Best Internet Providers 2022: Plans, Prices, Deals, and More

Whether you’re looking for the absolute best internet service or the fastest home internet, we’ve got you covered. Out of our five recommendations for the best home internet providers, Verizon Fios is our top pick, but each internet service provider (ISP) below offers something special to fit your needs.

Jump to:

• Best internet service providers
• Head-to-head comparison
• What to look for

What are the best internet service providers?

• Verizon Fios—Editor’s choice
• AT&T— Fastest
• Xfinity—Best for performance
• Spectrum—Best no-contract internet
• CenturyLink—Cheapest

See what actual internet customers are saying

Best internet service providers head to head

Data effective as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

There are a lot of great internet options out there, from both large-scale and local internet companies. These are our picks of the best major ISPs.

If you want to love your ISP’s customer service and reliability, Verizon Fios is the way to go. If money is no object and internet speed is the one thing that matters to you, AT&T’s 5,000 Mbps internet plan is the fastest one available for a home internet connection. For affordable and widely available cable internet, Xfinity will make every dollar count.

When you want to avoid a contract, CenturyLink is one of your best cable internet options. If you want to bundle multiple services for your home, Spectrum offers great internet plans along with our favorite cable TV channels.

But those aren’t the only reasons these ISPs are the ones we recommend. Read on to learn more about the pros and cons of each.

For three years in a row, Verizon Fios was customers’ far and away favorite in our customer satisfaction survey. Its high score took into account its stellar customer service, its well-priced plans, and the reliability of its 100% fiber network.

As with many of our top ISPs, Verizon Fios offers you unlimited data and no contracts. Verizon Fios also frequently offers internet deals that include free hardware, subscription services, and waived installation fees.

If you’re interested in TV service, consider Verizon Fios TV and internet bundles. Verizon Fios’ TV plans come with an excellent mix of channels, and you can add home VoIP phone service for an additional $20 per month.

*w/ Auto Pay + taxes & equipment charges. Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Also, video calls will look fabulous for you and the people watching you, thanks to these high upload speeds. Go ahead and treat yourself to an animated Zoom background—these speeds can handle it.

A word of caution: We’re talking about Verizon Fios, which is fiber internet, not Verizon High-Speed Internet, which is DSL internet. The latter reaches speeds only as high as 15 Mbps, but it will run you $74.99 per month. That’s not a fair shake.

One more word of caution: Verizon Fios is located in only nine eastern states.

If you’re shopping for internet in one of these states, we’d recommend Verizon Fios, but if you’re elsewhere, you’ll be out of luck.

AT&T’s 5 Gig Internet plan is one of the fastest gig plans out there. Whether you’re working from home or gaming online, internet speeds like that let you run rampant on the ole information highway. We always recommend getting fiber internet if it’s in your neighborhood because you’ll get the best internet performance and it’ll be much better than cable or DSL internet.

But watch out for one major roadblock: AT&T’s aging network. Rural areas aren’t outfitted with advanced fiber cables, and with AT&T’s one-price-fits-all mentality, you’ll pay a whopping $55.00 per month even if your town has only AT&T’s creaky old DSL internet.

That hurts like watching someone drive an ancient sedan off the lot for the same price as a new sports car.

Data effective as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

But there’s light at the end of the tunnel. AT&T offers plans without annual contracts, so you can tuck and roll out of a plan whenever you want without paying extra fees.

AT&T also offers decent internet, TV, and phone service bundles. DIRECTV STREAM, which is AT&T’s main option for bundled TV service, has a sizable number of cable and broadcast TV channels for between $69.99 and $139.99 per month.

It’s pure speculation on our part that Xfinity from Comcast offers its 3,000 Mbps Gigabit Pro plan just to land on top-five lists like this one—but here we are. Most people don’t need anywhere near that sort of speed, but if 1,000 Mbps plans aren’t fast enough for you (we’d love to hear why), Gigabit Pro ($299.95/mo.) is a very expensive way to triple your bandwidth.

But even if you don’t need pricey gigabit internet, there’s still a lot to like from Xfinity’s internet plans. Xfinity is widely available nationwide and if Xfinity’s in your neighborhood, you’ll have guaranteed cable internet service and download speeds. On providers like AT&T and CenturyLink, fiber internet availability can vary widely depending on where you live.

*For the first 12 months with a 1-year agreement.
**For the first 24 months with a 2-year agreement.
Data effective as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Xfinity’s speeds vary by region, but you’ll generally be able to get a 100 Mbps to 200 Mbps internet plan for less than $50 monthly.

We’re not the biggest fans of Xfinity’s contracts and scheduled price increases, especially since competitors like Verizon and AT&T have moved to flat-rate monthly pricing. But Xfinity still earned its spot here thanks to its excellent scores in our annual customer satisfaction survey.

Xfinity also has strong TV and phone services if you’re interested in an Xfinity bundle. Xfinity’s cable TV add-ons include its stellar X1 cable box, Flex streaming stick, and a free Peacock Premium subscription.

Visit our Xfinity internet review to learn more about Xfinity’s exact internet plans in your area.

