Spectrum - Fastest Provider
Spectrum - Cheapest Provider
Viasat - Widely Available
Viasat - Great for Rural Areas
T-Mobile - Offers 5G Home Internet
Spectrum - Great Value

Fastest Internet Providers in Philadelphia, PA

Spectrum is the fastest provider in Philadelphia, with speeds up to 2 Gbps.

Spectrum, which offers speeds of up to 2 Gbps on its fastest plans, is the single fastest broadband internet service provider in Philadelphia.

When considering speed, remember that fiber internet speeds are “symmetrical,” meaning upload speeds on a fiber network are just as fast as download speeds are. On a cable or DSL connection, that won’t be true. You will get much higher download speeds than upload speeds. That’s why Philadelphia’s fiber providers can offer faster upload speeds than their competitors: Verizon Fios’ top upload speed is up to 2 Gbps. The best upload speed from the region’s cable provider, Xfinity, is up to 10 Mbps (and can be as slow as up to 10 Mbps).

Fiber networks are also more reliable at high-traffic time than their cable or DSL counterparts because they’re less susceptible to being overloaded with traffic from your neighbors’ internet usage.

The other dimension to worry about when it comes to internet speed is data caps, which can restrict your speed or trigger extra charges when you exceed certain data totals within a billing period. But Philadelphia residents don’t have to sweat data caps, because these providers don’t have them — even Xfinity, which uses data caps in some regions, doesn’t make use of them in Philadelphia. You have the aggressive competition from Verizon Fios to thank for that!

What’s a Good Internet Speed?

Internet Speed	Appropriate For	Providers in your Area offering this Speed	Availability in your Area
100 Mbps	Streaming Video chat Online gaming Larger households	AT&T Viasat T-Mobile Hughesnet Starlink	100%
1000 Mbps (1 Gbps)	Heavy streaming (4K video multiple devices etc.) Video chat Lag-free gaming Large households	Spectrum Verizon Xfinity XNET WiFi	99.47%

Learn more about internet speeds:

Internet Availability in Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia’s main cable provider, Xfinity, is available all over town. No matter where you live, you should be able to get Xfinity plans and bundles in your area.

Things get a little more complicated when it comes to fiber internet (fortunately, not by much!). Unlike many other cities, Philadelphia is blessed with significant fiber internet coverage from two providers, and most neighborhoods have pretty good coverage.

With the exception of a few areas way down by the stadiums, Verizon Fios has pretty complete coverage in South Philadelphia. Its availability gets a little spottier in Center City, where it varies block by block. But things pick up again in Spring Garden and Northern Liberties. Verizon Fios available remains excellent as you move through neighborhoods to the north of those, all the way up through the Great Northeast.

Our data shows Verizon Fios’s fiber-optic internet network is strong and widely available, meaning many Philadelphia residents can rely on Verizon Fios as the city’s only fiber internet provider.

Provider Connection Types in Philadelphia, PA

Connection Type	About this Connection Type	Availability in Philadelphia, PA
Satellite	Available even in very rural areas Typically has high latency (lag)	100%
Cable	Typically 250 Mbps - 1 Gbps Widely available A good choice for most users	99.65%
Fiber	Typically 1 Gbps or faster Upload speeds match download speeds	95.28%