Best Internet Providers in Grand Prairie, Texas [CNET]

Grand Prairie has fast broadband internet and a variety of options to choose from. CNET experts have found them all and listed the best.

What is the best internet provider in Grand Prairie?

Spectrum is CNET’s pick for the best internet service provider for most households in Grand Prairie,thanks to its wide coverage and reasonable prices. This cable internet provider offers simple service details, including unlimited data and a free modem on all plans. AT&T Fiber and T-Mobile Home Internet are also solid options for home internet, but serviceability varies by location.

Grand Prairie’s average home internet service starts at $52 per month, but some providers offer it for less. Frontier Fiber offers a monthly base plan at $45, but Spectrum’s 300-megabit-per-second plan for $50 may be more readily available.

It’s a tie between AT&T Fiber and Frontier Fiber for the fastest plan in Grand Prairie, with symmetrical speeds up to 5,000Mbps. Compared with Frontier Fiber, AT&T Fiber costs more, at $250 compared to $130 per month (for the first year, at least).

Best internet in Grand Prairie, Texas

Grand Prairie internet providers compared

Provider	Internet technology	Monthly price range	Speed range	Monthly equipment costs	Data cap	Contract	CNET review score
AT&T Internet Air Read full review	Fixed wireless	$55	75-225Mbps	None	None	None	7.4
AT&T Fiber Read full review	Fiber	$55-$250	300-5,000Mbps	None	None	None	7.4
Frontier Fiber Read full review	Fiber	$45-$130 ($60-$140 after 12 months)	500-5,000Mbps	None	None	None	6.7
Spectrum Read full review	Cable	$50-$70	300-1,000Mbps	Free modem; $7 router (optional)	None	None	7.2
T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review	Fixed wireless	$60-$70 ($40-$50 for eligible Go5G Plus and Magenta Max mobile customers)	72-245Mbps	None	None	None	7.4
Verizon 5G Home Internet Read full review	Fixed wireless	$50-$70 ($35-$45 with qualifying Verizon 5G mobile plans)	50-300Mbps	None	None	None	7.2

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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in Grand Prairie

• EarthLink: While this internet provider offers cable, DSL, and satellite services, it’s no match for its fiber-optic connection (which uses AT&T Fiber’s network). Some addresses may be eligible for speeds of up to 5 gigabits. Customers can expect most plans to come with unlimited data and wide coverage throughout the city. Unlike other internet providers, EarthLink doesn’t increase monthly rates after 12 months. 
• NextLink: This rural internet provider offers fixed wireless coverage to many cities across Texas. It’s available to only about 18% of households in Grand Prairie. The highest coverage from Grand Prairie is the southwest area of Dallas County in Duncanville and DeSoto. Some addresses may access speeds of up to 1 gigabit. Pricing varies depending on location, but plans can range from $45 to $110 a month. 
• Satellite internet: Satellite connections come in handy if you live in rural areas where cable and fiber are out of reach. Providers like Hughesnet, Viasat and Starlink are available virtually everywhere. What deters a lot of people from satellite internet are the slow speeds and the monthly costs. Hughesnet requires a two-year contract, but Starlink and Viasat customers don’t have to worry about being tied down by a term agreement (or the steep fees that come with early termination). Starlink is the fastest ISP of the three, but for standard service, you’re looking at $120 per month just to get started. That doesn’t even include the equipment lease, which is going to cost you $599 upfront. 
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: While Verizon’s fixed wireless network may not be the fastest internet connection in Grand Prairie, plans are straightforward: no data caps, contracts or equipment fees. Most addresses in the city can access only the lower-speed tier of up to 300Mbps. But even so, you would still have faster speeds than with T-Mobile. 

Cheap internet options in Grand Prairie

The average starting price for internet service in Grand Prairie is approximately $52 per month, but a couple of providers offer plans cheaper than that. The lowest internet offering in Grand Prairie is Frontier Fiber’s $45-per-month plan for 500Mbps. That price increases to $60 per month after 12 months. Spectrum Internet is the next best thing, offering a $50-per-month plan for 300Mbps. For eligible mobile customers, you may find lower rates with fixed wireless providers Verizon and T-Mobile.

What’s the cheapest internet plan in Grand Prairie?

Provider	Starting monthly price	Max download speed	Monthly equipment fee
Frontier Fiber 500 Read full review	$45 ($60 after 12 months)	500Mbps	None
Spectrum Internet Read full review	$50	300Mbps	Free modem; $7 router (optional)
Verizon 5G Home Internet Read full review	$50 ($35 with eligible mobile plan)	100Mbps	None
AT&T Home Internet Air Read full review	$55	225Mbps	None
AT&T Fiber Read full review	$55	300Mbps	None
T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review	$60 ($40 with eligible mobile plan)	245Mbps	None

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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Grand Prairie

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

Grand Prairie internet providers, like Spectrum, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, such as AT&T, Frontier and Verizon, run the same standard pricing year-round. 

For a more extensive list of promos, check out our guide on the best internet deals. 

How fast is Grand Prairie broadband?

In the most recent Ookla speed test data, Grand Prairie came in with a fixed median download speed of 245Mbps. The city performed much better in comparison to other nearby cities like Dallas at 138Mbps and Arlington and Irving flirting between 150 and 162Mbps.

Fastet internet plans in Grand Prairie

Provider	Starting monthly price	Max download speed	Max upload speed	Data cap	Connection type
AT&T Fiber 5000 Read full review	$250	5,000Mbps	5,000Mbps	None	Fiber
Frontier Fiber 5 Gig Read full review	$130 ($140 after 12 months)	5,000Mbps	5,000Mbps	None	Fiber
AT&T Fiber 2000 Read full review	$150	2,000Mbps	2,000Mbps	None	Fiber
Frontier Fiber 2 Gig Read full review	$100 ($110 after 12 months)	2,000Mbps	2,000Mbps	None	Fiber
AT&T Fiber 1000 Read full review	$80	1,000Mbps	1,000Mbps	None	Fiber
Frontier Fiber 1 Gig Read full review	$65 ($80 after 12 months)	1,000Mbps	1,000Mbps	None	Fiber
Spectrum Internet Gig Read full review	$70	1,000Mbps	35Mbps	None	Cable

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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 Federal Communications Commission. 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 and 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 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 Grand Prairie

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. 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 FCC.gov.

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, 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 also consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports.

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

What’s the final word on internet providers in Grand Prairie?

Grand Prairie is home to a variety of broadband options. Cable and fixed wireless internet providers have a wider availability throughout the city. You wouldn’t be getting nearly as fast speeds as you would from a fiber connection. If AT&T Fiber and Frontier Fiber are serviceable at your address, I would put these two at the top of your list.

Internet providers in Grand Prairie FAQs