Choose the Best Internet Provider for Your Home With Help From an Expert

CNET

25-06-2025

After years of covering the best internet options for cities across the country (and building jealousy of Idaho Falls, Idaho's internet) I've become an expert at sifting through all the options. I completely understand how confusing all the jargon is and how much more difficult it makes trying to find the right internet service provider for your needs. That combined with the pricing, hidden fees and all the fine print, you may not actually know what all these companies are even offering.
I've spent more hours on internet providers' websites than I care to think about, and over the years, I've learned what tricks companies tend to use to obscure essential information and what's critical to look for when choosing a good plan. Picking an internet provider is a decision that's worth investing some time in. Once you're committed to a provider, inertia often takes over: The prospect of returning equipment and scheduling a new installation can keep you in a bad broadband relationship for years.
Don't let the confusing language, price traps and technical lingo keep you from picking the right internet plan. Here's everything you need to know about shopping for internet service that I've learned over the years.
1. Find all the providers in your area
You should always cast a wide net when you're fishing for internet providers in your neighborhood, and the best place to start is the Federal Communications Commission's website. Federal regulations require that ISPs disclose basic information like the addresses they cover and the speeds they offer, and the FCC displays this information in its Broadband Map.
FCC
When you enter your address, you'll see a map of your neighborhood, with all the internet providers available at your location listed on the right-hand side of the screen, along with the connection type and the maximum download and upload speed they offer. From there, you can narrow your options based on internet connection type and speeds.
Locating local internet providers
2. Figure out the internet connection type
The type of internet connection each provider offers will tell you almost everything you need to know to make your decision. With a few exceptions, fiber is better than cable, which is better than fixed wireless. (You can cross DSL and satellite off your list now unless you have no other options.) You'll find that fiber internet is often the most cost-efficient internet option -- while satellite internet is typically the least.
Here's a quick overview of how each connection type measures up:
Fiber : Fiber internet is the gold standard for internet service. It refers to the fiber-optic cables that send internet to your home, which are made out of long, thin strands of glass or plastic. Because it's so desirable, ISPs like to claim their network is fiber as often as possible. Some providers have "fiber-to-the-node" connections, which rely on slower coaxial cables for the "last mile" to the home; others are true "fiber-to-the-home" connections. According to FCC data, 48% of the US has access to fiber-to-the-home internet. The key advantage of fiber internet is its reliability and upload speeds. Fiber is the only internet connection that offers symmetrical upload and download speeds -- a major plus if you're into online gaming or work from home. If you aren't sure whether the ISP you're looking at offers fiber-to-the-node or fiber-to-the-home, look at the upload speeds . True fiber internet will have upload speeds that are just as fast as downloads.
: Fiber internet is the gold standard for internet service. It refers to the fiber-optic cables that send internet to your home, which are made out of long, thin strands of glass or plastic. Because it's so desirable, ISPs like to claim their network is fiber as often as possible. Some providers have "fiber-to-the-node" connections, which rely on slower coaxial cables for the "last mile" to the home; others are true "fiber-to-the-home" connections. According to FCC data, 48% of the US has access to fiber-to-the-home internet. The key advantage of fiber internet is its reliability and upload speeds. Fiber is the only internet connection that offers symmetrical upload and download speeds -- a major plus if you're into online gaming or work from home. . True fiber internet will have upload speeds that are just as fast as downloads. Cable : Cable internet has been the default choice for internet since the dial-up days, and roughly two in three home internet connections in the US are still handled by cable providers. It's also the most widely available connection type . According to FCC data, 82% of the country has access to at least one cable provider. The "cable" in cable internet refers to the coaxial cables with copper cores that are used to transmit radio frequency signals. These can't handle as much data as fiber-optic cables, which translates to slower speeds. This is almost entirely on the upstream side of the equation, though. Upload speeds from cable ISPs typically top out at around 30Mbps.
