Best Internet Providers in El Paso, Texas
Our Experts
What is the best internet provider in El Paso?
AT&T Fiber is the best internet service provider in El Paso, offering the fastest speeds and most favorable terms of any provider in the area. Its rates aren’t exactly cheap, but you’ll get more for the price than almost any other ISP in the country.
If you want to pay the lowest price possible, Spectrum offers the cheapest internet plans in El Paso, starting at just $30 a month for 100Mbps speeds. Upload speeds are significantly lower, and prices increase after two years, but Spectrum is still a decent option for most people.
T-Mobile Home Internet has slower speeds than AT&T Fiber and Spectrum, but it offers something unique in the internet world: a price-lock guarantee. Your monthly bill will never budge from the $50 you start at. Additionally, T-Mobile’s customers have largely been happy with the product -- it had the highest approval rating of any non-fiber ISP in the American Customer Satisfaction Index survey.
Our methodology
CNET considers speeds, pricing, customer service and overall value to recommend the best internet service in El Paso across several categories. Our evaluation includes referencing a proprietary database built over years of reviewing internet services. We validate that against provider information by spot-checking local addresses for service availability. We also do a close read of providers' terms and conditions and, when needed, will call ISPs to verify the details.
Despite our efforts to find the most recent and accurate information, our process has some limitations you should know about. Pricing and speed data are variable: certain addresses may qualify for different service tiers, and monthly costs may vary, even within a city. The best way to identify your options is to plug your address into a provider's website.
Also, the prices, speed and other information listed above and in the provider cards below may differ from what we found in our research. The cards display the full range of a provider's pricing and speed across the US, according to our database of plan information provided directly by ISPs. At the same time, the text is specific to what's available in El Paso. The prices referenced within this article's text come from our research and include applicable discounts for setting up automatic payments each month -- a standard industry offering. Other discounts and promotions might also be available for things like signing a term contract or bundling with multiple services.
To learn more about how we review internet providers, visit our full methodology page.
Best internet in El Paso, Texas
Spectrum
Cheapest internet in El Paso, TX
Our take - Spectrum's cable internet service is widely available in El Paso and has the lowest starting prices of any provider in the area. Your price increases dramatically after two years, but that's a fairly long time in the internet world. Spectrum's upload speeds are much slower than download speeds, which could be an issue if multiple people are gaming online or taking video calls simultaneously.
AT&T Fiber
Best internet provider in El Paso, TX
Our take - Finding a more highly decorated internet provider than AT&T Fiber is hard. It earned CNET’s top pick for fiber internet and got the highest score of any ISP from the ACSI. You’ll get symmetrical upload and download speeds with AT&T Fiber, and it doesn’t come with any of the headaches internet providers are known for -- no built-in price increases, data caps or equipment fees.
T-Mobile Home Internet
Best fixed wireless internet in El Paso, TX
Our take - T-Mobile doesn’t offer speeds as fast as AT&T Fiber or Spectrum, but its fixed wireless internet has plenty of horsepower for smaller households, and it’s one of the most customer-friendly ISPs in the country. Your price is locked in for as long as you stay a customer, and everything is included in the $50 monthly price.
El Paso internet providers compared
| Provider | Internet technology | Monthly price range | Speed range | Monthly equipment costs | Data cap | Contract | CNET review score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AT&T Fiber Read full review | Fiber | $55-$250 | 300-5,000Mbps | None | None | None | 7.4 |
|
AT&T Internet Read full review | DSL | $55 | Up to 140Mbps | None | 1.5TB on some plans | None | 7.4 |
|
Spectrum Read full review | Cable | $30-$70 | 100-1,000Mbps | $5 (optional) | None | None | 7.2 |
|
T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review | Fixed wireless | $50 ($30 with eligible mobile plans) | 72-245Mbps | None | None | None | 7.4 |
|
Verizon 5G Home Internet Read full review | Fixed wireless | $50-$70 ($35-$45 for eligible Verizon Wireless customers) | 50-1,000Mbps | None | None | None | 7.2 |
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Other available internet providers in El Paso
- Satellite internet: HughesNet and Viasat are available at 100% of El Paso addresses, but they’re only worth considering in rural areas where you have no other options. Both providers are extremely expensive, and you’ll have to deal with slower speeds and restrictive data caps. Starlink uses low-orbit satellites, which can provide faster speeds and lower latency, but you’ll have to buy its satellite dish for $599 upfront, and it’s still on the pricey side at $120 a month.
- Verizon 5G Home Internet: Like T-Mobile, Verizon offers fixed wireless home internet, but it’s not as widely available in El Paso. Speeds can reach 1,000Mbps at some addresses, and you can pay as low as $35 a month if you bundle with an eligible Verizon cellphone plan.
Cheap internet options in El Paso
There aren’t an abundance of cheap internet plans in El Paso. Spectrum offers the lowest price by far, with plans starting at $30 a month, but that price increases to $60 after two years. Low-income households in El Paso can take advantage of the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides a $30 monthly subsidy for home internet.