All of Spectrum’s internet plans are contract-free, so you can leave at any time without having to deal with early termination fees. Plus, if you’re searching for a  deal, Spectrum’s TV and internet bundle is one of the cheapest around at only $44.99 a month. Its channel lineup isn’t enormous, but the à la carte channel add-ons are well-priced if you want more TV.

Data effective as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

When it comes to performance, Spectrum’s internet plans are no slouch, either. Although the provider’s internet plans are generally pricier than competing cable internet providers, Spectrum still earned strong scores in our annual customer satisfaction survey.

Plus, Spectrum occasionally offers deals like two-year price guarantees. If your neighborhood qualifies for this promotion, you can lock in your promotional price for an extra year and won’t have to deal with a second-year price increase. For more information, head over to our Spectrum deals guide.

CenturyLink shares a lot in common with AT&T: both providers have excellent fiber plans that are bookended with a serviceable but aging DSL network.

Data effective as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*Paperless billing or prepaid required. Additional taxes, fees, and surcharges apply. Get the fastest Internet speed available at your location (max speed is up to 100 Mbps.)

We’d recommend CenturyLink’s fiber internet plans if your neighborhood has CenturyLink fiber coverage. Along with excellent download and upload speeds, you’ll also get unlimited data and won’t have to worry about a contract or second-year price increase.

But if your address isn’t covered by CenturyLink fiber, you’ll have to settle for its DSL Simply Unlimited Internet plan. As with most DSL networks, your maximum speed depends on CenturyLink’s DSL service in your area. Depending on your location, your home might get 100 Mbps service or be saddled with a meager 10 Mbps connection.

CenturyLink doesn’t offer TV service, but you can still bundle CenturyLink phone service with your internet plan (although you won’t get a bundle discount).

Other top internet providers

Whether you’re in the sticks or the suburbs, there are ISPs for virtually any budget and situation these days. While these ISPs missed out on our best ISP rankings, they’re still worth checking out if you’re within their coverage map.

For a complete list of providers, visit our internet service provider guide, or if you’re looking for something more specific, consider our list of the best internet service providers.

What to look for in top internet service providers

Some internet services have exciting deals and freebies that look super impressive. But when you want the best home internet, make sure the price per month, download speed, and data caps meet your standards before you sign a contract.

Price per month

Since there’s no standard for internet pricing, even 25 Mbps plans can run anywhere from $19.99 to $60.00 per month. It’s a big range, we know. Price depends a lot on your provider and location.

If you’re looking for budget-friendly internet service, we recommend trying to find a deal around $50 per month. Most providers have basic internet plans that are at or below this price point.

Download speed

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines broadband—high-speed internet—as 25 Mbps download speeds and 3 Mbps upload speeds. Unless you’re in a rural area, it’s easy to find internet speeds like that nowadays.

But our internet usage is growing all the time. People stream more, game more, and telecommute more. Add to that cool smart home devices, and our bandwidth usage is higher than ever.

With that in mind, we recommend trying for faster internet speeds. Going from 25 Mbps to 50 Mbps will make a world of difference, but jumping up to 100 Mbps is the best fit for most homes.

Unless you’re a super internet user, you probably don’t need 1,000 Mbps, but if you feel like your internet connection is too slow, go ahead and kick it up a notch. Check out our internet speed guide if you need help deciding what internet plan best fits your household.

Data caps

Data caps—also called data allowances—are limits on how much an ISP will let you use the internet before it charges you extra fees.

Every time you upload or download something, whether it’s clicking a link, sending a Facebook message, or streaming a show from Netflix, you’re using data.

We didn’t talk about data caps much in this article because our top five recommendations all meet our standards. That means they’re all around 1,024 GB (1 TB), which is more than plenty for the average household. (Should you be concerned about going over 1TB of data? We’ve got the answer.)

But knowing your provider’s data caps and how much it will charge you can save you a lot of heartbreak. We broke down all the limits and fees in this data cap article, so you don’t have to dig through internet contracts to find your info.

Final take

There are some excellent internet providers out there with stellar deals and fast internet speeds. But providers vary by area, so you’ll need to figure out your options before setting your heart on one.

Here’s what you’ll need to know about our best ISP picks:

Verizon Fios—best overall

• Verizon Fios combines excellent fiber internet plans with superb customer service. It’s not the most widely available ISP, but if you’re in one of the nine states with Verizon Fios coverage, we’d recommend getting a plan.

AT&T—fastest

• AT&T offers affordable gigabit internet plans up to 5,000 Mbps, some of the fastest on the market today.

Xfinity—best for performance

• Xfinity’s reliable cable internet service is widely available nationwide.

Spectrum—best no-contract internet

• If you’re interested in a TV and internet bundle, Spectrum’s TV plans are a great deal thanks to its excellent channel lineups filled with premium channels.

CenturyLink—cheapest

• CenturyLink’s fiber internet and DSL plans are refreshingly straightforward: flat-rate pricing, excellent download speeds, and no contracts.

Methodology

To find this year’s best internet providers, we analyzed each ISP’s plans based on factors including price, internet performance, and download speeds. We also relied on our annual internet customer satisfaction survey to find out how current customers felt about their ISPs.

For more information on our methodology, check out our How We Rank page.

Best internet providers FAQ