Best Internet Providers in Chicago, Illinois

What’s the finest web supplier in Chicago?

CNET recommends AT&T Fiber as the highest web supplier for many Chicago households due to its quick symmetrical speeds, easy pricing and citywide availability. But when AT&T Fiber is not out there at your tackle, there are many different choices, together with Xfinity, Verizon 5G Home Internet and Rise Broadband.

Take note your resolution ought to largely stem from how a lot you need to spend and how briskly your connection must be. Based on a latest CNET survey, 51% of US adults reported the same unreliable service despite paying more for his or her web connection. So, making a conscious choice is significant.

For many who want top-tier efficiency, AT&T Fiber delivers the quickest web within the space with speeds as much as 5,000Mbps for $155 monthly, all with out knowledge caps or long-term contracts. Astound gives an analogous plan that prices $175 monthly (for the primary three years). In the event you’re in search of one thing totally different, CNET’s broadband crew has examined the most effective choices out there and recognized the suppliers that provide glorious speeds and worth.

Greatest web in Chicago, Illinois

Supply: CNET evaluation of supplier knowledge.

Different out there web suppliers in Chicago

Air Wans: Air Wans is a folksy mounted wi-fi supplier servicing the agricultural areas of Illinois and Indiana surrounding Chicago. Pricing ranges from $50 to $100 a month with no contracts, knowledge caps, throttling or worth will increase after the primary 12 months. The rub is that Air Wans speeds are a number of the slowest you will discover, starting from simply 75 to 300Mbps with the downloads and uploads aggregated collectively.

Astound Broadband: Astound boasts sturdy pricing throughout the first one to a few years of service (varies by plan). Month-to-month charges on all six of the plans provided to Chicagoans will enhance by $20 after the introductory interval, and you may anticipate to pay extra charges on high.

Satellite internet: A satellite tv for pc web connection makes use of a receiver dish mounted exterior your house to attach with satellites orbiting overhead to get you on-line. You will discover service out there from Hughesnet, Viasat and maybe Starlink. Typically, the costs are too excessive, the speeds are too gradual, and the info caps are too restrictive in contrast with different Chicago web choices. It is solely price contemplating for those who lack different options, and for many of Chicago, that will not be the case.

T-Mobile Home Internet: Like Verizon, T-Cell now gives mobile residence web service in lots of of cities nationwide, together with Chicago. You will merely plug in a mobile modem that will get its indicators not from wires within the wall, however over the 5G and LTE airwaves, like your cellphone. T-Cell gives three plans ranging between $50 and $70 a month, and speeds will vary from 87 to 415Mbps in most properties with a powerful sufficient sign to enroll. There aren’t any knowledge caps or contracts to fret about, and your worth will not arbitrarily rise after 12 months, both.

Low-cost web choices in Chicago

You will have to pay about $50 monthly for those who’re in search of probably the most reasonably priced web plan at your Chicago tackle. Air Wans, Verizon, T-Cell and Astound Broadband all have plans priced round $50. And for those who’re a Verizon or T-Cell cellular buyer, you then could possibly bundle your web and produce the worth down to simply $35 monthly.

What is the most cost-effective web plan in Chicago?

Supply: CNET evaluation of supplier knowledge.

Easy methods to discover web offers and promotions in Chicago

The perfect web offers and high promotions in Chicago rely on what reductions can be found throughout a given time. Most offers are short-lived, however we glance ceaselessly for the most recent gives. 

Chicago web suppliers, akin to Xfinity and Rise Broadband, might provide decrease introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a restricted time. Many, together with AT&T and Verizon, run the identical commonplace pricing year-round. 

For a extra in depth record of promos, take a look at our information on the best internet deals.

How briskly is Chicago broadband?

Ookla speed test data studies that the Windy Metropolis has a median obtain pace of 214Mbps. That is 80Mbps under the median internet speed reported for the United States in November 2025. Nevertheless, Chicagoans nonetheless have loads of methods to get sooner web speeds of their properties. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the identical mother or father firm as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

Your quickest choice for getting on-line in Chicago is to go together with a fiber supplier, however the service is not out there all over the place. AT&T is your finest guess, with its quickest plan for Chicago ringing in with obtain and add speeds of 5,000Mbps at a hefty flat month-to-month price of $155.

Quickest web plans in Chicago

Supply: CNET evaluation of supplier knowledge.

Web suppliers in widespread cities close to Chicago

See all results for internet providers in Illinois.

What’s a great web pace?

Most web connection plans can now deal with fundamental productiveness and communication duties. In the event you’re in search of an web plan that may accommodate videoconferencing, streaming video or gaming, you will have a greater expertise with a extra sturdy connection. This is an outline of the advisable minimal obtain speeds for varied functions, according to the FCC. Be aware that these are solely pointers and that web pace, service and efficiency differ by connection kind, supplier and tackle.

For extra data, confer with our information on how much internet speed you really need.

• 0 to 5Mbps means that you can deal with the fundamentals: searching the web, sending and receiving e-mail and streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40Mbps offers you higher-quality video streaming and videoconferencing.
• 40 to 100Mbps ought to give one particular person adequate bandwidth to fulfill the calls for of contemporary telecommuting, video streaming and on-line gaming. 
• 100 to 500Mbps permits one to 2 folks to concurrently interact in high-bandwidth actions, like videoconferencing, streaming and gaming. 
• 500 to 1,000Mbps permits three or extra folks to have interaction in high-bandwidth actions all on the identical time.

How CNET selected the most effective web suppliers in Chicago

Web service suppliers are quite a few and regional. Not like the most recent smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally check each ISP in a given metropolis. What’s our method? We begin by researching the pricing, availability and pace data, drawing on our personal historic ISP knowledge, the supplier websites and mapping data from FCC.gov.

It doesn’t finish there: We use the FCC’s web site to examine our knowledge and guarantee we contemplate each ISP that gives service in an space. We additionally enter native addresses on supplier web sites to search out particular choices for residents. We take a look at sources, together with the American Buyer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Energy, to judge how completely happy prospects are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and costs are topic to frequent modifications; all data supplied is correct as of publication.

As soon as we’ve got this localized data, we ask three primary questions:

1. Does the supplier provide entry to moderately quick web speeds?
2. Do prospects get first rate worth for what they’re paying?
3. Are prospects pleased with their service?

The solutions to these questions are sometimes layered and complicated, the suppliers that come closest to “sure” on all three are those we suggest. When choosing the most cost effective web service, we search for the plans with the bottom month-to-month payment, though we additionally think about issues like worth will increase, gear charges and contracts. Selecting the quickest web service is comparatively easy. We take a look at marketed add and obtain speeds and likewise contemplate real-world pace knowledge from sources like Ookla and FCC reports.

To discover our course of in additional depth, go to our how we test ISPs web page.

What is the closing phrase on web suppliers in Chicago?

The Windy Metropolis has numerous choices relating to residence web, together with each speedy and extra reasonably priced service. If you may get your fingers on fiber connectivity, like AT&T Fiber, that will likely be your most suitable option. Cable firms like Xfinity and Astound Broadband have wider protection for Chicagoans, so that you might need to go together with these suppliers as a substitute.