Best Internet Providers in Columbia, Maryland

What is the best internet provider in Columbia?

Verizon Fios is the best internet provider in Columbia, Maryland for most households, according to our CNET broadband experts. It earned the top spot thanks to its strong fiber network that provides fast, symmetrical speeds and the company's straightforward pricing. Verizon Fios also has wide availability in the Columbia area, and you get a reliable connection, unlimited data and included equipment with all plans. If you can't get Verizon Fios at your address or don't want a fiber connection, you can opt for cable or fixed wireless providers like Xfinity or T-Mobile.

Want the most affordable or fastest internet in the city? Mediacom offers the cheapest internet plans in Columbia starting at $20 per month. Meanwhile Xfinity comes in secondwith the Xfinity Connect and Xfinity Gigabit Extra plans and has wider availability in the area. Xfinity Connect gets you speeds of up to 300Mbps and includes unlimited data for $35 a month. The fastest plan in the city is the Xfinity Gigabit Extra, offering 1.2Gbps download speeds for $85 a month.

Best internet in Columbia, Maryland

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Columbia

The best internet deals and top promotions in Columbia depend on what discounts are available during that period. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers. 

Columbia internet providers, such as Xfinity, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, however, such as Verizon, 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 videoconferencing, 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, streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40Mbps gives you higher-quality video streaming and videoconferencing.
• 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 videoconferencing, 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 Columbia

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. So 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.

But 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?

While the answers to those questions are often layered and complex, 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, though 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 also consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

To explore our process in more depth, visit our how we test ISPs page.

Internet providers in Columbia FAQs