Best Prepaid Internet Options

The best prepaid internet plan will give you enough data and speed to do all you want to do online—without needing to “feed the meter” and add more data every few days. Many prepaid plans limit data, which can be a money trap. If you plan to do any streaming, we recommend an unlimited plan (or one with a really high data cap—like Xfinity or Cox).

The best prepaid plan for you will depend on where you live and how long you’ll be using the service. If you need just a few weeks of prepaid internet while visiting friends, Xfinity’s the top choice because it offers a weekly rate. 

We love the Cox StraightUp Internet plan, but it’s available in less than 20 states. And CenturyLink shines bright for folks who can get it (one of our team members has used CenturyLink’s contract-free plan for years and loves it), but again—it’s only available in 35 states. 

Additionally, prepaid plans might deliver slower speeds than you can get with other providers in your area. Most prepaid internet averages download speeds of around 25 Mbps download. That’s a fair speed, but if you have several people sharing the internet, you’ll experience some slowing.

But on the plus side, many prepaid internet plans can be self-installed, they’re contract-free, and they don’t require a credit check.

CenturyLink Simply Unlimited is a contract-free internet plan that doesn’t require a credit check. You can start and stop at any time without incurring Early Cancellation Fees. It’s a good high-speed internet option for people moving around a lot or for folks who don’t want to buy expensive equipment up front. 

You’ll pay for your internet service by credit or debit card and it will automatically renew each month until you cancel. You can keep the service for years or just use it for a few months. When you decide to cancel, you’ll have service through the end of your billing period since you’ve prepaid for the month.

CenturyLink delivers speeds of up to 140 Mbps through DSL and up to 500 Mbps with its Fiber package, and the don't require a contract. It is a great high-speed internet option in many locations, although speeds aren’t uniform across all service areas. There are a few parts of the country where the fastest CenturyLink speed you can get is 15 Mbps. 

Often, prepaid internet is more of a short-term solution than a forever internet plan, since it can be a little more expensive than internet plans you sign a contract for. Prepaid plans also tend to offer lower speeds and less data. CenturyLink is an exception—the price you’ll pay for a contract-free CenturyLink plan is the same as if you sign a contract. And the speeds are the same also.

CenturyLink isn’t a prepaid internet option, but it is pay-as-you-go. You pay for service on a monthly basis and can cancel at any time, without penalty. We recommend CenturyLink over many other contract-free plans because you’ll get more data and speed at a lower price.

Cox’s StraightUp Internet is our top pick for prepaid cable internet plans. It has ample speeds for several devices to use the internet at the same time, plus free equipment. If Cox has been installed in your home previously, you can do self-installation for $20. But if not, you’ll need to pay $75 for installation. You can get a free refurbished modem/router when you start your service, which saves you a monthly equipment lease fee or a hefty one-time modem purchase fee. 

As far as speeds go, Cox’s StraightUp Internet plan offers good speeds of up to 50 Mbps download, which is fast for prepaid but certainly not Cox’s fastest plan. Other Cox internet plans can give you speeds as fast as 500 Mbps. But, if you only have a couple of devices and you need a contract-free internet plan, you will probably be able to do most things online with Cox's prepaid plan. A speed of 25 Mbps can support streaming in DVD quality on a couple of devices, gaming, and video conferencing. 

But remember, Cox might not be available in your neighborhood. Cable providers seldom overlap, so you’ll only have one cable company in your neighborhood. Some cable companies don’t offer a prepaid or contract-free option. Spectrum, for example, requires at least a 12-month contract to sign up. Astound Broadband powered by RCN doesn’t require a contract, but they don’t have any prepaid options. If you want to sign up for Astound Broadband powered by RCN internet, you will need to pay the installation fee but you won’t be stuck with early termination fees if you cancel service early.

The long and short of it is that if you can get Cox StraightUp Internet, it’ll provide steady service with no up-front cost. It works well for short-term internet service, although if you want more speed you’ll have to upgrade to a plan with a 12-month contract.

Xfinity’s Prepaid Internet service is a contract-free internet option available on a weekly or monthly basis. It’s a good way to get internet service set up quickly, since it doesn’t require credit checks. If you’ve just moved to a new city, you can order Xfinity Prepaid by visiting a Comcast store or use the Xfinity app. This prepaid internet service doesn’t deliver racing fast speeds, but you can do most typical internet activities on this plan—including using the internet on multiple devices and streaming. 

You can bundle it with an Xfinity TV service package, starting at $22 per month for the basics (just the local channels) and going up to $57 per month for ESPN sports and extra news channels.

We don’t like the $15 modem fee, since many customers are just using this service temporarily and will end up with an unwanted modem after they cancel. But $15 is cheap for a modem and this plan delivers faster download speeds than many prepaid plans, which earns it some bonus points.

