The Fastest Internet Providers in 2023

Google Fiber is the fastest internet provider

*Data effective 12/19/2022.

**Data taken from internet user results conducted on HighSpeedInternet.com’s speed test between June 1, 2021, to June 1, 2022. Not all speeds and packages available in all areas and are subject to change. The weighted speed score is not an actual internet speed.

Google Fiber is the fastest internet provider in the United States, delivering the fastest average speeds to its customers on the most consistent basis. With maximum advertised speeds up to 2,000 Mbps and 12-month average download speeds of 167.1 Mbps, the fiber provider earns an integrated speed score (ISS) of 185.2.

The ISS is HighSpeedInternet.com’s method for ranking internet speed performance. It’s based on a combination of 90% of a provider’s average download speed with 10% of the same provider’s average upload speed. We came up with the score based on analyzing data from 2.6 million speed tests conducted with our internet speed test tool from June 1, 2021, to June 1, 2022.

Though it’s available in only 19 cities, Google’s flagship fiber-optic service has been the fastest internet provider since 2018, handily beating out all competitors every year.

But other providers have also shown impressive scores. Verizon is the second-fastest internet provider, with max advertised speeds up to 2,048 Mbps and an ISS of 156.0. Xfinity, MetroNet, and AT&T all come in close behind with scores ranging from 133.3 to 147.7.

Which internet providers advertise the fastest speeds?

A growing number of fiber and cable internet providers have been racing to boost their internet plans to new multigigabit heights. AT&T, Ziply, and Optimum now offer plans with 2,000 Mbps and 5,000 Mbps in select areas. Xfinity has a much-touted (but hard to find) plan that reaches 6,000 Mbps. Google Fiber and Frontier also have 2,000 Mbps plans. Smaller providers like Advanced Stream and Miles Broadband offer 10,000 Mbps plans.

Most internet providers offer top speeds of 940–1,000 Mbps. Anything faster isn’t necessary for the majority of internet users—and high prices and limited availability may make some of these plans out of reach anyway. Even 1,000 Mbps is a stretch, and most people have much slower speeds. But it’s clear from this push towards ever faster speeds that high bandwidth is a major selling point for internet users who are spending more time each year on the net.

Take our speed test to see what kind of bandwidth you have at home. You might be better off with a faster plan.

Other key findings and trends

In addition to showing the fastest internet providers according to the latest data, our report also delves into longterm trends that have been taking place since 2018. Read on for our analysis on the following major developments in internet speed.

• Internet speeds get faster across the board. All the major fiber, cable, and DSL (digital subscriber line) internet providers we looked into have shown a steady increase in speeds from 2018 to 2021.
• Providers compete to offer the fastest multigigabit speeds. Several internet providers now offer multigigabit speeds on residential internet plans, with top speeds reaching up to 5,000 Mbps.
• Average speeds have tripled for some providers. Between 2018 and 2021, average internet speeds among major internet providers have gone up by as much as 192%. Fiber providers showed the biggest gains.
• DSL declined, fiber expanded, and cable accelerated. Some internet providers saw huge gains as they pivoted away from DSL services to expand affordable fiber-optic offerings.

Is speed all that matters? Here’s what internet users think

Although Spectrum and Sparklight don’t have the fastest internet speed test results, these providers do have some of the happiest customers when it comes to internet speed. That’s according to our most recent customer satisfaction survey, an annual report in which we ask thousands of internet customers to rate their experiences with the biggest US internet service providers.

Our survey findings make it clear that the fastest internet speed isn’t always everything. An internet provider can make a customer happy not just by delivering fast speeds, but by simply delivering on the speeds the provider promised.

Our survey findings make it clear that the fastest internet speed isn’t always everything. An internet provider can serve a customer well not just by delivering fast speeds, but by simply delivering on the speeds the provider promised.

In our survey, Spectrum and Sparklight tied with Verizon and Xfinity in the internet speed category for national providers—all received a score of 4.0 out of 5. Tied for second place are a batch of providers that all have a score of 3.9: Mediacom, EarthLink, Cox, and Astound Broadband.

