Home Internet in Raleigh, NC
Internet Providers in Raleigh, North Carolina
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- AT&T Internet vs. Spectrum
- AT&T Internet vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
- AT&T Internet vs. Frontier
- AT&T Internet vs. Verizon 5G Home Internet
- Hughesnet vs. Viasat Internet
- Hughesnet vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
- Spectrum vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
- Spectrum vs. Frontier
- Spectrum vs. Verizon 5G Home Internet
- Starlink vs. Viasat Internet
- Viasat Internet vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
- Viasat Internet vs. Verizon 5G Home Internet
Best Internet Providers in Raleigh, NC
The best internet provider in Raleigh is Google Fiber. Customers rave about GFiber because it offers unmatched symmetrical speeds (up to 8 Gbps), an upgraded Wi-Fi 6E router (with the option to add Nest Wifi Pro), and fair prices that start at $70 per month. As an added bonus, customers can also get free installation and 1 TB of free cloud storage with Google Fiber, all without contracts or hidden fees.
Google Fiber isn’t available everywhere, but Raleigh residents have another great fiber internet option in the form of AT&T Fiber. AT&T Fiber can reach stunning speeds up to 5 Gbps. Also, AT&T Fiber offers five different fiber plans to choose from, and it consistently receives exceptional reviews from its subscribers for performance and customer service. In fact, AT&T Fiber was ranked the No. 1 internet provider in the West by J.D. Power in 2023 and the No. 1 fiber ISP by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) in 2024. We recommend AT&T Fiber nearly as highly as Google Fiber; plus, it’s likely to be a fit for more Raleigh residents because of its larger footprint in the city.
If you can’t get fiber at your address, your next best option is Raleigh’s cable internet provider, Spectrum. With solid download speeds up to 1 Gbps (wireless speeds may vary) and internet packages starting at $30 per month for 12 months with Auto Pay, Spectrum is a prominent option for residents of Raleigh. Moreover, Spectrum’s standalone internet plans start at $50 per month and only go up to $70 for 12 months with Auto Pay, making it one of the more affordable options in Raleigh.
There are other options for home internet in Raleigh, including T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, Verizon 5G Home Internet, and EarthLink Wireless Home Internet. Generally speaking, we recommend powering your home’s Wi-Fi with a wired connection type like fiber or cable — they’re still faster and more reliable in most cases than the wireless options.
That said, T-Mobile 5G can be a competitive option in many cases. The speeds usually range from 133 Mbps to 415 Mbps, and the service offers a very straightforward installation process. This option can be ideal for those who can’t get other wired connections like fiber.
Whether or not you’re a new subscriber, take advantage of promotions from the top internet providers in Raleigh, like AT&T Fiber, which is currently offering a 20 percent discount on your internet plan if you pair it with an unlimited wireless plan. You can even get up to $150 in Visa Reward Cards with AT&T Fiber depending on what plan you choose. If you can’t get fiber in Raleigh, Spectrum is offering superfast internet speeds through its Spectrum Internet Gig plan, which also right now comes with Advanced WiFi. Of course, these deals never last long, so you’ll want to check back to see if anything new arises in the next month!
Fastest Internet Providers in Raleigh, NC
Raleigh has several really fast broadband providers; however, there are none faster than Google Fiber, which offers speeds up to 8 Gbps on its fastest plan. Remember, since fiber internet is symmetrical, that means Google’s fastest plan can reach download speeds up to 8 Gbps and upload speeds up to 8 Gbps. So, if you’re a content creator or someone who needs to upload files often, you can’t beat the speed of GFiber.
Of course, for most households, these speeds might be overkill. We recommend fiber internet as the fastest and most reliable connection type; we also recommend 500 Mbps as a baseline for truly fast internet (though many households can get by with 250 Mbps or less — it just may not always feel “fast”). If you’re streaming video (especially if it’s live TV and/or on more than one device at once), you’ll feel the difference between 250 Mbps and higher-end speeds like 1 Gbps; this holds true if you’re playing online games, taking video calls, and doing other high-bandwidth things. Beyond 1 Gbps, most households will have a tougher time noticing the improvement.
That said, if you still want quick speeds in Raleigh and don’t want to go with Google Fiber, AT&T Fiber does reach speeds up to 5 Gbps with no data caps. If you are interested in a slower plan, AT&T’s Internet 300 plan with symmetrical speeds up to 300 Mbps or its Internet 500 plan with speeds up to 500 Mbps are great options that won’t break the bank.
