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If you’re running a business, residential internet is not going to cut it. Find out the best business internet plans and providers to get connected to the internet speeds you need.

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Find business internet in your area

Ari Howard Last updated: June 17, 2021

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If you are looking for reliable, high-speed internet to conduct business either in an office or at home, then you’ve come to the right place. Business internet is a great option for those who need fast upload and download speeds, a guaranteed reliable connection and multiple devices to be able to be online at a time. Although business internet takes the stress out of connecting to the internet, it does come with higher starting prices.

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Top business internet providers

The difference between upload and download speeds and why it matters 

When providers advertise their speed plans, they tend to only talk about the download speeds. However, both upload and download speeds are essential for running a business.

Downloading

Download speeds tell you how quickly information from an external source will be received by your router. Essentially anything you take from the internet will fall under the downloading category. 

Common download activities: accessing a web page, downloading a photo or file from the internet, streaming a video.

Uploading

Upload speeds, in contrast, tell you how quickly information from your network is sent to external networks. In other words, anything you add to the internet will be an uploading activity.

Common upload activities: putting a web page, image or file up onto a web server.

What are the main differences between business and home internet?

See some of the key differences between business internet and home internet to find out if a business internet plan is best for your needs.

What we like

  • Faster starting speeds – With business internet plans, you can expect to see most plans starting at 100 Mbps as opposed to 10, 15 or 25 Mbps.

  • Better upload speeds – Even if your provider’s business internet plans offer similar download speeds to what you would get with a home internet plan, you can still expect upload speeds to be significantly faster. In fact, even some providers offer symmetrical upload/download speeds, which is great for conducting business.

  • More reliable connection – Arguably the greatest selling point of business internet is that your service provider is able to do more to keep you and your company well-connected to the internet. For instance, with a business internet plan, you will receive a dedicated line, which means you will not need to share your internet connection with anyone outside of your company. You will also get a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that guarantees certain speeds as opposed to a best-effort service agreement that you tend to get with a home internet plan.

Things to consider

  • More expensive than home internet – Due to some of the desirable added features that business internet provides, the starting costs tend to be more expensive. While the average cost of home internet is around $60/mo., you can expect to pay closer to $100/mo. with a business internet plan.

  • Fewer options – In most areas, there are not as many providers to choose from for business internet compared to home internet. There may also even be fewer plans to choose from compared to the number of home internet plans available.

Our picks for the best business internet providers 

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The listed seven providers are some of the most widely available and well-rated providers throughout the U.S. You can expect at least one of these providers to be available in your area, unless you live in a particularly remote area. If none of these providers are available, consider a DSL or satellite provider. 

Read more in-depth about each provider below to find out about all the various plans available and to receive exclusive tips from the Allconnect team about how to find the best deal possible.

AT&T – Widest range of business internet plans 

Pros

  • Plan options

  • Fiber optic connection

Cons

  • High starting price

  • Low upload speeds

The greatest selling point for AT&T’s business internet plans is that there is a wide range of plans to choose from and the internet connection type is fiber optic. This means a fast, reliable connection. AT&T’s setbacks, however, are that its starting prices are quite high compared to its competitors and its upload speeds start fairly low. 

AT&T business internet plans and pricing

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Expert tip: Choose the 100 or 300 plan

The 100 or 300 Mbps plan is probably your best bet in order to ensure fast enough upload and download speeds but without having to break the bank each month. At $300/mo. for 1,000 Mbps, the Internet 1000 plan is likely not a realistic option for most small businesses. The 300 Mbps plan is a particularly desirable option since its upload speeds are considerably faster than the 100 Mbps plan.

Pros

  • Cheap

  • Great value

Cons

  • Uses DSL instead of fiber for the Business Internet plan

  • Limited plan options

Compared to any other major business internet provider, CenturyLink offers the most affordable plans. Just like with its home internet plans, CenturyLink is a DSL provider, but offers fiber optic internet in select locations exclusively for its gig plan. The main downside of CenturyLink is that there are only two plan options. 

CenturyLink business internet plans and pricing

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Expert tip: The fiber plan is a much better value

Although both of CenturyLink’s plans are some of the cheapest business internet plans available, the fiber internet 940 Mbps plan is a particularly good value. For nearly 10x the speed, you only have to pay an additional $20/mo. Plus, fiber optic technology is known for being much more reliable than DSL.

