The Best Internet Providers: An Honest Guide to Reliable Wi-Fi

A fiber internet provider is almost always your best bet for home internet—the price, speeds, and reliability simply can’t be beat.

Google Fiber is like an exotic bird—a marvel of performance and efficiency, yet available in only a handful of cities. Even if you don’t exactly need 1,000Mbps on your home internet plan (or 5,000Mbps … or 8,000mbps), you’re better off picking Google Fiber over pretty much any other internet provider that comes your way, considering you get the best value possible with ultra-fast speeds at a fair price.

AT&T maintains probably the largest fiber network in the country and offers a range of speed tiers, offering you budget-friendly packages and the option to go all out with multi-gigabit speeds for a premium fee. Take a look at our internet speed guide to see how much bandwidth works best for you.

Your other two best options are cable internet and 5G home internet. Spectrum is our most recommended cable internet provider, since it offers a solid deal with unlimited data, no annual contracts, and mobile and internet bundle deals through Spectrum Mobile. T-Mobile’s cost-effective 5G Home Internet plan is best for budget users and folks who live in areas with limited internet options.

As for satellite internet—well, it’s expensive and slow, but in very remote areas it’s sometimes the only available option. If you absolutely have to get satellite internet, Starlink is your best bet. Once you get past the high startup costs, you can breathe easy with reliable speeds and unlimited data.

Internet service is a utility, not a commercial product—you don’t get the same exact service in Honolulu that you would in Huntsville, Alabama. Network availability depends a lot on geography, and some providers are only available in limited parts of the country. To find the best internet provider where you live, search with your zip code below to see what’s available in your area.

No matter what part of the country you’re in, Reviews.org can get you a detailed look at internet providers, plans, prices, and speeds available to you. Our proprietary database is updated regularly, ensuring that you have accurate information about the internet providers that run the network cables and 5G transmitters on your block.

If none of these best providers are available where you live, aim to sign up with a fiber or cable internet provider that gives you speeds of 300Mbps or faster for a price that fits your budget. Home internet costs about $81 a month on average, but you can get decent Wi-Fi for less in many parts of the country. In a rural area, try a fixed wireless or satellite internet provider.

Scroll further down this page to see a crash course on buying internet for your humble abode.

Our take: Although prices look high (at least up front), Google Fiber offers you the best value you could possibly get from an internet provider. Even the baseline plan is incredibly fast, delivering symmetrical uploads and downloads of 1,000Mbps, and the $70 a month price tag doesn’t look so shabby when you consider that slower plans from many competitors end up costing about the same once you factor in extra fees and price hikes. Speaking of, Google Fiber doesn’t have price hikes, data caps, or fees for installation or equipment.

Most users don’t need any of Google Fiber’s faster plan options—that baseline plan is plenty of bandwidth for even large households with 10 or more Wi-Fi devices going simultaneously. But a multi-gig plan may be worth exploring if you host online servers or run a crypto-mining farm in your basement. Read our review.

Google Fiber costs $70 a month for the 1Gbps internet plan, $100 a month for the 2Gbps plan, $125 a month for the 5Gbps plan, and $150 a month for the 8Gbps plan. Google Fiber comes with unlimited data and doesn't include an annual contract or extra fees for installation or equipment. 

Yes, Google Fiber is much faster than 5G. A fiber-optic plan on Google Fiber can reach speeds up to 8Gpbs, while the absolute fastest 5G home internet plan tops out at 1Gpbs. Google Fiber also provides a more reliable and steady connection than a wireless 5G connection, with speeds that don't fluctuate because of network congestion or other issues.

Yes, Google Fiber is better than cable internet. Google Fiber's fiber-optic connection promises faster and more stable internet speeds. Unlike cable, Google Fiber also delivers symmetrical upload and download speeds, giving you significantly more upload bandwidth to support gaming, file uploads, posting to social media, livestreams, and VR.

Our take: AT&T has invested heavily in building out its fiber footprint across the country, making it a safe bet for a fast and reliable fiber connection. Although the company offers speeds up to 5,000Mbps, you can get the most bang for your buck from one of the midtier plans—symmetrical 300Mbps download and upload speeds still pack a ton of firepower for a small or midsize household.

AT&T has excellent customer-service ratings and generous terms—including unlimited data, no annual contract, and frequent deals (including bill credits and other monetary benefits) offered to new customers. The provider no longer offers DSL service, but rural users may be interested in trying out AT&T’s affordable new 5G package, Internet Air. Read our review.

The cheapest AT&T internet plan costs $55 a month and gives you 300Mbps upload and download speeds.