While Verizon and EarthLink are fiber providers, the rest of these providers deliver cable internet. Cable is technically slower than fiber, but it’s still capable of delivering gigabit download speeds. But even slower cable plans are solid for many people, and they cost less money too.

Sometimes you don’t need the fastest internet connection just because you can get it.

Take a look at our “How Much Internet Speed Do I Need?” tool to get an idea of how much bandwidth is right for your household.

Methodology: How HighSpeedInternet.com ranked the fastest internet providers in the US

We measure providers’ internet speeds using our own internet speed test. Millions of internet users take our test each year, and we recalculate the results every three months to generate an integrated speed score (ISS) for the top-performing internet providers.

We calculate the ISS by adding 90% of a provider’s average download speed to 10% of the provider’s average upload speed, a blend that reflects the relative importance of these different speeds to a user’s needs.

Most internet providers advertise only download speed as the standard-bearer for internet speed as a whole. We factor in upload speeds as well because they’re important to consider as internet users increasingly depend on upload bandwidth for Zoom, livestreams, and social media.

For this edition of our report, we also pulled data from 16 major internet service providers going back to 2018 in order to analyze internet speed trends over time. We looked at average annual download speeds for each provider in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and the first months of 2022. And we studied average monthly download speeds for each provider from July 2019 through to February 2022.

Fastest internet providers—the raw data

The tables below offer a sampling of some of the raw data we used to calculate the fastest internet providers. There are a lot of ways to look at the fastest internet providers—and we chose these data points to show an accurate picture of how speed works, rather than simply relying on advertised numbers from providers.

Fastest average download speeds, June 1, 2021–June 1, 2022

*Data effective 6/17/22. Data taken from internet user results conducted on HighSpeedInternet.com’s speed test between June 1, 2021, to June 1, 2022. Not all speeds and packages available in all areas and are subject to change.

We used these average download speeds to help generate the integrated speed scores for the above sections on the fastest internet providers of the past 12 months and the fastest regional internet providers. Some of the providers ended up ranking higher because we also factored in average upload speeds to generate our Integrated Speed Score.

Fastest average download speeds, 2018–2021

*Absent due to lack of data

We used this data to analyze average download speeds for our report’s sections on the fastest internet speeds, 2018–2021 and most improved providers, 2018–2021.

A timeline of multigigabit speeds, 2015–2022

As we explain in our section on the recent race among ISPs to increase internet speeds, Xfinity was the first major internet provider to offer a residential internet plan with multigigabit speeds—it introduced the 2,000 Mbps Gigabit Pro plan way back in 2015. But the biggest run towards higher speeds has happened over the past two years.

Google Fiber announced a trial run for its 2,000 Mbps speed tier in September 2020. Xfinity upped its Gigabit Pro plan to 3,000 Mbps in November 2021. AT&T, Frontier, and Ziply all unveiled multigigabit plans in January and February 2022.

Why are an internet provider’s measured speeds often slower than advertised speeds?

As you look at the numbers, you may be startled to see the huge differences between the average tested speeds that most people get and the max speeds these internet providers are capable of delivering.

For example, Google Fiber advertises internet plans with gigabit speeds of either 1,000 Mbps or 2,000 Mbps, and our speed test results show that some customers get very close to that mythical 2 Gbps peak.

However, the majority of Google Fiber’s customers clearly get far slower speeds, considering that the average speeds are less than a tenth of the top speed. It’s likely many customers are on older plans, since Google Fiber used to offer 100 Mbps plans until 2019 and at one point it had 25 Mbps plans available in certain areas.

This is the case for many internet providers, and there are a few reasons why.

Why measured speeds are slower than advertised speeds

• Customers can be on older, slower plans that are no longer advertised by their provider.
• The fastest internet plans aren’t always widely available or widely purchased.
• Some internet plans are too fast or too expensive for the average user.
• Internet speeds can slow down over Wi-Fi due to wireless signal interference.
• Routers and other equipment can slow home network speeds.
• Some providers don’t actually deliver on the promise of advertised speeds.

