The best internet providers in St. Louis, Missouri

What are the best internet providers in St. Louis?
CNET Recommended spectrum As the best internet provider in St. Louis. It offers a wide range of coverage, fast speeds and solid pricing. However, if your location doesn’t have a spectrum, the AT&T Fiber and Verizon 5G home internet are great choices.
For budget plans, the spectrum starts at $25 per month for eligible households. Optimum offers 300Mbps for $40, while Verizon and T-Mobile plans can be reduced to $35 per month using mobile bundles. Do you need serious speed? AT&T fiber offers 2Gbps and 5Gbps plans, making it the fastest in town.
The best internet in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis Internet Provider Comparison
Provider | Internet technology | Monthly price range | Speed range | Monthly equipment cost | Data cap | contract | CNET Comment Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AT&T Home Internet Read the full review |
DSL Hybrid | $60 | 10-100Mbps | Nothing | 1.5TB | Nothing | 7.4 |
AT&T fiber Read the full review |
fiber | $55- $245 | 300-5,000Mbps | Nothing | Nothing | Nothing | 7.4 |
spectrum Read the full review |
cable | $25-$70 | 50-1,000Mbps | Free modem; Router $10 (optional, free to use 1,000Mbps plan) | Nothing | Nothing | 7.2 |
optimal Read the full review |
cable | $40-$80 | 300-940Mbps | Nothing | Nothing | Nothing | 6.2 |
T-Mobile Home Internet Read the full review |
Fixed wireless | $50-$70 ($35-$55 for qualified GO5G Plus and Magenta Max Mobile customers) | 87-415Mbps | Nothing | Nothing | Nothing | 7.4 |
Verizon 5G home internet Read the full review |
Fixed wireless | $50-$70 ($35-$45, eligible for Verizon 5G Mobile Plan) | 50-1,000Mbps | Nothing | Nothing | Nothing | 7.2 |
Wisper Internet | Fixed wireless/fiber | $40-$70 | 200-800Mbps | $7 | Nothing | Nothing | N/A. |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Other Internet providers in St. Louis
Earthlink: Earthlink has been around for decades, but today it has leased internet infrastructure and radio waves from other providers to resell home internet plans to consumers, including St. Louis. Therefore, the company offers a portfolio of plans using different technologies, from satellite to fiber to fixed wireless. Earthlink’s products are usually slightly less valuable than the major providers themselves. As the company has no control over the infrastructure, customers are at the mercy of major providers in situations like network slowdowns.
Best: Formerly known as SustresLink, Optimum offers wired internet services without data caps, which is attractive. In fact, the company’s first year pricing is as attractive as the home internet, with 300Mbps download speeds for just $40 a month. However, prices soared after the first year. On top of that, St. Louis is very slim in availability as it mainly limits the area around Des Peres and Manchester. This means your address is unlikely to be available. Even so, it’s worth strolling around for better long-term value.
Satellite Internet: Hughesnet, Viasat or Starlink’s satellite Internet are all options for where you live. But this shouldn’t be your first choice – high prices and slower speeds, which is not ideal. Cheaper and faster options are available.
T-Mobile Home Internet: Like Verizon, T-Mobile provides fixed wireless Internet services through the same radio waves as it provides mobile connectivity, including 5G. The top speed isn’t as high as Verizon’s, with a maximum download speed of 415Mbps, uploaded at a higher level at 133Mbps, but the value is still strong – starting at $50 per month, with no data caps and no hidden fees.
Wisper Internet: Wisper is a regional fixed provider based in Mascoutah, Illinois and has been working to expand services throughout Missouri over the past few years. In eastern Mississippi, Illinois, services remain the most common in places like East St. Louis and Caseyville. With the plan starting at $40 per month, download speeds up to 1,000Mbps, and no data caps or the rate of price increase in pre-sales prices, it’s worth seeing if Wisper is available in rural areas around St. Louis.
The Cheapest Internet Choice in St. Louis
Are you looking for the cheapest service? In most cases, you should expect to spend at least $50 on your home internet in St. Louis. In addition to Spectrum’s 100Mbps and 50Mbps plans, which cost $30 and $50, Optimum is the only provider that offers a plan, priced under $50 per month.
Again, the best deal is AT&T fiber, which offers symmetric uploads and downloads at $55 per month at 300Mbps, with no price increase after the first year and no data cap. Verizon also offers good value, with a fixed interest rate of $50 per month, with no data cap. It may be particularly attractive if you have an existing mobile plan as you may be eligible for discounts on your internet bill.
What is the cheapest internet plan in St. Louis?
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
How to find internet deals and promotions in St. Louis
The best internet deals and top promotions in St. Louis depend on the discounts available during this period. Most transactions are short-lived, but we often look for the latest quotes.
St. Louis internet providers such as Spectrum and Optimum may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. However, many people, including AT&T and Verizon, run the same standard pricing throughout the year.
For a wider list of promotions, check out our guide on the best internet deals.
