AT&T is one of the largest terrestrial internet providers in the United States, covering just over 40% of the nation. Its fiber internet gives customers access to fast home connections at very competitive prices.
All of these features mean that AT&T offers some of the best internet plans for some customers, while others might want to look elsewhere for their home internet connection.
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#1
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AT&T
Internet 300 (Fiber 300Mbps)
$35/mo
Price after Autopay & Paperless bill discount. Plus taxes & fees. Limited availability. May not be available in your area.
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#2
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AT&T
Internet 300 (Fiber 300Mbps) + AT&T Wireless
$35/mo
Price after Autopay & Paperless bill discount. Plus taxes & fees. Limited availability. May not be available in your area.
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#3
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AT&T
Internet 500 (Fiber 500Mbps)
$45/mo
Price after Autopay & Paperless bill discount. Plus taxes & fees. Limited availability. May not be available in your area.
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#4
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AT&T
Internet 500 (Fiber 500Mbps) + AT&T Wireless
$45/mo
Price after Autopay & Paperless bill discount. Plus taxes & fees. Limited availability. May not be available in your area.
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#5
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AT&T
Internet 100 (Fiber 100Mbps)
$45/mo
Price after Autopay & Paperless bill discount. Plus taxes & fees. Limited availability. May not be available in your area.
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#6
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AT&T
Internet 100 (Fiber 100Mbps) + AT&T Wireless
$45/mo
Price after Autopay & Paperless bill discount. Plus taxes & fees. Limited availability. May not be available in your area.
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#7
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AT&T
Internet 1000 (Fiber 1 GIG)
$60/mo
Price after discounts: $25/mo for new customers, and $10/mo w/ eligible Autopay & Paperless bill. Monthly State Cost Recovery charge applies in NV, OH, TX. One time install fee may apply.
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#8
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AT&T
Internet 2000 (Fiber 2 GIG)
$105/mo
Price after Autopay & Paperless bill discount. Plus taxes & fees. Limited availability. May not be available in your area.
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#9
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AT&T
Internet 2000 (Fiber 2 GIG) + AT&T Wireless
$105/mo
Price after Autopay & Paperless bill discount. Plus taxes & fees. Limited availability. May not be available in your area.
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#10
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AT&T
Internet 5000 (Fiber 5 GIG)
$135/mo
Price after Autopay & Paperless bill discount. Plus taxes & fees. Limited availability. May not be available in your area.
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Is AT&T Internet for you? Pros and cons
If you are looking for fast and reliable fiber internet at prices often lower than the competition, AT&T Internet could be right for you.
What we love
- Highly competitive prices
- Fast and reliable
- No data limits
What could be improved
- Availability is limited
85/100
AT&T Internet Plans
With two different types of internet connections available, AT&T offers a wide variety of internet plans and deals. AT&T Fiber is available on plans with varying data speeds from 300Mbps to a whopping 5Gbps (5,000Mbps).
All of the AT&T Fiber plans include unlimited data. Depending on location, the prices and speeds will vary, but you can expect to pay anywhere between $50/month (300Mbps) to $125/month (5Gbps) for fiber.
What we like: Availability
AT&T has the largest footprint of any non-satellite ISP in the country. That availability means it is helping provide broadband access to many people, even in rural areas. Its network consists mostly of the DSL/fiber hybrid connection type, but the ISP is working to grow its pure fiber internet infrastructure. Note: like all providers, sometimes AT&T's broadband network goes down. This AT&T outage guide can help you to figure out what to do in these instances.
What we like: Fiber prices
You may be hearing a lot about 5G recently—including AT&T 5G home internet. But even with the improvements in satellite and mobile internet, fiber is still the king of home internet connections. It can produce great results on any internet speed test and is very reliable.
That said, fiber can be expensive. Thankfully, while AT&T fiber is not exactly cheap, its plans are average—if not below average—compared to other fiber providers (depending on location).
What we like: Unlimited data
AT&T Internet plans with top speeds of 100Mbps or higher include unlimited data. The lack of a data cap is great because fast and smooth internet service might make you want to use it more often. All other plans (<100Mbps) come with a 1,000GB data usage limit, but most households will not exceed this limit. However, if you are worried about reaching the threshold, you can upgrade to unlimited for a small fee.
