AT&T Fiber: Best internet for most San Franciscans
Pros
Fiber plans give you superfast and reliable data speeds
No contracts or data caps
$20 monthly discount for AT&T Wireless customers
Cons
Fiber plans not available everywhere
Not the cheapest provider
If you’re looking for the best all-around internet provider in the Bay Area, AT&T should be your first stop. AT&T’s high-performance fiber-optic plans come at very reasonable prices, making them ideal for everyone, from professional couples to big families with tons of devices.
AT&T’s fiber plans are available throughout San Francisco, but coverage is best in neighborhoods like Richmond, Sunset, Noe Valley, South of Market, and Excelsior. If you’re across the bay, you can also find great fiber coverage from AT&T in Alameda, Oakland, and Berkeley.
Best AT&T Fiber internet plan for most people in San Francisco: 500 Mbps internet for $45.00/mo. (or $65.00/mo. for those without AT&T Wireless)
500 Mbps internet is plenty of speed for most people, including serious gamers, streamers, hackers, and doom scrollers. You could easily hold down your work-from-home tech gig with this plan and have bandwidth to spare. For those with an eligible AT&T Wireless plan, it’s just $45 a month, which is a seriously amazing price. But even those who have to pay the normal $65 a month are getting a fair price for a half-gigabit internet speeds.
Sonic: Fastest San Francisco internet provider
Sonic internet pros and cons
Pros
Fiber speeds up to 10Gbps
Very good prices
Committed to corporate transparency and digital privacy
Cons
Not available everywhere in the city
It’s no surprise that the fastest internet in San Francisco comes from a home-grown company. Sonic’s flagship internet plan gives you 10 gigabit speeds on a top-tier fiber network for just $50 a month. It’s hard to find any ISP in any part of the country that offers a better deal than that.
But Sonic isn’t just beloved for its fast internet. Customers rave about the company’s customer service and its commitment to privacy and transparency. It advocates for net neutrality and an open internet.
Sonic’s powerful internet plans are, unfortunately, not available in every part of SF. Those in the neighborhoods like The Mission, The Castro, Richmond, Pacific Heights, and Sunset will see good coverage from Sonic, but others may have to look for another internet provider.
Best Sonic internet plan for most people: 10 Gig plan for $49.99/mo.
If you can get it in your home, Sonic’s 10 Gig plan offers unparalleled speeds for just $50 a month. There’s no hidden fees (even installation is free) and no contract required!
Verizon 5G Home Internet: Easiest way to get superfast internet in San Francisco
Verizon 5G Home Internet pros and cons
Pros
300–1,000Mbps speeds
Easy set up with seamless wireless connection
3-year price guarantee on Plus Plan
Cons
Less reliable speeds than wired service
Pricier for non-Verizon Wireless customers
If you want fast internet speeds but you don’t want to deal with a bunch of wires and professional installation, then Verizon’s 5G Home Internet service is the way to go. Verizon’s home internet service uses the cell phone towers that it’s already built in the Bay Area to provide high-speed internet in your home without any wires or clunky appliances.
Verizon has gone out of its way to supercharge its infrastructure in San Francisco specifically. Last year the company announced that “San Francisco residents and visitors will now be able to use a full 140 MHz of spectrum, more than doubling the 5G bandwidth available to serve customers.” That means you can easily get speeds of 300 to 1,000Mbps in many areas.
Verizon has also stated that 80% of San Francisco’s population is now covered with 5G Ultra Wideband. That means you should see amazing internet performance, as long as you’re in The City. But that performance will likely go down if you’re down on the Peninsula or in the East Bay.
Best Verizon 5G Home Internet plan for most people: 5G Home Plus plan for $45.00/mo. with up to 1,000Mbps
This Plus plan from Verizon gives you up to 1,000Mbps internet speed, making it perfect for medium-sized households with lots of devices. It also comes with a ton of perks, including a free router and whole-home Wi-Fi setup. If you’re a current Verizon Wireless customer with an eligible cell phone plan, then you can get the Plus plan for just $45 a month.
Xfinity: Best budget internet provider in San Francisco
Xfinity Internet pros and cons
Pros
75–1,200Mbps download speeds
Many affordable plans to choose from
No contracts
Cons
Not as fast or reliable as fiber
1.2 TB data cap
There’s no reason to pay a bunch of money for fancy internet that you don’t need. For those who just want a cheap, no-frills service that will allow them to stream Netflix, play some Fortnite, and browse the web, there’s Xfinity.
Most homes in the San Francisco area are probably already wired up for Xfinity service. That’s because the company’s internet plans use the same infrastructure as its cable TV service. This makes installation easy and affordable.
Speaking of affordable: Xfinity’s introductory prices are among the best in the industry. There are several great high-speed plans to choose from for under $50 a month. Just watch out for the 1.2TB data cap that may affect very online San Franciscans who use a lot of data downloading big game updates or Zooming into work meetings.
Best T-Mobile 5G Home Internet plan for most people: Connect More plan with up to 200Mbps for $30.00/mo.
At $30 a month, this is one of the cheapest 200Mbps internet plans on the market anywhere, let alone in the City by the Bay. The only thing you need to watch out for is price increases. Once your introductory rate period ends, your bill could go up to $69 a month!
