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Verizon Fios Home Internet Review: Plans, Pricing, Speeds and Availability Compared

CNET evaluates Verizon's best plans and gives a full review of this fiber provider. Here's what you need to know.

Article updated on June 7, 2024 at 5:00 AM PDT

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Written by 
Trey Paul
CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review the products and services we cover. If you buy through our links, we may get paid. Reviews ethics statement
Trey Paul Senior Editor
Trey Paul is a CNET senior editor covering broadband. His 20+ years of experience as a writer and editor include time at CNET's sister site, Allconnect, and working with clients like Yahoo!, Google, The New York Times and Choice Hotels. An avid movie fan, Trey's career also includes being a film and TV critic while pursuing a degree in New York.
Expertise Home internet and broadband, including plans, providers, internet speeds and connection types. Movies and film studies. Credentials
  • Master's degree in Cinema Studies from NYU and interviews with Conan O'Brien, Stan Lee and some of his biggest Star Trek childhood idols
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Verizon Fios home internet rating

How we calculated our rating

7.6
/ 10
SCORE
Speed
7.5/10
Value
7/10
Customer Care
8/10
Pros
  • All Verizon Fios plans are 100% fiber, with symmetrical download and upload speeds
  • No data caps or allowances on any plans
  • No term agreements necessary on any plans
Cons
  • Low fiber availability for a national company
  • While Fios and 5G are affordable, LTE and DSL options are pricey

Best Verizon Fios internet plans and pricing

PlanMonthly priceMax speedsFees and service details
Fios 300 $50 300Mbps download, 300Mbps uploadFree equipment, no contracts or data caps
Fios 500 $70 500Mbps download, 500Mbps uploadFree equipment, no contracts or data caps
Fios 1 Gig $90 940Mbps download, 880Mbps uploadFree equipment, no contracts or data caps
Fios 2 Gig $110 2,300Mbps download, 1,500Mbps uploadFree equipment, no contracts or data caps

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Verizon's Fios service is the easiest to understand. There are four tiers: 300, 500, 1 Gig and 2 Gig. Many providers offer a promo rate that expires after 12 months, causing your bill to go up, but Verizon doesn't do that. Depending on your chosen plan, there's a 2- to 4-year price guarantee. We appreciate the straightforward approach.

Also, as Fios is a fiber-optic network, it delivers near-symmetrical download and upload speeds, meaning you will get close to the same upload speeds as your downloads. If you're more accustomed to asymmetrical cable internet, where the upload speeds on a 300Mbps plan might only go as high as 10Mbps, you know how dramatic a difference it can make. In particular, it affects videoconferencing and transferring large files.

Locating local internet providers

Among those options, Fios 300 will be the best internet plan overall for most homes since it's the provider's cheapest tier but comes with download and upload speeds of 300 megabits per second, which is right in the middle of the 200 to 400Mbps that most homes use, per OpenVault's latest report. We provide further information on all of Verizon's offerings below.

Verizon logo on an orange gradient background
Verizon/CNET

Verizon Fios internet review

Verizon Fios, the company's fiber-optic internet service, announced in late October 2023 that its network would expand to over 2,000 more customers in Delaware and select areas would have access to the provider's Fios 2 Gig plan. This is the latest expansion for an internet service that has captured the top spot in multiple customer satisfaction studies for many years since it launched in 2004, but it's available in only eight states and the District of Columbia. Verizon unveiled its 5G Ultra Wideband network early in 2022, a move to unlock more of the full potential of 5G and help it expand its home broadband footprint. 

Locating local internet providers

Verizon offers home internet via DSL for many of its coverage areas, primarily for those in the Northeast who are outside its Fios network. Verizon LTE Home Internet service is an option in 200 markets, not to mention the now 900 cities where Verizon 5G Home service is currently available.

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All of that makes for a complicated coverage map, meaning there's a lot to consider before signing up for Verizon Fios based solely on the glowing reviews. Note that prices listed on this page reflect available discounts for setting up paperless billing. If you decide not to go with automatic monthly payments, your price will be higher.

If you live within Verizon's East Coast coverage area and Verizon Fios is available at your address, its internet service is tough to beat. If you're outside that area, you may have some form of Verizon home internet service available, but you'll need to make some tough side-by-side comparisons to find what's truly best for your address. Keep reading because we can help with that. 

Where can you get Verizon Fios?

Verizon Fios coverage map

Though Verizon's LTE and 5G Home internet services are available throughout the country, Verizon Fios fiber internet is only available in the Northeast.

FCC/Mapbox

Verizon Fios is available solely in eight eastern states -- Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C. You can use the Verizon availability checker to see if Fios is available at your address.

Additionally, Verizon aims to expand its 5G home internet service availability across the country. Verizon 5G Home is available in approximately 900 cities and over 40 million households.

