Best Cheap Internet Plans and Providers for Rural Areas

Finding cheap internet ain’t easy. Wi-Fi plans can come at a hefty monthly fee, and you usually have to pay for installation, equipment rentals, and other extra fees on top of that.

A cheap Wi-Fi plan is even harder to come by in rural areas and small towns, where network infrastructure is limited and internet service providers (ISPs) have to invest more to maintain services. Still, cheap internet is out there—you just have to know where to look.

We’ve outlined the best internet options for the price, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of different plans and providers. We also highlighted ideal options for rural customers. Read on to save some money.

Jump to:

• How to get the best cheap internet
• Best cheap internet for rural areas
• Fiber plans
• Cable plans
• DSL plans
• Fixed-wireless plans
• Satellite plans
• LTE home internet plans
• No-contract plans
• FAQ

How do you get the best cheap internet?

You can get good internet for a cheap price by seeking out low-cost plans that give you adequate speeds, a decent data cap, and as few extra fees as possible.

The very cheapest internet plans aren’t always the best internet plans—they may give you grindingly slow speeds or have painfully small data caps, leading to overage charges at the end of the month. Some plans look cheap up front, but they come with unexpected surprises like seasonal price hikes or stringent data-usage restrictions.

What’s most important when shopping for cheap internet is making sure you’ll get a plan that’s fast and useful at a decent price. In order to guarantee you’re getting what you need from any plan, make sure to identify the best internet speed for your household before committing. You can also shave extra bucks off your bill by picking a provider that waives your installation costs or has a Price for Life guarantee on its plans.

Many ISPs also have no-contract options, which means you can cancel any time without worrying about pesky early termination fees (ETFs). With internet as with life, the devil is always in the details.

Best cheap internet plans

• Good speeds
• Generous data caps (or unlimited data)
• Few extra fees
• Flexible no-contract options

Worst cheap internet plans

• Slow speeds
• Low data caps
• Hidden fees and price hikes
• Annual contract requirements

*Data as of 11/10/2020. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. †Speed may not be available in your area. Rate excludes taxes; activation fee applies.* ‡Requires 24-month agreement.

The best cheap option for internet in a rural area is Rise Broadband’s Up to 50 Mbps plan for $64.95 per month. It runs over a fixed-wireless connection, so it works well in areas with cell phone service. It provides up to 50 Mbps download speeds, which is plenty to let you stream movies, download modest files, and browse social media. It also gives you unlimited data—a solid deal by fixed-wireless standards.

CenturyLink’s Price for Life DSL plan is an excellent option if you live in a household with landline phone service. It’s by far the most affordable option you can get, thanks to its Price for Life promise—that means no price hikes like what you get with satellite internet plans.

You should also consider Verizon’s LTE Home Internet, a relatively new technology that gives customers a fast and consistent home internet connection over an LTE cellular network. The pricing is also solid, coming at a flat rate with no extra fees for equipment or installation.

Rural internet customers have a bit more trouble than most in finding cheap Wi-Fi since internet access is more limited in less-populated areas of the United States. If you live in a rural area, expect slower speeds and more restrictions on your data usage than you would have in a big city.

But it’s not all bad. There are still multiple internet options to choose from—and many deals to be had.

Data as of 11/10/2020. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Best for accessibility: Satellite internet

The most common way to get rural internet is through a satellite internet connection. Satellite internet is available practically anywhere because it’s a signal beamed down from space—so you can get connected even if you’re living on a 2,500–acre a farm or nestled in a mountain cabin.

The catch with satellite internet is that it’s more expensive than other internet types, it deals with high latency, and it gives you a lot less monthly data to work with. Starlink by SpaceX is striving to bypass these challenges by creating a low-Earth orbit satellite network. SpaceX recently announced a public beta version of its Starlink service. It promises great speeds, but it will cost beta testers $99 per month, plus $499 up front for the equipment.

