cable: 15–27 ms
• Fiber: 10–15 ms

If you’re not sure what your latency is on your current internet connection, take our free internet speed test to find out.

Test Your Latency & Internet Speed

Once you get your speed results, click Details to see your minimum and maximum latency plus jitter. (A high jitter score is just as bad as high latency—it’s probably causing that lag.)

4. At least 1 TB of data for downloads

The last thing anyone wants to see is that snarky email from your ISP warning that you’re about to hit your data cap. Especially when patch day is just around the corner.

For most of us, the usual 1 TB of monthly data most ISPs offer should be enough. But you should always double-check data caps when searching for a new ISP, because some providers won’t give you more than a handful of gigabytes each month.

And if your home is full of gamers, first off, lucky you. We’re jealous. But the more gamers you have, the more data you’ll need to keep up with everyone’s downloads. So go for unlimited data where you can.

Last but not least, internet power users will want unlimited data too. That includes anyone who hosts a server or downloads large files (like PDFs, videos, and photos) on a regular basis.

5. An optimized setup

All that internet speed and data could be for naught if your equipment isn’t optimized. Here are a few tips to get your gaming house in order:

1. Use an Ethernet cable, always. Wi-Fi is great and all, but a wired connection will give you the best speeds and lowest latency.
2. If you have to use Wi-Fi, position your router as close to your gaming station as you can. Try to avoid walls, furniture, and other objects sitting in between your router and your gaming rig or console.
3. Update your modem’s and router’s firmware. This can alleviate performance issues with the equipment itself, and it can potentially boost your speed since you’ll have the latest and greatest software.
4. Use Quality of Service (QoS) and network prioritization options on your router. If your router comes with QoS or prioritization features, you may want to set them up to prioritize your console’s or desktop’s internet traffic over other people and devices in your household. Of course, if your kiddo starts to see the buffering icon more than Peppa Pig, you’ll probably hear about it.

Want to learn more?

Need to boost your internet and avoid that lag? Check out this guide from our YouTube internet expert, Juan, plus related articles to take your connection from “pug” to “pog.”

• How Much Internet Speed Do I Need?
• How Much Speed Do I Need to Stream on Twitch?
• The Fastest Internet Providers
• The Best VPNs for Gaming
• The Best Cell Phones for Mobile Gaming
• Can You Game on Satellite Internet?

Xfinity: Best for most gamers

Xfinity’s combo of fast speeds, low latency, and a large service area make it our pick as the best gaming ISP for most.

When it comes to internet speed, Xfinity is the second-highest rated cable internet provider in our latest speed report. And as far as service coverage goes, Xfinity serves the third largest number of zip codes across the US, or 18.92%. That means, you’re more likely to find Xfinity internet in your area than other smaller ISPs.

Also, Xfinity maintained a low average latency of 26.4 ms across its service areas throughout the first quarter of 2020. That’s great news for gamers who need a lag-free experience to wombo-combo some bosses in the face.

We also like that Xfinity gives you a lot of choices when it comes to download speed—up to 1,200 Mbps. And its promotional prices aren’t half bad either. (P.S. Xfinity prices change based on where you live, so check out our Xfinity review for a clearer look at pricing across the US.)

On the other end of the spectrum, Xfinity is known for poor customer service. (Granted, so is every ISP. But none seems to have as bad a reputation as Xfinity.) Our recent experience with Xfinity customer service ended with us getting what we wanted, but we sure felt tired after jumping through so many hoops.

We had to request a call through the Xfinity app, then wait. Then wait once we got a call and the agent looked into our issue. Then wait some more while we waited to be connected with a new, senior-level agent. It’s the same story no matter where you go, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

Then there’s Xfinity’s 1.2 TB data cap. Sure, you can upgrade to unlimited data, but it’ll cost you extra.

Last thing: We’re not big fans of cable internet’s slow upload speeds. Depending on which Xfinity plan you get, you might be stuck with 3–5 Mbps upload speeds. That’s not nearly enough if you want to stream games to your Twitch audience or upload YouTube videos of your gaming commentary.

