Best Internet Service Providers in New Jersey (2023)

The search for Agood internet providerin New Jersey can make you feel as helpless as trying to fill your own gas tank. Granted, there's no law that says you can't look for web services yourself, but you still won't want to do all the work. Just like the attendant at the gas station waiting to fill up your tank, I'm here to help you find the best ISP for your New Jersey home.

Verizon Fioswill be the best internet service provider for most New Jersey homesbecause the service offers many options for high-speed plans with symmetrical or similar upload and download speeds in most states.Xinfinityis the main cable internet provider in New Jersey and is a good optioncheap internet, TV packagesand prepaid internet service.

Depending on where you live in the Garden State, your address may provide access to Verizon Fios, Xfinity, or other ISPs such as Optimum, Brightspeed, andStarry. In addition, T-Mobile Home Internet has provided more Internet options in suburban and rural areas of New Jersey. In contrast, Verizon's 5G home Internet service has increased broadband competition in cities like Newark and along the Jersey Shore.

Best Internet Service Providers in New Jersey

The following ISPs stand out for their broadband coverage throughout New Jersey, as well as speed, low prices and customer-friendly terms of service. Ultimately, choosing the best ISP for your New Jersey home will depend on what's available at your address and what you're looking for, but this list is a good place to start.

Note:The prices, speeds and features listed in the text of the article may differ from those listed in the product detail sheets representing the suppliers' national offers. Certain Internet service options - including prices and speeds - depend on your address and may differ from those listed here.

Verizon Fios

Overall the best ISP in New Jersey

product details

Price range$50-$120 per monthspeed range300–2000 Mb/sConnectionFiberKey informationUnlimited data, no contract, free hardware with concert service

Verizon Fios has a lot to offer, from various speeds and reliability to pricing and promotional offers. But don't take my word for it – Verizon doesled on the scale of customer satisfactionfor years.

Availability:Verizon Fios service is available in most of New Jersey, but major service areas include Newark, Trenton and Toms River. Those living along the Jersey shore, including those living in Atlantic City, will benefit less from Verizon Fios. Coverage is also limited around Stafford Township and in northwestern New Jersey near Sparta Township.

Plans and prices:Verizon Fios offers three speed tiers with symmetrical or nearly symmetrical upload and download speeds: 300Mbps, 500Mbps and 940Mbps, starting at $50, $70 and $90 per month, respectively. Select customers, particularly those in the New York area, could also purchase a 2 Gbps plan starting at $120 per month. Prices are guaranteed for two to four years, depending on the plan you choose.

Fees and service details:Verizon Fios provides customer convenience, with no hardware fees, data caps or contracts.

Read our Verizon Fios online review.

Verizon 5G Home Internet

New Jersey's Best Wired Internet Alternative

product details

Price range$50-$70 per month (50% discount for qualified 5G mobile users)speed range85–1000 Mb/sConnectionFixed wireless connectionKey informationUnlimited data, no contract, free hardware, 50% off for eligible Verizon Mobile customers

In most locations in New Jersey, Verizon Fios and Xfinity, or perhaps Optimum, will be your main internet options and you won't have much choice. Verizon's 5G home internet service is shaking up the competition a bit, offering speeds and prices that can rival any service provider.

Availability:While T-Mobile's home internet is ideal for internet in rural areas, Verizon's 5G ultra-broadband network works mostly in major cities. Newark, Jersey City, and the Jersey Shore have the best coverage, although Camden and other areas across the Delaware River from Philadelphia will also have decent coverage.

Plans and prices:Verizon 5G Home Internet is available in plan options of 85-300 Mbps starting at $50 per month or 300-1000 Mbps starting at $70 per month. As with T-Mobile, Verizon offers a discount to qualified mobile customers - 50% off, bringing the total price down to $25 or $35 per month, depending on which plan you choose.

Fees and service details:Verizon 5G Home Internet comes with no hardware fees, contracts or data caps.

Read our Verizon 5G home internet review.

