Best ISPs for streaming: We have new intel on the fastest providers...

How are we spending our one precious life? Not waiting for buffering.

on October 28, 2025

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Overview

There's no purer form of rage than what stems from watching your streaming content buffer ad infinitum. Whether it's upload speeds, download speeds, or latency that's causing the stop-and-go, there's a better life out there: You just need a good internet service provider recommendation.

The FCC does require internet service providers to provide some level of transparency about their broadband plans. But switching internet typically still involves tedious research — unless you're simply handed some cold, hard data on the fastest ISPs for streaming. Mashable's parent company, Ziff Davis, happens to have a service that literally gives out awards for ISPs with the fastest internet speeds: meet Ookla. Between January and June of 2025, Ookla conducted millions of consumer-initiated speed connection tests (officially called the Speedtest) of the top internet service providers (some fiber, some hybrid fiber-coaxial).

Those results are accompanied by a handful of user experience metrics to form one big Speedtest Connectivity Report, and we got the inside scoop. Now, we're passing it along to you. Let's get you up to speed on which internet service providers are the best for streaming in 2025.

In the first half of 2025, Ookla recorded speed-related numbers of six top internet service providers: AT&T Fiber, Cox, Frontier Fiber, Spectrum, Verizon, and Xfinity. These ISPs were tested based on upload and download speeds, plus adjacent video and gaming KPIs such as video resolution delivered, uninterrupted video playback, latency, and jitter. Each ISP was given a score across several categories — fastest fixed ISP, most consistent ISP, video experience, and gaming experience — plus a "consumer sentiment" score taking the general user experience of each ISP into consideration.

Ookla and Mashable are both owned by Ziff Davis.

AT&T Fiber logo

The Good & The Bad

Will cover your cancellation fee in full
All plans come with unlimited data
Ubiquitous regional coverage throughout U.S.
Very high consistency score

Most expensive fiber plans of the top three networks

Who it's for

According to Ookla's speed tests, AT&T performed the fastest in Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. In terms of cities, AT&T Fiber was the fastest option in San Diego, San Francisco, Chicago, and Dallas.

Crowned Ookla's top recommendation based on Speedscore and user experience ratings, AT&T would just be a solid choice for folks who want something fast and reliable, but don't want to zero in on video or video game streaming specifically.

Why we picked this

AT&T clocked the highest speeds in Ookla's speed test, with its overall Speed Score of 78.33, beating the rest of the competition. AT&T had the fastest median download speed (363.54 Mbps), a high-ranking median upload speed (296.52 Mbps), and a solid latency rating of 18 ms. It was also one of the top two most consistent ISPs (with no statistical difference found between it and Frontier Fiber).

AT&T Fiber was also awarded the top spot in the Consumer Sentiment portion of the test, receiving a 3.7 out of 5.

Details

Verizon Fios logo

The Good & The Bad

Earned top ranking spot for video streaming
Streaming discounts (like NFL Sunday Ticket) available with sign-up
More affordable monthly fiber options than AT&T
Five year price lock guarantee

Consistency score isn't great

Who it's for

According to Ookla's speed tests, Verizon did not have the fastest speed in any state or major city. However, Verizon's vast coverage across the U.S. and respectable performance in both the video streaming and gaming categories keep it a top player for those who care about latency and quick content playback.

Why we picked this

Verizon's appearance in the Speedtest results was a bit of a roller coaster. Funnily enough, that lack of consistency in the report overall was reflected when placing dead last in the "most consistent ISP" ranking. (To be fair, the score was still above 90.)

However, when Verizon is good, it's good. Verizon killed the competition when it came to video experience, offering the snappiest video start time, most uninterrupted video playback, and best video resolution delivered. Verizon's gaming score also nearly tied for first place, only losing out to Frontier by .29.

Details

Frontier Fiber logo

The Good & The Bad

Frequent deals on Fiber plans
Landed in top two spots for both gaming and overall speed
Ranked as most consistent network
Higher speeds at lower costs than AT&T and Verizon

No info on Video Streaming Score
Less regional coverage than other providers

Who it's for

According to Ookla's speed tests, Frontier Fiber performed the fastest in Connecticut, Indiana, and West Virginia. In terms of cities, Frontier Fiber worked faster in Los Angeles than any of the larger ISPs, leading LA to have the third-fastest median download speed.

Frontier scored particularly high in the gaming category, making it a good choice for those whose main priority is low latency. (If it's available in your area, that is — Frontier Fiber doesn't quite have the geographical coverage that the bigger providers do.)

Why we picked this

Lesser-known network Frontier Fiber held its own against the industry giants. Most notably, Frontier claimed the top spot in the gaming-specific speed test, which involves the gaming KPIs that live gamers care about: ping time, jitter, download and upload speeds.

Frontier's fiber plans typically shake out to be more cost-effective than AT&T and Verizon's — think higher speeds at lower monthly prices. For example, the cheapest Frontier Fiber plan costs $54.99/month (with a current deal dropping that to $24.99/month in some areas) for a bandwidth of 500 Mbps. The cheapest fiber plans from AT&T and Verizon are similarly priced, but start at 300 Mbps.

Details

Frequently Asked Questions

Regardless of the interent provider you go with, you probably won't need a plan faster than 300 Mbps for seamless streaming. Plans offering 500 Mbps or more would only really be necessary if multiple people in the household are heavily streaming 4K content at the same time or frequently uploading large files (think content creation).

Leah Stodart

Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers and tests essential home tech like vacuums and TVs, plus eco-friendly hacks. Her ever-evolving experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.