Or call to learn more: (833) 851-5339
Or call to learn more: (844) 361-8884
Or call to learn more: (855) 223-6405
Or call to learn more: (888) 291-4257
AT&T – Best for fiber coverage
Verizon Fios – Best for customer satisfaction
CNET’s pick for the best overall no-contract internet is Google Fiber. With consistent speeds (two plans of 1,000 and 2,000 megabits per second) and no equipment fees, it blows the competition out of the water. However, that ISP has limited availability across the country. If you’re not in one of the 14 states in which Google Fiber operates, don’t fret: You’ll still be in great shape if you can access AT&T Fiber or any of the other providers we list below.
One bit of business first: Just because you don’t have to sign a term agreement doesn’t always mean you’re getting the best price. Some providers will put a premium on their pay-as-you-go plans while their contract rates will be much cheaper. To help keep your costs in perspective, we noted the cost per Mbps for each listed no-contract internet provider. It’s an excellent way to compare apples to apples.
Fiber Or call to learn more: (833) 851-5339
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100 – 1,500 Mbps
$20 – $80 per month
Our take – This cable internet provider boasts some of the best pricing out of the gates. It has quite a range of pricing across its various markets — including Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York City, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle and others. Still, it has an aggressively competitive average cost of 8 cents per Mbps for the promo price. In many markets, you’ll find a 300Mbps plan for $25 per month. That’s excellent. But that tough-to-beat price for cable internet falls closer to the pack after your introductory period, as the average cost jumps to 57 cents per Mbps. But you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better price for your initial years of service.
100 – 1,500 Mbps
$20 – $80 per month
DSL Or call to learn more: (855) 223-6405
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100 – 1,000 Mbps
$30- $90 per month
Our take – Spectrum is as straightforward as you can get when looking at cable internet providers. There are three plans — 300Mbps, 500Mbps and 1 Gig — and all are free of contracts and data caps. Across all three, the average cost per Mbps in the first year is 14 cents, which is quite good for cable internet. Perhaps more impressive, the second-year jump isn’t too steep (for an ISP, anyway), up to an average of 19 cents per Mbps.
100 – 1,000 Mbps
$30- $90 per month
Fiber Call to Learn More (877) 399-8571
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300 – 5,000 Mbps
$55 – $250 per month
Our take – Available to approximately a third of its footprint, AT&T fiber plans provide excellent value. There are five different plan options (300, 500 and 940Mbps, as well as 2 and 5 gigabits) ranging in price from $55 to $250 per month, with no data cap. Altogether, AT&T’s fiber plans average just over 10 cents per Mbps, which is solid, but even more spectacular are the multi-gigabit plans, which average out to under 7 cents per Mbps, which is excellent.
300 – 5,000 Mbps
$55 – $250 per month
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Fiber Or call to learn more: (833) 256-5737
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We get this question quite often, as many assume they must pay for Wi-Fi separately from their internet service. But that’s not the case, generally. You often get Wi-Fi when you sign up with an internet provider, as many will provide you with a gateway. That’s a combination of a modem (which connects your home to the internet) and a router (which takes that internet signal from the modem and broadcasts it wirelessly to the other devices in your home). Even if your ISP only provides the modem, you can rent a router or use your own. Basically, if you can get an internet connection at your address without signing a contract, you should have options to have Wi-Fi at your home without committing to a contract.
It may sound like a cop-out, but the best no-contract internet provider for you is the one that’s serviceable at your address. As we’ve mentioned many times in our ISP reviews, all things being equal, if you can get fiber internet at your location, that’s the way to go. It’ll give you the best performance of all the internet connection types — you’ll get symmetrical download and upload speeds — and will often be the most affordable in terms of cost per megabit per second. Google Fiber, which includes all equipment costs and fees in your monthly rate, is the cheapest, averaging just over 4 cents per Mbps. But its availability pales compared to the fiber plans of AT&T, for example. If you live in one of the 12 metro markets where it offers service, Google Fiber is an easy choice, but AT&T Fiber might be everyone else’s top option.
Unfortunately, none of the major internet providers offer buy-now-pay-later plans. However, if eligible, you could get your broadband service paid for by the Affordable Connectivity Program. The ACP aims to help low-income households afford the internet connectivity all homes now need, providing a $30 monthly discount (and up to $75 for households on tribal lands) off an internet plan. If you qualify, you could indeed get internet without paying upfront.