T-Mobile home internet

Best Rural ISP in New Jersey

product details

Price range$50 per month ($30 for qualified mobile users)speed range72 - 245 MbpsConnectionFixed wireless connectionKey informationUnlimited data, hardware included, no contract, no additional costs

Internet service, speeds and general options are often the best in urban areas, and in most cases New Jersey is no exception. T-Mobile Home Internet helps bridge the gap between the two and is arguably the best Internet access option in the rural Garden State.

Availability:According to the FCC, T-Mobile's network is available almost everywhere in New Jersey, although the southernmost tip of New Jersey and other areas throughout the state may not be eligible for service.

Plans and prices:T-Mobile Home Internet has one plan option: $50 per month for the best available speed at your address, from 33 to 182 Mbps. Eligible T-Mobile Magenta Max customers can get $20 off T-Mobile Home Internet for a limited time.

Fees and service details:T-Mobile Home Internet requires no contract, no data limits or equipment fees.

Read our online review of T-Mobile Home.

Optimal

Best ISP in Northern New Jersey

product details

Price range40-80 dollars per monthspeed range300 - 940 MbpsConnectionCable, fiberKey informationUnlimited data, no contract

Availability:While Xfinity covers most of the central and southern parts of the state, Optimum operates in the eastern and northern areas of New Jersey. Service areas overlap in some locations, but Optimum is the main internet provider north of Newark.

Plans and prices:Optimum is similar to Verizon Fios in that it offers 300Mbps, 500Mbps and gigabit speeds. Prices are slightly lower than Verizon Fios, though, at $40, $60, and $70 per month.

Like Xfinity, Optimum relies heavily on a wired network, which can result in significantly slower download speeds. Optimum, however, has an evolving fiber optic network that can provide just as fast upload speeds as download speeds.

Fees and service details:There are no additional hardware fees or Optimum Internet contracts required. All plans also include unlimited data.

Read our Optimum Internet review.

Xinfinity

Best plan selection among New Jersey ISPs

product details

Price range$20-$300 per monthspeed range75–6000 Mb/sConnectionCableKey informationData caps on some plans, multiple plan options, solid customer satisfaction rates

Xfinity is the largest cable internet provider in New Jersey with many high speed plan options throughout most of the state. Starting prices are among the lowest in New Jersey, but be aware of the price spike after 24 months.

Availability:You'll find Xfinity in most of New Jersey, but not everywhere. Areas north of Newark and many wilderness management areas, including Greenwood Forest and The Pines, are not served by Xfinity.

Plans and prices:Xfinity offers the most plan options of any major ISP in New Jersey. Customers will have a choice of five main plans, which offer speeds ranging from 200Mbps for $25 per month to 1200Mbps for $80 per month. He is also politeprepaid internet subscriptionwith Xfinity if you want to skip the credit checks, fees and other hassles associated with traditional service.

The downside to Xfinity and cable internet in general is that your upload speed will be much slower than your download speed. Granted, transfer speeds are less of a concern in our day-to-day internet use, but it's something to keep in mind when comparing Xfinity and cable internet to fiber service like Verizon Fios.

Fees and service details:Xfinity's exact service offerings and terms vary by location, but most New Jersey Xfinity customers will have unlimited data and no contract requirements. The cheapest Connect More plan can also include equipment rental at no extra cost. Otherwise, you can expect the hardware fee to add $15 to your bill, unless you use your own.

Read our Xfinity Internet review.

Best Internet Service Providers in New Jersey

The ISPs listed above are not the only ISPs available in New Jersey, but they are the ones you will encounter the most and the ones I recommend the most. The chart below will allow you to better compare all potential options.

Internet options in rural New Jersey

New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the country, but many areas can still be considered rural. After all, it's not called the Garden State for nothing. In places where your cable or fiber ISP may not yet be available, you'll have several choices of broadband service. The best choice would be T-Mobile, but satellite service is also available throughout the state.

