What is the best internet provider in Missouri?
Depending on your city, your Internet options in Missouri may be limited. That said, most residents of the Show-Me State have affordable internet access and pretty decent speeds. Broadband plans can vary from address to address, but CNET’s experts have reviewed popular providers to help you find the best plan for your needs. AT&T Fiber is CNET’s top choice for most Missouri households. AT&T Fiberhas a stable and competitive price on the best selection of high speed planes of any major ISP in Missouri.
But AT&T Fiber is not available everywhere. So what, Spectre, Google Fiber, T-Mobile, kinetics or other ISP may be yours best option for internet in Missouri, second what is available in your area.
All Missouri Residential Internet Providers
The providers presented above are not the only ISPs you can meet in Missouri. Here’s a closer look at all the major Internet providers in Missouri and how they compare.
Best Missouri Internet Providers Compared
| Supplier | Monthly price range | Download speed range (Mbps) | Type of connection | Head of monthly data | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T Fiber Read a full review |
$55 – $180 | 300-5,000 Mbps | Fiber | No one | No one |
| AT&T Internet Read a full review |
$55 | 10-100Mbps | Copper-based (DSL) | 1.5 TB | No one |
| EarthLink Read a full review |
$55 – $190 | 12-5,000 Mbps | DSL, fiber | No one | 1 year |
| Google Fiber Read a full review |
$70 – $125 | 1,000-5,000 Mbps | Fiber | No one | No one |
| Hughesnet Read a full review |
$50 – $80 | 15-100 Mbps | Satellite | 100-200GB | 2 years |
| kinetics | $30-67 | Up to 50 Mbps DSL, 200-940 Mbps fiber | DSL, fiber | No one | No one |
| Mediacom Read a full review |
$20 – $60 | 100-940Mbps | Cable | 200GB-6TB | No one |
| Excellent Read a full review |
$40 – $80 | 300-940Mbps | Cable | No one | No one |
| sparklight Read a full review |
$39 – $115 | 300-940Mbps | Cable | 700 GB-unlimited | No one |
| Spectre Read a full review |
$30 – $70 | 500-940Mbps | Cable | No one | No one |
| Starlink Read a full review |
$90 – $1,500 | 100-250Mbps | Satellite | 1 TB | No one |
| T-Mobile Home Internet Read a full review |
$50-$70 ($40 for qualified Magenta Max customers) | 72-245 Mbps | 5G | No one | No one |
| Cellular US | $30 – $60 | It varies | 4G LTE, 5G | No one | 3 years |
| Verizon 5G Home Internet Read a full review |
$50-$70 ($35-$45 for qualifying Verizon Mobile customers) | 50-1,000 Mbps | 5G | No one | No one |
| Viasat Read a full review |
$70 – $300 | 12-100Mbps | Satellite | 40-300 GB | 2 years |
| Xfinity Read a full review |
$40 – $80 | 75-1,200 Mbps | Cable | 1.2TB-Unlimited | 1 year (optional) |
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Missouri Internet Provider Honorable Mentions
These providers may be available in your area, but lack the speed, competitive pricing or state availability to be included with the best ISPs in Missouri. Click on any of the links below for more details about the provider.
Broadband Missouri at a glance
Every household in Missouri has access to broadband speed — which is 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up — according to the FCC. When considering cable connections (ie, not satellite or cellular service), only about 82% of Missouri households are serviceable for broadband speeds or higher.
Cable Internet — from providers like Mediacom, Sparklight, Spectrum, Xfinity and others — makes up the majority of cable broadband coverage in Missouri. Copper-based Internet, or DSL, is available to nearly two-thirds of homes, although only about half can get broadband speeds or higher.
As for fiber internet, about 38% of Missouri households are wired for service, although high availability in densely populated areas such as Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield may offset the state average.
Internet sharing by city in Missouri
It is difficult to cover the broadband options of an entire state and give individual areas the attention they deserve. That’s why we also compile lists of the best Internet providers in cities in the United States, including those in Missouri. We cover details such as internet connection types, maximum speeds, cheapest providers and more. Check back later if you don’t find the city you’re looking for below. We are working to add more locations every week.
