Best Internet Service Providers in St. Paul, Minnesota

What is the best internet provider in St. Paul?

According to CNET, Quantum fiber he Best internet service provider In St. PaulThanks to fast, consistent speeds and a reasonable price. Plus, you don’t have to worry about equipment fees, data caps or contracts. The downside is that it is only available to about half of St. Paul’s population. Fortunately Xfinity and T-Mobile home internet Both are solid backup options.

Xfinity has the cheapest internet service in St. Paul ever, with plans starting at just $20 a month. Keep in mind that prices can jump a lot after a year or two, and some plans come with contracts to get that low price. If that sounds like a tall order, T-Mobile has a very simple option: one plan for $60 a month without price hikes, hidden fees, or data caps.

Best Internet in St. Paul, MN

Compare St. Paul ISPs

provider	Internet technology	Monthly price range	Speed ​​range	Monthly equipment costs	Data ceiling	a contract	CNET Review Score
Quantum fiber	Fiber	$50-$75	500-940 Mbps	no one	no one	no one	6.7
T-Mobile home internet Read the full review	Fixed wireless	$60 ($40 with qualifying mobile plans)	72-245 Mbps	no one	no one	no one	7.4
Verizon 5G Home Internet Read the full review	Fixed wireless	$50 – $70 ($35 – $45 for eligible Verizon Wireless customers)	85-300 Mbps	no one	no one	no one	7.2
Xfinity Read the full review	cable	$20 – $70	150-1,200 Mbps	$15 (included in most plans)	1.2 TB on some plans	My choice	7

Show more (0 items)

Shopping providers at my address

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other ISPs available in St. Paul

• Nextera Communications: Nextera offers fixed wireless Internet in St. Paul, but it’s an undesirable combination of expensive and slow. Plans start at $125 per month for just 10/3Mbps speeds, with a two-year contract. Another minor annoyance: Nextera makes you fill out a form to find out how much its plans cost and you’ll have to wait for it to email you to find out. This is one of the rare situations where I turn to a satellite provider instead.
• Satellite Internet: You can technically get satellite internet from Hughes Net and Visat Everywhere in St. Paul, but I only recommend it if your only other option is Nextera. Both ISPs have slow speeds, exorbitant prices, and data caps that make things like streaming TV and working from home unrealistic. SpaceX Starlink Satellite Internet gives you faster speeds, but it’s expensive at $120 per month for service, plus $599 upfront for equipment.
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: Like T-Mobile, Verizon 5G Home Internet uses its mobile network to provide home internet services in St. Paul. It’s not as widely available in the city as T-Mobile, but it reaches faster speeds and you can save by bundling with a qualifying Verizon mobile plan.

Cheap Internet Options in St. Paul

St. Paul residents can expect to find a range of internet rates ranging from $20 to $70 per month. That’s a much lower starting price than most cities offer, thanks to Xfinity’s cheap Connect and Connect More plans. Note that these are introductory prices and prices will increase after 12 or 24 months into the contract.

What is the cheapest internet plan in St. Paul?

provider	Starting price	Maximum download speed	Monthly equipment fees
Xfinity Connect Read the full review	$20	150 Mbps	$15
Xfinity connect more Read the full review	$25	300 Mbps	no one
Quantum fiber	$50	500 Mbps	no one
Xfinity is fast Read the full review	$50	500 Mbps	no one
T-Mobile home internet Read the full review	$60 ($40 with qualifying mobile plans)	245 Mbps	no one
Verizon 5G Home Internet Read the full review	$50 ($35 with qualifying mobile plans)	100 Mbps	no one

Show more (2 items)

Shopping providers at my address

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to Find Internet Deals and Promotions in St. Paul

The best online deals and best promotions in St. Paul depend on the discounts available during that period. Most offers are short-term, but we frequently check for the latest offers.

never

How many members of your family use the Internet?

the next

Internet service providers in St. Paul, like Xfinity, offers lower introductory prices or limited-time streaming add-ons. Many, including Quantum Fiber, T-Mobile, and Verizon, operate at the same standard rates year-round.

