Best Rural Internet Providers for 2025

Best Rural Internet Providers for 2025
Why we chose these providers

Best rural home internet provider
$50 – $70 per month
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Or call to learn more: (877) 519-7610
Featured Deal
What is this? 100 – 350 Mbps
Provider not available in 90001

10 – 140 Mbps
Provider not available in 90001

25 – 50 Mbps
Provider not available in 90001

100 – 1,000 Mbps
Provider not available in 90001

50-100 Mbps
Provider not available in 90001

100 – 1,000 Mbps
Provider not available in 90001

100 – 50,000 Mbps
Provider not available in 90001

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Best rural internet service providers

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Speed range

87 – 415 Mbps
Price range

$50 – $70 per month

Best rural home internet provider

Our take – According to the FCC, T-Mobile Home Internet has the greatest coverage of any non-satellite internet service provider, available to over 60% of US households. While service isn’t the cheapest or the fastest of any rural internet provider, the unlimited data, free equipment and mobile bundle discounts help boost the provider’s overall value.

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Speed range

87 – 415 Mbps
Price range

$50 – $70 per month

Pros

  • No contracts
  • No data caps
  • Simple, affordable pricing
  • Aggressively competitive with its terms and perks

Actual speeds will vary by address, but T-Mobile Home Internet advertises a range of 87 to 415Mbps. Those speeds are a boost from what T-Mobile Home Internet previously offered (72 to 245Mbps), thanks to equipment upgrades. Now, T-Mobile Home Internet offers two speed ranges and a slew of new perks to promote its plans.

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Speed range

100 – 350 Mbps
Price range

$80 – $120 per month

One month of Residential service free

Connection

Satellite

Speed range

10 – 140 Mbps
Price range

$55 per month

Best wired rural internet provider

Our take – Aside from satellite internet providers and T-Mobile, CenturyLink has perhaps the greatest coverage area of any rural ISP, spanning suburban and rural areas across 16 states. CenturyLink, though a DSL service, can meet or beat the internet speeds of satellite internet in most service areas, and the $55-per-month service includes unlimited data and no contracts.

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Speed range

10 – 140 Mbps
Price range

$55 per month

Pros

  • Some of the most affordable DSL plans you can find
  • Unlimited data
  • No contracts

The speeds available will depend on your location, but you can expect a range between 30 and 100Mbps. If you can get only 10Mbps or lower at your address and there are other options available, I’d recommend shopping elsewhere. There’s a $17 monthly fee if you rent your Wi-Fi equipment, but this fee is skippable if you use your own equipment. You can also purchase your equipment for $200 up front, which might be a better option for long-term service.

Key Info

  • Unlimited data
  • no contracts
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Connection

Fixed wireless

Rise Broadband

Or call to learn more: (866) 671-3650

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Connection

Fixed wireless
Pros and Cons
Cons
  • Max speeds of only 100Mbps in most areas
  • Line of sight to nearby wireless tower required
  • Possible service disruptions in bad weather

Rise offers a $5 equipment rental for a TP-Link DecoX21 Wi-Fi 6 mesh router. You can add extra mesh routers for $5 more a month, which may be useful for boosting whole-home Wi-Fi speeds.

Key Info

  • Unlimited data on some plans
  • low price increase
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Connection

Fiber

Kinetic by Windstream

Or call to learn more: (866) 671-3650

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Connection

Fiber
Pros and Cons
Cons
  • Speeds and pricing vary widely by location
  • No security plan included
  • Below average customer satisfaction
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Speed range

50-100 Mbps
Price range

$50 – $80 per month

Best satellite internet provider

Our take – Hughesnet recently introduced a new set of internet plans with increased speeds of 50 to 100Mbps and monthly priority data limits of 100 to 200GB. That’s a big jump from previous offerings (25Mbps and 15 to 100GB of data) but without a significantly big jump in pricing. 

