What is the best internet provider in Hayward, California?
AT&T Fiber is the best internet provider in Hayward. It offers the fastest speeds by far, but you’ll also get great value for the price. AT&T Fiber doesn’t have equipment fees or data caps, and your price won’t automatically go up after a promotional period ends. That’s why it has the best customer satisfaction scores in the country.
If you’re looking for the lowest prices, Xfinity is the cheapest internet service provider in Hayward. You’d be hard-pressed to find internet plans cheaper than Xfinity’s $20 monthly plan for 150Mbps. That said, Xfinity increases prices on all of its plans after one or two years (or both).
Another good option in Hayward is wireless internet. T-Mobile and Verizon offer wireless home internet service in the city, and you can get significant discounts by bundling with one of their cellphone plans.
Our methodology
Speed range
300 – 5,000Mbps
Price range
$55 – $250 per month
Our take – This is an easy decision if your home is part of the 35% of Hayward that can access AT&T Fiber. AT&T Fiber has the fastest speeds in the area, and its prices and terms are exceedingly customer-friendly. You won’t have to worry about equipment fees or data caps, and prices don’t automatically increase after a year or two. That has added up to AT&T earning the highest customer satisfaction scores of any ISP from J.D. Power and the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
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Check with AT&T
Speed range
300 – 5,000Mbps
Price range
$55 – $250 per month
Connection
Cable
Connection
Cable
Speed range
85 – 1,000Mbps
Price range
$50 – $70 per month
Our take – Another good option in Hayward is wireless internet — particularly for households that don’t need ultrafast speeds. Verizon and T-Mobile offer home internet plans in the area, and you can get significant discounts for bundling with an eligible cellphone plan. We like Verizon a little more for its perks and cheaper price, but both are worth considering.
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Check with Verizon
Speed range
85 – 1,000Mbps
Price range
$50 – $70 per month
Hayward internet providers compared
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
What’s the cheapest internet plan in Hayward?
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Sundry Photography / Getty Images
How to find internet deals and promotions in Hayward
The best internet deals and top promotions in Hayward depend on what discounts are available during a given time. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers.
Hayward internet providers, such as Xfinity and Verizon 5G Home Internet, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, however, including AT&T Fiber, run the same standard pricing year-round.
For a more extensive list of promos, check out our guide on the best internet deals.
Fastest internet plans in Hayward
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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.
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 person sufficient bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming.
100 to 500Mbps allows one to two people to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming.
500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more people to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.
How CNET chose the best internet providers in Hayward
Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. So what’s our approach? We start by researching the pricing, availability and speed information, drawing on our own historical ISP data, the provider sites 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.
Internet providers in Hayward FAQs
What is the best internet service provider in Hayward?
Yes, fiber internet is available to 35% of Hayward households, according to FCC data. AT&T Fiber is the only fiber provider in the city.
What is the cheapest internet provider in Hayward?
AT&T Fiber offers the fastest internet plan in Hayward, with upload and download speeds up to 5,000Mbps.
