Cheapest Internet and Wi-Fi Providers of 2024: Internet That Won’t Financially Destroy You

Our take: T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is the best internet service you can get if you're budget conscious. The cheapest T-Mobile 5G Home Internet plan starts at just $50 a month and gives you download speeds up to 245Mbps. While that's not the fastest internet out there, T-Mobile's two plans have flat monthly prices with no extra fees. And you don’t have to opt for the more expensive Plus plan to get a great experience—the $50 per month Unlimited plan has everything Plus offers except for the premium Wi-Fi equipment.

T-Mobile 5G is a wireless 5G internet service, so in theory, it’s a little less dependable than physical internet connections like fiber or cable. However, when we spoke with T-Mobile 5G customers, many found the service reliable. “[T-Mobile 5G] took us from low-quality streaming on a single TV to being able to stream two different shows in two different rooms with high definition,” says customer Steve Abbott. Read our T-Mobile 5G Home Internet review.

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is good for streaming. Its 292Mbps maximum download speeds are fast enough to support 4K streaming on multiple devices. However, the wireless connection may make for a slightly unstable experience for some customers. “Sometimes [when I’m] streaming NBA games at night, the picture looks a little fuzzy,” T-Mobile 5G Home Internet customer Rick Francis told Reviews.org.

Yes, the data you can use with T-Mobile 5G Home Internet truly is unlimited. You can use as much data you want without getting an overage charge. However, the service deprioritizes those who use more than 1.2TB in a billing cycle until the next cycle.

The T-Mobile 5G Home Internet user experience is excellent, according to customer surveys and testimonials. T-Mobile 5G is the best-rated non-fiber provider in both the 2023 and 2024 American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Our take: AT&T Fiber's cheapest internet plan offers solid symmetrical download and upload speeds of 300Mbps over a fiber internet connection for just $55 a month. With its vast national network, you have a better chance of getting fiber from this provider compared to any other, and all plans provide unlimited data and require minimal fees. On top of that, AT&T Fiber is known for amazing customer service: The ACSI has ranked it as the top fiber provider for two years running. While it doesn’t get the peak scores of Google Fiber (and you may have to grapple with data breaches), AT&T Fiber still gets superb scores in our internet review because it delivers some of the best value for fiber internet you can possibly get. Read our AT&T Fiber review.

Yes, AT&T Fiber includes Wi-Fi and every plan comes with a Wi-Fi gateway compatible with Wi-Fi 6. However, if you want Whole Home Wi-Fi (a service designed to cover larger dwellings), you may need to pay for Wi-Fi extenders.

Yes, AT&T Fiber is significantly faster than Xfinity. Its minimum advertised speed is twice as fast as Xfinity’s, and its maximum speed is about four times as fast.

Yes, AT&T Internet is good. According to customers, AT&T internet service delivers fast speeds and reliable connection for a fair price. “I like how fast and reliable it is,” fiber customer Lauren Hannula says. “I’ve only had one outage in the 5-plus years I’ve had AT&T, and it was resolved within a couple of hours.”

Our take: Most cable internet plans cost more than they probably should, but Spectrum Internet offers some truly solid deals. On Spectrum's cheap internet plans, users can get anywhere from 500Mbps to 1,000Mbps download speeds at a price range of $50–$70. While those plans don’t include the symmetrical speeds that fiber providers boast, they do come with unlimited data, which is a big plus.

This cable internet provider also has deals for customers who sign up for the Spectrum Mobile service, and qualifying internet customers can get subsidized low-income internet with the Spectrum Internet Assist package.

Spectrum is widely available nationwide, making it one of the most common options to get a deal for millions of internet customers. And the company doesn’t require you to sign a contract, so you can always cancel without paying an early termination fee. Read our Spectrum Internet review.

Spectrum Internet's disadvantages are mainly its connection type—cable internet is slightly slower than fiber internet and doesn’t offer symmetrical upload speeds. Another disadvantage is that Spectrum plans go up in price after the first year of service.

Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi is somewhat better than the regular Spectrum Internet. The state-of-the-art Wi-Fi router improves your connection’s stability and speed and allows you greater control over internet settings. However, buying the right router from a third party can achieve similar results.

Some Spectrum customers leave Spectrum because it doesn’t widely offer fiber internet. Customers who spoke with Reviews.org for our comprehensive review said they long for fiber internet and would prefer to sign up for a faster fiber connection if it’s available. As fiber internet grows in availability nationwide, customers will likely leave cable to sign up.

