Best Internet Providers in Buffalo, New York

What is the best internet provider in Buffalo?

For top internet speeds in Buffalo, CNET ranks Verizon Fios as the best provider, thanks to its symmetrical upload and download speeds, strong customer satisfaction and competitive pricing. However, Fios availability in Buffalo is limited.

If Fios isn’t available in your area, Spectrum is a solid alternative as Buffalo’s most affordable provider, though prices typically rise by $20 to $30 after the first year. For a price-stable option, T-Mobile Home Internet promises no price increases. While it’s slower than Verizon Fios and Spectrum, it’s a reliable choice for smaller households.

Best internet in Buffalo, New York

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in Buffalo

• Satellite internet: You can get satellite internet at almost every address in the country, but it’s only worth considering in rural areas with few other options. HughesNet and Viasat operate in Buffalo but are expensive and don’t provide much speed. SpaceX’s Starlink internet is a faster satellite option, but it requires an equipment purchase of $349 just to get started.
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: Like T-Mobile Home Internet, Verizon offers fixed wireless internet in the area. Its plans reach higher top speeds than T-Mobile’s but are less widely available. That said, you can get a great discount when you bundle with an eligible Verizon Wireless plan. 

Denis Tangney Jr / Getty Images

Cheap internet options in Buffalo

Buffalo has five different internet plans available for $50 per month or less. While Spectrum has the cheapest plan in the area, prices increase significantly on all plans after one or two years.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Buffalo

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

Buffalo internet providers, such as Spectrum and Verizon Fios, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many providers, including T-Mobile Home Internet, 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 Buffalo broadband?

According to Ookla speed test data, Buffalo residents see a median of 218Mbps download and 18Mbps upload speed. That puts Buffalo at 70th out of the top 100 most populated cities in the country and below cities like Cleveland (42nd) , but just above Pittsburgh (73rd) and Philadelphia (74th). (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 Buffalo

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. So 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. 

This guide leverages an in-house artificial intelligence tool called RAMP, which is trained on our own writing and uses our database to generate content about specific internet service providers that our writers can use in determining and presenting our picks for a given guide. Check CNET’s AI policy for more information about how our teams use (and don’t use) AI tools. 

Because our database is not exhaustive, we go to the FCC's website to check the primary data for ourselves and make sure we're considering every ISP that provides service in an area. Plans and prices also vary by location, so we input local addresses on provider websites to find the specific options available to 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 our pre-publication fact-check.

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

1. Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds? 
2. Do customers get decent value for what they're paying? 
3. Are customers happy with their service? 

While the answers to those questions are often layered and complex, 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, though 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, you can visit our how we test ISPs page.

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

When it comes to internet service in Buffalo, there’s Verizon Fios and everything else. Verizon is the only company offering fiber internet in the area, the fastest and most reliable connection type available. If you can’t get Verizon Fios at your address, Spectrum, T-Mobile Home Internet and Verizon 5G Home Internet are all solid backup options, but each comes with its own disadvantages.

Internet providers in Buffalo FAQs