The second disadvantage to Xfinity Prepaid Internet is that your home needs to be already wired for Xfinity with a live cable box—so a previous resident will have had to have Xfinity internet. This isn’t always apparent if you purchase the kit online or in a store. There are many customer complaints online about being sent home with the modem and then finding out that it doesn’t work in their home. Xfinity Prepaid customers don’t get the same level of customer service as regular customers, so fixing problems can be cumbersome. 

In short, there are several disadvantages to Xfinity Prepaid so we don’t recommend it unless you know your home is wired for Xfinity and you plan to bundle it with Xfinity TV service. If you can, go with a regular Xfinity plan that isn’t prepaid—you will pay a little more but you’ll probably have a better experience and faster internet speeds.

Our top pick for travelers is the Simple Mobile "Truly Unlimited" Talk, Text & Data prepaid card. You will need to own a smartphone that’s compatible with T-Mobile to use the prepaid data card. The prepaid Simple Mobile plan will give you unlimited talk and text for 30-days, plus 5 GB of hotspot data that you can share with another device.

If you’re going to travel or work on the road for a few days, a prepaid Simple Mobile data plan can keep you connected through a mobile phone. It isn’t a logical choice for someone with an existing cell phone plan, but if you don’t have service currently it can connect you quickly. 

Simple Mobile is contract free (unlike the data plans mobile carriers try to sell you), so you can just activate the data card and get a month of service without being locked into a long term contract. 5G of hotspot isn't much data though—it will do okay for emails but don't try streaming or you'll eat through a month's worth of data in a few hours.

When picking out a prepaid internet plan, there are a few specifics you need to get right.

• Enough speed to do what you need to do online
• Ample data so you don’t run out before the end of the month
• A price that you can afford

As far as data goes, the amount you need depends on how many people will be using the internet and what you’ll be doing online. If you’re staying in a beach condo for a month with a group of friends, even one Netflix binger could eat up 40 GB of data in a week. So we recommend getting a high data allowance if you’ll be sharing the internet plan with roommates or if anyone will be streaming.

Most people do okay with download speeds of at least 25 Mbps. That doesn’t mean you’ll love this speed, but it does mean you do most internet activity without hiccoughs with this speed. You can do video streaming, video calls, social media, browsing, and even gaming with a basic high-speed internet connection of at least 25 Mbps. 

The more people you have using the internet, the more speed you’ll need. Each device uses some of the bandwidth, and when the bandwidth gets split in many directions to multiple devices, everything slows down.

Most people don’t know how much data their household uses every month, so picking out a prepaid plan can feel like taking a shot in the dark. Is 15 GB enough for two people? How about 40 GB? 

According to a Wall Street Journal survey in autumn of 2020, the typical American household uses over 400 GB of data per month. That doesn’t mean that every household needs that much data, but it’s a good number to keep in mind if you’re weighing the benefits of an inexpensive plan with 30 GB of data per month against a higher priced plan with unlimited data. 

To figure out how much data you use each month, use a data calculator to get an estimate. We like this data calculator from AT&T. 

For context, keep in mind that streaming video and downloading video games use the most data. Sending emails, browsing the internet, shopping online, and messaging your friends on social media doesn’t use much data. But streaming an hour of your favorite show in HD will eat up 3 GB. If you watch one hour of HD content per day, that’s 90 GB in a month! Switching to SD quality video will save you a lot of data—but it still uses nearly 1 GB per hour.

Video conferencing can use 1–3 GB/hour, depending on how many people are in the conference room and what your settings are. Turning off your camera minimizes data usage, as does switching to the lowest quality video.

If you made an unexpected move or you just need instant internet—without the hassle of credit checks or long term contracts—prepaid internet might be a good option. It’s sometimes a few bucks more than internet plans with a long term contract, but it’s flexible, easy to self-install, and can be up and running quickly. And once you’ve settled into a new town and the cable guy finally comes out, you can cancel your prepaid plan pronto—without any fees. 

Most prepaid plans have limited speed. Download speeds around 25 Mbps are common. Cox’s StraightUp Internet is one of the best prepaid plans we’ve found. 

If you don’t care if it’s prepaid and just need contract free internet, CenturyLink is a good option. CenturyLink’s plans will give you the fastest available speeds in your area (up to 100 Mbps in some places) without requiring you to sign a contract.

Yes, you can buy prepaid internet from several companies. Cox, Xfinity, CenturyLink, Verizon Fios, and many other companies offer prepaid or pay-as-you-go internet service that doesn’t require a contract. You can also buy monthly internet data service for a mobile hotspot device with companies like SIMPLE MOBILE or Skyroam, which is useful while traveling.

Cox offers reliable prepaid internet service in many states. CenturyLink and Google Fiber are also great options if you’re looking for contract-free or pay-as-you-go internet service.