Internet Providers in New York City (NYC), New York

Best Internet Providers in Manhattan

What’s the best internet service provider in the city? Well, that’s going to depend on where you live — Manhattan is a big place. But for those who have access to them, we recommend Verizon Fios and Astound Broadband Powered by RCN as the two best services in the borough of Manhattan.

Verizon Fios is known for its high speeds (which can reach 2 Gbps) and its relatively good customer service. Astound Broadband Powered by RCN (which was formerly known as just plain “RCN” in New York) is known for its low prices, though its relatively new fiber internet services make it a serious player in the speed department as well.

If you can’t get RCN Powered by Astound or Verizon Fios, keep an eye out for EarthLink, which offers fiber internet access to a good chunk of Manhattan

If fiber isn’t an option in your part of the city, your best fallback option is the area’s omnipresent cable internet provider: Spectrum. Though New Yorkers, like all great urban citizens, love to complain about their cable provider and its monopoly, our data shows that customer satisfaction with Spectrum’s internet plans and cable bundles is actually pretty good. With speeds up to 1 Gbps on its fastest plans and prices that start at per month for its cheapest ones, Spectrum still offers a pretty good all-around deal for the typical Manhattanite, even if we don’t all like to admit it.

There are other options for New Yorkers, including 5G and satellite home internet options, but we generally recommend that you go with a wired connection. Right now, wired options are still more reliable and (generally) faster than wireless alternatives, residents of well-connected urban areas like Manhattan should focus on wired broadband offers.

Fastest Internet Providers in Manhattan

The fastest advertised internet speed in Manhattan is up to 1 Gbps, which is offered by Verizon.

With that said, a fair number of the borough’s internet providers can deliver you about 1 Gbps or more, which is plenty for most households. We recommend that you pay particular attention to the fiber internet providers. Fiber internet providers use a fiber-optic connection, which allows them to offer higher speeds, more reliable service, and upload speeds that are every bit as fast as their download speeds. While cable providers like Spectrum can still offer very fast speeds, the best speed and reliability will always come from fiber-optic connections — at least until the next big breakthrough in broadband internet technology.

Internet Availability in Manhattan

Depending on where you are in Manhattan, you may have access to different providers. While Spectrum is available pretty much everywhere in the borough, there is at least a little variation in the availability of Verizon Fios, EarthLink Fiber, and Astound Broadband Powered by RCN.

The good news is that our top choice of internet service, Verizon Fios, is very widely available in Manhattan. Only a few spots are missing from its service footprint, and those are mostly commercial areas of lower Manhattan and Midtown, plus a couple blocks near Columbia’s campus up in Morningside Heights.

As for Astound (formerly RCN), it offers cable coverage almost everywhere in Manhattan — with two exceptions. The first is up in Washington Heights and Inwood, where things get a little spottier. Inwood, in particular, is missing some RCN coverage. The second is Roosevelt Island, which is mostly not served by RCN (except for in a small patch at its northernmost tip, near the hospital).

You’re most likely going to have access to EarthLink, too — it covers of Manhattan.

Generally speaking, Manhattan’s internet providers are pretty consistent from neighborhood to neighborhood, particularly if you’re downtown of Harlem and Morningside Heights. You won’t see much difference between options on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side, and things aren’t much different over in Hell’s Kitchen or down in the Village, SoHo, and other lower Manhattan neighborhoods.