Other satellite providers like Viasat and HughesNet impose strict limits on the amount of internet data you can use. Although the data is technically unlimited, if you go over your allotted amount, your speeds will be slowed down to a snail’s pace until the following billing cycle.

Best satellite internet providers

• HughesNet
• Viasat

Best for affordability: Fixed-wireless and DSL internet

Fixed-wireless and DSL internet are both relatively fast, reliable, and come at a fair price. All you need for them to work are a cell phone tower nearby (for fixed wireless) or a home setup with landline phone service (for DSL).

Most DSL internet plans cost around $30–$60 per month and come with generous data caps, usually 1 TB. But they require access to landline phone service, so they’re not as widely available as fixed-wireless internet in rural areas.

Fixed-wireless requires access to a nearby cell tower to operate, and the plans cover a wider price range. Some cost as low as about $50 per month, but they give you fairly strict data caps, only 250 GB per month. You’ll have to pay up to $100 per month for a plan with unlimited data—but honestly, it’s worth it because you won’t have to worry about using up your data and paying overage charges.

Best DSL and fixed-wireless providers

• EarthLink (DSL)
• CenturyLink (DSL)
• Rise Broadband (fixed wireless)
• AT&T (fixed wireless)

Best for fast speeds: LTE home internet

LTE home internet is a great option for areas that have cellular service but few other Wi-Fi options. Rather than the cabling of fiber or cable internet, it uses cellular radio towers to get you an internet signal, so there’s no underground infrastructure required. Prices can be high upfront if you need to buy a modem, but you’ll have faster speeds (usually in the range of 12–25 Mbps) and more data.

Best LTE home internet providers

• Verizon 4G LTE Home
• UbiFi

Best for kickin’ it old school: Dial-up internet

Dial-up internet is the old-fashioned way of doing internet. It’s extremely slow (typically under 1 Mbps) and requires you to not use your landline phone while logged on. But it’s dirt cheap, so it may be worth the downsides if you use internet for only the most basic tasks, like browsing and checking email. Just don’t plan to download any large attachments or host any Netflix movie marathons.

Best dial-up internet provider

• NetZero

Best cheap fiber internet plans

Data as of 11/10/2020. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *for 12 mos. 12 mo agmt. req’d. Incl 1 TB data/mo. $10 chrg for each add’l 50 GB (up to $100/mo). †for 24 months with 2-year agreement. Equipment fees, Internet Infrastructure Surcharge, taxes, early term. & other fees apply. Services subject to all applicable Frontier terms and conditions. Subject to availability.

Fiber internet is the fastest, most reliable, all-around buttery-smoothest internet type you can find. It’s also the least available internet type: in some places getting it is like encountering a rare bird in the jungle.

If you happen to have access to fiber internet in your area, go for it. If not, then don’t worry because you have other options.

Which cheap fiber plan is the best value?

The best cheap fiber internet plan is AT&T’s Fiber Internet 100 plan. It costs just $35 per month—a serious bargain for an incredibly reliable fiber connection. You get symmetrical 100 Mbps speeds, so you’ll have fast downloads and fast uploads for all of your Zoom work meetings and dance videos you post on Instagram Reels.

Best cheap cable internet plans

*for the first 12 months with a 1-year agreement. †for 12 months. Plus activation, installation and monthly modem rental fees. ‡for 12 months. §for 12 months.

Although still relatively rare, cable internet is a lot more common than fiber in rural areas, and it can often hit the same download speeds—so you can get top-of-the-line internet speeds and a very reliable connection if you have a cable operator in your area.

Which cheap cable plan is the best value?

The best cheap cable internet plan is Xfinity’s Performance Pro, which gets you 200 Mbps (!) download speeds for just $39.99 per month. That’s seriously fast—fast enough to rock the house even when you’ve got multiple people streaming and playing online simultaneously. Xfinity also has a very large nationwide network, so there’s a better chance you can get it than other cable providers (or at least an Xfinity plan like it).

