Verizon Fios Home Internet Review: Plans, Pricing, Speeds and Availability

In the world of broadband, where details get really confusing, Verizon Fios’ service is one of the easiest to understand. There are four tiers: 300Mbps, 500Mbps, 1,000Mbps and, in select areas, up to 2,000Mbps. Many providers offer promotional rates that expire after 12 months, causing your bill to increase. Verizon doesn’t do that. Instead, Verizon offers a price lock, which typically changes depending on what speed you sign up for, but right now, for a limited time, you can lock in your price for up to five years across all plans at no extra cost.

Also, since Fios is a fiber-optic network, it delivers near-symmetrical download and upload speeds, meaning your download and upload speeds will be nearly identical. If you’re used to asymmetrical cable internet, where the upload speeds on a 300Mbps plan might only go as high as 10Mbps, you know how dramatic a difference it can make, particularly with videoconferencing and transferring large files.

If you’re unsure what speed to choose, make note of how much speed your household uses. Typically, households average around 564Mbps download, according to the latest data from OpenVault. Fios 500 or Fios 1 Gig may make the most sense for the average family, but that same report shows that the average small household (consisting of one or two members) typically uses speeds below 578Mbps. Unless your household has a lot of streamers, gamers, remote workers or students, you’ll most likely be just fine with Fios 300.

Where can you get Verizon Fios internet?

Verizon Fios can easily lean into the fact that you’re not required to sign a term agreement, which means no early termination fees or getting stuck with a service you’ve outgrown or need to downsize. Many other offers also help sweeten the deal for potential customers.

First, Verizon has a discount of $25 per month on all its Fios home internet offerings for new customers who also enroll in the company’s premium 5G mobile plans. 

Next, as previously mentioned, all new Verizon Fios subscribers will get a five-year price-lock guarantee for allplans. This is a plus, considering that Verizon previously offered a two-year price lock for some and a four-year price guarantee for the faster plans.

Verizon is also offering a $100 gift card to new users of the 500Mbps plan and a free subscription to Netflix and Max (with ads) for one year to users of the 1-gig and 2-gig plans.

Verizon also has a slew of streaming add-ons for all customers, including discounted subscriptions for Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney Plus, Youtube Premium and more for just $10 a month. Verizon customers can cut streaming costs with some of these plans, and you can cancel at any time.

Verizon Fios garners high marks in customer satisfaction

Verizon Fios has consistently been at the top of customer service metrics for most of the last decade. Looking at the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index numbers for ISPs, Fios was near the top, second only to AT&T Fiber. It scored 77 points out of 100 points in 2023, two points higher than its already improved 2022 score. That marks four years of Verizon Fios increasing its score near the top of the ACSI’s ISP benchmarks.

In addition, Verizon has consistently captured the top Eastern spot in J.D. Power’s annual customer satisfaction ranking for the last 12 years. It’s worth pointing out that Verizon was only scored in one of four regions. In that region, the East, Verizon finished first, scoring 575 points on a 1,000-point scale. That put the company well above the area’s average of 528 points.

The speed-testing website Ookla tracks ISPs based on a scoring system that considers both download and upload speeds. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) Based on the most recent Ookla tests from the first half of 2024, Verizon landed in second place ahead of Cox, Spectrum, Xfinity, Frontier and Optimum.

Verizon took first place for the lowest latency among top providers during that same period too, and was noted as the best internet provider for streaming high-quality video.

The bottom line on Verizon Fios internet? It’s pretty good

Verizon can boast that its Fios service is 100% fiber. As internet connection types go, it’s tough to beat that. Plus, Verizon can point to its high customer satisfaction ratings and its consistency in topping those charts.

The availability of Verizon’s fiber plans is limited to the Northeast, at least for now. The company’s DSL plans are nothing exceptional. Verizon Fios is a top-notch option for getting online if you live in the Northeast. We recommend the company’s Fios 300 tier for $50 monthly as our top plan choice.

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