What is the best internet provider in New York City?
Verizon Fios is the best internet provider overall for most households in New York City because of its speeds, pricing and service details. That being said, service isn’t available for that provider everywhere in New York City, so Astound Broadband, Spectrum and Starry Internet are also solid picks, depending on what’s available in your area.
We’ve also found the top options if you’re hunting for the lowest prices or the fastest blazing speeds. The cheapest internet plan in New York City is Astound Broadband’s 300 megabits per second connection for $25 per month. The fastest internet speed in NYC is 2,300Mbps, which Verizon Fios offers for $120 monthly.
Best internet providers in New York City in 2023
Verizon Fios
Best internet provider in New York, NY
Price range
$50 – $120 per month
Speed range
300 – 2,000Mbps
Connection
Fiber
Key Info
Unlimited data, no contracts, free equipment with gig service
Verizon Fios has the speeds and pricing you’d expect from a leading ISP, but it goes a step further with unlimited data, no contract requirements, free equipment and some of the best signup bonus offers.
Availability: You’ll find Verizon internet service throughout New York City, though Verizon Fios, the provider’s fiber service, isn’t offered in all locations. Serviceability is greatest in Midtown Manhattan, Chelsea, Soho and the Lower East Side.
Plans and pricing: Its base plan costs $50 per month for symmetrical download and upload speeds of up to 300Mbps. That’s a generous amount of speed for an entry-level plan, and the low price makes it one of the best cheap internet plans in New York City.
Speeds of 300Mbps are suitable for most households, especially apartments. Still, if you need a faster connection for serious streaming, gaming or remote work, Verizon Fios offers a 500Mbps plan and a gig plan, as well.
Select areas may also be eligible for Verizon’s new multigig plan with speeds up to 2.3Gbps starting at $120 per month.
Fees and service details: All Fios plans come with unlimited data and no contracts, along with other special promotional offers like free Wi-Fi equipment, gift cards or streaming services, depending on your chosen plan.
Astound Broadband
Cheapest internet in New York, NY
Price range
$20 – $80 per month
Speed range
100 – 1,200Mbps
Connection
Cable
Key Info
Unlimited data, low promo prices, no contracts
If you’re looking for cheap internet in New York City, Astound has the lowest introductory rates of any major ISP in the area.
Availability: You’ll find the greatest Manhattan availability from the Upper East Side and Bloomingdale to the Financial District. Serviceability is a bit scarcer to the north in Harlem, Manhattanville and Sugar Heights, though random blocks are scattered throughout the coverage map. Those on the north side of Brooklyn or Queens may also be serviceable for Astound Broadband.
Plans and pricing: Astound (formerly RCN, now Powered by RCN) has arguably the best internet deal in New York City: 600Mbps starting at $45 per month with one month free plus free installation. Speeds and free stuff aside, the offer is one of New York’s cheapest internet plans. Other Astound plans are priced cheaply as well, including the provider’s gig service, which starts at $60 per month and includes a free month of service and free installation.
Fees and service details: Astound has no data caps, contract requirements, or monthly equipment fees.
If your New York address is serviceable for Astound, it’s worth checking out for the low pricing alone, but beware of potentially steep price increases after the first year. The good news is that Astound doesn’t enforce long-term service contracts, so nothing is stopping you from jumping to another provider once your bill goes up.
Spectrum
Best cable internet in New York, NY
Price range
$30- $70 per month
Speed range
100 – 1,000Mbps
Connection
Cable
Key Info
Unlimited data, simple pricing, no contracts, modem included, free access to nationwide Wi-Fi hotspots
Spectrum is the primary cable provider in Manhattan. Service is fast and reliable, but cable internet comes with significantly slower upload speeds (Spectrum’s top out at 35Mbps), and your connection will be susceptible to slowed speeds due to network congestion during peak usage times, which could be anytime in a city that never sleeps.
Availability: Most New Yorkers will find Spectrum services available at their address, as coverage spans all of Manhattan, Staten Island and most of Queens. Coverage is a little sparser in Brooklyn and nearly nonexistent in the Bronx.
Plans and pricing: Like Verizon Fios, Spectrum has a fairly straightforward plan and pricing structure with service terms favorable to the customer. These attributes led to CNET naming Spectrum the best cable internet provider overall.