Best cheap DSL internet plans

*Speed may not be available in your area. Rate excludes taxes; activation fee applies.* †with a 12 month contract. ‡per mo. for 24 months. Equip. fees, install, Internet Infrastructure Surcharge, other taxes & fees apply. Subj. to availability.

DSL internet is slower than fiber and cable, but it’s not as slow as satellite and costs a lot less too. It’s also widely available in many small towns and rural areas since it’s connected through the copper-wire network of a landline phone.

DSL ranges in speed depending on where you live and how close you are to the main network, so keep in mind that you likely won’t get 100 Mbps max speeds if you spring for a plan from CenturyLink. In some cases with DSL plans, your speeds may be as low as 1.5–15 Mbps.

But you’ll be happy if you can get something in the range of 25 Mbps, which will get you fast enough speeds to browse, post to social media, and stream video in HD on multiple devices.

Which cheap DSL plan is the best value?

The cheapest DSL plan is Frontier’s Preferred Internet plan, which costs just $34.99 per month and gives you respectable 25 Mbps download speeds.

If Frontier isn’t available in your area, try out EarthLink’s 45 Mbps Internet plan. EarthLink got top ratings in HighSpeedInternet.com’s latest customer satisfaction survey, winning first place out of 15 providers for overall performance. The best thing about EarthLink is that it folds all its fees into the baseline price, so you won’t have to worry about getting surprised by fees buried in the fine print.

Best cheap fixed-wireless internet plans

Data as of 11/10/2020. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *for 12 mos. 12 mo agmt. req’d. Incl 1 TB data/mo. $10 chrg for each add’l 50 GB (up to $100/mo)

Fixed wireless often gets overshadowed by better-known internet connections. But it makes for a great option for internet users—especially in rural and remote areas with working cellular service.

Unlike fiber or cable, fixed-wireless doesn’t rely on underground cable connections. Instead, you use a remote console to pick up a radio signal beamed from the nearest cell tower. You can usually get decent speeds, but make sure your plan also gives you adequate data for the month. Even if you have to pay more, an unlimited data plan could be worth it because it’ll save you from future overage charges or service slowdowns.

Which cheap fixed-wireless plan is the best value?

The best cheap fixed-wireless internet plan comes from AT&T, which gives you speeds up to 25 Mbps for $49.99 per month and a 250 GB data cap.

You can easily burn through 250 GB of data in a few nights’ worth of watching Netflix and playing online video games, so consider springing for an unlimited plan if you use the internet more frequently. Rise Broadband’s Up to 50 Mbps plan gives you unlimited data for $75 per month. The speeds are generally faster, too, so that’s another plus to justify the extra cost.

Best cheap satellite internet plans

*Requires 24–month agreement. †$150/mo after 3 months. **Requires email invitation to participate in beta testing

HughesNet and Viasat are the two main satellite providers available to the vast majority of satellite customers in America. Viasat gives you options for faster speeds and more data, but be aware that it has regular price hikes. HughesNet has a fixed speed of 25 Mbps for all of its plans, but you can pay more to get more data, and it doesn’t have price hikes.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX recently launched a beta version of its much-hyped Starlink satellite service. Although it’s still in the preliminary stages, it delivers much faster speeds than HughesNet and Viasat, which were the two exclusive contenders for satellite service in America until Starlink arrived.

A Starlink beta plan costs a pretty penny: $99 per month plus $499 for a satellite dish and router to go with it. That might change as the network continues to get up to speed, but it’s probably not your best option for now if you’re looking for cheap internet. But keep watching Starlink. It could soon help satellite internet grow out of its current doldrums as a sluggish fallback option into an excellent and egalitarian service.

Which cheap satellite plan is the best value?

The cheapest satellite internet plan is HughesNet’s 10 GB Data Plan. For $59.99 per month, you get 25 Mbps speeds and 10 GB of data. You also get 50 GB of “Bonus Zone” data, which means you can use the internet as much as you want during the downtime hours of 2:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.

