San Francisco may be the city of cable cars and diverse cultures but it also has lightning-fast internet speeds and cheap deals from ISPs. Sonic is CNET’s pick for the best internet service provider in San Francisco. It’s the best internet option for most households because you can get fast speeds starting at just $50 a month.
If Sonic isn’t available in your area or you just want to explore more plans, AT&T Fiber, Verizon 5G Home Internet and Xfinity are all solid alternatives, depending on which ISP is available at your address.
Looking for the lowest-priced plans in the area? Xfinity and Astound Broadband tie for the cheapest internet service in San Francisco, both starting at $20 per month. Astound offers the better value — especially because San Fran residents can currently choose any speed between 300 megabits per second and 1,500Mbps and pay only $20 with Astound’s network.
If you’re hunting for the fastest speeds in the city, you can get speeds of up to 10,000Mbps, which Sonic offers for $50 per month. AT&T Fiber also offers multi-gigabit plans in the Bay Area but speeds max out at 5,000Mbps. If that is more speed than you need, consider Xfinity’s 1,200Mbps plan for $80 a month. Some areas might also get 1,300Mbps speed in the same price.
Other available internet providers in San Francisco
Astound Broadband: Also known as Wave, Astound Broadband is a cable internet option available throughout San Francisco. Download speeds start at 300Mbps and top out at 2,000Mbps. SF residents can currently pick any speed up tp 1,500Mbps for only $20 per month. Astound offers outstanding values at first glance, all plans offer upload speeds no higher than 50Mbps, which doesn’t match fiber internet standards. Still, the pricing offers good value per megabits per second.
Etheric Networks: Etheric boasts a vast fixed wireless coverage map, with service covering the entire Bay Area and stretching as far south as Salinas. Etheric Networks offers residential internet service through a wireless connection to the company’s hardwired infrastructure.
You’ll need to schedule a free site survey at your home to see if Etheric is even an option at your address, and while the company doesn’t post its prices online, a 2021 Etheric blog post explaining why the service costs more than Comcast gives a good indication that it skews on the expensive side.
Google Fiber Webpass: None of the Bay Area metros are Google Fiber cities. For that, you’ll need to head south to Orange County. San Francisco and Oakland are home to scores of buildings equipped with Google Fiber Webpass. This fixed wireless service uses antennas to send a high-speed signal to multi-dwelling buildings like apartment complexes. Speeds up to a gigabit are possible at some addresses for a flat rate of $70 per month or $63 for a yearly plan.
Monkeybrains: Monkeybrains is a local provider of fixed wireless internet services operating in San Francisco since 1998. When you sign up, the company will install an antenna on the roof of your building and run an Ethernet cable into your home — plug in a router, and voila, internet access. Your speeds will depend on the strength of the signal at your address, and you shouldn’t expect anything blazing fast: advertised speeds range between 20 and 50Mbps. At a flat rate of $35 per month, Monkeybrains might be worth a call if nothing else is available.
Raw Bandwidth Communications: Raw Bandwidth utilizes a mix of internet technologies to get businesses and residential addresses online and even offers private line service with up to gigabit speeds. Residential service is available in much of San Francisco and surrounding areas, but most homes in that coverage map will have to settle for DSL or even dial-up service, making this an outdated option for Bay Area residents.
Speeds won’t get any faster than 100Mbps under the best circumstances and will likely be much lower. Still, with no data caps and no prescheduled price increases, Raw Bandwidth might be a good fit for homes requiring basic connectivity for checking email and light browsing.
Unwired: Unwired is another local fixed wireless internet provider, advertising services for residents, business owners and people on the move. The service starts at $55 a month but shoots up to $145 a month. Unwired doesn’t advertise speeds on their website, but users report getting between 6 and 70Mbps on various plans, which isn’t exactly a great value or technically an internet connection, according to the FCC. Still, if you’re on the move or you’re looking for a temporary internet service, Unwired might be just the thing for you.
Satellite internet: Satellite internet from Hughesnet or Viasat is available pretty much anywhere. Still, you shouldn’t expect fast speeds, low latency or value since satellite internet often comes with steep equipment costs, tight data caps and long-term service contracts.