Best Internet Providers in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

What is the best internet provider in Fort Lauderdale?

Fort Lauderdale is a tourist hotspot in Florida, but thousands of people also move to this city every year, making it a top moving destination. If you live in Fort Lauderdale, or are planning on moving, you'll need a quality internet provider for streaming, working from home and more. The city has a few good options, and Xfinity is CNET's top pick for the best internet service provider in Fort Lauderdale. It takes the top speed in our list because of its widespread coverage in the area, fast internet speeds and affordable pricing tiers. AT&T and T-Mobile are also top contenders for internet services. 

Depending on where you live in Fort Lauderdale, other internet providers may be available as well. The best provider for your home will come down to what's available at your address and what you're looking for.

If you're looking for the cheapest connectivity, Xfinity has the cheapest internet plan in Fort Lauderdale, with speeds up to 150 megabits per second starting at just $35 a month. On the other hand, if you want the fastest internet in Fort Lauderdale, AT&T Fiber has the fastest speeds in the area, up to 5,000Mbps.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other Fort Lauderdale internet providers

Beyond the top ISPs in Fort Lauderdale, there are a few other options to choose from. 

• EarthLink: EarthLink offers fiber internet in some areas of Fort Lauderdale, starting at $40 per month for 100Mbps. High-speed fiber connection won't be available everywhere.
• Easy Internet Now: Easy Internet Now also offers fiber connection in Fort Lauderdale, though it’s not quite as widely available and the prices are a bit higher. Packages start at $79 per month for a 300Mbps fiber connection or 18Mbps DSL. You won’t have any fees, contracts or data caps to deal with.
• Satellite internet: Fort Lauderdale residents can get satellite service through Hughesnet, Starlink or Viasat. Hughesnet prices range from $50 to $95 monthly for 50 to 100Mbps, and Viasat starts at $100 per month for 15 to 150Mbps. Starlink features the best speeds of the three but also comes with the highest monthly price at $120 per month, not to mention the high upfront cost of $349 for your equipment. 
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: Verizon’s 5G home internet service is available to 34% of residents, and you’ll find it mostly near the beach. You can get Verizon 5G Home and 5G Home Plus for $50 to $70 a month. Eligible mobile customers could pay as little as $35 a month for internet service. Speeds range from 50 to 250Mbps.

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How much is the internet in Fort Lauderdale?

The average starting price for internet packages in Fort Lauderdale is $55. That falls just north of the average of the ISPs CNET has covered across the country, which have an average starting price of $43. Four of our top picks for ISPs in Fort Lauderdale start at $50 a month or less. 

Cheap internet options in the Fort Lauderdale metro area

The lowest-priced internet package in Fort Lauderdale is Xfinity’s Connect plan, which costs just $35 a month and offers max download speeds of 150Mbps. That’s a decent price, as it nets 23 cents per Mbps.

What are the cheapest internet plans in Fort Lauderdale?

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How fast is the internet in Fort Lauderdale?

In Fort Lauderdale, Xfinity and AT&T have the top two median download speeds in the latest speed tests. The overall median download speed for ISPs in Fort Lauderdale (as of February this year) is approximately 248 megabits per second, while the median upload speed is another story at just shy of 42Mbps. This is often the case unless you’re dealing with fiber connectivity, which pushes that upload speed much higher. For context, the national median for upload speed is 34Mbps, so Fort Lauderdale is slightly ahead of the game, thanks to its few fiber options.

AT&T and Xfinity both offer multi-gigabit plans in Fort Lauderdale. AT&T has the most to choose from -- and the fastest speeds -- but they also run the highest price tag. It's worth noting that both Xfinity and AT&T's most expensive tiers have the lowest cost per Mbps -- around 5 cents each-- of any plan offered in Fort Lauderdale. It's not a cheap plan by any stretch, but it's a solid value. 

What are the fastest internet plans in Fort Lauderdale?

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How CNET chose the best internet providers in Fort Lauderdale

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 pricing, availability and speed database 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? 

While the answer to those questions is often layered and complex, the providers who 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. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

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

The final word on internet providers in Fort Lauderdale

There are several ISPs in Fort Lauderdale, whether you want fiber, cable or fixed wireless. Xfinity and AT&T offer top speeds and availability, but all of our top selections should meet the needs of the right customer. It’s just a matter of what you’re looking for.

Internet providers in Fort Lauderdale FAQs