Viasat appears to have the cheapest satellite internet plans around—but all of its plans go up in price by 33% after the first three months of your two-year contract.

The main thing to watch out for with satellite internet is how much data you use. The cheapest plans come with extremely low data caps. Once you’ve surpassed your data cap, your speed will be slowed to a crawl as your traffic gets “deprioritized,” which means it’s essentially bumped to the back of the line behind other paying customers who haven’t hit their data caps yet. If you use the internet regularly, consider investing in a plan that gives you more monthly data to work with.

Best cheap LTE home internet plans

Data as of 11/10/2020. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *with AutoPay

4G LTE home internet delivers internet from a cell phone tower, making it a solid option if you live in a rural area with cellular access but scant infrastructure to support cable or DSL networks. It gives you decent speeds—often faster than DSL in similar areas—and more data to work with compared to satellite internet. It also doesn’t require infrastructure installation, although you may have to pay a somewhat high price up front for a modem.

Which cheap LTE home internet plan is the best value?

The best cheap LTE home internet plan is Verizon’s LTE Home Internet. It costs $40 per month if you have a Verizon mobile plan or $60 if you don’t, and it gives you download speeds of around 25 Mbps. That’s a solid speed and a seriously winning price for a rural area—and the unlimited data makes it even more tantalizing as an alternative to data-thrifty satellite plans. Yay!

Best cheap no-contract internet plans

*Speed may not be available in your area. Rate excludes taxes; activation fee applies.* †for 12 months

A low price is important when you’re shopping for an internet plan, but you also want to keep contracts in mind. If you don’t like your service or have to move, breaking a contract can be expensive: providers will hit you with early termination fees (ETFs) that rack up based on how many months you have left on your contract.

The solution? Get a no-contract internet plan. Some ISPs offer plans that go month to month, meaning you can cancel any time without worrying about ETFs (the fees so infamous they have an acronym).

This isn’t always an available option though—satellite providers HughesNet and Viasat both require you to sign up for two-year commitments on their plans. But if you can go without a contract, we recommend it.

Which cheap no-contract internet plan is the best value?

CenturyLink has the best cheap no-contract internet plan. It gives you speeds up to 100 Mbps with a Price for Life offer of $49.99 per month.

FAQ about cheap rural internet plans

Who has the cheapest internet?

Xfinity has the cheapest internet plan that’s most available to rural areas. Its Performance Pro plan costs $39.99/mo. for 200 Mbps speeds.

HughesNet has the cheapest internet for satellite internet customers. Its cheapest plan costs $59.99 per month and gives you 10 GB of data—plus 50 GB of “Bonus Zone” data you can use during off hours.

There are other internet providers with cheaper plans, but they have very limited networks, so it’s not as likely that you’ll benefit from their low prices.

What is the cheapest cable internet plan?

Xfinity has the cheapest cable internet plan available in rural areas. It’s called Performance Pro and gives you 200 Mbps speeds for $39.99 per month.

RCN has the cheapest cable internet plan all around, but it may not be available in your area since RCN’s service area is limited to the cities of Boston, Chicago, New York, Washington, DC; Philadelphia, and parts of Pennsylvania. In some parts of RCN’s service area, you can get 25 Mbps download speeds for just $19.99/mo. There are no contracts and no data caps.

What is the cheapest DSL internet plan?

Frontier has the cheapest DSL internet plan. It’s called Preferred Internet and gives you 25 Mbps speeds for just $34.99 a month.

Frontier has a relatively limited network, so if you want another option that might be more accessible, consider CenturyLink. Its DSL plan maxes out at 100 Mbps speeds and costs $49.99 a month.

What is the cheapest satellite internet plan?

HughesNet’s 10 GB Data Plan is the cheapest satellite internet plan you can get, costing $59.99 per month for 25 Mbps speeds. It gives you 10 GB to work with, plus 50 GB of “Bonus Zone” data that applies to any internet usage during the hours of 2:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.

Related pages