Best Internet Providers in Los Angeles, California – CNET

What is the best internet provider in Los Angeles?

Our pick for the best ISP in LA is AT&T Fiber. With symmetrical speeds, no data caps, no term agreements and no equipment rental fee, it’s a great choice for broadband for most Los Angeles households. However, AT&T Fiber isn’t 100% accessible across the city yet, so residents might have to settle with other providers, such as Spectrum, which is more widely available. 

If cheap internet service is what you’re looking for, Starry offers a no-contract 30Mbps plan for $15 monthly. AT&T Fiber and Frontier tie for the fastest internet in Los Angeles, offering a 5,000Mbps plan.

Best internet in Los Angeles

AT&T Fiber

Best internet provider in Los Angeles, CA

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Product details

Price range

$55 – $250 per month

Speed range

300 – 5,000Mbps

Connection

Fiber

Key Info

Unlimited data, no contracts, equipment included

AT&T Fiber offers excellent value. If you can get it, don’t hesitate to sign up. 

Availability: I almost put an asterisk on this because not all AT&T areas in Los Angeles can get AT&T Fiber. In some cases, you might have to settle for AT&T Internet, a copper DSL service that is not nearly as compelling and, in some areas, might have a top speed of 10Mbps. DSL is so old news that during an AT&T investor day event in March 2022, the company announced a commitment to reduce its copper footprint by 50% by 2025. 

Plans and pricing: Most AT&T Fiber households in Los Angeles are eligible for its three main plans — 300Mbps, 500Mbps or 1,000Mbps — and a growing number are becoming serviceable for its fastest options, a 2 gigabits per second plan and a 5Gbps tier, which is the fastest residential plan you can find in Tinseltown. Prices range from $55 per month — for the entry-level plan — to $250 monthly for the fastest option.

Fees and service details: All AT&T Fiber plans feature symmetrical upload and download speeds, no data caps, no term agreements and no equipment rental fee.

Read our AT&T home internet review.

Check AT&T Fiber availability

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Spectrum

Broadest coverage in Los Angeles, CA

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Product details

Price range

$30- $70 per month

Speed range

100 – 1,000Mbps

Connection

Cable

Key Info

Unlimited data, simple pricing, no contracts, modem included, free access to nationwide Wi-Fi hotspots

As a cable internet provider, Spectrum won’t be able to match the symmetrical speeds of a fiber ISP, but its three different speed tiers should be more than adequate for most customers. 

Availability: Charter Communications’ broadband service is available to nearly every neighborhood in Los Angeles (the Palos Verdes Peninsula and a few scattered pockets notwithstanding) and brings some of the most straightforward terms to be found from a cable internet provider. 

Plans and pricing: Spectrum offers three different speed plans in most areas, featuring 300, 500 and 1,000Mbps download speeds. The starting price for those tiers ranges from $50 to $90 per month. In more rural parts of Los Angeles, Spectrum also offers 30Mbps and 100Mbps plans, pricing at $20 and $30 monthly, respectively. So, it may not have the splashy multigigabit option like some AT&T areas, but Spectrum customers can lean on the consistency of the service throughout the city.

Fees and service details: There are no term agreements, early termination fees or data limits. It also includes the modem in the monthly costs (though you’ll need to add $5 a month if you want a Wi-Fi router). 

Read our Spectrum Internet review.

Check Spectrum Internet availability

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Starry Internet

Best fixed wireless internet in Los Angeles, CA

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. . .

Product details

Price range

$30 – $80 per month

Speed range

50 – 1,000Mbps

Connection

Fixed wireless

Key Info

Unlimited data, no contracts, no equipment fees, simple setup

Starry Internet was riding high after being named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Companies of 2022. But by December 2022, it hit a speed bump with the New York Stock Exchange. Nevertheless, Starry strives to put the customer first by making high-speed internet affordable and hassle-free. It uses similar millimeter-wave technology as 5G to deliver high-speed broadband to customers’ homes.

Availability: For the Los Angeles market, Starry Internet coverage includes some of downtown Los Angeles, as well as Beverly Hills, Burbank, Long Beach and Santa Monica. 

Plans and pricing: Most customers can access Starry’s 200Mbps tier for $50. But some areas might be able to sign up for Starry Connect — its low-cost internet access program for $15 (which customers could get for free through the government’s Affordable Connectivity Program) — or Starry Gigabit, which boasts 1Gbps download and 500Mbps upload speeds for $80.

Fees and service details: Starry Internet includes free installation and equipment, unlimited data and no contracts. It also boasts a “Happy Interneting Guarantee,” which will give customers a full refund if unsatisfied and cancel within the first month.

Read our Starry Internet review.