What could be improved: Hybrid connection reliability
AT&T no longer offers classic DSL connections. Instead, most of its customers use a hybrid of fiber and DSL, where fiber infrastructure transports most of the data, and DSL connects the "last mile" that is not fiber-ready. While DSL only makes up part of the connection, its downfalls are enough to get in the way of having the full fiber experience. As a result, this networking method means slower and less reliable connections.
If your internet is running slower than expected, check out our guide on troubleshooting slow internet.AT&T Internet Coverage and Availability
AT&T, Xfinity, and Spectrum are the only three non-satellite internet providers covering more than 30% of the country. Historically, these three have taken turns being the biggest ISP, but recently it seems like AT&T has outpaced its competitors to a point where they might not be able to catch up. AT&T Internet is available in parts of 21 states, including California, Florida, and Texas, to name a few. Despite its large footprint, AT&T does have room to grow in the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest, and the states between Texas and California.
AT&T Internet vs. Competitors
We’ve taken a look at some of the best and not-so-great features of AT&T Internet. Now, let’s see how the giant ISP stacks up against its biggest competitors.
AT&T Internet vs. other ISPs
| AT&T Internet | Xfinity | Spectrum | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connection type | Fiber DSL/fiber |
Cable Fiber |
Cable |
| Speeds | 18Mbps-5Gbps | 75Mbps-1.2Gbps | 200Mbps-1Gbps |
| Data caps | ≥100Mbps—Unlimited <100Mbps—1TB |
Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Starting at $55/month | Starting at $40/month | Starting at $30/month |
AT&T Internet vs. Xfinity
Like AT&T, Xfinity offers up fiber internet to a small portion of the country, but cable internet dominates its footprint. Xfinity has a lower base price for its plans, but they catch up to AT&T pretty quickly once speed limits increase.
With AT&T's DSL usage, most of its customers aren't going to have access to the same types of download speeds they can get with Xfinity's cable internet. However, AT&T's fiber has more speed potential than Xfinity's fiber. In some cases, though, customers have reported poor customer service experiences with Xfinity.
- Best coverage
- Competitive fiber prices
- High DSL prices
- Good coverage
- Budget prices available
- Poor customer service
AT&T Internet vs. Charter Spectrum
Spectrum provides cable internet to its customers. While cable can reach up to 1Gbps speeds, it does not allow the same type of connection symmetry as fiber (fast upload and download speeds). As a result, download speeds with Spectrum's cable can be super fast, but they come at the cost of much slower upload speeds.
By comparison, cable is faster and more reliable than DSL. You can see the speed difference by looking at both of these ISPs' plans. AT&T's DSL tops out at 100Mbps, while Spectrum's lowest limit is 100Mbps (plus, it's cheaper). Generally speaking, you get better value from Spectrum's cable than AT&T's DSL.
- Best coverage
- Competitive fiber prices
- High DSL prices
- Strong coverage
- Fast speeds
- No fiber
Recap: Is AT&T Internet Right for You?
When looking at AT&T Internet, it's important to note there are two connection types available. The all-fiber connection offers blazing fast speeds, ultra-reliable service, and competitive prices. For areas where fiber isn’t available, AT&T offers DSL connection, which tops off at 100Mbps, and the service is relatively expensive. It's still serviceable, which is important to note if it’s the only viable option for land-based broadband internet in your area, but can’t deliver the connection quality fiber offers.
In other words, if AT&T Fiber (or any other ISP's fiber) or cable internet is available to you, we'd suggest you give those options a good hard look before signing on with AT&T's DSL-based internet.
Methodology
To rate and review AT&T Internet, we closely looked at each of its plans. We also compared AT&T's offerings to similar plans in the internet space. We factored in speed limits, data caps, and price, as well as the type of internet connection (fiber vs. DSL). Finally, we rated AT&T Internet based on our team's experience and considered general customer feedback.
Angelo Ilumba
Senior Writer
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