Spectrum’s fastest download speeds, up to 1,000Mbps, are available in more than 99% of service areas, so you can count on the provider for a high-speed connection no matter where you are within Spectrum’s service area. Even the slower speed tiers, 300Mbps and 500Mbps, deliver a decent amount of speed for the price.
Fees and service details: All Spectrum plans are free of data caps and contracts. A modem is included at no extra cost, but renting a router for Wi-Fi service will add $5 to your monthly bill.
Verizon 5G Home Internet
Best 5G home internet in New York, NY
Price range
$50 – $70 per month (50% off for eligible 5G mobile customers)
Speed range
85 – 1,000Mbps
Connection
Fixed wireless
Key Info
Unlimited data, no contracts, free equipment, 50% discount for qualifying Verizon mobile customers
5G technology is great for our phones, but what about for home internet? With Verizon 5G Home Internet, getting speeds and pricing rivaling a cable or even fiber internet connection is possible.
Availability: You’ll find the best 5G Ultra Wideband coverage along the outer edges of Manhattan. Bouncing 5G signals around and through tall buildings isn’t easy. So, the most central locations in Manhattan, starting around Union Square and going up 5th Avenue through Midtown and the Upper East Side, will have limited 5G availability. On the other hand, areas like Hell’s Kitchen, Harlem, Washington Heights and the Lower East Side have excellent Verizon 5G coverage.
Plans and pricing: Verizon 5G Home Internet presents two plans: $50 per month for max download speeds of 50-300Mbps or $70 per month for speeds of 85-1,000Mbps. Both are good deals on their own, but qualifying Verizon mobile customers can get $15-$25 off their home internet bill. That’s a great deal.
Fees and service details: Verizon 5G Home Internet includes unlimited data and Wi-Fi equipment at no extra cost. No contract is required.
Starry Internet
Best fixed wireless internet in New York, NY
Price range
$30 – $80 per month
Speed range
50 – 1,000Mbps
Connection
Fixed wireless
Key Info
Unlimited data, no contracts, no equipment fees, simple setup
Starry Internet service works by beaming wireless internet signals to a fixed location, typically a receiver at the top of a building. The wireless delivery method helps keep operational costs relatively low, especially compared with the high cost of laying fiber lines. Starry passes those savings on to customers with its high-speed, low-cost, low-hassle internet service.
Availability: Starry is technically available throughout New York City, but you’ll need to live in a building wired for service to get it.
Plans and pricing: Starry plans start at $30 per month for symmetrical download and upload speeds of up to 50Mbps in select areas, but your New York address is most likely to be serviceable for the provider’s flagship plan of 200Mbps down, 100Mbps up starting at $50 per month. Faster plans, 500Mbps and gig service may also be available in select areas throughout NYC, as well as Starry’s affordable internet plan, Starry Connect.
Fees and service details: All plans have unlimited data, no contract requirements and no equipment fees.
New York City internet providers compared
| Provider | Internet technology | Monthly price range | Speed range | Monthly equipment cost | CNET review score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astound Broadband | Cable | $25-$70 | 300-1,500Mbps | None | 7 |
| Consolidated Communications | Fiber | $35-$70 | 50-1,000Mbps | $12 | N/A |
| Optimum | Cable | $40-$80 | 300-1,000Mbps | None | 6.2 |
| Spectrum | Cable | $50-$90 | 300-1,000Mbps | $5 (optional) | 7.2 |
| Starry Internet | Fixed wireless | $30-$80 | 50-1,000Mbps | None | 7 |
| T-Mobile Home Internet | Fixed wireless | $50 | 72-245Mbps | None | 7.4 |
| Verizon 5G Home Internet | Fixed wireless | $50-$70 | 50-1,000Mbps | None | 7.2 |
| Verizon Fios | Fiber | $40-$120 | 300-2,300Mbps | $15 (optional) | 7.6 |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Other available internet providers in New York City
Consolidated Communications: Largely a DSL-based rural internet provider, Consolidated Communications also offers fiber internet service in select parts of New York City. Availability is spotty in Manhattan, but those in the Bloomingdale and Lincoln Square districts will have the best coverage. Where available, the provider is worth considering for its $70-per-month gig service, but you’ll probably want to pass on lower speed tiers in favor of Spectrum or Verizon Fios.
Optimum: The second-largest cable internet provider in the greater New York City area, Optimum is available to much of Brooklyn and the Bronx but not Manhattan. Optimum speeds and pricing are comparable to Astound, including a gigabit plan starting at $80 per month. Optimum also employs a fiber network through much of New York City, with 100% fiber connections available to roughly 1 million residents.
