Best Internet Providers in Santa Ana, California

What is the best internet provider in Santa Ana, California?

There aren't a lot of internet provider options in Santa Ana, surprisingly. After reviewing the available options, AT&T Fiber topped our list as the best internet provider in Santa Ana for most households. Although it doesn't have the best coverage, it has the fastest speeds in the city by a mile, and it's also the only fiber provider in the area, which means you’ll get the same upload and download speeds, which is ideal for working from home or online gaming. It also offers some of the most straightforward and reasonable pricing you’ll find in an internet service provider.

If you’re looking for the lowest prices, Spectrum has the cheapest internet plans in Santa Ana at $50 per month. That isn’t knock-your-socks-off cheap, at only $5 less per month than AT&T Fiber, but Spectrum is available almost everywhere in the city, and it’s a solid option to have as your default. The main downside is that Spectrum increases prices significantly after a year or two.

If you don’t want to worry about these built-in price hikes, Verizon 5G Home Internet is the best wireless internet provider in Santa Ana. There’s no guarantee that it won’t raise your rates, but unlike Spectrum, they don’t come on schedule and aren’t likely to be as egregious. 

Best internet in Santa Ana, California

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Santa Ana, California

The best internet deals and top promotions in Santa Ana depend on what discounts are available during a given time. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers. 

Santa Ana internet providers, such as Verizon 5G Home Internet and AT&T Fiber, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, including Spectrum, run the same standard pricing year-round.  

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

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

What’s 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, streaming video or gaming, you'll have a better experience with a more robust connection. Here's an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for various applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are only guidelines 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 5Mbps allows you to tackle the basics: browsing the internet, sending and receiving email and streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40Mbps gives you higher-quality video streaming and video conferencing.
• 40 to 100Mbps should give one user sufficient bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming. 
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities like video conferencing, streaming and online gaming. 
• 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.

How CNET chose the best internet providers in Santa Ana

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 consider every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power, to evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of publication.

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

1. Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
2. Do customers get decent value for what they’re paying?
3. 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. When selecting the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, although we also factor in things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively straightforward. 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 we test ISPs page.

Internet providers in Santa Ana FAQs