View Xfinity Internet Plans | Read the Full Xfinity Internet Review

Verizon Fios Home Internet: Best fiber internet speeds

Known for great customer service and fast fiber speeds, Verizon Fios Home Internet is an A+ pick for gamers on the East Coast.

It comes with a full-fiber connection and earned second place in our list of the fastest ISPs in the US, perfect for logging on and mopping the floor with raid bosses.

We’ve also heard nothing but good things about Verizon’s customer service. All our friends lucky enough to grab this internet provider have said every interaction with Verizon Fios Home Internet’s customer service was easy mode—from installation to troubleshooting.

Verizon Fios Home Internet’s latency score for January–March 2020 is 21.1 ms. We’d bet zenny, gold, and bells that you’ll have an easier time capturing a Chansey in Pokémon Red & Blue than you would finding an ISP with a lower latency.

We tend to ding ISPs with data caps instead of unlimited data, but Verizon Fios Home Internet presents a conundrum there.

It doesn’t specify how much data you get with its internet plans—but we have a hunch that it’s unlimited data. So don’t worry about downloading that patch, new expansion, or 18 new games during a Steam sale. (Who, us?)

Verizon Fios Home Internet’s biggest drawback is that it’s still pretty much limited to major metropolitan areas on the East Coast.

That small service area means that West Coast and Midwest gamers can’t get in on the fantastic service this ISP provides. (Though you might be able to check out Verizon 5G Home Internet instead.)

View Verizon Fios Home Internet Plans | Read the Verizon Fios Home Internet Review

AT&T Fiber: Also great fiber internet speeds

AT&T Fiber churns out fast speeds and low latency—if you can get it where you live.

AT&T Fiber gives you a leg up on your competition with a sweet, sweet fiber connection. But just like Verizon Fios Home Internet, it’s not available everywhere. Though you can get it on the West Coast—Cali friends, rejoice!

But with its DSL service included, AT&T services 23.33% of US zip codes—that’s the largest coverage area aside from satellite ISPs. (And AT&T uses newer DSL tech, so it might be okay for some RPG adventures.)

AT&T’s combo of DSL and fiber internet also scored a respectable score in our fastest ISPs report. It also kept latency to an average of 32 ms during the first three months of 2020. Not bad at all.

AT&T Fiber’s internet plans also happen to be some of the cheapest around, at least for the first 12 months.

The major downside to AT&T is that its fiber internet is limited to bigger cities in the 21 states it serves. And its DSL service might top off at 100 Mbps in your area—or you might get sub-75 Mbps speeds.

View AT&T Fiber Plans | Read the Full AT&T Internet Review

Spectrum: Cheap mid-speed plans for new gamers

Spectrum’s download speeds and latency are a-okay, but if you need gig speeds, get ready to pay a lot more.

Overall, Spectrum brings decent speeds to the table, ranking 14th out of 38 internet providers we analyzed in our fastest ISPs report. It’s also widely available across the US, including often overlooked states like Ohio and Maine.

On top of that, Spectrum comes with unlimited data. So no more stressing about downloading that new game at the end of the month. You’re good to go.

As for latency, it averaged 34.5 ms in January–March of 2020. So you should be able to go ham without rubberbanding all over the place.

Our biggest gripe with Spectrum is the extremely high price for its up to 1,000 Mbps plan.* As of the time we’re writing this, that plan costs a little bit over $100 a month, and that’s on top of a $199.99 installation fee. Those two costs make the Spectrum Internet® GIG plan one of—if not the—most expensive gig-speed plans we’ve seen.

You should also note that Spectrum Internet is a cable connection. But all of its plans come with at least 10 Mbps* of upload speed, which is enough to livestream or upload YouTube videos.

All that aside, Spectrum’s up to 200* and up to 400 Mbps* plans ring in at decent prices for the speed you get.

^{*Wireless speeds may vary.}

View Spectrum Internet® Plans | Read the Full Spectrum Internet® Review

Suddenlink: Best internet for rural gamers

Suddenlink may serve small towns where time passes at a crawl, but its internet speeds are anything but slow. It ranked 11th in our fastest ISPs report, putting it ahead of some other well-known providers like AT&T and Cox.

