Discover the Best Internet Providers In Your Area

We’ll help you find the right internet plan and check all the fine print so you’re not surprised by a “Gotcha!” later on.

Internet providers vary by location, or even by which side of the street you’re on. We’ll use your zip code to narrow down your search.

Find the cheapest internet in your area or look for the fastest speeds. Or find a happy medium in between.

If you’re faced with a choice between internet providers in your area, we can help. We took a look at dozens of large internet providers across the US and compared prices, internet speeds, contracts, data caps, and customer service.

We also took a look at actual internet speed performance, as well as whether your bill goes up after a while—and by how much.

After the dust settled, we flagged Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios Home Internet, CenturyLink, AT&T Fiber, and Viasat as some of the best large internet service providers in the country.

Find Internet Near Me | Read the Best Internet Providers Review

Searching for an internet provider that won’t bust your budget? These are the cheapest internet service providers that still offer good value when it comes to speed.

We’ve also got a few tricks up our sleeves to help you find the cheapest ISPs. And our guide to lowering your internet bill may help you get those costs under control.

1. Make sure you get enough internet speed, but don’t overpay for too much speed.
2. Check the data cap—you don’t want to pay for overages.
3. Find out when the promotional price goes up. (Most ISPs raise prices after 12 or 24 months.)
4. Look for low-cost internet options and subsidies.
5. Don’t be afraid to check prices for smaller, local internet providers.

Find Cheap Internet Near Me | Compare the Cheapest Internet Providers

Which internet providers you can choose from depends on where you live. Sometimes your choices even change based on what side of the street you live on.

Generally, DSL and cable internet are the most common types of internet service you’ll find. But you may also find fiber, satellite, or even fixed wireless internet options in your area.

Here’s a more in-depth look at some of the larger internet providers, what type of connections they offer, and where they’re mainly available.

A download speed between 50 to 100 Mbps is enough for most folks. These internet speeds should allow you to game, stream in HD or 4K, and answer a Zoom call.

But if you operate a home business, are a creative professional, or if you share your internet with a lot of people, you may need more speed. Read our guide to internet speed to see our recommendations.

Most internet providers advertise internet speeds that meet a variety of needs. But the speeds you actually get may be slower (or faster) than what’s written on your plan.

So we tested actual internet speeds from ISPs around the US, and these five boast the fastest download and upload speeds.

Not every internet connection is the same, and there are pros and cons to each type. Here’s a quick peek at what you can expect from each type.

Digital subscriber line (DSL) uses your phone line to connect you to the internet. It tends to be one of the cheapest internet options, but you likely won’t see speeds over 100 Mbps. You may even see speeds as slow as 1 Mbps—but that’s still faster than dial-up.

Compare the Best DSL Internet Providers

Cable internet is a fairly affordable option that’s common across the US, and it uses coaxial cables to connect you to the internet. Its download speeds are comparable to fiber-optic internet, but upload speeds usually top out around 35–50 Mbps. Cable internet is also prone to slowdowns when there’s a lot of internet traffic.

Compare the Best Cable Internet Providers

Fiber-optic internet uses light to transmit data to and from your computer. This allows a fiber internet connection to achieve download speeds up to 1 or even 2 Gbps (1,000 or 2,000 Mbps), and oftentimes fiber connections have matching, or symmetrical, upload speeds. But fiber is expensive to install, so its availability remains limited mostly to large cities.

Compare the Best Fiber Internet Providers

Satellite internet uses—you guessed it—satellites orbiting Earth to send signals to your computer on the ground. Satellite can even reach download speeds of about 100 Mbps, and it’s available to some of the most remote areas in the US. But your internet signal has to travel thousands of miles to reach the satellite, which means slow speeds and lots of lag. On top of that, you’re restricted to a miniscule amount of data with satellite.

Compare the Best Satellite Internet Providers

A fixed wireless connection uses radio waves to send wireless signals to your home. With fixed wireless, you’ll need to set up an antenna to receive those signals. This technology works fairly well in rural areas, but doesn’t experience some of the drawbacks of satellite internet, like high latency. But your download speeds might suffer and you likely won’t get a lot of data.

5G internet uses a combination of cellular and fixed wireless networks to get you online. This internet service type is still fairly new and therefore not yet available outside of a few large cities, but it could become a contender with even fiber internet. 5G is also susceptible to line-of-sight issues, where buildings, trees, and furniture can disrupt your signal.

Similar to 5G, 4G LTE uses cellular and fixed wireless technology to send and receive data over the internet. But while 5G is focused on urban areas, 4G LTE is found in rural areas. While it doesn’t feature speeds as fast as 5G internet, 4G LTE can be an affordable rural internet option—or even a way to get internet on the road.

• Spectrum vs. AT&T
• Xfinity vs. Verizon Fios Home Internet
• Xfinity vs. AT&T
• Xfinity vs. CenturyLink
• Viasat vs. HughesNet
• Verizon Fios vs. Optimum

Even if you have only one internet provider to choose from, you might still be stuck choosing between two plans. To find the best internet in your area, here are some things you should check out:

• Check what’s available near you. If your choice is between fiber and cable internet, go with fiber unless cable is a better price. Similarly, cable is a better choice than DSL. If you live in a rural area, it’s worth looking to see if fixed wireless is available, since it offers more data and lower latency than satellite internet.
• Find out how much internet speed you need. We recommend at least 100 Mbps for most households, but you may need faster speeds. Or you might get away with slower speeds, which could save you a buck or ten.
• Check data caps. A handful of ISPs still cap your data around 1 TB per billing cycle, plus satellite internet providers and fixed wireless providers usually have smaller data caps than that. Check the data cap on any plans you’re considering so you’re not surprised by data overage fees or throttled internet speeds.
• Double-check the fine print. It’s worth reading the fine print since most ISPs raise your price after 12–24 months. And there’s the question of how much installation and equipment will cost too. You should also check the early termination fee (ETF), especially if you know you might need to change internet providers in the near future.
• Bring your own modem and You can easily save around $10–$15 a month by not renting your ISP’s equipment and bringing your own instead. A good modem and router usually costs around $75–$100, but a $10 rental fee stacks up to $120 after a year.
• Search for deals. Many ISPs offer streaming subscriptions, rewards cards, or even free installation deals for new customers. Take a peek to see if any deals are offered in your area—and if those incentives are something you’re actually interested in.
• Negotiate. It never hurts to ask for free installation or a deal if you bundle TV or phone with your internet. If you’re an existing customer, ask if you can take home the subscriptions or rewards cards offered to new subscribers.

Still searching for the right internet in your area? We can help.