: Cable internet has been the default choice for internet since the dial-up days, and roughly two in three home internet connections in the US are still handled by cable providers. . According to FCC data, 82% of the country has access to at least one cable provider. The "cable" in cable internet refers to the coaxial cables with copper cores that are used to transmit radio frequency signals. These can't handle as much data as fiber-optic cables, which translates to slower speeds. This is almost entirely on the upstream side of the equation, though. Upload speeds from cable ISPs typically top out at around 30Mbps. Fixed wireless/5G : Until a few years ago, fixed wireless internet was on par with DSL and satellite -- a slower connection that primarily served rural areas with few other options. But with the rollout of faster 5G networks, cellphone providers have started to utilize this infrastructure for home internet, too. Instead of your phone picking up that internet connection, the cellular towers transmit data to a gateway device inside your home, which connects all your devices to the internet. Fixed wireless speeds are slower than cable and fiber on average and because the connection is wireless, it is more vulnerable to network congestion and disruption .
: Until a few years ago, fixed wireless internet was on par with DSL and satellite -- a slower connection that primarily served rural areas with few other options. But with the rollout of faster 5G networks, cellphone providers have started to utilize this infrastructure for home internet, too. Instead of your phone picking up that internet connection, the cellular towers transmit data to a gateway device inside your home, which connects all your devices to the internet. . DSL : DSL (short for "digital subscriber line") is a wired connection that's typically used in rural areas without access to cable or fiber internet. The connection goes through copper phone lines, and speeds are usually very slow. Only about 4% of the DSL connections in the country meet the FCC's definition of broadband: 100Mbps of download speed and 20Mbps of upload speed. It's enough to check your email or browse the internet, but things like streaming and videoconferencing might be tough .
: DSL (short for "digital subscriber line") is a wired connection that's typically used in rural areas without access to cable or fiber internet. The connection goes through copper phone lines, and speeds are usually very slow. Only about 4% of the DSL connections in the country meet the FCC's definition of broadband: 100Mbps of download speed and 20Mbps of upload speed. . Satellite: Simply put, this connection type often hits the bottom of the barrel. Satellite internet is usually the slowest and most expensive option in any given area, and it often comes with bitter pills like stingy data caps, long-term contracts and expensive equipment.
Starlink according to the FCC.
Note that with the exception of Google Fiber, most fiber internet providers also offer DSL service. AT&T's DSL service, for example, covers 22% of the country, compared with just 12% for fiber. ISPs don't like to brag about their DSL service, so it might not be immediately obvious whether you're looking at DSL or fiber plans.
The telltale sign will always be speed. You'll see only one plan available when it's DSL, and the speed will typically be well under 150Mbps. Fiber, on the other hand, will show multiple plans, with much faster upload and download speeds.
3. Enter your address on ISP sites
Once you've pulled up the FCC list of internet providers at your address, it's time to start comparing the plans each provider offers, down to the speeds and prices. Because the available plans can change from street to street, you'll need to enter your address on each ISP's website individually to see what prices and speeds you can get.
The FCC mandated broadband nutrition labels to be used by every ISP. However, not all internet providers use them, and they don't always make it easy to find basic information about their plans. Here's what you should look for:
Upload vs. download speed
When you see internet providers talking about their speed, they're almost always referring to download speed. And that's for good reason -- most people download far more than they upload. Things like streaming TV, scrolling Instagram and installing an app all use download speed, while online gaming, videoconferencing and livestreaming require you to send data in the other, upstream direction.
According to the most recent data from OpenVault, upstream data usage is rapidly growing and was up 13.7% from last year. If there are going to be multiple people in the house taking video meetings or gaming at the same time, you'll need higher upload speeds. Fiber is the only connection type that gives you "symmetrical" upload and download speeds.
Price increases
Anyone who's paid an internet bill for long enough has probably had to deal with price increases at some point. How painful they are depends on the company. Fiber providers tend to be the most straightforward: AT&T, Frontier and Verizon Fios don't automatically increase their prices after a "promotional period" ends. T-Mobile Home Internet even gives you a price-lock guarantee.
The ones you need to look out for are the cable providers. ISPs like Xfinity, Cox and Spectrum all increase prices significantly after a year or two, and they don't exactly make it easy to find out by how much -- or when -- your bill will increase.