How fast is St. Louis broadband?
The fastest internet plan nationwide comes from companies that offer multi-Gig services at speeds up to 5 Gibits (5,000Mbps) or more. Among them is AT&T, which the company told CNET that “thousands of customers” in the St. Louis area can use the plans. AT&T fiber offers two fast multigene plans under its network: 2,000Mbps for $145 and 5,000Mbps for $245.
The fastest internet plan in St. Louis
Provider | Starting price | Maximum download speed | Maximum upload speed | Data cap | Internet technology |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AT&T fiber 5000 Read the full review |
$245 | 5,000Mbps | 5,000Mbps | Nothing | fiber |
AT&T fiber 2000 Read the full review |
$145 | 2,000Mbps | 2,000Mbps | Nothing | fiber |
AT&T fiber 1000 Read the full review |
$80 | 1,000Mbps | 1,000Mbps | Nothing | fiber |
Spectrum Internet Performance Read the full review |
$70 | 1,000Mbps | 35Mbps | Nothing | cable |
Verizon 5G Home Plus Internet Read the full review |
$70 (Qualified Mobile Customers $45) | 1,000Mbps | 75Mbps | Nothing | Fixed wireless |
Wisper Fiber 1 Gig | $120 | 1,000Mbps | 1,000Mbps | Nothing | fiber |
Best 1 time Read the full review |
$80 | 940Mbps | 35Mbps | Nothing | cable |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Internet providers in popular cities near St. Louis
View all results for Missouri Internet providers.
What is good internet speed?
Most Internet connectivity programs can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you are looking for an internet plan that can accommodate video conferencing, streaming videos, or games, you will get better experience and have a stronger connection. According to the FCC, this is an overview of the minimum download speeds recommended for various applications. Note that these are just guides – Internet speed, services and performance vary by connection type, provider and address.
- 0 to 5Mbps allows you to solve the basics – browse the internet, send and receive emails, and stream low-quality video.
- 5 to 40Mbps provides you with higher quality video streaming and video conferencing.
- 40 to 100Mbps should give a person enough bandwidth to meet the needs of modern telecommunications, video streaming and online gaming.
- 100 to 500Mbps allows one to one or two people to engage in high bandwidth activities such as video conferencing, streaming and online gaming at the same time.
- 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more people to engage in high bandwidth activities simultaneously.
For more information, see our guide on how much internet speed you really need.
How CNET chooses the best internet provider in St. Louis
There are numerous and regional Internet service providers. Unlike the latest smartphones, laptops, routers, or kitchen tools, it is impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. So what is our method? We begin by looking at pricing, availability and speed information, leveraging our own historical ISP data, provider sites, and information from the FCC.Gov FCC.
But that’s not over. We visit the FCC’s website to check our data and make sure we consider all ISPs that provide services in a certain area. We also enter a local address on the provider’s website to find specific options for residents. We look at resources including the U.S. Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power to evaluate how satisfied ISP services have with customers. ISP plans and prices change frequently; all information provided is accurate as of publication.
Once this local information is obtained, we ask three main questions:
- Can providers access reasonable and fast internet speeds?
- Do customers get decent value for the money they pay?
- Are customers satisfied with their service?
Although the answers to these questions are often layered and complex, the three we recommend are closest to the provider of “yes”. When choosing the cheapest internet service, we look for the lowest monthly plan, although we also consider issues such as price increase, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively simple. We view upload and download speeds on ads and own from sources like Ookla (Disclosure: Ookla is with CNET, Ziff Davis.) and FCC Reports.
To explore our process more deeply, visit our test ISP page.
What is the last sentence of the St. Louis Internet Provider?
If you are looking for internet services in St. Louis, you will find a variety of options available online, including new options such as wired connections, fixed wireless services, high-speed fiber optic connections, and 5G home internet. While AT&T’s fiber network provides the fastest speeds in the city, Spectrum’s wide availability makes it the best choice for many St. Louis homes.
Internet provider of FAQs in St. Louis
How fast is the Internet plan in St. Louis?
Like most major cities, you will find a variety of options for online access in St. Louis, with the largest providers being AT&T, Spectrum, T-Mobile and Verizon. Speeds vary depending on your provider and address, but download speeds up to 1,000Mbps are available from some providers. However, AT&T fiber’s 5,000Mbps plan cannot be beaten, and it costs $245 a month.
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Does St. Louis have fiber optic internet?
Yes. Providers like AT&T and Wisper Internet offer fiber optic internet services in St. Louis, but your home needs to start the fiber to start the service. In April 2022, an AT&T spokesperson told CNET that fiber optic services were “usable to hundreds of thousands of customers in the St. Louis area,” adding that the company plans to expand the reach of fiber infrastructure in the region throughout the year.
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Does St. Louis have Google fiber?
No, St. Louis is not Google Fiber City. Google Fiber is available for purchase in Kansas City and Jefferson City, but has not yet been expanded in St. Louis.
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