(guides)How to choose a plan
Three short reads. No jargon, no sales pitch — just how we evaluate plans ourselves.
01Match speed to headcount
Speed claims are per-household, not per-person. A couple streaming in 4K while someone joins a video call can saturate a 300 Mbps line faster than the marketing suggests. Our rule of thumb: 100 Mbps for a solo household, 300 Mbps for two or three people, and 500 Mbps or more once remote work and 4K streaming overlap.
Upload speed is the quiet differentiator. Cable plans often advertise 1 Gbps down but ship 35 Mbps up — painful for cloud backups and video calls. Fiber is the only technology that stays symmetric under load, which is why it tops our rankings when it is available.
02Read the contract fine print
The sticker price is rarely the real price. Equipment rental adds $10–15 a month on many cable plans, and promotional rates frequently reset upward after twelve months. We list the month-thirteen price alongside the promo wherever a provider publishes one.
Early-termination fees matter most on 24-month contracts: leaving halfway through can cost more than the savings that justified the contract. When two plans are close, we favor the one you can walk away from.
03Check local availability
Internet service is hyper-local. Two houses on the same street can have different options because one fiber build stopped at the corner. National 'best provider' lists ignore this; availability at your address is the first filter we apply, before price or speed.
Enter your ZIP code to narrow the list to providers that report service in your area, then confirm at the address level with the provider before scheduling an install.
Ready when you are.
Enter your ZIP and we'll narrow the list to the plans that actually reach your street.
