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Best Internet Providers of 2023

CNET considers every connection type to bring you the best in broadband. Some are lightning-fast, others boast great prices and a few mix speed and value.

trey-paul
trey-paul
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
Trey Paul
12 min read
AT&T - Best internet provider for fiber service
  • Prices from $55 - $180 per month
  • Speeds from 300 - 5,000Mbps
  • Unlimited data
Or call to order: (855) 696-0756
Charter Spectrum - Best internet provider for cable service
  • Prices from $50 - $90 per month
  • Speeds from 300 - 940Mbps
  • Unlimited data
Or call to order: (866) 724-3206
Rise Broadband - Best internet provider for rural service
  • Prices from $25 - $65 per month
  • Speeds from 25 - 50Mbps
  • Unlimited data on some plans
Or call to order: (866) 484-6634
Verizon Fios - Best internet provider for customer care
  • Prices from $50 - $120 per month
  • Speeds from 300 - 2,000Mbps
  • Unlimited data
Or call to order: (888) 235-6118
WideOpenWest - Best internet provider for value
  • Prices from $20 - $95 per month
  • Speeds from 100 - 1,200Mbps
  • Good promo prices
Or call to order: (888) 901-0817
CenturyLink - Worth a look if fiber is available
  • Prices from $30 - $70 per month
  • Speeds from 200 - 940Mbps
  • Unlimited data
Or call to order: (888) 271-6698
Xfinity - A fast, reliable pick if you don't mind the data cap
  • Prices from $20 - $300 per month
  • Speeds from 75 - 6,000Mbps
  • Data caps on some plans
Or call to order: (877) 297-7621
Google Fiber - A great value for high-speed internet, if it's available
  • Prices from $70 - $100 per month
  • Speeds from 1,000 - 2,000Mbps
  • Unlimited data
Or call to order: (888) 595-5774
Viasat - Best if you're stuck with satellite
  • Prices from $70 - $300 per month
  • Speeds from 12 - 150Mbps
  • No hard data cap
Or call to order: (877) 390-0656
Ziply Fiber - Off to a strong start
  • Prices from $20 - $300 per month
  • Speeds from 50 - 10,000Mbps
  • Unlimited data
Or call to order: (844) 585-9189

In this article:

CNET has researched to help you find a fast, reliable broadband connection. Download and upload speeds, pricing and customer satisfaction are just a few of the important factors you must consider when searching for the best internet service provider for your household. 

If you live in the Northeast, it's tough to find better service than Verizon Fios, while most others nationwide will find AT&T Fiber rises to the top. As we often say in our ISP reviews, fiber internet service almost always trumps other internet connection types, so don't hesitate to sign up if you can.

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We also recognize that many of you don't currently have access to fiber internet. Finding the right ISP is easier said than done, especially if you live in a rural part of the country with limited options for getting online.

Locating local internet providers

Some providers we list might not be the perfect fit for your situation. Often, the best provider is simply the one that's available at your address. Nonetheless, we aim to sift through the sales pitches, speed claims and fine print to put each provider into context and provide you with all the information you need to choose the internet plan that makes the most sense for your home.

Locating local internet providers

Best internet service providers

AT&T
Sarah Tew/CNET

AT&T

Best internet provider for fiber service

Or call to order: (855) 696-0756
Product details
Price range $55 - $180 per month Speed range 300 - 5,000Mbps Connection Fiber Highlights Unlimited data, no contracts, equipment included

One of the metrics we like to use to compare value between ISPs is the average cost per megabit per second of download speed. A lower cost per Mbps is a good, rough indicator of value -- and with AT&T's fiber internet plans, the average cost per Mbps is just 10 cents, including your equipment rental. 

For comparison, you can expect the average fiber internet plan from Verizon to cost you 12 cents per Mbps, while a fiber plan from CenturyLink will cost you 16 cents per Mbps. Meanwhile, most cable internet plans from names like Spectrum and Xfinity will typically cost you at least 25 cents per Mbps, if not more. Another point worth mentioning: In 2022, AT&T began offering multi-gig plans with concurrent upload and download speeds of 2 and 5 gigabits per second.

That is to say that AT&T's fiber plans are a terrific value -- especially since none of them come with any contracts or data caps. On top of that, AT&T is highly ranked for customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power. The telecom giant's DSL and fixed wireless plans are much less impressive, but if AT&T Fiber is available at your address, consider yourself lucky because there isn't much reason to consider anything else.

Read our AT&T review.