And while some ISPs focus on serving big cities, Suddenlink set up camp in small towns like Laughlin, Nevada, Osawatomie, Kansas, and Scotland Neck, North Carolina. So if you share a city with 1,000 other people, Suddenlink might be there to get you online.

Along with zippy speeds, Suddenlink also boasts an average latency of 36.3 ms for the first quarter of 2020.

Prices for most of Suddenlink’s internet plans are decent too, though there are a few oddballs in there. For example, the Internet 150 plan currently costs the same as the Internet 1 Gig plan. The pricing differences are based on your location, so take a close look at what prices and speeds are available in your area.

View Suddenlink Internet Plans | Read the Full Suddenlink Internet Review

Recap: The 10 best internet providers for gaming 2021

When it comes to gaming, don’t leave your download speed, latency, or data caps to luck. These 10 internet providers had some of the best speed scores and average latency to keep your gaming session running smoothly:

1. Comcast Xfinity: Best for most gamers thanks to great speeds and wide availability, but watch out for price changes based on where you live.
2. Verizon Fios Home Internet: Best fiber internet speeds and customer service. But it’s only available in the Northeast.
3. AT&T Fiber: Another great fiber internet service. It also has limited availability, but is available on the West Coast and Central US.
4. Spectrum: Great prices for up to 400 Mbps,* but watch out for a steep cost with its gig plan.
5. Suddenlink: Serves small towns with excellent speeds and low latency, but prices can be high for the speed you get.
6. Google Fiber: Excellent fiber speeds, but extremely limited availability.
7. Cox: Decent cable speeds, but may be costly for faster plans.
8. RCN: Great speeds, but limited to a small part of the Northeast.
9. Optimum: Great speeds, but also limited to a few states in the Northeast.
10. CenturyLink Fiber Internet: Much better speeds than CenturyLink DSL, but this fiber plan isn’t available in all CenturyLink service areas.

Methodology

To find the best internet providers for gamers, we took a look at the following features of large ISPs:

1. A combo of download and upload speed scores from our latest report on the fastest ISPs
2. Average latency from January–March 2020
3. The range of advertised download and upload speeds
4. Type of internet connection

We also picked internet providers that are more commonly available across the US. Yes, that’s why Google Fiber didn’t make our top five even though its internet service is stellar. (Google Fiber is limited to a few large cities in the US, so if you can’t get it in your area, that stellar service doesn’t mean much.)

FAQ

Still have questions about the best internet for gaming? Let’s see if our friendly NPC can help.

What’s the best Wi-Fi company for gaming?

We recommend Xfinity, Verizon Fios Home Internet, AT&T Fiber, Spectrum, or Suddenlink as great Wi-Fi, or internet, companies for gaming. But! We don’t recommend using Wi-Fi while gaming.

Using an Ethernet cable to connect to your modem or router gets you faster speeds, which are critical when playing any online game or first-person shooter (FPS).

What’s the best internet speed for gaming?

You’ll want download speeds of at least 75 Mbps for gaming, and upload speeds of at least 10 Mbps if you stream on Twitch or YouTube. We find that 75 Mbps is a great starting point and happy medium even if you’re sharing your internet connection with others.

If you have two gamers in your household, you may want to bump that up to 150 or even 200 Mbps.

Is 500 Mbps good for gaming?

Absolutely, 500 Mbps is a great download speed for gaming. This speed should support you and even some gamer buddies as you adventure into Azeroth, Mushroom Kingdom, or the European Dead Zone.

Is 1,000 Mbps internet fast for gaming?

Yes, 1,000 Mbps (or 1 gig) internet is fast enough for gaming. In fact, it may be a little overkill unless you’re sharing your network with a bunch of gamer buddies or smart home devices. Or if you run a Plex server or are a creative professional.

Take a peek at our internet speed guide to find out if you really need 1,000 Mbps—or if you could pay less for slower speeds.