AT&T offers bundling options with DIRECTV for its fixed wireless, DSL, and fiber internet services. But these aren’t bundles in the cost-saving sense. You’re not getting a discount on your DIRECTV service—you’re just adding it to your home internet package while still paying full price.

You can get a true bundle discount if you pair AT&T Fiber with an unlimited phone plan—not to mention the convenience of having the same provider for both your phone and internet service!

Similar to Xfinity, AT&T offers Wi-Fi hotspots across the nation. So if you can’t find the Wi-Fi password posted at your favorite coffee shop, you can just hop on an AT&T hotspot to browse Instagram or check your work email.

Our take: Cable providers are sometimes seen as monopolistic megaliths that lord over internet users with arbitrary fees and price hikes, but Spectrum is as fair as a cable provider gets. The brand delivers excellent download speeds for decent prices—the baseline plan starts at under $50 a month and offers enough bandwidth to support a small or midsize home for plenty of gaming and streaming.

Spectrum gets average ratings in public satisfaction surveys, and the provider’s slow upload speeds certainly can’t top fiber. But you don’t have to worry about data caps or annual contracts, and Spectrum customers in some parts of the country can even access a fiber-to-the-home connection that promises superior performance. This is clearly a cable company that more-or-less gets customers’ needs. Read our review.

Yes, you can get Spectrum with just internet. Customers are able to bundle their Spectrum internet service with a Spectrum cable TV package or a Spectrum Mobile cellular phone plan, but you can also order internet alone without a bundle. 

The cheapest Spectrum internet plan costs $49.99 a month for 12 months and gives you download speeds of 300Mbps. Some families may also qualify for Spectrum Internet Assist, an internet package for low-income households that costs $24.99 a month and delivers 50Mbps speeds.

In most cases, Spectrum does not offer discounts to existing customers. But there are ways to lower your Spectrum internet bill. As we write in our guide to Spectrum deals, try calling customer service to bring your monthly bill back to promo rates, or even going into a brick-and-mortar shop to haggle for a discount or promotion. You can also get discounts when you bundle your internet with a mobile phone plan via Spectrum Mobile.

Our take: A relatively new service, T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet runs over the provider’s 5G cellular network and delivers solid speeds for a competitive price. It’s basically your next-best option if you can’t get fiber internet and don’t want to deal with a cable or DSL provider. The speeds aren’t the greatest (you may see fluctuations due to the wireless connection), but it doesn’t cost too much—and it’s even cheaper when you pair it with a qualifying T-Mobile cellular plan. Unlimited data, no extra fees, and sign-up promotions for new customers sweeten the deal. Read our review.

Most folks will get download speeds between 72-245 Mbps, which is more than enough for your usual streaming and gaming household. The speed you get with 5G home internet all depends on your proximity to a 5G tower—the closer you are, the more likely you are to get a reliable connection.

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is expanding around the country, but there's still plenty of spots without access (especially in rural areas). The easiest way to find out if you can get T-Mobile 5G Home Internet in your neck of the woods is by entering your ZIP code below and looking for T-Mobile 5G Home Internet to pop up:

Our take: There are certainly cheaper satellite internet plans out there, but in terms of sheer performance, Starlink can’t be beat. Elon Musk’s much-hyped satellite service offers unlimited data at 100Mbps+ download speeds, which is surprisingly fast considering that you’re getting a connection beamed from 342 miles above Earth.

Having satellite internet once meant rationing your data usage to a maddening degree, but Starlink’s unlimited data and tiered soft limits give you more flexibility than what you get from rivals Viasat and Hughesnet. You still need to shell out a pretty penny—$499 minimum just for the hardware! But Starlink’s low-Earth orbit satellites chart shorter distances for data to travel, giving you and everyone else in your household (or boat … or RV …) a more established connection. Read our review.

Starlink internet costs $120 a month for the standard service, plus a onetime fee of $499 to cover the standard antenna-and-router kit. Starlink Mobile costs between $150 and $200 a month, and you also have to pay a $499 fee for the mobile equipment. Prices for Starlink's Priority packages run from $140 to $5,000 per month, depending on the speeds you need and how you use it. 

The waitlist for getting your Starlink service up and running varies from a couple weeks to several months, depending on network capacity where you live. If you want Starlink right away, you can skip the waitlist by signing up for Starlink Roam, a mobile service designed for RVs and vans.

Like all satellite internet providers, Starlink comes with a few downsides. It's more expensive than standard fixed wired internet providers and may deliver slower speeds and higher latency than what you'd get from a cable or fiber internet plan. But Starlink offers much wider availability than those types of internet, and so the costs are justified because you're able to get internet service in remote areas and vehicles that wouldn't be connected to Wi-Fi otherwise.

