AT&T Fiber is CNET’s top pick for the best internet provider in Fresno, California. That’s because it offers great upload and download speeds at competitive monthly rates. The main drawback is AT&T Fiber’s limited coverage area, which doesn’t extend to all Fresno neighborhoods, leaving many residents without access.
If AT&T Fiber isn’t available at your address, Xfinity is a solid alternative, with some of the most affordable plans starting at just $35. Just be aware of potential price hikes and additional fees after promotional periods end. T-Mobile is another worthy option that works particularly well for smaller households with one or two people. However, it also offers plans for larger families, like its $70 All-In Home Internet plan, which has slightly faster speeds and better Wi-Fi hardware.
Our team looks at speed, pricing, customer service and overall value to recommend the best internet service. We use a special database that we’ve built over years of reviewing internet services. To ensure accuracy, we also check if the service is available at local addresses. We read the terms and conditions of providers carefully and, when needed, contact ISPs to confirm the details, too.
Our process has some limitations you should know about. Pricing and speed data are variable: Certain addresses may qualify for different service tiers, and monthly costs may vary, even within a city. The best way to identify your particular options is to plug your address into a provider’s website.
Note that the prices, speeds and other information listed above and in the provider cards below may differ from what we found in our research. The cards display the full range of a provider’s pricing and speeds across the US, according to our database of plan information provided directly by ISPs. At the same time, the text is specific to what’s available in Fresno. The prices referenced within this article’s text come from our research and include applicable discounts for setting up automatic payments each month — a standard industry offering. Other discounts and promotions might also be available for things like committing to a contract or bundling with a cellphone plan.
To learn more about how we review internet providers, visit our full methodology page.
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Top internet providers in Fresno
No matter where you live in Fresno, you’ll likely have access to some good internet options. AT&T Fiber is available to about a quarter of Fresno residents and offers the fastest speeds at fair prices. Those who can’t get AT&T Fiber have a good backup in Xfinity, which is available almost everywhere in the city.
Overview of Fresno internet providers
Provider Internet technologyMonthly price rangeSpeed rangeMonthly equipment costsData capContractCNET review score AT&T Fiber
Read full review Fiber$55-$245300-5,000MbpsNoneNoneNone7.4 AT&T Internet
Read full review DSL$60768Kbps-100MbpsNone1.5TB (none for 100Mbps plan)None7.4 T-Mobile Home Internet
Read full review Fixed wireless$50-$70 ($40-$55 with eligible mobile plans)87-415MbpsNoneNoneNone7.4 Verizon 5G Home Internet
Read full review Fixed wireless$50-$75 ($35-$60 with eligible phone plan)85-250MbpsNoneNoneNone7.2 Xfinity
Read full review Cable$40-$100400-2,100Mbps$25 (optional)1.2TB (unlimited for one years on plans)None7
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
What other internet options are there in Fresno?
There are a few other internet providers operating in Fresno, but they typically have slower speeds and higher prices. Still, they’re worth considering in more rural areas.
- Kingsburg Media Foundation: This fixed wireless provider is only worth a look as a last resort. Plans start at $75 a month for just 10/5Mbps speeds — a worse value than even satellite internet. The edge it has on satellite is that all of its plans come with unlimited data.
- Satellite internet: In general, satellite internet is only used in rural areas where faster options aren’t available. You can get HughesNet and Viasat everywhere in Fresno, but speeds are low, prices are high and data caps are extremely stingy. Starlink is a newer provider from SpaceX that delivers faster speeds than HughesNet and Viasat, but it has an upfront equipment cost of $349, and plans start at $120 monthly.
- Verizon 5G Home Internet: Like T-Mobile Home Internet, Verizon has begun leveraging its own cellular network to deliver home internet wirelessly. It has two plans available in Fresno, with speeds up to 250Mbps at some addresses. That noted, availability is more limited than T-Mobile — only 29% of Fresno households will be able to get Verizon.
Pricing info on Fresno home internet service
Fresno residents have some extremely cheap internet plans available — and most of them are from one provider. Xfinity offers some of the cheapest starting prices you’ll find anywhere in the country, but you’ll have to take a close look at the fine print to avoid a sticker shock.
Cheapest internet plans in Fresno
Provider Starting priceMax download speedMonthly equipment feeContract Xfinity Connect More
Read full review $40400Mbps$25 (optional) None Xfinity Fast
Read full review $55600Mbps$25 (optional)None T-Mobile Home Internet
Read full review $50 ($40 with eligible mobile plans)318MbpsNoneNone Verizon 5G Home Internet
Read full review $50 ($35 with eligible phone plan)85MbpsNoneNone AT&T Fiber
Read full review $55300MbpsNoneNone
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
How fast is Fresno broadband?
Compared to other cities of its size, Fresno has an abundance of fast internet plans available. Three different providers offer “gig speeds” — download speeds of 940Mbps or higher — and AT&T Fiber offers symmetrical speeds up to 5,000Mbps in some areas. Currently 66% of Fresno can get 1,000/100Mbps speeds, according to FCC data.
Fastest internet plans in Fresno
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
What’s the final word on internet providers in Fresno?
For the portion of Fresno households that have access to AT&T Fiber, picking an internet provider is an easy decision. AT&T has symmetrical upload and download speeds, straightforward and reasonable pricing, and the best customer satisfaction scores of any provider in the country. Xfinity is a worthy backup option, but its pricing is complicated and your bill will increase after the first year. T-Mobile Home Internet offers decent performance for $50 a month, but its speeds are best for households with just one or two people.
How CNET chose the best internet providers in Fresno
Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally test every internet service provider in a given city. So what’s our approach? For starters, we tap into a proprietary database of pricing, availability and speed information that draws from our own historical ISP data, partner data and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov.
This guide leverages an in-house artificial intelligence tool called RAMP, which is trained on our own writing and uses our database to generate content about specific internet service providers that our writers can use in determining and presenting our picks for a given guide. Check CNET’s AI policy for more information about how our teams use (and don’t use) AI tools.
Because our database is not exhaustive, we go to the FCC’s website to check the primary data for ourselves and make sure we’re considering every ISP that provides service in an area. Plans and prices also vary by location, so we input local addresses on provider websites to find the specific options available to 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 our pre-publication fact-check.
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. 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. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)
Fresno internet FAQs
Which is the best internet service provider in Fresno?
AT&T Fiber is the best internet service provider in Fresno, with up to 5,000Mbps download and upload speeds and no data caps or contracts. Xfinity’s cable internet offers six plans with speeds ranging from 400Mbps to 2,100Mbps and free subscription to Peacock Premium on some plans. T-Mobile Home Internet offers download speeds up to 418Mbps, no equipment fees, no annual service contracts and no price hikes.
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Is fiber internet available in Fresno?
Yes, fiber internet is available in Fresno. AT&T offers fiber internet with no contracts, unlimited data and symmetrical speeds up to 5,000Mbps.
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Who is the cheapest internet provider in Fresno?
Xfinity is the cheapest internet provider in Fresno. Its cable internet plans start at just $40 per month for 400Mbps speeds. Equipment adds an extra $25 per month to the plan, but you can also provide your own.
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Which internet provider in Fresno offers the fastest plan?
AT&T Fiber offers the fastest plan in Fresno, with up to 5,000Mbps download speeds and no data caps or contracts.
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