Best Internet Providers in Berkeley, California

What is the best internet provider in Berkeley?

CNET recommends Sonic Telecom as the best Internet provider in Berkeleyoffering symmetric gigabit speeds (up to 1000 Mbps) for just $50 per month — a rare deal for such high performance. While hardware isn’t included and the price increases by $10 after the first year, the Sonic remains the best overall choice.

For those looking for even faster speeds, AT&T Fiber is the preferred option in Berkeley, with plans offering symmetrical speeds of up to 5,000 Mbps. Unlike Sonic, AT&T includes equipment in its base price and offers five flexible plans starting at $55 per month.

If affordability is your priority, Xfinity offers the cheapest starter plan at $20 per month for 150 Mbps, though prices go up after the first year or two. For a more predictable bill, T-Mobile and Verizon 5G Home Internet offer price lock guarantees on all their plans.

The best internet in Berkeley, California

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find deals and promotions online in Berkeley

The best internet deals and top promotions in Berkeley depend on the discounts available during that period. Most deals are short-lived, but we often look for the latest deals.

Berkeley Internet providers, such as Verizon, may offer lower introductory prices or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many providers, including Sonic Telecom, AT&T Fiber and T-Mobile Home Internet, apply the same standard prices throughout the year.

For a more extensive list of promotions, check out our guide to the best internet deals.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

What is 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 video conferencing, video streaming, or gaming, you’ll have a better experience with a stronger connection. Here’s a summary of the minimum recommended download speeds for various apps, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Note that these are guidelines only 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 5 Mbps lets you handle the basics: web browsing, sending and receiving email, and streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40 Mbps gives you the highest quality video streaming and video conferencing.
• 40 to 100 Mbps should give a user enough bandwidth to meet the demands of modern telecommunications, video streaming and online gaming.
• 100 to 500 Mbps allows one to two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities such as video conferencing, streaming, and online gaming.
• 500 to 1000 Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.

How CNET picked the best Internet providers in Berkeley

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router, or kitchen appliance, it’s impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. What is our approach? We start by researching price, availability, and speed information based on our historical ISP data, provider sites, and map information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov.

It doesn’t end there. We go to the FCC website to check our records and make sure we account for every ISP that provides service in an area. We also enter local addresses into provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look to sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power, to gauge how satisfied customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent change; all information provided is correct as of publication.

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

1. Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
2. Are customers getting good value for what they are paying for?
3. Are customers satisfied with their service?

The answer to these questions is often layered and complex, but the providers that come closest to saying “yes” to all three are the ones we recommend. When choosing the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, although we also consider 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 like Ookla and FCC reports. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

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

Berkeley Internet Providers FAQ