Best Rural Internet Providers for 2023

Your internet options for rural areas are limited because few internet providers build networks in small towns. However, Xfinity, CenturyLink, T-Mobile and Viasat all offer internet service in rural America.

Out of these three internet providers, we recommend Xfinity. In our survey data, we’ve found it’s the fastest and most reliable—plus, it offers plenty of data, so you can actually use the internet you pay for.

Jump to:

• Best rural internet providers
• Other internet options for rural areas
• Our final take
• Rural internet FAQ

Best rural internet providers

• Xfinity—best rural cable internet
• CenturyLink—best rural DSL internet
• T-Mobile—best mobile internet
• Viasat—best rural satellite internet

We recommend the rural internet providers above in order from top to bottom. Cable internet tends to be faster and more reliable than DSL, and satellite internet is a good backup if your area doesn’t have any grounded internet lines like cable and DSL.

Compare top rural internet providers

Data is as of time of post. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

What are internet options for rural areas?

There are a few rural internet solutions to chose from, although some might not be available in your area.

• Cable internet
• DSL
• Satellite internet
• Cellular hotspot
• Dial-up

The most commonly available internet connection types in rural areas are cable, DSL, and satellite.

Options like cellular hotspot internet (which can be pricey) and dial-up (which still exists) are also available in rural areas, but we’ve concentrated on satellite, DSL, and cable. Fiber internet isn’t included because it’s still a unicorn even in many major cities.

Best rural cable internet: Xfinity

The best internet service most rural areas can hope for is cable, and Xfinity has the widest availability of them all. The Comcast-owned company has coaxial lines running through 40 states, with particularly thorough coverage of the Rockies. You can see our Xfinity internet coverage map for a full picture of Xfinity internet availability.

Unfortunately, cable internet from any brand is a rarity in most rural areas—so if it’s available within your zip code, we recommend it, especially if it’s Xfinity. You’ll get nearly all of Xfinity’s internet plans if you’re fortunate enough to have rural Xfinity coverage, and the provider has maximum download speeds of 1.2 Gbps.

One big “but”: the downside of cable internet from any provider is the fact that the data doesn’t travel long distances well. The farther away from a cable provider’s service point you are, the more degraded the signal that eventually reaches you. So even if you can get cable service, it may be weaker and slower version than advertised.

Xfinity internet plans (Northeast)

**For the first 12 months with a 1-year agreement.
**For 24 months with 1-year term contract. Includes $10/mo automatic payments and paperless billing discount. Taxes and equipment not included.
Data effective as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Xfinity internet plans (Central)

*For 24 months. No term contract. Taxes and equipment not included. Includes $10/mo automatic payments and paperless billing discount.
Data effective as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change..

Xfinity internet plans (West)

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

Best rural DSL internet: CenturyLink

CenturyLink DSL—Digital Subscriber Line, or internet delivered through standard telephone lines—is available in 16 states and covers many rural areas in the Northwest and Midwest. Since phone lines are more common outside of urban grids than cable, you’re more likely to find a DSL hookup if you live in a rural area.

We like CenturyLink DSL for its relatively low monthly rate as well as its wide availability. You’ll pay $50 per month and won’t have to worry about contracts or price increases.

But like with most DSL providers, your maximum download speed will be what CenturyLink’s network supports around your address. On CenturyLink’s DSL plan, you might get a download speed of 15 Mbps or 100 Mbps. Although CenturyLink’s speed unpredictability isn’t great, we’d ultimately recommend CenturyLink if it’s available near you because of the provider’s flat-rate pricing.

CenturyLink also does fiber internet, but it’s still rarer outside of cities than Bigfoot sightings and Pottery Barns.

Like cable internet, distance is the enemy of DSL—the signal gets more diluted the more miles it travels from a service point to your modem. It’s a vast improvement over dial-up internet, but it’s still subject to the limitations of decades-old telephone lines.

CenturyLink DSL internet plans

Data effective as of publish date. Pricing and speeds are subject to change. Not all offers available in all areas.
*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.)

Best mobile internet: T-Mobile Home Internet

T-Mobile’s one of the biggest carriers in the home mobile internet market, which refers to households that use cellular data networks to get online. T-Mobile Home Internet’s one-size-fits-all pricing keeps things straightforward, as you’ll simply pay $50 monthly for T-Mobile internet and won’t have to deal with annual price increases or data caps.