Light speed: The best wired connection for rural New Jersey.Brightspeed recently took over the DSL operationsCentennialLinkin New Jersey. Speeds and prices remained largely unchanged — $50 a month for the fastest speeds available — as did coverage areas covering most of western New Jersey.

HughesNet: Best for steady speeds in New Jersey.HughesNet hits broadband speed threshold of 25Mbps downstream and 3Mbps upstream across New Jersey. Data allowances are slightly lower than rival satellite provider Viasat, but prices are cheaper and all plans include an extra 50GB of data per month between 2am and 8am.

T-Mobile home internet:Best Rural ISP in New Jersey.As mentioned above, T-Mobile 5G home internet will be the best choice for internet in rural areas. Prices and fees are lower than satellite services, and download speeds of 100 Mbps are available in most countries,according to the FCC.

Starlink: New Jersey's fastest satellite internet provider.Satellite internet is notorious for slow speeds and high latency, but Starlink wants to change that with an arsenal of low-orbit satellites. The service comes at a high price: $120 per month and up to $600 to get started.

Viasat: A potentially faster alternative to HughesNet.You may have to waitlist to get Starlink, but Viasat is now available and can provide faster speeds and higher data volumes than HughesNet in select parts of New Jersey. Just be prepared to pay higher prices than HughesNet.

Broadband in New Jersey at a glance

Unfortunately, living in New Jersey doesn't offer many ISP choices, but the available ISPs are still pretty good. With providers like Verizon Fios, Xfinity and Optimum, download speeds of 250 Mbps or higher are available to more than 99% of New Jersey households,according to the FCC.

Internet prices in New Jersey

If you are looking formy internetin New Jersey, start with Xfinity. The provider's Connect More plan gives you download speeds of up to 200 Mbps from just $25 per month with no additional hardware fees. T-Mobile and Verizon 5G home internet are decent options for cheap internet, especially if you qualify for the mobile discount.

Online service for low income households in New Jersey

TheAffordable connectivity programis available nationwide and provides eligible households up to $30 per month to sign up for Internet services. In addition, discounts or programs such as Xfinity Internet Essentials and Verizon Lifeline are available in most areas of New Jersey. Combined with ACP credit, they can result in free internet access.

How fast is New Jersey broadband?

New Jersey's average internet speed is better than most states thanks to high-speed providers like Verizon Fios, Xfinity and Optimum. According tolatest data from ookla speed testin New Jersey ranked fourth for the fastest download speeds with an average speed of 224 Mbps.

Of course, speed tests are based on a number of factors, including Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections, distance from the router, the number of connected devices, and the maximum advertised speeds of the internet plan. Still, New Jersey residents are fortunate to generally have access to fast download speeds.

The last word on the Internet in New Jersey

There aren't many ISPs in New Jersey. Still, the ones available in most states — Verizon Fios, Xfinity, Optimum, T-Mobile, and Verizon 5G — are pretty good. No matter where you live or move to in the Garden State, you're likely to find a high-speed Internet service provider with competitive rates, unlimited data, and no contract requirements.

How CNET chose the best ISPs in New Jersey

ISPs are numerous and regional in nature. Unlike the latestsmartphone,laptop,routesLubkitchen tool, it is impractical to personally test every ISP in town. So what is our approach? We begin by verifying pricing, availability, and speed information against the ISP's own historical data, service provider websites, and Federal Communications Commission mapping data atFCC.gov.

But it's not over. We go to the FCC website to check our records and make sure we account for every ISP that provides service in your area. We also enter local addresses into supplier websites to find specific options for residents. We use sources such as the US Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. power. ISP plans and prices change frequently; All information provided is correct at the time of publication.

After we have localized the information, we ask three main questions:

• Does the provider offer access to relatively fast internet?
• Are customers getting decent value for what they pay?
• Are customers satisfied with their services?

While the answer to these questions is often layered and complex, we recommend providers that are closest to a "yes" to all three questions.

To see our process in more detail, please visit our websiteHow we test ISPspage.