Since not every reader lives in an area with access to these providers, let’s give you some context to help understand how to pick an internet provider. The main things to consider are availability, connection type, price, and speed.

Internet brands used to operate as monopolies, setting the agenda for price, speeds, and other technical capabilities as they operated without competition in specific geographic areas.

This situation has evolved somewhat with the expansion of fiber-optic networks and emergence of cost-friendly alternatives like 5G home internet. But the fact remains that many internet customers have only one or two realistic internet options where they live. Make sure to run a search with your zip code below to see what you can get in your area.

Once you know what internet you can get, you can base your buying decision on which provider gives you the speeds you need for a price that meets your budget.

You should definitely get fiber internet if it’s available in your area. Fiber runs over bundled strands of fiber-optic cable, beaming data at the speed of light (or something close to it). Fiber providers like AT&T, Google Fiber, and Verizon offer the best internet speeds and often have the best prices too.

But it’s not the end of the world if you can’t get fiber. Cable internet from a provider like Spectrum or Xfinity is another reliable option with fast speeds at affordable prices. The speeds aren’t as fast as fiber, nor are the deals quite as good, but cable internet has a proven track record for dependable connectivity.

Expect to pay about $60–$80 a month for a home internet plan that gives you enough bandwidth to handle your daily Wi-Fi needs.

Most Americans pay $81 a month on average for their internet connection, but you may be able to find a cheaper plan that still gets the job done. On the other hand, you may need to consider paying upwards of $100 a month or more to cover the cost of an upper-tier gigabit or multi-gig internet plan if you live in a big household or rely on ultrafast internet for remote work, VR gaming, or content creation (or perhaps all three).

Most people need speeds of at least 25Mbps per person in their household to ensure a smooth connection with minimal slowdowns or buffering. So if you live in an apartment with three other people, you want an internet plan with minimum 100Mbps download speeds.

You’re better off not overspending if you can get away with a slower plan. But make sure the Wi-Fi package you get comes with enough speed to support all of your Wi-Fi devices, and consider upgrading to a faster plan if you share the Wi-Fi with a larger group of people.

The Federal Communications Commission defines high-speed broadband internet as any connection that delivers minimum download speeds of 100Mbps and minimum upload speeds of 20Mbps. Getting a plan with 100Mbps is a great starting point if you live in a small household and do regular stuff like streaming Netflix and making the occasional video call.

Hardly anybody needs the fastest-possible speeds offered by an internet provider—gigabit and multi-gigabit options are mostly good for influencer mansions and Bitcoin miners.

If you live in a remote area, your best bet is DSL internet or a low-cost 5G home internet package from a company like T-Mobile or Verizon. But you may be stuck with fixed wireless or satellite internet, which cost more money and have stricter limits on speed and data.

When internet providers invest in network infrastructure, they tend to focus on areas where they can make money serving lots of customers—so major cities and metro areas often get better served than rural parts of the country. Still, there are some solid options for rural internet. And while satellite internet used to be the slowest of the slow, it’s turned into a more flexible and reliable internet option thanks to SpaceX’s Starlink and revamped plan options from Hughesnet and Viasat.

When it comes to the best internet providers overall, we recommend Google Fiber, AT&T Fiber, Spectrum, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, and Starlink. It’s always worth looking around to see if there is a smaller local internet provider offering a great deal near you too.

Either way, searching for the best internet gives you a lot to think about.

• Google Fiber: Best overall. Google Fiber offers stellar speeds and symmetrical internet. It’s worth every pricey penny for those who need it—but it’s not available in most areas.
• AT&T Fiber: Best fiber availability. AT&T Fiber has sleek fiber speeds and standout customer service. The provider has probably the biggest fiber network in the country and also received excellent rankings from the ACSI for the last few years.
• Spectrum: Best cable provider. Our favorite cable provider Spectrum Internet® comes with no contracts or data caps, and most of its prices are competitive, especially if you live in New York, Ohio, or North Carolina. But its costs increase after a year.
• T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Best for budget users. If you’re on a budget, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is the golden ticket. Those who live in an area with T-Mobile 5G coverage can get fast internet speeds for a cheap price.
• Starlink: Best satellite internet. If you're living in a remote rural area or call a Sprinter van home, Starlink can get you the fastest speeds for the best price by satellite standards. Startup costs are high but the reliability makes the steep price tag worthwhile.

At the end of the day, the best internet provider is the fastest, most affordable one that you can sign up for on your block. You don’t need the fanciest plan or tons of deals to be a happy Wi-Fi customer, but you definitely should shop around to explore your options before committing to an internet service provider. Run a search with your zip code below to see what’s available in your area.