Best Internet Providers in Clearwater, FL

What is the best internet provider in Clearwater?

Clearwater offers residents a variety of broadband options, but CNET Recommends spectrum As the best internet service provider for most homes. Spectrum has the broadest coverage in the field and offers reasonable pricing for speeds up to gigabit. If your address doesn’t work on the Spectrum network, check out our other top picks, including WOW Internet and T-Mobile Home Internet.

We’ve also found the cheapest and fastest plans in Clearwater to help make your shopping easier. Frontier Fiber offers the most affordable service in the region at just $30 per month with download speeds of up to 200 megabits per second. In terms of speed, Frontier Fiber’s $155 per month plan offers customers symmetrical speeds of up to 5GB per second.

Source: CNET analysis of provider profiles.

Source: CNET analysis of provider profiles.

How to Find Internet Deals and Promotions in Clearwater

Clearwater’s best online deals and top promotions depend on the discounts available during the period. Most offers are short-lived, but we’re often on the lookout for the latest deals.

Clearwater Internet providers (such as Spectrum) may offer lower introductory prices or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many providers, including T-Mobile, Frontier and Verizon, use the same standard pricing year-round.

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

Source: CNET analysis of provider profiles.

What is a good internet speed?

Most Internet connection plans can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you’re looking for a network plan that can accommodate video conferencing, streaming video, or gaming, you’ll get a better experience with a stronger connection. Below is an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for various applications according to FCC regulations. Please note that these are guidelines only and Internet speeds, service and performance vary based on connection type, provider and address.

For more information, see our guide on the internet speed you really need.

• 0 to 5Mbps lets you handle the basics: browse the Internet, send and receive email, and stream low-quality videos.
• 5 to 40Mbps provides you with higher quality video streaming and video conferencing.
• 40 to 100Mbps should provide enough bandwidth for one user to meet the needs of modern remote working, video streaming, and online gaming.
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one or two users to participate in high-bandwidth activities such as video conferencing, streaming media, and online gaming at the same time.
• 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities simultaneously.

CNET How to Choose the Best Internet Provider in Clearwater

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router, or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. What is our approach? We first looked at pricing, availability, and speed information, using our own historical ISP data, provider websites, and map information from the Federal Communications Commission’s FCC.gov.

It’s not over yet. We visited the FCC’s website to check our data and make sure we accounted for every ISP serving an area. We will also enter your local address on the provider website to find specific options for residents. We evaluate customer satisfaction with ISP service by looking at sources such as the US Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power. ISP plans and prices may change frequently; all information provided is accurate as of publication time.

Once we have localized information, we ask three main questions:

1. Does the provider offer reasonably fast internet speeds?
2. Are customers getting value for money?
3. Are customers satisfied with their service?

While the answers to these questions are often layered and complex, we recommend the providers who come closest to a “yes” on these three questions. When choosing the cheapest internet service, we look for plans with the lowest monthly fees, although we also consider factors 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.

To explore our process in more depth, visit our How to Test ISPs page.

Clearwater Internet Provider FAQs