Unlike cable internet providers, T-Mobile doesn’t need to run a line to your home in order to bring it online—you simply have to be near a T-Mobile cell phone tower. But your internet experience will depend on T-Mobile’s coverage in your area. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is T-Mobile’s best offering with download speeds up to 182 Mbps, but if T-Mobile doesn’t have 5G in your area, you’ll have to settle for slower T-Mobile 4G home internet coverage.

T-Mobile home internet plans

Data effective as of publish date. Pricing and speeds are subject to change. Not all offers available in all areas.

Best rural satellite internet: Viasat

The good news: satellite internet doesn’t rely on land-wired infrastructures and is readily available to anyone with a clear view of the sky.

The bad news: while great for TV service, satellite dish-delivered internet is capable of only sub-DSL speed and stability. Also, factors like distance from the satellite or inclement weather can knock that speed down or knock it out completely.

Surprisingly, the same type of satellite dish that can beam pristine, HD-quality TV into your home is capable of conveying only a fraction of that signal in internet service. Cable TV and internet are equal in performance; satellite TV and internet couldn’t be further apart.

Of the two satellite internet providers available (Viasat and HughesNet), we recommend Viasat. It has a wide variety of plans and—at least theoretical—high download speeds. Viasat advertises download speeds up to 100 Mbps (megabytes per second), which is near the fastest rate of DSL and means you can stream shows and movies on multiple devices and surf the internet at the same time.

At times, satellite internet may be unreliable and slow, but at least it’s wincingly expensive—just keeping it real here. Besides monthly base rates that can run close to three hundred dollars, Viasat’s required equipment isn’t cheap, and you’re contracted for two years. There’s also the issue of data overages (Viasat says its plans are “unlimited,” but going over certain data numbers can cost you in throttled speed and actual dollars).

In other words, satellite internet should be your last resort—and Viasat is the better choice of that last resort by a narrow margin.

Viasat satellite internet plans

Data is as of time of post. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*Prices and availability vary by location. Installation fees, monthly equipment lease fees, and taxes may apply. After 100 GB of High-Speed Data usage, you still have unlimited access to Standard Data, which may result in slower speed.

Other rural internet services

Cellular hotspot

Ever noticed the “Mobile Hotspot” button on your phone and wondered, “What’s that about?” Well, it turns your mobile phone (and data) into a virtual modem/router that connects you to the internet through a cellular network. If you’d rather not tie up your phone, you can also buy a stand-alone MiFi device that does the same thing but still lets you play Fortnite.

Using a cellular mobile hotspot for your internet connection is easy, but because mobile carriers rarely offer unlimited internet data, it can also be expensive. If you’re using your 4G internet connection to power your rural home’s wireless network, you can quickly hit your carrier’s data limits and rack up overage charges.

Also, the distance from the nearest cell tower will affect performance—if the phone call quality in your area is sketchy, the internet quality won’t be much better.

Dial-up internet

Millions of Americans still use good ole ‘90s-style dial-up internet—knock us over with a floppy disk, it’s true. For rural communities wired with telephone lines but not serviced by DSL providers, dial-up internet is a cheap and simple way to check email and weather reports (if little else).

“Cheap” is relative with dial-up internet because—Gen-Xers will remember this, dubiously—you’re charged by the minute, not at a flat monthly rate. Combine that ticking clock with download speeds well under 1 Mbps and any potential savings are out the window.

Our final take

When it comes to rural internet, Xfinity comes with the best internet technology, and it offers the fastest speeds at a reasonable price. CenturyLink is a good backup, but it has less bang for your buck. And while Viasat’s satellite internet isn’t as good as grounded cable and DSL internet, it’s better than no internet at all.

Our rural internet recommendations aren’t necessarily inexpensive, but they will get you connected where your options are limited. Check out our availability map or enter your zip code below to see which services are available in your area.

Our methodology

The rural internet providers in this article are some of the most wide-spread rural internet providers in the US. We ranked them by speed, reliability, service type, and scores from our annual “Best Internet Providers in Customer Satisfaction” survey.

You can learn more about our methodologies on our “How We Rank” page.

Rural internet FAQ