What is the best internet provider in Anaheim?

AT&T Fiber is CNET’s top pick for the best internet service provider in Anaheim. The internet service provider is the best option for most households in the city because of its fast, symmetrical speeds that come with straightforward plan terms and reasonable pricing. Not every address in Anaheim is served by AT&T Fiber. For those outside the coverage area, options like Spectrum or T-Mobile Home Internet are also solid picks, depending on what’s available.

Looking for the lowest prices or fastest speeds in the city? We have those, too. Spectrum offers the cheapest internet in Anaheim, with Verizon 5G Home Internet close behind. Spectrum’s entry-level plan is priced at $30 per month, offering a maximum download speed of 100Mbps. On the other end of the spectrum is AT&T Fiber’s 5,000Mbps plan for $245 monthly.

Best internet in Anaheim, California

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in Anaheim

• AT&T Internet: AT&T Internet is the company’s legacy DSL service. It covers a large area of Anaheim and fills in where fiber isn’t available. With speeds up to 100Mbps, it’s not the fastest option around. Compare this with Spectrum’s plans. There are no contracts or equipment fees, but you may run into a data cap depending on the speed of your DSL plan. For example, the Internet 75 plan is available to some homes. It offers speeds up to 75Mbps and comes with a 1.5TB data cap.
• AT&T Internet Air: AT&T is competing in the 5G home internet arena along with T-Mobile and Verizon. AT&T may offer Internet Air as an option for Anaheim homes that can’t get the ISP’s fiber service. The 5G plan includes equipment and has no data caps or contracts. It costs $55 per month but can go as low as $35 per month when bundled with an eligible wireless plan.
• Satellite internet: With broad coverage from Spectrum, AT&T Fiber and fixed wireless ISPs, you’re unlikely to choose expensive satellite internet for your Anaheim home. If you’re in a rural or remote spot with few ISPs, then Hughesnet, Starlink or Viasat might make sense. Speeds can be variable, so investigate other options before you sign up.

Cheap internet options in Anaheim

You won’t find much in the way of superb deals regarding home internet in Anaheim. The ISPs typically start at $50 or $55 monthly for their entry-level plans. For that price, look to AT&T Fiber, Verizon 5G Home Internet and Spectrum to deliver the best speeds at 300Mbps, although Spectrum starts off cheaper than the other two. One way to lower your monthly internet bill is to bundle an eligible phone plan with 5G home internet through Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T. That can bring your home internet price down to as low as $35 per month through Verizon or AT&T. AT&T Fiber isn’t the cheapest ISP in town, but consider the value of fast upload speeds and the availability of multi-gig plans when making your decision.

What’s the cheapest internet plan in Anaheim?

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Anaheim

The best internet deals and top promotions in Anaheim depend on what discounts are available during that time. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers. 

Anaheim internet providers, like Spectrum and T-Mobile Home Internet, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, including AT&T Fiber and Verizon 5G Home Internet, tend to run the same standard pricing year-round. 

For a more extensive list of promos, check out our guide on the best internet deals. 

How fast is Anaheim broadband?

Between Spectrum and AT&T Fiber, most Anaheim residents can access gig-level home internet. That translates to a strong showing in a recent Ookla speed test report where Anaheim logged a median fixed internet download speed of 306.7Mbps. Compare that to 341.1Mbps for Irvine and 318.5Mbps for Los Angeles. California overall pulled down 306.5Mbps in a recent report. AT&T Fiber is the fastest provider around with its 5,000Mbps plan, but it’s not available everywhere in the city. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

What’s a 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 videoconferencing, streaming video or gaming, you’ll have a better experience with a more robust connection. Here’s an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for various applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are only guidelines and that internet speed, service and performance vary by connection type, provider and address.

For more information, refer to our guide on how much internet speed you really need.

• 0 to 5Mbps allows you to tackle the basics: browsing the internet, sending and receiving email and streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40Mbps gives you higher-quality video streaming and videoconferencing.
• 40 to 100Mbps should give one user sufficient bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming. 
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming. 
• 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.

How CNET chose the best internet providers in Anaheim

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally test every internet service provider in a given city. What’s our approach? For starters, we tap into a proprietary database of pricing, availability and speed information that draws from our own historical ISP data, partner data and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov. 

It doesn’t end there: We go to the FCC’s website to check our data and ensure we consider every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power, to evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of publication. 

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

• Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds? 
• Do customers get decent value for what they’re paying? 
• Are customers happy with their service? 

The answers to those questions are often layered and complex, but the providers that come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. When selecting the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, although we also factor in things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively straightforward. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports.

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

What’s the final word on internet providers in Anaheim?

AT&T and Spectrum are the big dogs on the ISP scene in Anaheim. AT&T Fiber’s speedy and symmetrical service gives it a leg up, although Spectrum is a little cheaper initially. Spectrum also has broader coverage across the city, so give weight to the cable provider if you can’t get fiber. There are three 5G home internet providers: T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T. Speeds can depend on location and network congestion, so take advantage of trial periods and no-contract plans to test drive a 5G service before you commit. 

Internet providers in Anaheim FAQs