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Speed range

50-100 Mbps
Price range

$50 – $80 per month

Pros

  • Reliable, consistent broadband speeds in all service areas
  • HughesNet Bonus Zone provides an extra 50GB of data a month during off hours
  • No hard data caps

It’s still satellite internet, which can mean high latency and the potential for inclement weather to disrupt your signal, but Hughesnet has a solution for that, as well. Hughesnet Fusion plans, available in select areas, combine satellite internet with fixed wireless technology to shorten the distance data has to travel. By making use of local fixed wireless towers, Hughesnet Fusion plans create a more reliable connection and can lower latency enough to support online gaming.

Key Info

  • Unlimited standard data
  • nationwide availability
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Connection

Cable

Mediacom

Or call to learn more: (866) 671-3650

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Connection

Cable
Pros and Cons
Cons
  • Significant price jump for the gigabit plan after a year
  • Data caps are too tight with the cheapest plans, and there’s no limit to the number of overage charges you can rack up
  • Poor value relative to other cable internet providers

Mediacom also offers a 300Mbps plan for $50 monthly and a 1,000Mbps plan for $65 monthly if it’s available to you. All plans come with an optional $15 monthly internet equipment fee.

Key Info

  • Up to 6TB monthly data allowance
  • low introductory rates
  • no contracts
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Connection

Fiber

Ziply Fiber

Or call to learn more: (866) 671-3650

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Connection

Fiber
Pros and Cons
Cons
  • Lots of room to grow fiber network
  • “B” rating by the Better Business Bureau

Ziply has an impressive fiber network, but only about half of Ziply service areas are eligible for fiber service, according to the FCC. All others will rely on a DSL network which, like most DSL services, presents one plan option for the fastest speeds available. In the case of Ziply Internet’s DSL service, that plan starts at $75 per month for speeds up to 115Mbps.

Key Info

  • Unlimited data
  • no contracts
  • fast rural internet connection
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Best rural internet providers overview

There’s a lot to consider when evaluating rural internet options. To help you sort it all, here’s a rural internet comparison chart with significant plan and pricing details, including speeds, data caps and contract requirements.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to improve your rural internet speeds

Internet speeds tend to be slower in rural America. Here are some ways to help boost your home internet speeds in rural areas.

  • Switch providers or plans. A surefire way to improve your speeds is to switch to a provider with faster speeds or upgrade your plan with your current provider if you can. Faster providers or plans aren’t always available, but the search tool further up the page will give you an idea of what’s available in your area.
  • Used a wired Ethernet connection. It’s common to experience slower speeds when using a Wi-Fi connection. If you have a stationary device with an Ethernet port, such as a desktop computer, gaming console or smart TV, plug it directly into your modem or router via an Ethernet cable for a faster, more reliable connection.
  • Upgrade your equipment, or move closer to it. When only Wi-Fi will do, a high-quality router will help to keep your speeds as fast as possible throughout your home. If your connection is spotty, try moving closer to the router or adding Wi-Fi extenders to your network.
  • Limit the number of connected devices. The more active devices you have on your Wi-Fi network, the slower your speeds can be on each device. When running a particularly demanding task, such as streaming in HD or downloading a video game file, try disconnecting other, less-used devices from your network.
  • Watch your data usage. Some rural internet providers do enforce data caps. Going over your limit could result in significantly slower speeds for the remainder of your billing cycle, so keep an eye on your data usage if you have a cap.

How we chose the best rural internet providers

Availability is an important consideration for CNET when evaluating home internet providers, but it plays an even larger role when it comes to rural areas where there are fewer practical broadband options.

Using the most recent FCC data, I determined which wired and wireless providers had the largest coverage areas, particularly in regions with low population densities. I then compared advertised speeds, pricing and service details of each to determine which providers may be the best option for rural households.

Rural ISPs tend to be slower for roughly the same monthly costs as ISPs in urban areas, which means they tend to have a higher cost per Mbps. If you can qualify for a low-income plan, you can shave some money off your internet bill, and you can also save by buying your own internet equipment instead of renting. Ultimately, the best plan for your household comes down to your budget and how much internet speed you actually need.

