Fiber Internet Pros and Cons

Fiber internet has the fastest speeds on the market right now. Fiber-optic lines, which are made of thin strands of glass or plastic, are used by the service to send data as pulses of light. The result is speeds that can’t be beaten and a huge amount of data.

As the country’s fiber footprint has grown and more people want to hook up, it’s important to find out which service providers give the best service. AT&T is our top pick for the best fiber internet service because it has a wide range of plans and is easy to get. Since CenturyLink has grown into more states, it wins the award for best coverage. Ziply Fiber is our pick for the cheapest fiber internet service. Lastly, we think Google Fiber has the fastest speeds all around.

Read on to find out more about each of these companies and the best plans you can get from each.

Best Fiber Internet Providers in 2023

Provider	Plan	Best	Price
AT&T Fiber	Internet 300	Average Cost and Good Speed	$55/Month
Century Link	Internet 200MBPS	Wide Availability	$30/Month
Ziply Fiber	Fiber Internet	Cheap Plan	$20/Month
Google Fiber	Fiber 1 GIG	Good Speed	$70/Month

AT&T Fiber

AT&T Fiber is the best overall fiber internet service, in our opinion. At the moment, 21 states are served by the telco giant’s fiber footprint. It has more fiber connections than any other internet service in the United States. Plus, AT&T has a wide range of plan choices, from 300Mbps all the way up to 5Gbps. AT&T’s wide reach and many plan options make it easy for customers to find a fiber plan that works for them. Still, only some parts of the country can get in. AT&T will have trouble getting fiber internet to people in the Northeast.

The Internet 300 plan is one of the most-used AT&T fiber plans. It has the highest download speed of 300Mbps, which is fast enough for most online tasks. There are also no limits on how much internet you can use, and AT&T gives you a free modem. Fiber internet plans start at $55 a month, which is a fair price.

Pros: Easy to get, fast speeds, and a lot of plan choices

Cons: Most of it is only in the Southeast and Midwest.

CenturyLink

CenturyLink is one of the best companies for getting fiber internet to a lot of people. Even though AT&T has more users, CenturyLink serves a bigger area. AT&T has put most of its fiber equipment in cities and urban areas so that it can reach the most people. CenturyLink, on the other hand, has grown more and now serves smaller towns and states like Colorado and Arizona that AT&T doesn’t yet cover. The biggest problem with CenturyLink is that you can only choose between two plans: the 200Mbps plan or the 940Mbps plan.

The CenturyLink Internet 200Mbps plan costs $30 a month and gives you speeds of up to 200Mbps for downloading. This speed should be quick enough for most people who use the internet. Still, you might want to choose the Internet 940Mbps plan if your family uses the Internet a lot or if you need faster speeds for things like competitive video games. This is the fastest fiber choice from CenturyLink, and download speeds of almost 1Gbps are promised. It costs $70 per month, which is too much.

Pros: It covers a large area and moves quickly.

Cons: Not many internet plans to choose from

Verizon Fios

Verizon Fios definitely has a smaller service area than AT&T and CenturyLink, but it serves almost as many people as AT&T. AT&T’s fiber coverage is mostly limited to the Southeast and Midwest, but Verizon Fios is available in almost all of the Northeast’s big cities. If you live in a big city like Washington, D.C., New York, or Boston, where there are millions of people, Verizon Fios is probably one of your best options for fiber internet.

One of the best things about Verizon Fios is that you can get deals and bundles. If you already use Verizon Mobile, you may be able to get a discount on your bill. You can also save more money by adding your home phone and cable TV to your Fios plan.

Verizon Fios only has three plans, but the plans cover a lot of different needs. You should be able to find one that fits your wants. A lower-tier plan with 300Mbps for normal users costs $49.99 per month. If you need more speed, a faster 500Mbps plan costs $69.99 per month. And finally, there is a 1 Gig plan for $89.99 a month for people who need top-tier speeds and a lot of data.

Pros: Plans are easy to understand, and supply is good in Northeast cities

Cons: Only the Northeast is covered.

Ziply Fiber

Ziply Fiber might be able to offer you a cheap fiber plan if you live in the Pacific Northwest. Our pick for the cheapest provider is this one, whose cheapest plan starts at just $20/month. Even its Internet Gig plan, which has speeds of up to 1Gbps and costs $60/month, is cheaper than the gig plans from AT&T, Verizon, and CenturyLink.

The Fiber Internet 50/50 plan is $20 per month and is Ziply’s cheapest internet plan. This is one of the most affordable fiber deals available. However, it can only receive at a speed of 50Mbps. This is a slow speed for fiber internet. This plan is for people who want a stable, cheap internet link but don’t need fast speeds. Ziply Fiber also has an Internet plan with 200 Mbps for $40 per month. That’s faster, but this is the only Ziply plan with a price that is about normal. There are other 200Mbps fiber deals that cost about the same or even less. Ziply also has very fast fiber plans that go all the way up to 10Gbps, but these plans are hard to get and cost a lot.

Pros: Fiber plans are cheap, and there are different plans to meet different needs.

Cons: Only the Pacific Northwest is covered.

Google Fiber

Google Fiber is our pick for the fastest fiber internet company because it gives all of its customers the fastest average speeds. A few carriers technically have plans with faster speeds than Google Fiber, but those speeds are not offered everywhere. When most customers’ experiences were taken together, Google Fiber came out on top because its speeds were the fastest and most reliable. The only problem with Google Fiber is that it isn’t offered everywhere. At the moment, coverage is only available in about 20 places across the country, such as Salt Lake City, Houston, and Atlanta.

Google only has two plans: a 1Gig plan and a 2Gig plan. Both are fast enough for most people, though. The Google Fiber 1Gig plan costs $70 a month, which is the same as most other 1Gbps plans. The Google Fiber 2Gig plan costs $100 per month, which is about the same price as AT&T.

Pros: Fastest average speed

Cons: Limited availability, limited internet plan options

What is Fiber Internet?

One of the newest and fastest kinds of internet service is fiber internet. Coaxial cable or copper wires are used for other wired links, but fiber uses thin strands of glass or plastic to send data through pulses of light. That makes it faster than cable, DSL, satellite, and fixed wireless internet services.

These fiber-optic lines are buried, which keeps them from being damaged by the weather. Unfortunately, installing fiber-optic cables underground is expensive and takes a long time. The cables themselves also cost a lot of money. This is why getting fiber internet to new places usually takes a long time.

Fiber Internet Benefits

Fiber internet is best for people who need connections that are fast and dependable. It’s a great service for people who play video games competitively or live in homes with a lot of heavy internet users. Still, fiber internet might not be the best choice for everyone. You might not need fiber if you don’t need fast speeds or don’t use a lot of data. Also, fiber internet service is hard to get and is mostly only available in cities. Customers in rural areas may have trouble getting connected unless a fiber link runs through their town.

Because of the construction problems we’ve already talked about, the fastest fiber plans can also be very expensive. There are many low-cost plans with slower speeds, but not all providers give them. If you don’t want to pay for premium internet, you might want to look into other choices.