With a bunch of great internet options, there's an argument to be made that Fort Worth is one of the best cities in the country when it comes to internet access. The city has multiple fiber internet providers to choose from, the 61st fastest speeds in the country, and in 2022, it rolled out free Wi-Fi to 40,000 residents in historically underserved neighborhoods.
It's not all perfect with the internet in Fort Worth. If you spend any time on Fort Worth Reddit, you'll find one common complaint about internet in the city is that apartment complexes often have exclusive deals with one (less than ideal) internet provider. Fortunately, that started to change in the past year with the arrival of 5G home internet providers like T-Mobile and Verizon, which are available virtually everywhere in the city.
Best internet providers in Cowtown
The best internet in Fort Worth comes down to price, speed and what's available. For most people, that means AT&T Fiber, which has extensive coverage throughout the area. Let's take a deeper look at all of your options.
Note: The prices, speeds and features detailed in the article text may differ from those listed in the product detail cards, which represent providers’ national offerings. Your particular internet service options -- including prices and speeds -- depend on your address and may differ from those detailed here.
Fort Worth internet providers compared
| Provider | Internet technology | Monthly price range | Speed range | Monthly equipment costs | Data cap | Contract | CNET review score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T Read full review | DSL/fiber | $55-$245 | 300-5,000Mbps | None | None | None | 7.4 |
| Frontier Fiber Read full review | Fiber | $30-$130 | 500-5,000Mbps | None | None | None | 6.3 |
| Nextlink | Fixed wireless | $45-$110 | 25-1,000Mbps | $7 router | None | Optional | N/A |
| Spectrum Read full review | Cable | $50-$80 | 300-1,000Mbps | Free modem; $7 router | None | None | 7.2 |
| T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review | Fixed wireless | $50-$70 | 72-245Mbps | None | None | None | 7.4 |
| Verizon 5G Home Internet Read full review | Fixed wireless | $50-$70 | 85-1,000Mbps | None | None | None | 7.2 |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data
All available Fort Worth residential internet providers
There are a few other options for internet in Fort Worth aside from our top picks listed above. Some might not be available within city limits but offer service in the surrounding suburbs. All of them have their flaws, but they're worth checking your address to see what your options are.
How many members of your household use the internet?
- Nextlink: You can get Nextlink's fixed wireless internet service virtually everywhere in the Fort Worth area, but I'd only recommend it as a last resort. It uses the same fixed wireless technology as T-Mobile and Verizon, but without 5G access, its speeds are generally slower -- and come at a much steeper price. The 50Mbps plan, for example, runs $60 per month.
- Satellite internet: Satellite internet is another option that's available almost everywhere in Fort Worth. For a long time, the standbys have been HughesNet and Viasat. Both require a two-year contract, have stingy data caps and generally get slower speeds than competitors. Like DSL internet, most people only go to satellite when there are no other options. There is an intriguing new player in satellite space: Elon Musk's Starlink, which uses low-Earth orbit satellites to provide much faster speeds than traditional satellite internet.
- Verizon 5G Home Internet: Like T-Mobile's fixed wireless service, Verizon is now leveraging its vast 5G network for home internet too. It's not as widely available in Fort Worth as T-Mobile -- only 25% of residents can currently get it -- but it offers slightly faster speeds and two plans to choose from. If you subscribe to select Verizon Wireless plans, you can also get home internet service for half price.
Price of internet in Fort Worth
The average starting price for internet plans in Fort Worth is $47 per month. There aren't as many cheap internet plans in Forth Worth as many other major metro areas -- most providers start their plans at $50 per month -- but most of those don't add on extra fees for equipment either. The $47 average price is more expensive than neighboring Dallas ($43 per month) and Houston ($45) but nearly on par with San Antonio ($48).
Cheap internet options in the Fort Worth metro area
Frontier offers the cheapest plan in Fort Worth at $30 monthly for 200Mbps. Spectrum, Nextlink, T-Mobile and Verizon all have starting prices for internet in Fort Worth between $30 and $60 per month.
