What is the best internet provider in Santa Clarita, California?
Spectrum is the best internet service provider in Santa Clarita. It has the cheapest prices in the area, speeds up to 1,000Mbps and unlimited data. Prices increase significantly on all plans after a year or two, but it’s still a decent deal all around.
It’s available only for 12% of homes, but if you can get it, AT&T Fiber has the fastest internet in Santa Clarita and is the only one to offer symmetrical upload and download speeds. Wireless internet is also available from Verizon and T-Mobile, but these are best for smaller households that don’t connect many devices simultaneously.
Our methodology
Speed range
300 – 1,000Mbps
Price range
$50 – $80 per month
Our take – Spectrum is the best internet provider in Santa Clarita, largely due to its availability. FCC data shows that 94% of homes in the city can get it; the next closest cable or fiber option is AT&T Fiber at 12%. Spectrum has fast download speeds and decent prices, but low upload speeds — an issue for online gamers and remote workers. Its rates increase by $35 per month after one or two years.
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Check with Spectrum
Speed range
300 – 1,000Mbps
Price range
$50 – $80 per month
Connection
Fiber
Connection
Fiber
Speed range
85 – 1,000Mbps
Price range
$50 – $70 per month
Our take – If you want another option than Spectrum in Santa Clarita, you’re probably looking at wireless internet. Verizon and T-Mobile offer wireless plans in the area, and if you have a cellphone plan with either one, I’d go with that — the providers are similar enough that the discounts you get from bundling should outweigh the minor differences.
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Check with Verizon
Speed range
85 – 1,000Mbps
Price range
$50 – $70 per month
Santa Clarita internet providers compared
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
What’s the cheapest internet plan in Santa Clarita?
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 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 at the same time.
How CNET chose the best internet providers in Santa Clarita
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 answers to those questions are often layered and complex, the providers that 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 Santa Clarita FAQs
What is the best internet service provider in Santa Clarita?
Yes, fiber internet is available to 12% of Santa Clarita households, according to FCC data. AT&T Fiber is the only fiber provider in the city.
What is the cheapest internet provider in Santa Clarita?
AT&T Fiber offers the fastest internet plan in Santa Clarita, with upload and download speeds up to 5,000Mbps.