Check Starry Internet availability

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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in Los Angeles

• Cox: Although it’s one of the country’s biggest cable internet providers, Cox has a relatively small footprint in the Los Angeles metro area. It’s solely available in the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Starting prices for plans begin at $50 per month for 100Mbps download and go up to $150 per month for its 2-gigabit option. 
• Frontier: Frontier has a notable presence in the Los Angeles market. In fact, according to Ookla’s most recent data, Frontier is the area’s fastest provider on average, at approximately 272Mbps download speed. Its DSL and fiber-optic service are scattered throughout the area, including some of Beverly Hills, Long Beach, the San Fernando Valley, Santa Monica and portions of western LA. Similar to our guidance on AT&T, if Frontier’s DSL service is the only option at your address, seek other alternatives. But if Frontier Fiber is available — which has options for 500Mbps up to 5Gbps symmetrical speeds starting at $50-$155 per month — you’d be hard-pressed to find a better option.
• Race Communications: Like Cox, Race Communications has a fairly small piece of the pie in the Los Angeles market. It’s mainly situated in Marina del Rey, Playa Vista and Santa Monica. But unlike Cox, and all other providers listed here, it’s a 100% fiber-optic service. There are two plan options: $25 a month for 25Mbps, or Gig service for a very affordable $60 monthly.
• Sonic Telecom: This ISP is mainly known for offering service in the Bay Area. But Angelenos can find Sonic service in a handful of neighborhoods, including Beverly Hills, Glendale, Inglewood, Pasadena and West Hollywood. Although Sonic is known for building 100% fiber networks, much of its offering in the LA market is older DSL, and most of its fiber service in the area currently utilizes AT&T’s fiber network. 
• T-Mobile Home Internet: T-Mobile’s fixed wireless home internet solution uses its 5G and 4G LTE networks to get customers online at an average download speed between 72-245Mbps. It’s appealing for its simplicity: $50 a month covers all equipment, taxes, installation fees and services. There are no data caps and no contracts required. Although it’s technically available throughout the Los Angeles metro area, you’ll need to plug in your address on the T-Mobile site to see if you’re serviceable. 
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: Like T-Mobile, this is a fixed wireless home internet option. But unlike T-Mobile, Verizon leans more heavily on its Ultra Wideband 5G technology, so its average download speeds are higher, around 300Mbps. It also features an all-in price that covers taxes, installation fees and equipment, but splits the cost into two buckets: $50 a month for a two-year price-lock guarantee, or $70 a month for a three-year price-lock and additional perks. 

Cheap internet options in Los Angeles

The average starting price for internet service in Los Angeles is approximately $41 per month. However, if you’re looking for the most affordable internet plans in your area, there are multiple options available that are cheaper than the average cost. The cheapest plan is Starry Connect, which costs $15 monthly and offers speed up to 30Mbps.

Nearly all of the providers listed also participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program from the Federal Communications Commission. It provides a $30 per month benefit to qualifying households to help them afford high-speed internet service. As you can see from the chart below, some providers’ cheap internet plans — like those from Cox, Race Communications and Starry — will ultimately be free when combined with the ACP credit.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Los Angeles

The best internet deals and the top promotions in Los Angeles depend on what discounts are available during that time period. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers. 

Los Angeles internet providers such as Spectrum and Cox may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many, however, including AT&T and Starry Internet, run the same standard pricing year-round. 

For a more extensive list of deals, check out our guide on the best internet deals.

How fast is Los Angeles broadband?

Los Angeles isn’t among the top 50 fastest cities in the US. A big reason is that 100% fiber connections are not yet as prevalent as cable and DSL connections in the city. But major efforts by AT&T (making its new Internet 2000 and Internet 5000 plans more widely available) and Frontier (whose 2- and 5-gigabit plans are now available for all locations serviceable for its fiber offerings) should help boost those stats.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

What’s a good internet speed?

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.

For more information, refer to our guide on how much internet speed you really need.

• 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 engage in high-bandwidth activities like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming simultaneously. 
• 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities simultaneously.

How CNET chose the best internet providers in Los Angeles

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’re considering every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. To evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP’s service, we look at sources including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of the time 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 answer to those questions is often layered and complex, the providers who 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.

What’s the final word on internet providers in Los Angeles?

Spectrum is tough to beat among Los Angeles internet providers if you’re looking for consistent service and wide availability. However, both AT&T and Frontier’s fiber plans tie for the fastest — including symmetrical download and upload speeds. Overall, change is coming over the next few years in the City of Angels, as providers like AT&T and Frontier start to move away from their older DSL lines (which are still prominent in the area) toward their growing fiber networks. Cable internet still rules in LA, but fiber is the future. 

Internet providers in Los Angeles FAQs

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