Best Fiber Internet Providers for 2021: Prices, Speeds, and More

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• Head-to-head comparison
• What to look for
• Final take
• FAQ

Which fiber internet provider is the best depends on what you’re looking to get from your internet and—unfortunately—your address.

For most folks, if you can get Verizon Fios or Optimum in your neck of the woods, we say hop on it. Both providers offer fast speeds at competitive price points.

Best fiber internet providers

• Verizon Fios—best overall
• Optimum—best value
• AT&T Fiber—cheapest for gig internet
• Xfinity—fastest
• CenturyLink—Price for Life guarantee

Compare top fiber internet providers

Data effective 12/2/20. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
**w/ Auto Pay for 1 yr + taxes, equip. charges, & other fees.

If you’re looking for the absolute best fiber internet available, we recommend Verizon Fios for its competitive pricing, sign-up incentives, and high customer satisfaction.

In terms of bang for your buck, we like Optimum for its no-contract plans, competitive pricing, and excellent speeds.

But since we’re talking about fiber internet, pretty much every option is a great option. That’s why we’ve also included our takes on the cheapest for gig speeds (AT&T Fiber), the fastest (Xfinity), and even one with lifetime pricing (CenturyLink).

What we’re really trying to say here is, if you can get fiber internet in your neighborhood, you should definitely go for it.

Best overall: Verizon Fios

**w/ Auto Pay for 1 yr + taxes, equip. charges, & other fees.

When we surveyed over two thousand people about their internet service, Verizon Fios customers were the most satisfied by far. In fact, Verizon Fios topped the categories in internet speed, reliability, customer support, and monthly bill price.

If Verizon Fios is available in your area, we say go for it. Its price range fits comfortably in most budgets, and Verizon woos new users with extra perks like these ones:

• Free Amazon Echo Dot and Smart Plug w/ some plans
• Free Amazon Echo Show 5 w/ some plans
• Stream TV included w/ some plans

We certainly wouldn’t turn down the chance to binge-watch more TV with our internet service.

Between high customer satisfaction and sign-up incentives, there’s a lot to recommend Verizon Fios as the best overall fiber provider.

View Verizon Fios plans

Best value: Optimum

Optimum is a relatively new contender on the fiber scene. But 1,000 Mbps download speeds for only $69.99 per month and no-contract plans have catapulted it to the top.

Couple its low cost with the fact that Optimum offers sleek equipment and built-in fiber-optic Wi-Fi, and you can see why we like Optimum.

Keep in mind, however, that Optimum customers that we surveyed weren’t among the most satisfied. But hey, we suspect that a lot of them still had cable internet from Optimum. (It might be time for an upgrade—just sayin’.)

For gig fans who want a killer price and no contract, we think Optimum is a great value.

View Optimum plans

Cheapest for gig internet: AT&T Fiber

If you want gig internet at the cheapest price point around ($60 per month? Holla!), then you’re gonna want AT&T Fiber internet.

Not only is AT&T Fiber cheap, but it came in third overall in our 2020 internet customer satisfaction survey and now features no annual contracts.

So why isn’t AT&T Fiber our pick for best value? It was a close call, but ultimately AT&T Fiber’s limited availability and myriad hidden fees put it just behind Optimum.

Still, AT&T Fiber is a great value, so if you’re one of the lucky ones to have it in your area, we say sign up for it today.

View AT&T Fiber plans

Fastest: Xfinity

Xfinity offers fiber internet in some areas with speeds up to 2,000 Mbps. Hands down, in terms of download speeds, no other fiber provider can come close.

But is Xfinity fiber internet worth it? At $299.95 per month for download speeds of up to 2,000, we don’t think so.

Why, you ask? Well, the truth of the matter is that most households will do just fine with download speeds of 300–1,000 Mbps, depending on how many people use your internet connection.

That said, at $84.99 per month for 12 months, the Xfinity Gigabit plan isn’t a terrible deal when you consider that you’ll still get gig speeds (1,000 Mbps) and also have access to millions of Wi-Fi hotspots across the US.

View Xfinity plans

Price for Life guarantee: CenturyLink

CenturyLink customers were more satisfied than most with their monthly bills, probably because they cut price hikes out of their lives entirely. With CenturyLink, your sign-up price is one you can keep . . . forever.

While CenturyLink’s Price for Life 1 Gig plan is fiber, its other plans use a combination of DSL and fiber tech. That’s a common industry practice that makes DSL much faster than before, but it still can’t keep up with fiber.

So if you know fiber is the internet type you want, and you never want to see a change in your bill, CenturyLink’s Price for Life 1 Gig is the way for you to go.

View CenturyLink plans

What to look for in a fiber internet provider

When it comes to fiber internet, you should look for the same things you would with any other type of internet provider:

• Speeds that match your needs
• Affordable prices
• High customer satisfaction

Speed

Most fiber internet options come with speeds that comfortably cover today’s internet needs. Download speeds around 100 Mbps will make streaming a breeze, and faster speeds are great for families whose members use the internet at the same time.

Keep in mind that upload speeds are also important, especially if you video chat, play online games, or put big files up online.

As a general rule, fiber plans have higher upload speeds than cable, DSL, or satellite internet, but providers who advertise matched upload-download speeds probably have the best upload speeds.

Price

While prices vary from provider to provider, there are a couple of benchmarks to keep in mind:

• 100 Mbps plans average just under $50/mo.
• 1,000 Mbps or 1 gig plans tend to be just under $100/mo.

And be sure to see how long you can keep the price you signed up with. Some companies offer lower promotional prices for only a year or two, while CenturyLink offers Price for Life plans.

You’ll also want to consider equipment costs. Some plans include a modem/router in the pricing, while others require you to lease them for about $10 per month. That extra fee can be a real pain if you’re not prepared for it.

Customer satisfaction

Be aware of any highlights or pitfalls you can expect with your service provider. Our survey can be a good source for this.

You could also check with online forums, but don’t let a surplus of bad reviews make you despair over your available providers—people are more likely to share negative experiences than positive ones.

Our final take

Fiber providers offer the most advanced internet service available today. In our opinion, we think the best of the best is Verizon Fios because of its competitive pricing, free goodies, and high customer satisfaction.

We also highly recommend Optimum, AT&T Fiber, and CenturyLink if they’re available in your area. Check your zip code below to see if one of the providers we suggested is available in your neighborhood.

Our methodology

We researched every major fiber internet provider and ranked them according to price, speed, and customer satisfaction scores from our annual survey.

We also looked at hidden fees, contracts, and sign-up incentives to bring you the best fiber internet providers out there.

For more information about our methodologies, feel free to peruse our How We Rank page.

Best fiber internet providers FAQ

Who has the best fiber internet?

We think Verizon Fios has the best fiber internet because of its competitive pricing, fast download speeds, freebies, and excellent customer service.

What is fiber internet?

Fiber internet is an internet technology made of bundles of hair-thin glass strands. Data travels through these high-tech glass strands at the speed of light, making it the fastest internet available.

Is fiber optic the best internet?

Absolutely, fiber is the best internet because of its high reliability, faster upload speeds, and super-fast download speeds.