Or call to order: (855) 696-0756

AT&T Fiber plans and prices

Plan Monthly priceMax speedsMonthly equipment feeData capContract
AT&T Fiber - Internet 300 $55 300Mbps download, 300Mpbs uploadNoneNoneNone
AT&T Fiber - Internet 500 $65 500Mbps download, 500Mpbs uploadNoneNoneNone
AT&T Fiber - Internet 1000 $80 940Mbps download, 880Mpbs uploadNoneNoneNone
AT&T Fiber - Internet 2000 $110 2Gbps download, 2Gbps uploadNoneNoneNone
AT&T Fiber - Internet 5000 $180 5Gbps download, 5Gbps uploadNoneNoneNone
Spectrum
Sarah Tew/CNET

Charter Spectrum

Best internet provider for cable service

Or call to order: (866) 724-3206
Product details
Price range $50 - $90 per month Speed range 300 - 940Mbps Connection Cable Highlights Unlimited data, simple pricing, no contracts, modem included, free access to nationwide Wi-Fi hotspots

With most fiber providers, you'll find a better bang for your buck, but a cable connection is the next best thing if fiber isn't an option. And, among all the providers offering cable internet service in the country, Spectrum is the one I'd be happiest to see available at my address.

Spectrum isn't the biggest name in cable internet -- that'd be Comcast's Xfinity -- but it still offers service to more than 100 million Americans, thanks to Charter's acquisition of Time Warner's internet infrastructure in 2016. And, unlike Comcast (or Cox, its other main cable rival), Spectrum doesn't enforce a data cap and won't tie you down to a long-term contract, either.

On top of all that, Spectrum's prices and terms are straightforward, easy to understand and easy to live with -- and the average Spectrum plan comes with a lower cost-per-Mbps than either Comcast or Cox. It isn't quite the best value in the cable category (keep reading), but Spectrum is still your top option for cable internet at home when you drill down into the details.

Read our Spectrum review.

Or call to order: (866) 724-3206

Spectrum plans and prices

Plan Starting monthly priceMax speedsMonthly equipment feeData capContract
Spectrum Internet $50 200Mbps download, 10Mbps uploadModem free; $5 for router (skippable)NoneNone required
Spectrum Internet Ultra $70 400Mbps download, 20Mbps uploadModem free; $5 for router (skippable)NoneNone required
Spectrum Internet Gig $90 940Mbps download, 35Mbps uploadModem free; $5 for router (skippable)NoneNone required
Rise Broadband
Sarah Tew/CNET

Rise Broadband

Best internet provider for rural service

Or call to order: (866) 484-6634
Product details
Price range $25 - $65 per month Speed range 25 - 50Mbps Connection Fixed wireless Highlights Unlimited data on some plans, low price increase

Pickings can be frustratingly slim when shopping for an internet plan in a rural area because most of the best internet infrastructure in the country is centralized in population-dense cities and the suburban neighborhoods surrounding them. If you live outside a region like that, your home probably isn't wired for fiber or cable. Instead, you'll have to make do with slower, less reliable and more expensive technologies, and you'll likely have fewer options to choose from, too.

You'll need to take the good with the bad with just about any rural ISP, but there's more good than bad with Rise Broadband, our top pick for getting online when faster cable and fiber plans aren't an option. A fixed wireless provider covering much of the country's middle, Rise Broadband will beam an internet signal directly to an antenna mounted outside your home, providing download speeds of up to 50Mbps. That's twice as fast as what you'll get with a satellite internet plan from HughesNet and faster than many DSL plans, which often struggle to surpass double-digit download speeds. 

Rise's 250GB data cap is also significantly higher than you'll get with most rural internet plans, and plans with unlimited data will only cost you an extra $10 or $20 per month, depending on whether you've signed up for speeds of 25 or 50Mbps. 

Read our Rise Broadband review.

Or call to order: (866) 484-6634

Rise Broadband plans and prices

Plan Starting monthly priceMax speedsMonthly equipment feeData capContract
25Mbps $25 25Mbps download$10 250GBUsually no, but depends on location
50Mbps $35 50Mbps download$10 250GBUsually no, but depends on location
100Mbps $60 100Mbps download$10 NoneUsually no, but depends on location
250Mbps $70 250Mbps download$10 NoneUsually no, but depends on location
1,000Mbps $100 1,000Mbps download$10 NoneUsually no, but depends on location
Verizon Fios
Sarah Tew/CNET

Verizon Fios

Best internet provider for customer care

Or call to order: (888) 235-6118
Product details
Price range $50 - $120 per month Speed range 300 - 2,000Mbps Connection Fiber Highlights Unlimited data, no contracts, free equipment with gig service

Verizon lands atop the American Customer Satisfaction Index's rankings of internet providers year after year, and it's been one of the strongest finishers with J.D. Power for multiple years running, too.