Frontier – 100% fiber optic network

Pros

  • Good plan options

  • Fast upload speeds

Cons

  • Expensive

Frontier uses a 100% fiber optic network which means you will be getting the most reliable connection possible. One of the biggest selling points of Frontier business internet over Frontier home internet is that upload speeds are considerably faster. 

Frontier business internet plans and pricing

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Expert tip: Frontier’s 100 Mbps plan is a great value

Frontier’s 100 plan offers symmetrical upload/download speeds, which makes it a much better value than most of the other 100 Mbps business internet plans. The only other provider that offers symmetrical speeds for its 100 Mbps plan is Verizon.

Optimum – fastest starting speeds 

Pros

  • Good plan options

  • Fast starting speeds

Cons

  • Upload speeds don’t increase with faster plans

  • Not fiber optic

Optimum is one of the few providers whose lowest-tier plan starts all the way at 300 Mbps. This is particularly unusual considering Optimum uses a cable connection instead of a fiber optic one. Usually, the fiber optic plans have faster starting speeds. Although Optimum has great starting download speeds, its upload speeds are not particularly impressive, especially for customers considering the 1 Gig plan. 

Optimum business internet plans and pricing 

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Expert tip: The 500 Mbps plan is the best value

While many providers structure their plans to become an increasingly better value in terms of cost/Mbps as the speed increases, this is not the case for Optimum’s business internet plans. Instead, Optimum’s best value business internet plans are the Optimum Secure Internet 500 plan and then the Optimum Secure Internet 300 Mbps plan.

Spectrum – best value starting price 

Pros

  • Great value

  • Fast speeds

Cons

  • Slow upload speeds

Spectrum offers some of the best business internet plans when it comes to value. Although its upload speeds are not as fast as some of the other providers, Spectrum makes up for it through its affordable pricing and its fast download speeds. 

Spectrum business internet plans and pricing

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Expert tip: Spectrum offers one of the best-priced gig plans

If you are looking for a business internet provider that can get you affordable gig speeds, then Spectrum could be the ideal provider for you. Starting at $109.99/mo. for 940 Mbps, Spectrum is over $100/mo. less than most other providers. The only major business internet provider that offers an even cheaper gig plan is CenturyLink.

Verizon – symmetrical upload speeds

Pros

  • Symmetrical download/upload speeds

  • Fiber optic technology

Cons

  • Expensive

Verizon is a great choice if you need your upload speeds to be as fast as your download speeds. It’s also great for reliability since Verizon only uses fiber optic technology. Verizon, however, has some of the highest starting prices out of any provider. 

Verizon business internet plans and pricing

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Expert tip: Go with Verizon if fast upload speeds are a necessity

Although Verizon’s price points are a little higher than some of the other providers that offer business internet, it is worth it if you know you will be uploading large files regularly. Verizon is one of the few providers that offer symmetrical or close-to-symmetrical upload speeds for all of its plans.

Xfinity – wide availability 

Pros

  • Several plan options

  • Wide availability

Cons

  • Expensive

Xfinity does not offer as good of a value as some of the other providers offer for business internet. The starting price points are high and Xfinity doesn’t make up for it with its speeds or number of devices that can be connected at a time. You do, however, have lots of plan options, so you can at least get the exact speed you need. 

Xfinity business internet plans and pricing

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Expert tip: Go for the 200 or 1 Gig plan

The 35 Mbps plan is not fast enough for most businesses and the 300 Mbps plan is not a big enough difference for most to justify the additional $80/mo. Therefore, if you choose Xfinity, go with the 200 or 1 Gig plan.

Business internet FAQs

Is business internet faster than home internet?

Yes, starting speeds tend to be faster with business internet. The biggest difference between business internet speed and home internet speeds, however, has to do more with upload speeds than with download speeds.

Yes, you can get business internet for your home since many small businesses are run at home, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since starting prices tend to be more expensive with business internet than with home internet, make sure you truly need the added benefits of business internet, such as faster upload speeds and Service Level Agreements.

Small businesses will likely want at least 100 Mbps. The more devices you will have online at a time, the faster the speeds you will need. Additionally, if you will need to upload large files frequently, you should either pick a plan faster than 100 Mbps or a plan that has symmetrical upload and download speeds, such as Frontier or Verizon.

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Ari Howard

Written by:

Ari Howard

Associate Writer, Broadband & Wireless Content

Ari is an Associate Writer for the Allconnect team, focusing on broadband and wireless news, as well as broadband and TV provider deals. She recently graduated from Davidson College with a bachelor’s degree in… Read more

Robin Layton

Edited by:

Robin Layton

Editor, Broadband Content

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