What’s a Good Internet Speed?
Internet Speed | Appropriate For | Providers in your Area offering this Speed | Availability in your Area |
---|---|---|---|
25 Mbps |
|
|
1.7500000000000002% |
100 Mbps |
|
|
100% |
1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) |
|
|
93.34% |
Learn more about internet speeds:
Internet Availability in Raleigh, NC
Depending on where you live in Raleigh, you may have different options for your home Wi-Fi internet service. Let’s take a look at where in Raleigh certain providers are available.
We can start with an easy one: Spectrum covers 93.3% of Raleigh, and it’s available at virtually every residential address in town. No matter where in Raleigh you live, you should be able to get an internet plan or bundle from Spectrum.
Fiber coverage is where things get trickier. Google Fiber, a very popular choice in town, is only available in 43.5% of the city. Other areas may be covered by AT&T Fiber, which has 69.3% coverage.
There are a few big chunks of town where Google Fiber’s footprint is concentrated. One is up in the northern part of town: Northwest Raleigh and North Raleigh. If you live near Route 70 or Route 50, or up near the North Ridge Country Club, then you’re likely to have Google Fiber as an option. That’s less true if you’re in Northeast Raleigh, which is mostly missing from Google Fiber’s footprint.
Another good spot for Google Fiber coverage is in East Raleigh, south of the highways and east of downtown; the downtown area itself doesn’t have much access to Google Fiber. If you live in Battery Heights or Worthdale, you can probably get Google Fiber.
The last big chunk of Google Fiber coverage is in Southwest Raleigh — mostly in the areas north and west of NC State’s campus.
So, what about AT&T Fiber? The good news is that you can get it almost everywhere in Raleigh, including many areas that aren’t served by Google Fiber. Only a few areas in town are missing from AT&T Fiber’s network, such as some blocks in the downtown area and some areas near NC State’s North Campus.
Internet Provider Store Locations in Raleigh, NC
Provider Connection Types in Raleigh, NC
Connection Type | About this Connection Type | Availability in Raleigh, NC |
---|---|---|
Satellite |
|
100% |
DSL |
|
54.05% |
Cable |
|
95.84% |
Fiber |
|
79.93% |
List of Internet Providers in Raleigh, NC
Provider | Type | Top Speed | |
---|---|---|---|
AT&T | IPBB, Fiber, 5G Internet | 5 Gbps | |
Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 1 Gbps | |
Brightspeed | Fiber | 140 Mbps | |
Viasat | Satellite | 150 Mbps | |
T-Mobile | 5G Internet | 415 Mbps | |
EarthLink | 5G Internet | 100 Mbps | |
Hughesnet | Satellite | 100 Mbps | |
XNET WiFi | Fixed Wireless | 100 Mbps | |
Google Fiber | Fiber | 8 Gbps | |
UScellular | Fixed Wireless | 25 Mbps | |
Ting | Fiber | 1 Gbps | |
Starlink | Satellite | 220 Mbps | |
Verizon | 5G Internet | 1 Gbps | |
Seiontec Systems | Fixed Wireless | 200 Mbps |
Internet Providers in Nearby Cities
Internet Providers in Raleigh, NC
Provider | Plans Starting At | Speeds Up To | Connections | |
---|---|---|---|---|
AT&T Internet | $55/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 5 Gbps Ltd. avail/areas. Speeds vary, not g’td. Single devices wired speed maximum 4.7Gbps. | IPBB, Fiber, 5G Internet | |
Spectrum | $30/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 1 Gbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | Cable, Fiber | |
Brightspeed | $29/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 140 Mbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | Fiber | |
Viasat Internet | $129.99/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 150 Mbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | Satellite | |
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet | $50/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 415 Mbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | 5G Internet | |
EarthLink 5G Home Internet | $39.95/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 100 Mbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | 5G Internet | |
Hughesnet | $49.99/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 100 Mbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | Satellite | |
XNET WiFi | $85/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 100 Mbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | Fixed Wireless | |
Google Fiber | $70/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 8 Gbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | Fiber | |
UScellular | $50/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 25 Mbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | Fixed Wireless | |
Ting | $39/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 1 Gbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | Fiber | |
Starlink | $120/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 220 Mbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | Satellite | |
Verizon | $50/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 1 Gbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | 5G Internet | |
Seiontec Systems | $95/mo Prices may vary depending on the plan | 200 Mbps *Not all internet speeds available in all areas. | Fixed Wireless |
Frequently Asked Questions About Internet in Raleigh, NC
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