Our Top Picks for the Best Internet Providers in Los Angeles, CA
EarthLink
Customers have voted EarthLink as the best ISP in Los Angeles offering high-speed gigabit internet. The company is also popular for reliable speeds and excellent performance. EarthLink serves close to 95% of residents in the city along with three other providers.
AT&T
AT&T is accepted as one of the best network providers in Los Angeles offering gigabit speeds via its AT&T Fiber plans. The company has some of the cheapest plans available, like the AT&T Fiber 100 available at $35 per month for speeds up to 100 Mbps. if you need higher speeds, you could go with the $60 per month plan with 940 Mbps speeds. Packages with unlimited data and no-cost equipment rental are also available.
Spectrum
Spectrum is another of the top providers in Los Angeles offering affordable plans. You might find that the packages they offer are somewhat more expensive than similar services. However, the company ensures high-speed internet even with their cheapest plans. Though, the speeds will vary according to the location where you live. Typical options include the $49.99 per month plan for speeds up to 200 Mbps and the $109.99 plan starting at 940 Mbps.
Frontier
Frontier is an excellent choice if you’re looking for internet service without entering into a contract. Choose from plans like $79.99 per month for speeds of between 940 Mbps and 880 Mbps or the $39.99 per month plan with speeds up to 50 Mbps.
Cox
Cox is another of the top internet service providers in the city offering cable internet. Although some areas may have gigabit speeds for downloading, uploading speeds aren’t that fast. Cox provides some of the cheapest plans that go as low as $19.99 per month for 25 Mbps speeds.
Other Providers
- Starry Internet – Starry Internet provides affordable plans such as $50 per month for 200 Mbps. Although these speeds are not as high as fiber or cable internet, they’re adequate for gaming and streaming movies. You can also expect great customer service.
- Synergy – This company also offers plans with speeds of up to 200 Mbps.
- Sonic Telecom with fiber plans costing $80 per month for 1000 Mbps speeds and $40 per month for 50 Mbps speeds.
Internet Service Providers in Los Angeles, CA
Even if you have one, with rapid changes taking place in technology as well as pricing of plans, you could always look for a better broadband internet plan, assuming you already have one. Then, you could have recently moved to or within the Los Angeles area and may be looking for an internet services provider (ISP) for your new home.
Knowing your requirements in terms of activities and number of users, would be a good place to start. Laid out below is an overview of the marketplace that will, hopefully, get you off to a quick start in your search.
Check Out the Public Libraries for Internet Services in Los Angeles, CA
If you’re not interested in investing in an internet subscription, you could visit the Los Angeles Public Library and the Los Angeles County Library to use their free Wi-Fi service. Four of the branches in the city also have the Tech2go Hotspot Loan Program that allows you to check out Wi-Fi hotspots. You can loan the devices for up to three weeks at a time and use internet access on cell phones, tablets, laptops, and other devices.
If you are looking for fast speed in Los Angeles, CA
At $60 per month upwards, consumers can get a gigabit (1000 MBPS/ 940 MBPS) speed plan. Sonic Telecom comes in at 1000 MBPS for $80, AT&T 940MBPS at $60, Frontier 940 MBPS at $79.99 and Spectrum 940 MBPS at $109.99, all per month. If you are not looking for gigabit speed, Starry Internet’s 200 MBPS plan for $50 per month offers good value.
Of these, AT&T. Sonic and Frontier plans are based on their fiber optic networks while Spectrum offers the same download speed on their cable network.
In addition to download speeds, fiber also supports matching upload speeds, giving it an advantage over cable, especially for applications like gaming and virtual conferencing that require both uploading and downloading data. Everything else being equal, choose fiber. It does not slow down during peak periods of usage, provides great upload speeds, and might be actually cheaper than cable offering similar download speed.
AT&T’s fiber-based gigabit internet plan, apart from being the lowest price plan for similar speeds, offers unlimited data and free rental of equipment in addition. Cox and Earthlink also offer gigabit speed plans.
If you are looking for low price in Los Angeles, CA
DSL and fiber services work out cheapest for broadband, with prices starting at about $35 per month. In Los Angeles, however, with its fixed wireless internet service, Starry Internet also joins the list of the reasonably priced internet services. If you are Ok with paying a little higher than the lowest, Spectrum’s cable-based service can be a great option as it offers 200 MBPS download speed for a fairly reasonable price.
You can get AT&T at $35 per month for 100 MBPS, Frontier at $39.99 for 50 MBPS, Sonic Internet at $40 per month for 50 MBPS, Spectrum at $49.99 per month for 200 MBPS and Starry Internet for $50 per month for 200 MBPS download speed.
Other than the above, Cox is the cheapest internet service, available at $19.99 per month for a download speed of 25 MBPS.
If you are looking for good CSAT scores in Los Angeles, CA
Earthlink gets the best ratings in customer satisfaction surveys. AT&T Fiber, Frontier, Starry Internet and Cox are also considered to be great service providers.
Earthlink, AT&T, Cox, Synergy and Frontier have wide networks and are able to offer 200 MBPS or more download speeds go over 95% of the people in Los Angeles.
If you need free Wi-Fi in Los Angeles, CA
Both the Los Angeles County Library system and the Los Angeles Public Library system are known to offer free wi-fi for public usage. Some branches of the Los Angeles Public Library have also provided wi-fi hotspots to families through their participation in the Tech2go Hotspot Loan Program. Families can access these hotspots for 3 weeks at a time, on any of their devices. Of course, at present access may be limited on account of Covid-19 enforced restrictions.
Summary
The best providers in the Los Angeles area are:
For customer satisfaction – Earthlink gets the best ratings amongst 15 residential intrenet providers surveyed on parameters like overall performance, reliability and speed.
For fiber internet – AT&T delivers faster speeds at comparable or lower prices. Earthlink is a little faster, but AT&T wins on the technical quality of its network.
For budget users – Frontier offers plans without binding contracts.
For fixed wireless – Starry Internet provides a great package that includes fast speeds (200 MBPS) at low prices, combined with great customer service.
For cable providers – Cox offers gigabit download speed, normally the main consideration in selecting a provider.