In short, just because a provider’s average speed is slower than the internet speeds you want doesn’t mean that’s the speed you’ll get. You can opt for faster speeds from any of these providers, so long as they offer internet in your service area.

Sources

1. Sue Marek, FierceTelecom, “AT&T Will Expand Its Fiber Footprint to 3M Additional Locations This Year,” March 14, 2021. Accessed March 16, 2022.
2. AT&T, “​​AT&T Fiber Introduces New Pricing Options, Unlimited Data for Customers,” October 1, 2020. Accessed March 16, 2022.
3. I. Bonifacic, Engadget, “AT&T’s Entry and Mid-Level Fiber Plans Get a 200 Mbps Speed Bump,” April 26, 2021. Accessed March 16, 2022.
4. OpenVault, “Broadband Insights Report—Q4 2021,” pg. 7, March 2022. Accessed March 16, 2022.
5. Diana Goovaerts, Fierce Telecom, “AT&T Wants to Cut Its Copper Footprint in Half by 2025,” March 11, 2022. Accessed March 22, 2022.
6. AT&T, “AT&T Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Results,” January 26, 2022. Accessed March 22, 2022.
7. Comcast/Xfinity, “Comcast Announces 2 Gigabit Residential Service and New Extreme 250 Mbps Tier in California,” April 17, 2015. Accessed March 23, 2022.
8. Mike Robuck, Fierce Telecom, “Google Fiber Gears up for a Trial Run of Its 2-Gig Tier,” September 15, 2020. Accessed March 23, 2022.
9. Jeff Baumgartner, Light Reading, “Comcast’s ‘Gigabit Pro’ Service Accelerates to 3-Gig,” November 1, 2021. Accessed March 23, 2022.
10. Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, “AT&T Announces Multi-Gigabit Fiber: $110 a Month for 2Gbps, $180 for 5Gbps,” January 24, 2022. Accessed March 23, 2022.
11. Diana Goovaerts, Fierce Telecom, “Ziply Debuts 2-Gig, 5-Gig Internet Tiers in 60 Cities,” January 20, 2022.
12. Steven Vaughan-Nichols, ZDNet, “Frontier Is the First National ISP to Offer 2 Gbps Internet across Its Entire Network,” February 22, 2022. Accessed March 23, 2022.
13. Linda Hardesty, Fierce Wireless, “Verizon’s Current Fiber Rollouts Are All Connected to 5G,” September 16, 2021. Accessed March 23, 2022.
14. Joseph Johnson, Statista, “Coronavirus: Impact on Online Usage in the US—Statistics & Facts,” April 29, 2021. Accessed March 23, 2022.
15. Rob Pegoraro, USA Today, “AT&T Shelving DSL May Leave Hundreds of Thousands Hanging by a Phone Line,” October 3, 2020. Accessed March 23, 2022.
16. Om Malik, GigaOm, “The DSL Death March Continues…,” April 24, 2012. Accessed March 23, 2022.
17. John Lai and Nicole O. Widmar, Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, “Revisiting the Digital Divide in the COVID-19 Era,” October 3, 2020. Accessed March 23, 2022.
18. Diana Goovaerts, Fierce Telecom, “Fiber Could Force Cable to Overhaul Its Pricing Model—Analysts,” February 14, 2022. Accessed March 23, 2022.
19. Dave Flessner, Chattanooga Times Free Press, “Chattanooga Boosts Citywide Broadband Capacity to 10 Gigabits,” October 15, 2015. Accessed March 31, 2022.
20. Altice USA, “Optimum Introduces 5 Gig Fiber Internet, Delivering the Fastest Fiber Internet Speeds in the New York Tri-State Area,” May 18, 2022. Accessed August 1, 2022.

Additional resources

• Is 100 Mbps Fast?
• Will Paying for Faster Internet Improve My Wi-Fi Speed?
• Fastest Routers for Gigabit Internet
• How Fast Is Fiber?