For a more comprehensive list of deals, see our guide to Best offers online.

How fast is broadband in St. Paul?

according to Ookla speed test dataSt. Paul ranks 80th out of the 100 most populous cities in the United States when it comes to internet speed. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) Residents enjoyed average speeds of 198 Mbps download and 23.6 Mbps upload in the city, with Xfinity being the fastest provider. This is actually slightly higher than the neighbors Minneapoliswhich ranks 91st.

Fastest internet plans in St. Paul

provider	Starting price	Maximum download speed	Maximum download speed	Data ceiling	Connection type
Xfinity Gigabit Extra Read the full review	$70	1,200 Mbps	35 Mbps	no one	no one
Xfinity Gigabit Read the full review	$65	1,000 Mbps	20 Mbps	no one	no one
Verizon 5G Home Plus Internet Read the full review	$70 ($45 with qualifying Verizon 5G mobile plans)	300 Mbps	75 Mbps	no one	Fixed wireless
Quantum fiber	$75	940 Mbps	940 Mbps	no one	no one

Show more (0 items)

Shopping providers at my address

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

What is 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 video conferencing, video streaming, or gaming, you’ll get a better experience with a more robust connection. Below is an overview of the minimum recommended download speeds for various applications, According to the Federal Communications Commission. Note that these are just guidelines and that internet speed, service, and performance vary by connection type, provider, and address.

For more information, see our guide about How much internet speed do you really need.

• Speeds of 0 to 5 Mbps let you handle the basics: browsing the Internet, sending and receiving email, and streaming low-quality videos.
• 5 to 40 Mbps gives you high-quality video streaming and video conferencing.
• A speed of 40 to 100 Mbps should give a single user enough bandwidth to meet the demands of modern remote work, video streaming, and online gaming.
• Speeds of 100 to 500 Mbps allow one or two users to engage in high-bandwidth activities such as video conferencing, streaming, and online gaming simultaneously.
• Speeds of 500 to 1000 Mbps allow three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities simultaneously.

How CNET chose the best ISPs in St. Paul

ISPs are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest Smartphonelaptop, Router or Kitchen toolit is impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. What is our approach? For starters, we leverage a proprietary database that includes pricing, availability, and speed information drawn from our own historical ISP data, partner data, and mapping information from FCC.gov.

This guide leverages an internal AI tool called RAMP, which is trained on our writing and uses our database to generate content about specific ISPs that our writers can use in determining and presenting our picks for a particular guide. Checks CNET’s AI Policy For more information on how our teams use (and don’t use) AI tools.

Because our database is not comprehensive, we go to the FCC’s website to check the raw data ourselves and make sure we take into account every ISP that offers service in an area. Plans and prices also vary by location, so we enter local addresses on provider websites to find the specific options available to residents. We look to sources, including the US Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power, to evaluate how happy customers are with their ISP service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; All information provided is accurate as of the time of prior publication validation.

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

1. Does the provider provide access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
2. Are customers getting adequate value for what they pay?
3. Are customers satisfied with their service?

The answers to these questions are often multi-layered and complex, and the providers that come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. When it comes to choosing the cheapest internet service, we look for plans with the lowest monthly fees, although we also take into account things like price increases and equipment and contract fees. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively simple. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and also take into account real-world speed data from sources such as Okla and FCC reports.

To explore our process in more depth, you can visit our page at How we test ISPs.

What’s the last word for St. Paul ISPs?

Internet in St. Paul is hit or miss. Overall, residents have some of the slowest average speeds of any city in the country, according to Ookla speed test data. This doesn’t mean there aren’t good options. About half the city’s population can get service from Quantum Fiber, and it’s an easy option if you can get it. Xfinity offers the cheapest internet service in St. Paul, available almost everywhere, but be prepared for steep price increases. T-Mobile is another good backup option for a small price that never increases, but speeds aren’t as fast as our top two options.

Internet Service Providers in St. Paul Frequently Asked Questions