For more information about our review process, see our guide to how CNET reviews internet providers.

Rural internet FAQs

What are my options for internet in a rural area?

Satellite internet from Hughesnet, Starlink or Viasat is almost always going to be an option because of the wireless delivery, but satellite comes with a few downsides, not least of which is the high pricing. Other wireless internet options for rural areas include fixed wireless service from providers such as Rise Broadband and AT&T and 5G home internet. T-Mobile offers the greatest 5G coverage in rural areas with max speeds of 87 to 318Mbps starting at $50 a month.

DSL is another popular internet option in rural areas, but speeds can vary significantly by location and provider. For the fastest rural DSL speeds, look to ISPs CenturyLink and Kinetic. Cable internet is will likely be your best option for speed variety and connection reliability, but availability is limited in rural areas.

Why aren’t there more rural internet options?

Installation and operation costs are the main factors preventing ISPs from expanding their networks into rural or suburban markets with low population density. Satellite and fixed wireless services are common in rural areas because providers can broadcast internet signals over a large area without having to run physical cables to each address. DSL service is also common since the technology largely makes use of existing phone lines, which are readily available in many rural areas.

Coaxial (traditional “cable”) and fiber-optic lines are less accessible in rural areas as the cost of installing lines is often much more than the provider will get in return. This means major cable internet providers like Cox, Spectrum and Xfinity, as well as fiber providers such as AT&T, Google Fiber and Verizon, are less inclined to expand service into rural areas.

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Who has the fastest rural internet?

Ziply Fiber is the fastest rural internet provider with maximum download speeds of up to 50,000Mbps (50Gbps) available in rural parts of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Ziply Fiber also offers a 5Gbps and 1Gbps plan. Aside from Ziply Fiber, the fastest rural internet providers include Kinetic, Rise Broadband and Mediacom, all of which offer maximum download speeds of around 1Gbps.

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Is Viasat or Hughesnet better for rural areas?

Viasat has faster maximum speeds — over 150Mbps in select areas compared with Hughesnet’s maximum of 100Mbps — and possibly higher data allowances, but Hughesnet is cheaper and likely to be the better value. The choice between Hughesnet and Viasat comes down to whether Viasat’s higher price is worth the potentially faster speeds and higher data allowance. For more details, check out our Hughesnet versus Viasat comparison.

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When will 5G be available in rural areas?

T-Mobile is already available to approximately 60% of US households, according to the most recent FCC data. Not all addresses within T-Mobile’s service areas are eligible for 5G service yet, but the provider’s rapid expansion, along with that of Verizon and now AT&T, shows promise that 5G home internet could be available in more rural areas in the near future.

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Provider Starting price range Download speed range Equipment cost Data cap Contract CNET review score

CenturyLink
 Read full review

 $55 30-100Mbps $17 (optional) or $200 purchase fee None None 6.7

Hughesnet
 Read full review

 $50-$95 50-100Mbps $15-$20 a month or $300-$450 purchase fee 100-200GB 2 years 5.7
Kinetic $25-$70 (varies by location) 100-2,000Mbps $11 (optional) None None 6.7

Mediacom
 Read full review

 $15-$65 100-1,000Mbps $15 (optional) Unlimited None 6.4

Rise Broadband
 Read full review

 $55-$95 50-1,000Mbps $10 modem rental, $15 router rental (optional) None None 6.2

Starlink
 Read full review

 $80-$5,000 25-220Mbps $349 purchase fee ($599 for Starlink Mini) None None 6.5

T-Mobile Home Internet
 Read full review

 $50-$70 ($35-$55 for eligible Go5G Plus and Magenta Max customers) 87-415Mbps None None None 7.4
Ziply Fiber $10-$900 100-50,000Mbps $15 router rental (optional) for some plans None None 7.2