Best Internet Providers 2023: 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
• Google Fiber–Best in customer satisfaction
• Spectrum—Most flexible
• Optimum—Cheapest fiber internet

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. If you’re fortunate enough to have Google Fiber coverage in your area, you’ll get speedy and reliable fiber internet service. Google Fiber was one of the highest-rated regional ISPs in our internet customer satisfaction survey.

For affordable fiber internet, Optimum will make every dollar count. When you want to avoid a contract, Spectrum is one of your best cable internet options.

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 four years in a row, Verizon Fios has scored very high on our annual customer satisfaction survey. Its impressive scores take into account its stellar customer service, its well-priced plans, and the reliability of its 100% fiber network. (It also landed on top of our best ISPs for streaming guide.)

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.

As of August 2023, AT&T no longer offers their DSL plans. However, for those in rural areas or who are interested in AT&T’s now-defunct 75Mbps or 100Mbps plans, check out AT&T Internet Air. It costs the same as AT&T’s old DSL plan ($55.00 per month) and offers nearly the same download and upload speeds. We think Internet Air is a solid alternative to DSL, but you’ll quickly hit its performance ceiling if you need more than just the basics from your internet connection.

Data effective as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
†Price after $5/mo Autopay & Paperless bill discount (w/in 2 bills). Plus taxes & fees. Monthly State Cost Recovery Charge in TX, OH, NV applies. One time install chrg may apply. Ltd. avail/areas. Call or go to www.fiber.att.com to see if you qualify.
‡Price after $5/mo Autopay & Paperless bill discount (w/in 2 bills). Plus taxes & fees. Monthly State Cost Recovery Charge in TX, OH, NV applies. One time install chrg may apply. Ltd. avail/areas. Call or go to www.fiber.att.com to see if you qualify.

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 some 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.

Google Fiber might not have the best reach—at the moment, it’s available in only 20 US cities—but when it’s available, it’s impressive. Fiber internet will always be faster and more reliable than the competition (read our fiber internet review to find out why), and with only two plans, Google makes it easy to access high speeds right away.

Data effective as of publish date. Pricing and speeds are subject to change. Not all offers available in all areas.
*Available in select markets only. Plus taxes and fees. Upload/download speed and device streaming claims are based on maximum wired speeds. Actual Internet speeds are not guaranteed and may vary based on factors such as hardware and software limitations, latency, packet loss, etc.

Google Fiber was one of the top performers in our 2023 internet customer satisfaction survey. An impressive 90% of respondents were extremely satisfied with Google Fiber’s speeds, and 85% of respondents were equally satisfied with Google Fiber’s service reliability. If you’re looking for high-performance fiber internet service, Google Fiber will deliver, and it won’t go down.

Google doesn’t roll out deals or price cuts very often, but its customers enjoy no data caps and the 2 Gig plan comes with a Wi-Fi 6 router and Google’s mesh Wi-Fi extender. The new 5 Gig and 8 Gig plans also come with a Wi-Fi 6 router, plus up to two of the mesh Wi-Fi extenders.

Like other internet providers, Google Fiber has an option to bundle internet and phone together, although if you’re looking for fiber TV, you won’t find it here: Google refers customers to YouTube TV instead.

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 most affordable around at only $109.99 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 pretty average when compared to 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.

Optimum’s internet plans check off a lot of the boxes we like to see from ISPs: with it, you’ll get unlimited data, decent fiber internet availability, no contracts, and fast download speeds.

If your neighborhood has Optimum fiber internet coverage, you’ll also get some of the cheapest and fastest fiber internet plans around. Optimum Fiber Internet 300 includes 300Mbps upload and download speeds for only $40 monthly for your first year. By comparison, most competing fiber internet providers start their pricing at around $50 to $60 monthly, and you’ll have to settle for slower 100Mbps or 200Mbps speeds.

Although Optimum had lackluster marks on our customer satisfaction survey, its strong network still helped the ISP earn a spot on our best ISPs for gaming list.

Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
* for 1 yr. Plus taxes, equip. charges and fees.
**Only available in Optimum West region.

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.

Google Fiber—best for performance

• Google Fiber’s fiber internet service combines stellar speeds with high reliability.

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.

Optimum—cheapest fiber internet

• Optimum’s fiber internet is among the most affordable on the market.

Best internet providers FAQ

Methodology

To find this year’s best internet providers, we spent thousands of hours analyzing 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.