What do people like about Verizon? For starters, while the company's DSL service isn't special, most customers across the company's eight-state coverage map in the northeast have access to Verizon Fios fiber service capable of gigabit speeds and uploads that are just as fast as the downloads. Verizon plans don't come with contracts or data caps, either, and your price won't automatically go up after a year the way it will with most other providers.

What's more, Verizon made headlines in 2022 by expanding the availability of its 5G Home Internet service to approximately 900 cities. That's a promising development for consumers, given the glaring need for better internet options nationwide.

Read our Verizon review.

Or call to order: (888) 235-6118

Verizon Fios plans and prices

Plan Starting monthly priceMax speedsMonthly equipment feeData capContract
Fios 300 $50 300Mbps download, 300Mbps uploadNoneNoneNone
Fios 500 $70 500Mbps download, 500Mbps uploadNoneNoneNone
Fios 1 Gig $90 940Mbps download, 880Mbps uploadNoneNoneNone
WOW logo
Sarah Tew/CNET

WideOpenWest

Best internet provider for value

Or call to order: (888) 901-0817
Product details
Price range $20 - $95 per month Speed range 100 - 1,200Mbps Connection Cable Highlights Good promo prices, no contracts, unlimited data on some plans

WideOpenWest -- or WOW -- is a relatively small provider that offers services in nine states. Still, it earns the exclamation point it likes to stick at the end of its branding by offering cable internet plans at some of the best prices you'll find anywhere in the US. That includes an entry-level 100Mbps plan that starts at $20 per month ($40 a month after the first year) and a high-speed gigabit plan that starts at $65 monthly. Even after the price of that plan jumps to $75 per month in year 2, that's still a cost per Mbps of just 8 cents, which is unheard of in the cable category.

In addition, WOW doesn't enforce contracts with any of its plans, and it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee when you sign up, letting you cancel without penalty if it isn't the right fit. All told, it's about as strong as ISP sales pitches get -- I just wish the footprint was a bit bigger and there weren't data limits on some plans.

Read our WOW review.

Or call to order: (888) 901-0817

WOW Internet plans and prices

Plan Starting monthly priceMax speedsMonthly equipment feeData capContract
Internet 100 $20 100Mbps download, 10Mbps upload$14 for modem rental (optional)1.5TBNone
Internet 200 $30 200Mbps download, 10Mbps upload$14 for modem rental (optional)1.5TBNone
Internet 500 $55 500Mbps download, 50Mbps upload$14 for modem rental (optional)2.5TBNone
Internet 1 Gig $65 1,000Mbps download, 50Mbps upload$14 for modem rental (optional)3TBNone
Internet 1.2 Gigs $95 1,000Mbps download, 50Mbps uploadFreeNoneNone

Honorable mentions

CenturyLink logo on a phone against pink background
Sarah Tew/CNET

CenturyLink

Worth a look if fiber is available

Or call to order: (888) 271-6698
Product details
Price range $30 - $70 per month Speed range 200 - 940Mbps Connection Fiber Highlights Unlimited data, no contracts, equipment included with gigabit tier

CenturyLink offers DSL internet plans across 16 states, but roughly half of the coverage map also has access to CenturyLink's fiber plans, branded as Quantum Fiber. That "Quantum" bit is meaningless, but the plans themselves are a great deal -- $30 per month for matching upload and download speeds of 200Mbps (15 cents per Mbps), or $70 per month for a gigabit plan with matching speeds of 940Mbps (just under 8 cents per Mbps, which is an even better value than you'll get with AT&T for its fiber gigabit plan). There are no data caps or contracts with those plans, and those prices don't arbitrarily go up after a year, either.

Meanwhile, CenturyLink's DSL speeds are much slower and can vary greatly from address to address, but with a flat rate of $50 per month, the pricing is pretty fair by DSL standards. Better still, the DSL plans come with a Price for Life guarantee, which locks that rate in for as long as you stay a customer. If nothing faster is available at your address, a plan like that might be worth considering -- but if CenturyLink offers fiber service in your area, signing up is a lot closer to a no-brainer.

Read our CenturyLink review.