What's the cheapest internet plan in Fort Worth?
| Provider | Starting price | Max download speed | Monthly equipment fee | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Read full review | $30 | 200Mbps | None | None |
| Nextlink | $45 | 25Mbps | $7 router | Two years |
| Spectrum Read full review | $50 | 300Mbps | Free modem; $7 router | None |
| Verizon 5G Home Internet Read full review | $50 ($35 with eligible mobile plan) | 300Mbps | None | None |
| AT&T Fiber 300 Read full review | $55 | 300Mbps | None | None |
| T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review | $50 ($30 with eligible mobile plan) | 245Mbps | None | None |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data
Fastest internet providers in Fort Worth
Fort Worth's internet speeds compare favorably with the rest of Texas, and the country as a whole. As I mentioned above, Fort Worth residents enjoy the 61st fastest internet speeds of any city in the nation, according to Ookla's speed test results.
Both AT&T and Frontier offer 5-gig plans in some parts of Fort Worth. Because they're fiber connections, you'll get symmetrical upload and download speeds on their plans. Spectrum's cable internet reaches download speeds of 1,000Mbps, but upload speeds top out at 35Mbps for its gig plan.
What are the fastest internet plans in Fort Worth?
| Provider | Max download speed | Max upload speed | Starting price | Data cap | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Fiber 5 Gig Read full review | 5,000Mbps | 5,000Mbps | $130 | None | None |
| AT&T Fiber 5000 Read full review | 5,000Mbps | 5,000Mbps | $245 | None | None |
| AT&T Fiber 2000 Read full review | 2,000Mbps | 2,000Mbps | $145 | None | None |
| Frontier Fiber 2 Gig Read full review | 2,000Mbps | 2,000Mbps | $100 | None | None |
| AT&T Fiber 1000 Read full review | 1,000Mbps | 1,000Mbps | $80 | None | None |
| Frontier Fiber 1 Gig Read full review | 1,000Mbps | 1,000Mbps | $65 | None | None |
| Spectrum Internet Gig Read full review | 1,000Mbps | 35Mbps | $80 | None | None |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data
How CNET chose the best internet providers in Fort Worth
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’s our approach? We start by researching the pricing, availability and speed information drawing on our own historical ISP data, the provider sites and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov.
It doesn’t end there: We go to the FCC’s website to check our data and ensure we’re considering every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. To evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP's service, we look at sources including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of the time of publication.
Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:
- Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
- Do customers get decent value for what they're paying?
- Are customers happy with their service?
The answers to those questions are often layered and complex, but the providers that come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend.
To explore our process in more depth, visit our how we test ISPs page.
What's the final word on internet providers in Fort Worth?
It's good to be an internet customer in Fort Worth. Most residents have access to at least one fiber provider -- AT&T or Frontier -- which is as good as it gets for residential internet. The main downside is that there aren't many cheap internet plans in Fort Worth. Most starting prices don't go any lower than $50 per month, but most of these plans offer fantastic value.
Internet providers in Fort Worth FAQs
What's the cheapest internet in Fort Worth?
The cheapest internet plan available in Fort Worth starts at $30 per month from Frontier Fiber. You can also get a $40 to $60 plan from a few different providers: Frontier, Nextlink, T-Mobile, Spectrum and Verizon. Spectrum offers the fastest speeds of those choices. Verizon 5G home internet may truly be your cheapest option since you can knock the monthly cost down to $30 when you bundle it with an eligible cellphone plan.
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Is fiber internet available in Fort Worth?
Yes. Both Frontier and AT&T offer fiber plans in the Fort Worth area. AT&T Fiber is available to about 19% of the city, while Frontier is available to about 7% of residents.
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Which internet provider in Fort Worth offers the fastest plan?
AT&T Fiber and Frontier both offer 5Gbps plans in the Fort Worth area. 5Gbps is probably overkill for most households. How much internet speed you need depends on how many devices will be connected at once, what types of activities you do and how many people live in your house. The median internet speed in Fort Worth is 228Mbps, so most people get by with far less than the 5Gbps that AT&T and Frontier offer.
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