Best Internet Service Providers in Boston, Massachusetts

What is the best internet provider in Boston?

The experts at CNET have done the research to help you find the best Internet provider in Boston, Massachusetts. According to our experts Verizon Fios is the best internet provider in Bostonthanks to 100% fiber optic coverage and fast, symmetrical download and upload speeds. It also offers long-term price guarantees for discounted plans, simple terms of service, and unique sign-up bonuses. Additionally, Verizon Fios has excellent service throughout the city, with approximately eight in 10 households eligible for service, according to the latest data from the Federal Communications Commission.

Xfinity however, has the broadest coverage in Bostonwith service available to 99.5% of households. The cable provider offers the fastest download speeds in Boston, with up to 2,000 megabits per second in select areas. Amaze offers the cheapest internet in Bostonwith plans starting at $20 per month for up to 300 Mbps. Just like finding the best seat at Fenway, the answer depends on what’s available at your address and what you want to spend.

Comparison of all residential internet providers in Boston

The ISPs listed above aren’t the only internet options in Boston, but they are the ones I would most recommend and consider if I were leaving the South for Beantown. Here’s a quick comparison of all the internet providers in Boston, followed by a look at some of the cheapest and fastest plans available in the area.

What other internet options are there in Boston?

There aren’t many options outside of our picks for the best ISPs in Boston. Here’s a quick look at what you can expect from other internet services in the region.

T-Mobile Home Internet: T-Mobile’s 5G rollout has been impressive, covering some 50 million homes across the country, including many in Boston. Prices will be about the same as Verizon’s 5G home internet service in Boston, but speeds will likely be slower.

The terms of service are the same (no data caps, equipment fees, or contracts), so if you’re interested in 5G home internet, you might as well opt for Verizon’s higher speed potential. That said, T-Mobile does offer a $10 or $20 discount to qualifying mobile customers, so if you fall into that category, T-Mobile Home Internet may be worth considering.

Satellite internet: Hughesnet and Viasat are available almost everywhere, so they are technically home internet options in the Boston area. The expensive, low-data services are best for rural areas, so I recommend considering other providers unless you plan to live in a remote cabin on Walden Pond. If so, you’ll want to stay there for about as long as Thoreau — satellite internet from Hughesnet and Viasat comes with a two-year contract.

Boston broadband at a glance

Nearly every household in the Boston area has access to download speeds of 250 Mbps or higher and upload speeds of 25 Mbps or higher.

High-speed coverage comes from several sources, including cable internet from Xfinity and Astound and fiber optic service from Verizon Fios, which is available to approximately 86% of addresses in Boston. As a result, Boston residents will likely have at least two or three, but possibly more, broadband options to choose from.

Boston Internet Awards

With introductory prices of around $20 to $35 per month depending on your chosen provider and the discounts you qualify for, Boston has some of the lowest prices for high-speed internet anywhere.

Pricing remains competitive even as you move up into higher speed tiers. For example, Astound offers a 300 Mbps plan starting at just $20, while Xfinity’s Gigabit plan advertises speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps starting at $60 per month.

Internet for low-income households in Boston

Xfinity’s Internet Essentials and Internet Essentials Plus plans have maximum download speeds of 50 and 100 Mbps, starting at $10 and $30 per month, respectively. The plans include no activation or equipment fees, access to Xfinity Wi-Fi Hotspots and the ability to purchase a computer for $150. However, they are only available in certain areas.

How fast is broadband in Boston?

You won’t find the absolute fastest speeds in Boston. Recent Ookla speed test data ranks Boston 66th among the top 100 U.S. cities for its average download speeds of approximately 222 Mbps. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) Numerous factors can affect speed test data, such as use of a Wi-Fi connection and distance from the router, not to mention the maximum advertised speeds of a subscription. shouldn’t be too indicative of the speeds you can get from your provider.

Summary of the Internet in Boston

Two or three internet options, plus maybe one or two more in certain areas, probably doesn’t feel like much, but Boston residents have more choices than most when it comes to home internet service.

While no carrier offers multi-gigabit speeds, single-gig service is available from up to five carriers. Pricing is competitive, with multiple plans starting at $35 per month or less. The terms of service are reasonable regardless of the carrier and plan you choose, as most offer unlimited data and no contract requirements, while some, like Verizon Fios and Starry, up the ante with free equipment.

How CNET Chose the Best Internet Providers in Boston

Internet providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. What is our approach? We’ll start by researching the price, availability, and speed information using our own historical ISP data, carrier sites, and Federal Communications Commission mapping information at FCC.gov.

It doesn’t stop there: we go to the FCC’s website to check our data and make sure we’re considering every ISP that provides service in an area. We also enter local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. To assess how satisfied customers are with an ISP’s service, we look to sources such as the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate at the time of publication.

Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:

• Does the provider offer access to reasonably high internet speeds?
• Do customers get a good price for what they pay?
• Are customers satisfied with their service?

Although the answers to these questions are often layered and complex, we recommend the providers who come closest to ‘yes’ to all three questions.

Visit our page on how we test ISPs to explore our process in more depth.

Frequently asked questions about the Internet in Boston