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Like Verizon’s 5G home internet service, T-Mobile’s coverage area reaches a good portion of New York City, save for the dead zones between and inside tall buildings. Though the two are in the same price range and share roughly the same service features, T-Mobile is not as fast as Verizon 5G, with max speeds ranging from 72 to 245Mbps.
Verizon Internet: Verizon’s DSL service fills in the gaps where Verizon Fios isn’t yet available. Speeds are slow for the price, so you’d be better off checking out other internet options — possibly Verizon 5G, if you want to stick with Verizon, or cable internet from Spectrum or Astound.
Xchange Telecom: Available in Central Park and throughout much of Lower Manhattan, Xchange Telecom primarily uses a fixed wireless network, but fiber or DSL service may also be available at select addresses. Pricing and speeds will vary by location.
Satellite internet: To truly cover all your internet options, I’m mentioning satellite internet from HughesNet and Viasat here. Technically, they are available, but there are too many other faster, cheaper and all-around better internet options in New York City to seriously consider satellite internet.
Cheap internet options in New York City
The average price for broadband in New York City is $40, but there are a few cheaper options if you’re looking for more affordable home internet. Astound Broadband offers the cheapest plan: 300Mbps for $25 per month, just over 8 cents per Mbps.
Most providers we’ve mentioned also participate in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program, which gives eligible low-income households a $30 monthly discount (or up to $75 for households on tribal lands) for high-speed internet. You can use the ACP toward any internet plan — not just the cheapest ones — from participating providers.
What’s the cheapest internet plan in New York City?
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
How to find internet deals and promotions in New York City
The best internet deals and the top promotions in New York City depend on what discounts are available during that time period. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers.
New York City internet providers such as Astound Broadband and Spectrum may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many, however, including Verizon Fios, Starry Internet and T-Mobile, run the same standard pricing year-round.
For a more extensive list of deals, check out our guide on the best internet deals.
How fast is New York City broadband?
Ookla speed test data reports New York City ranks 46th for internet speed amongst the 100 most populous cities in the country. With median download speeds of 220Mbps and upload speeds of 29Mbps, NYC’s broadband is faster than the state’s average speed of 214Mbps.
If you’re looking for the speediest plan in New York City, Verizon Fios offers speeds up to 2.3Gbps in select areas for $120 per month. If you’re unable to get Verizon Fios, Astound Broadband has the second-fastest plan: 1,500Mbps for $150 month.
Fastest internet plans in New York City
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
What’s a good internet speed?
Most internet connection plans can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you’re looking for an internet plan that can accommodate videoconferencing, streaming video or gaming, you’ll have a better experience with a more robust connection. Here’s an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for various applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are only guidelines — and that internet speed, service and performance vary by connection type, provider and address.
For more information, refer to our guide on how much internet speed you really need
- 0 to 5Mbps allows you to tackle the basics — browsing the internet, sending and receiving email, streaming low-quality video.
- 5 to 40Mbps gives you higher-quality video streaming and videoconferencing.
- 40 to 100Mbps should give one user sufficient bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming.
- 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming.
- 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming all at the same time.
How CNET chose the best internet providers in New York City
Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally test every internet service provider in a given city. So what’s our approach? For starters, we tap into a proprietary database of pricing, availability and speed information that draws from our own historical ISP data, partner data and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov.
But it doesn’t end there. We go to the FCC’s website to check our data and ensure we consider every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power, to evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of publication.
Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:
- Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
- Do customers get decent value for what they’re paying?
- Are customers happy with their service?
While the answer to those questions is often layered and complex, the providers who come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. When selecting the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, though we also factor in things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively straightforward. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports.
To explore our process in more depth, visit our How we test ISPs page.
What’s the final word on internet providers in New York City?
NYC has a a few reliable broadband options, but your best bet is any provider that offers fiber connection, like Verizon Fios. However, if fiber is unavailable in your area, other providers like Astound Broadband, Spectrum and Starry Internet offer fast speeds and decent pricing as well. Local provider Consolidated Communications is also available as an alternative if you’re not happy with your service from the bigger competitors.
Internet providers in New York City FAQs
Does New York City have fiber internet?
Can I get free Wi-Fi in New York City?
Is Verizon Fios or Spectrum better?