Missouri Internet Pricing Details
A few Internet providers in Missouri – such as Kinetic, Mediacom, Optimum and Xfinity – offer plans with introductory rates under $50. Verizon 5G Home and T-Mobile Home Internet can also be available for less than $50 if you qualify for the discount
Opting for the cheapest plan often means sacrificing speed, but not always. For $40 to $55 per month, you can get download speeds up to about 300 Mbps from Optimum, AT&T Fiber, and Spectrum, among others. Upgrading to the next speed level will likely only add $20 or more to your monthly bill, and gig service is available for $67 to $90 depending on the providers available in your area.
Internet plans for low income households in Missouri
| floor | Starting price | Maximum download speed | Equipment fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access from AT&T | $30 | 100 Mbps | No one |
| Optimum Advantage Internet Read a full review |
$15 | 50 Mbps | No one |
| Spectrum Internet Assist Read a full review |
$20 | 30 Mbps | No one |
| Xfinity Internet Essentials Read a full review |
$10 – $30 | 50-100Mbps | No one |
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How much is Missouri broadband?
Recent Ookla speed test data puts Missouri 34th among US states, with an average download speed of about 169 Mbps. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) Google Fiber recorded the fastest average speed in the state at about 272Mbps, but the provider is unfortunately only available in Kansas City.
At 169 Mbps, Missouri’s average download speed fell below the national average of 203 Mbps, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the internet in Missouri is slow. Spectrum, the leading cable Internet provider in Missouri, had the fastest average download speed of any major provider at 235 Mbps. Download speeds of 250 Mbps or higher are available to more than 83% of Missouri households, according to the FCC, so if you want faster-than-average speeds, chances are they’re available from Spectrum or other broadband providers fast in your area.
How CNET chose the best Internet providers in Missouri
Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latter smartphones, laptop, router o kitchen toolit is impractical to personally test every internet service provider in a given city. What is our approach? For starters, we leverage a proprietary database of pricing, availability, and speed information that draws from our 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 website to check our data and make sure we consider every ISP that provides service in an area. We also gather local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power, to gauge 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 information located, we ask three main questions:
- Does the provider offer access to a reasonably fast internet speed?
- Are customers getting decent value for what they are paying for?
- Are customers happy with their service?
While the answer to these questions is often layered and complex, the providers who are 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 simple. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and consider real-world speed data from sources such as Ookla and FCC reports.
To explore our process in more depth, visit our how we test the ISP page
Summary of Missouri Internet Providers
When shopping online in Missouri, especially in Kansas City, St. Louis or Springfield, I started by checking if AT&T Fiber is available. If not, Spectrum — the provider with the fastest average download speed nationwide — would definitely be my next choice.
As for rural areas in Missouri, Kinetic and T-Mobile Home Internet are the top options for broadband speeds and unlimited data. If these providers are not available, look to Hughesnet for Internet in the absence of a wired or 5G connection.
Other providers, including Google Fiber, Mediacom, Optimum, Sparklight and Xfinity, may be available depending on where you live in Missouri. These providers, and really any ISP that offers service to your address, are worth considering. It’s important to explore all of your available Internet options when choosing the best ISP and planning your home.
Internet in Missouri FAQs
Is internet in Missouri good?
Ookla speed test data ranks Missouri as the 34th fastest state in average download speeds at 169 Mbps and slightly higher (31st) with average upload speeds at around 22 Mbps. Although these speeds are below the national average, many Missouri residents — about 82% of households — have access to high-speed internet plans with advertised speeds of 300 Mbps and higher from providers like AT&T , Mediacom, Optimum, Spectrum, Xfinity and others.
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Does Missouri have fiber internet?
According to the most recent data from the FCC, fiber internet is available to about 38% of Missouri households. Like other states, fiber availability in Missouri is largely limited to urban or suburban areas. Columbia, Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield and other metropolitan areas in Missouri have the largest fiber internet service.
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How do I get rural internet in Missouri?
Satellite internet is still an option in rural areas, but you’ll want to check to see if cheaper, faster and generally better internet connections are available before resorting to satellite.
Kinetic’s DSL service is a popular choice for rural Missouri households, as is T-Mobile Home Internet. Both services have the potential to offer faster speeds than satellite internet and come with the bonus of unlimited data and significantly lower latency.
If T-Mobile Home Internet or wired connections like you have with Kinetic are not available, I recommend satellite internet from Hughesnet for rural areas in Missouri. The price is cheaper than rival satellite provider Viasat, and the service is much more available than Starlink.
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2024-12-22 19:26:00