What’s a good ping for gaming?

Any ping, or latency, below 50 ms is considered good for gaming. Once your ping starts creeping toward 100 ms or higher, you’ll start to experience lag and rubberbanding.

If your ping is off the charts, we have some tips that can help you fix high latency.

Which internet is best for PUBG?

Since PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) is an online multiplayer FPS game, you’ll want faster download and upload speeds—we’d recommend at least 100 Mbps download speeds and 5 Mbps upload speeds if possible.

Depending on where you live, all of our top 10 ISPs for gaming should offer a plan with 100 Mbps or faster download speeds. But we recommend one of our top five providers if you can get it: Xfinity, Verizon Fios Home Internet, AT&T Fiber, Spectrum, or Suddenlink.

The exact speeds really depend on how many people you share your internet with, as well as how many devices are online in your home. Check out our guide to internet speed for help figuring out how much speed you need for PUBG.

What’s the best Ethernet cable for gaming?

The best Ethernet cable for gaming is either a Cat-7 or Cat-8 cable with a gold-played RJ45 connection and enough length to reach from your modem or router to your gaming rig.

Cat-7 cables should support enough bandwidth for gaming. But if you need more, a Cat-8 cable like the Smolink 10-foot Cat-8 cable* supports 40 Gbps transmission speeds.

If durability is a concern, look for a nylon-braided cable, like this one from UGREEN.* 

^{*Amazon.com price: $9.99 and $6.99 (as of 7/22/2021 at 12:05 pm MST). See full disclaimer.}

Is DSL good for gaming?

DSL internet is generally not good for gaming, since it features slower download and upload speeds. However, newer DSL tech, like that used by AT&T, might offer enough speed for offline RPGs or casual games.

What’s the best internet provider for Xbox Live?

Depending on where you live, Xfinity, Verizon Fios Home Internet, AT&T Fiber, Spectrum, or Suddenlink are a great choice for logging on to Xbox Live.

Look for internet plans in your area with speeds of at least 50 to 100 Mbps, and try to use an Ethernet cable for gaming if at all possible.

P.S. Check out our guide to getting the right internet speed for your Xbox Series X.

What’s the best internet for PS4?

The best internet provider for a PS4 (or PS5) depends on where you live, but we’re fans of Xfinity, Verizon Fios Home Internet, AT&T Fiber, Spectrum, or Suddenlink internet for gaming.

Check to see which of these providers are in your area, and look for plans with 50–100 Mbps download speeds.

And if you’ve upgraded to a PlayStation 5, we’ve got a whole guide to picking the right internet speed for your console gaming.

Is Charter Spectrum good for gaming?

Yes, Charter Spectrum tends to be a good pick for gaming. It generally offers great internet speeds and low latency, as well as unlimited data. However, we don’t recommend its gigabit plan just because of the steep cost.

Is Comcast Xfinity internet good for gaming?

Yes, Comcast Xfinity is good for gaming. Xfinity tends to deliver great download speeds and low latency, plus it’s available across most of the US. Its promotional prices are also pretty low.

Just watch out for its 1.2 TB data cap and low upload speeds.

Is AT&T internet good for gaming?

AT&T’s fiber internet is good for gaming, but its DSL internet isn’t the best. That’s because DSL technology features slower speeds and higher latency than cable or fiber, which makes online and multiplayer games laggy.

Is Verizon 200 Mbps good for gaming?

Yes, Verizon Fios Home Internet’s 200 Mbps plan is a great pick for gaming, as is any of its internet plans.

You’ll get symmetrical 200 Mbps upload speeds with the Internet 200/200 plan, along with what’s probably unlimited data. (But Verizon neither confirms nor denies this.)

Related articles

• The Best Internet Service Providers
• The Fastest Internet Providers
• Can You Game on Satellite Internet?
• Best Mobile Hotspots for Gaming
• Best VPNs for Gaming
• How to Stream on Twitch

Sources

1. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), “Broadband Speed Guide,” February 2020. Accessed July 20, 2021.

^{*Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. Reviews.org utilizes paid Amazon links.}

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