Our take: Astound Broadband truly … wait for it … astounds with its extremely inexpensive internet plan: The cheapest plan gives you 300Mbps download speeds for $20 a month. That’s quite the bargain, considering that many internet providers charge twice that or even more for the same speeds. Astound requires a one-time installation fee and a recurring equipment fee, but even with those extras, the cheapest plan still provides massive cost savings upfront.

Astound Broadband offers both fiber and cable internet, but those services are entirely location-dependent. You don’t get to pick and choose which type you get: You just have to take what’s available. Paying $20 a month for 300Mbps on a fiber-optic connection is an incredible deal, but getting those speeds over a cable connection is great too. Read our Astound Broadband review.

Yes, Astound Broadband is a real internet service provider. Some of its deals seem pretty unreal, but in a good way because the prices are so low.

No, Astound Broadband is not the same as Spectrum. They’re completely different companies that offer completely different internet plans.

Yes, Astound Broadband offers both fiber and cable internet.

Our take: You can get Verizon 5G Home Internet for as little as $60 a month—but it's even cheaper if you also have Verizon cellular phone service, costing as little as $35 a month with a customer discount. Seriously, if you’re a Verizon Wireless customer (or would like to be one), adding internet to your monthly phone bill for just $35 is truly a steal.

Verizon 5G Home Internet also comes in clutch with a three-year price lock and no extra fees unless you want Wi-Fi extenders. You even install the service yourself, so you don’t have to pay for professional installation. On top of that, it’s fast and reliable, winning some of the best ratings for speed and reliability and dollar value out of all the internet providers I’ve reviewed. Read our Verizon 5G Home Internet review.

Verizon 5G Home Internet might slow down for several reasons, such as signal loss or too much cell phone and internet traffic on the 5G network.

Yes, weather can affect Verizon 5G Home Internet. The wireless setup may be interrupted in cases of extreme conditions.

Verizon 5G Home Internet costs between $60 and $80 a month without a Verizon phone plan and between $35 and $45 a month with a qualifying phone plan.

How do these five cheap internet providers compare to each other? There’s some fierce competition—all have tempting deals, with different pluses and minuses balancing one another out.

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is a king in the budget internet space. It’s inexpensive and available almost anywhere, and it has highly rated service and no extra fees. My other 5G recommendation, Verizon 5G Home Internet, doesn’t have the best deal for internet alone, but its phone and internet bundles deliver incredible savings.

If you prefer a faster physical connection, AT&T Fiber is your best bet. Every plan is reasonably priced and plenty fast. The other fiber option, Astound Broadband, may be limited in location, but it offers the cheapest plan in the internet space without sacrificing decent speeds or unlimited data. And it has great cable internet deals too.

You can also go for cable with Spectrum Internet. Spectrum’s cheapest plan is a steal of a deal, delivering fast speeds for a low price. The service is available in many locations across the country, so it could be your best bet for saving money.

If none of my recommended cheapest providers are available where you live, you can look for a provider that fits your budget on your own. Home internet costs about $81 a month on average, but as this article shows, you can often get decent Wi-Fi for less.

Run a search with your zip code below to see what affordable internet options are available in your area.

In addition to picking the top five affordable internet options, I also chose some additional providers to consider. All these honorable mentions offer excellently priced internet services, even though they didn’t make the top five.

Since not every reader lives in an area with access to these providers, let’s give you some context to help understand how to pick the best cheap internet provider. The main things to look out for when buying low-priced internet are speed, data allotments, and extra fees.

Generally speaking, anything around $50 or less is inexpensive internet—as long as it provides at least 200Mbps download speeds.

If you pay $50 a month but get, say, 100Mbps speeds, that’s not really inexpensive internet. Yes, the cost is low, but the value is terrible compared to other internet providers.

Look out for unlimited data in inexpensive internet plans. Like with speed, data limits affect the value of the plan you buy.

Ideally, you want a plan with unlimited data. But a plan with an outrageously high data cap—like 1.2TB—is okay, too. It’s unlikely you ever exceed that during average monthly use.

Acquaint yourself with internet providers’ equipment rental fees, data overage fees, contract termination fees, and so on. Sometimes, an inexpensive internet plan isn’t so cheap when you consider ongoing costs.

Some plans include all costs and fees, which is ideal. But if there are some extra costs on the side, that’s not necessarily a catastrophe. Just make sure they don’t turn your monthly bill sky high instead of dirt cheap.

It's time for new, less expensive internet. See what’s available at your home address.