Other available Verizon internet connections

  • Verizon High Speed Internet, a DSL service, still exists, but is no longer available to new customers.
  • Verizon LTE Home Internet is available in select markets in 48 states.
  • Verizon 5G Home Internet is available in over 900 cities across the US.

Other aspects to know about Verizon Fios

No contracts are required for any Verizon plans. There are no data caps, either. Just as your mom taught you to always look under the hood, it's never a bad idea to dig in a bit to get a better idea of what you're buying before committing to any possible internet service.

Any additional monthly fees?

Verizon Fios customers don't have to pay for their equipment rental, as everything comes included in the monthly price.

One-time installation fee

Your setup charge will depend on the Verizon plan you select. If you choose Fios, your setup charge will be $99, which is waived if you order online.

No Verizon Fios data caps

Unlike Cox, Xfinity and some other ISPs, Verizon does not place a data cap on customers. Therefore, you won't need to worry about overage fees or slowing your data once you hit a certain threshold. 

Perks and promos for Verizon Fios

Nintendo Switch
Nintendo/CNET

Verizon Fios can lean into the fact that you're not required to sign a term agreement, which means no early termination fees or getting stuck with a service you've either outgrown or need to downsize. Many offers also help sweeten the deal for potential customers.

First, Verizon has a discount of $25 per month on all its Fios home internet offerings for new customers who also enroll in the company's premium 5G mobile plans. 

Currently, all new Verizon Fios subscribers will receive a two- to four-year price-lock guarantee based on your chosen tier. New Verizon Fios customers will also receive a Verizon gift card -- $50 for Fios 300 and 500, $100 for the 1 Gig and 2 Gig plans. Fios Gig and 2 Gig subscribers will also get their choice of either a Nintendo Switch system or $400 off Samsung home appliances at The Home Depot.

Verizon Fios garners high marks in customer satisfaction

ACSI 2024 rankings for US customer satisfaction with fiber internet service providers
ACSI

Verizon Fios has consistently been at the top of customer service metrics for most of the last decade. Looking at the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index numbers for ISPs, Fios was near the top, second only to AT&T Fiber. It scored two points above the 75 points out of 100 it scored in 2023, which was already a tick above its 2022 numbers. That marks four years running that Verizon Fios has increased its score near the top of the ACSI's ISP benchmarks.

In addition, Verizon currently holds the top overall average score in J.D. Power's latest ISP customer satisfaction ranks. It's worth pointing out that Verizon was only scored in one of four regions. In that region, the East, Verizon finished commandingly in first place, scoring 760 on a 1,000-point scale. That put the company well above the region's average of 709, earning it the second-highest score nationwide. Indeed, Verizon has captured the top spot in the East region of J.D. Power's study for 10 years.

The speed-testing website Ookla tracks ISPs based on a scoring system that looks at both download and upload speeds. Based on the most recent Ookla tests from the fourth quarter of 2024, Verizon landed in seventh place behind Cox, Spectrum, AT&T, Xfinity, Frontier and Optimum. This is a little surprising until you realize these numbers include DSL and LTE service, not just the faster Fios.

Verizon took first place for the lowest latency among top providers during that same period. It came in fifth place for Ookla's Consistency Score category, which measures how often an ISP delivers broadband speeds to its customers.

The bottom line on Verizon Fios? It's pretty good

Verizon can boast that its Fios service is 100% fiber. As internet connection types go, it's tough to beat fiber. Additionally, Verizon can point to its high customer satisfaction ratings and shout about its consistency at the top of those charts. All true. The availability of Verizon's fiber plans is mainly limited to those in the Northeast. The company's DSL plans are nothing exceptional, and there's still a large portion of people across the country for whom Verizon isn't available. Still, Verizon Fios is a top-notch option for getting online in the Northeast. We recommend its Fios 300 tier for $50 monthly as our top plan choice.

Verizon Fios FAQs

What is Fios?

Fios refers to Verizon's fiber-optic internet service, which features four different speed tiers -- 300, 500, 1 Gig and 2 Gig. One of the appeals of this service is similar upload speed to your download speed. Verizon also offers other options for home internet service -- DSL, LTE, 5G -- but none of these are considered Fios.

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Can I get Verizon Fios in my area?

The Verizon Fios service is only available in the Northeast. If you want to determine if Fios is available at your address, you can check the Verizon availability checker

If you want to explore the carrier's other internet options, you can call 800-225-5499, although Verizon advises that the quickest option is to use its "Chat now" feature on the Verizon contact page.

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Does Verizon Fios service include a router?

Yes, it does. Previously, the router rental was included in the monthly fee for only gigabit customers. All other Verizon Fios customers were charged an additional $15 monthly for a router. Verizon removed that additional monthly router charge in 2022. 

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Why do we ask for your address?
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Prefer to speak with an expert live? Call (833) 891-6413 for availability in your area.