What is the best internet provider in Tampa, Florida?

Among all the fantastic things Tampa has to offer — including beautiful sunsets, waterfront real estate and a rich culture — it has few internet options. Based on reviews of customer service, pricing and overall bang for your buck, Frontier Fiber is the best overall internet provider in Tampa.

However, if Frontier Fiber isn’t available at your address, there are more internet service provider options worth checking out. Verizon 5G Home Internet and T-Mobile Home Internet can be excellent budget options if you are a wireless customer of any provider, as they offer discounts on internet services when you bundle. Spectrum also provides solid coverage and competitive pricing in the Tampa area.

Best internet service providers in Tampa

I believe Frontier Fiber provides the best speed and value, but Spectrum or wireless options are similar Verizon 5G Home Internet may also suit your needs. I have listed the top internet providers in Tampa, including their plans and prices, to help you choose the right ISP. Note that prices reflect discounts for paperless billing; Choosing not to enroll will result in higher rates.

Note: The prices, speeds, and features mentioned in the article may differ from those shown on the product detail cards, which reflect the national offers of the providers. The internet service options available to you, including prices and speeds, will depend on your specific address and may differ from what is detailed here.

All available Tampa home internet providers

The providers mentioned above are not the only ones serving Tampa, but they are the ones I recommend the most. Here is a quick comparison of the practical internet options available in the Tampa area.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Top Tampa ISP honorable mention

EarthLink: A name almost as old as home internet itself, EarthLink now offers service by piggybacking on the networks of other providers and municipalities. As a result, you will likely pay less for the service compared to other providers. Price and speed vary by location, but all plans come with a one-year contract.

Dynamic Systems: Local fixed wireless provider Rapid Systems is a decent choice for internet in rural central Florida, but prices are high and speeds are low in the Tampa Bay area. You’ll want to check other internet options at your address before choosing Rapid Systems, as residential prices in Hillsborough County start at $79 per month for a maximum speed of 10Mbps.

T-Mobile Home Internet: With speeds of 72-245Mbps starting at $50 per month ($30 for eligible Magenta Max customers), T-Mobile rivals Verizon in terms of 5G home internet. Although T-Mobile doesn’t have the same speed potential, it boasts greater coverage than Verizon, making it an excellent choice for home internet in suburban and rural areas. outside of Tampa.

WideOpenWest: You won’t find WideOpenWest, aka WOW, in Tampa, but it’s available in most of the Tampa Bay area, including Clearwater, East Lake, Oldsmar and St. A cable internet provider is a good choice for low-cost, high-speed internet, with service starting at $25 per month for speeds up to 100Mbps.

Satellite internet: HughesNet, Viasat and even possible Starlink available in Tampa, but there are many other cheaper, faster options in the area to avoid settling for satellite internet.

How much is the internet in Tampa?

The cost of internet in Tampa depends on the provider and plan you choose. The cheapest internet plans in Tampa will run you $50 per month plus taxes and fees unless you qualify for a Verizon or T-Mobile discount.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Internet options for low-income households in Tampa

At $50 per month, the financial barrier for home internet service in Tampa is somewhat higher than in other parts of Florida. That said, you can look for cheaper internet services.

Spectrum offers discounted internet plans designed to help keep those in low-income households connected. The Spectrum Internet Assist plan has download speeds of up to 50Mbps starting at $25 per month.

Frontier doesn’t have a special low-income plan like Spectrum.

How fast is the internet in Tampa?

According to the latest Ookla (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis) speed test data, the state of Florida ranks number 3 in Q4 2023 for the fastest median download speeds in the US at around 238Mbps. Tampa came in slightly slower than the state, ranking 50th overall among US cities with a median download speed of 232Mbps.

The spectrum clocked the fastest median speed in Tampa at 267Mbps.

Many factors affect speed tests, such as Wi-Fi usage and maximum internet plan speeds, but the Tampa speed test results are impressive and a good indicator of the speeds you can get. can be experienced in Spectrum and Frontier.

The slowest available plans from both providers (excluding Spectrum’s Internet Assist) have download speeds of up to 500Mbps. Faster plans are available from both providers, while EarthLink offers speeds of up to 5,000Mbps in select areas.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How CNET picks the best internet providers in Tampa

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphones, laptop, router or kitchen utensilsit is not practical to personally test every ISP in a city. What is our approach? We started by researching pricing, availability and speed information drawing on our own historical ISP data, provider sites and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission of FCC.gov.

It doesn’t end there: We go to the FCC website to check our data and make sure we consider every ISP that provides service in one area. We also input local addresses into provider websites to find specific options for residents. To assess how happy customers are with an ISP’s service, we looked at sources including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power. ISP plans and prices are subject to constant change; All information provided is accurate at the time of publication.

Once we have this local information, we ask three main questions:

• Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
• Are customers getting decent value for what they paid for?
• Are customers happy with their service?

The answer to those questions is often layered and complicated, but the providers who are closest to “yes” to all three are the ones we recommend.

To explore our process in more depth, visit our page on how we test ISPs.

Tampa home internet FAQs