What’s the cheapest internet plan in El Paso?
| Provider | Starting price | Max download speed | Monthly equipment fee |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Spectrum Internet 100 Read full review | $30 | 100Mbps | $5 (optional) |
|
Spectrum Internet Ultra Read full review | $50 | 500Mbps | $5 (optional) |
|
T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review | $50 ($30 with eligible mobile plans) | 245Mbps | None |
|
Verizon 5G Home Internet Read full review | $50 ($35 with eligible mobile plans) | 300Mbps | None |
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
How to find internet deals and promotions in El Paso
The best internet deals and the top promotions in El Paso depend on what discounts are available during that time period. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers.
El Paso internet providers, such as Spectrum, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many, including AT&T Fiber and T-Mobile Home Internet, run the same standard pricing year-round.
For a more extensive list of promos, check out our guide on the best internet deals.
How fast is El Paso broadband?
El Paso has the sixth fastest internet speeds of any city in the country, according to Ookla speed test data. Residents receive median download speeds of 267Mbps and upload speeds of 21Mbps. That’s slightly below Corpus Christi (ranked fourth) but ahead of Austin (10th), San Antonio (11th) and Dallas (96th).
Fastest internet plans in El Paso
| Provider | Starting price | Max download speed | Max upload speed | Data cap | Connection type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AT&T Internet 5000 Read full review | $250 | 5,000Mbps | 5,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
|
AT&T Internet 2000 Read full review | $150 | 2,000Mbps | 2,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
|
AT&T Internet 1000 Read full review | $80 | 1,000Mbps | 1,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
|
Spectrum Internet Gig Read full review | $70 | 1,000Mbps | 35Mbps | None | Cable |
|
Verizon 5G Home Plus Internet Read full review | $70 ($45 with qualifying Verizon 5G mobile plans) | 1,000Mbps | 75Mbps | None | Fixed wireless |
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
What’s a good internet speed?
Most internet connection plans can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you're looking for an internet plan that can accommodate videoconferencing, streaming video or gaming, you'll have a better experience with a more robust connection. Here's an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for various applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are only guidelines -- and that internet speed, service and performance vary by connection type, provider and address.
For more information, refer to our guide on how much internet speed you really need.
- 0 to 5Mbps allows you to tackle the basics -- browsing the internet, sending and receiving email, streaming low-quality video.
- 5 to 40Mbps gives you higher-quality video streaming and videoconferencing.
- 40 to 100Mbps should give one person sufficient bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming.
- 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two people to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming.
- 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more people to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.
How CNET chose the best internet providers in El Paso
Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it's impractical to personally test every internet service provider in a given city. So what's our approach? For starters, we tap into a proprietary pricing, availability and speed database that draws from our own historical ISP data, partner data and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov.
This guide uses an in-house artificial intelligence tool called RAMP, which is trained on our own writing and uses our database to generate content about specific internet service providers that our writers can use in determining and presenting our picks for a given guide. Check CNET’s AI policy for more information about how our teams use (and don’t use) AI tools.
Because our database is not exhaustive, we go to the FCC's website to check the primary data for ourselves and make sure we're considering every ISP that provides service in an area. Plans and prices also vary by location, so we input local addresses on provider websites to find the specific options available to residents. We look at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power, to evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP's service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of our pre-publication fact-check.
Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:
- Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
- Do customers get decent value for what they're paying?
- Are customers happy with their service?
While the answer to those questions is often layered and complex, the providers who come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. When it comes to selecting the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, though we also factor in things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively straightforward. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports.
To explore our process in more depth, you can visit our how we test ISPs page.
What’s the final word on internet providers in El Paso?
With the sixth-fastest speeds in the country and 100/20Mbps speeds available at every address in the city, El Paso is an extraordinarily well-connected city. If you can get it, AT&T Fiber is an easy choice. At reasonable rates, it has the fastest speeds in the city, and you won't have to worry about your bill automatically going up after a promotional period ends. Spectrum and T-Mobile Home Internet are solid backup options if AT&T Fiber is unavailable at your address, but both come with some drawbacks.
Internet providers in El Paso FAQs
What is the best internet service provider in El Paso?
AT&T Fiber is the best internet service provider in El Paso, with fast, symmetrical upload and download speeds, competitive prices and the highest customer satisfaction scores in the industry.
Is fiber internet available in El Paso?
Yes, fiber internet is available to 38% of El Paso, according to FCC data. AT&T Fiber is the only fiber internet provider in the area.
Who is the cheapest internet provider in El Paso?
Spectrum is the cheapest internet provider in El Paso, with prices starting at $30 a month for 100/10Mbps speeds.
Which internet provider in El Paso offers the fastest plan?
AT&T Fiber offers the fastest internet plan in El Paso, with upload and download speeds up to 5,000Mbps for $250 a month.
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