Xfinity's FCC-mandated broadband nutrition label displays the "post-introductory price" after one year of service: the monthly cost jumps from $55 to $89.
Screenshot by Cierra Noffke/CNET
Spectrum, for example, shows that its 500Mbps plan costs $50 per month for 12 months, but there's no indication of what the price will be after that. You have to go to Spectrum's rate card page to see that the standard price is $85. It's not always that complicated -- you can often find what you're looking for by clicking a "view details" link -- but if you're unsure about it at all, it's a good idea to call or chat with a customer service representative to ask about price increases directly.
Data caps
Unlimited data is a given for most internet providers these days, but some still impose data caps on their plans. This isn't always a deal-breaker, though. Cox and Xfinity both have 1.2TB data caps on some plans. The average US household uses 663.2GB of data each month -- less than half the amount allowed by Cox and Xfinity. With 1.2TB, you'd be able to stream Netflix in HD for 13 hours per day and still have some data left over. DSL and satellite providers usually have much stingier data caps than cable or fiber.
Contracts
Like data caps, contracts are largely a thing of the past in the broadband world, but some companies still have them. The most stringent are the satellite providers -- Hughesnet and Viasat both require two-year contracts on all plans -- but cable companies like Xfinity sometimes require you to sign on to a contract to get the lowest price.
If you do get stuck in a contract you want to get out of, some ISPs offer contract buyouts as an enticement when you switch to them. Spectrum, Optimum, T-Mobile Home Internet and Verizon Fios give you a bill credit or a check to help cover early termination fees, usually up to $500.
Equipment fees
Many internet providers charge a fee of around $10 to rent their modem and/or Wi-Fi router, but you can almost always use your own equipment and skip the equipment fee. For example, I spent $873 renting equipment from Xfinity for six years. The cost I spent on my own modem and router was well below that, and I saw improved speeds and network reliability after setting up my new equipment. In some cases, providers, like AT&T Fiber and T-Mobile Home Internet, include equipment at no extra charge.
Customer satisfaction
Internet providers are a notoriously unpopular bunch, but some are more unpopular than others. If you want to get a sense of what it's like to have service with an ISP, the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power both conduct annual surveys on customer satisfaction with ISPs. Consumer Reports also gives out detailed scores based on reader surveys, but you'll need a subscription to access them. And it never hurts to do a web search on "internet [your city] Reddit" or ask your neighbors and friends for some on-the-ground recon on ISPs in your area.
4. Calculate how much internet speed you need
We all want fast internet, but what does that really mean? Internet speed is measured in megabits per second, or Mbps, which tells you the rate at which information is downloaded or uploaded to or from the internet.
A higher number means faster speed, but most activities don't actually require high speeds. You need only 15Mbps to stream Netflix in 4K, 3Mbps to take a Zoom meeting and less than 1Mbps to listen to Spotify. So for most activities, 1,000Mbps won't feel any faster than 100Mbps.
But your internet speed is like a pie: each of those activities will take a slice out of your available bandwidth. Higher speeds are more about the amount of devices you can use at once than how quickly you can load a web page.
There are some situations where "fast" and "slow" apply. It would take you about 3 seconds to download a 2-hour movie with a 1,000Mbps connection; with 100Mbps, that would increase to around 30 seconds.
Wi-Fi is always slower
When you see internet speeds advertised by providers, that number always refers to the speeds you'd get through a wired connection or Ethernet cable. While Wi-Fi 6 routers and Wi-Fi 7 routers have helped narrow the gap, accessing the internet through Wi-Fi is still significantly slower than plugging directly into your modem.
How much slower depends on your router model, its placement in your home and obstacles like walls and shelves, but a good rule of thumb is to expect about half the speed through Wi-Fi that you're advertised with your internet plan.
The bottom line
Shopping for internet service is a pain -- and intentionally confusing in some ways. That's one of the reasons the FCC now requires providers to display clear information on their plans in the vein of nutrition labels on food products. But you'll still have to do some of the legwork yourself. Though there's a lot of information to consider, most people will be able to find an internet plan they're happy with. For more help with choosing an internet provider, check out CNET's list of the best internet providers nationwide.