Best Internet Providers in Nashville, Tennessee [CNET]

Music city has ultra-fast internet up to 8000Mbps, but is it the best choice for your? CNET’s list of the best broadband service providers helps you pick from the right balance of affordability and speed.

What is the best internet provider in Nashville?

Nashville boasts some of the fastest internet in the country, with Google Fiber offering up to 8,000 Mbps speeds. Competing providers like AT&T and Xfinity also vie for attention. CNET recommends AT&T Fiber as the best overall choice in Nashville, while T-Mobile and Verizon offer affordable fixed wireless plans, especially if you bundle them with phone service . Xfinity provides the cheapest cable option, starting at just $30 per month for 150 Mbps. If speed is your priority, Google Fiber’s 8-gigabit connection is the fastest available in select areas of the city. Do note that the fastest plans may not be available in all parts of the city.

Best internet in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2024

Nashville internet providers compared

Provider	Internet technology	Monthly price range	Speed range	Monthly equipment costs	Data cap	Contract	CNET review score
AT&T Fiber Read full review	Fiber	$55-$245	300-5,000Mbps	None	None	None	7.4
AT&T Internet Air Read full review	Fixed wireless	$60	10-100Mbps	None	1.5TB	None	7.4
Google Fiber Read full review	Fiber	$70-$150	1,000-8,000Mbps	None	None	None	7.4
T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review	Fixed wireless	$50 ($40 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)	100-300Mbps	None	None	None	7.2
Xfinity Read full review	Cable	$30-$95	150-2000Mbps	$15 (optional)	1.2TB on some plans	1-2 years on some plans	7

Show more (1 item)

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in Nashville

• Google Fiber:Google Fiber is expanding its presence across Nashville, but availability remains limited. Residents of neighborhoods like Edgehill, Melrose and West End may be in luck, and Google just recently arrived in Smyrna in 2023. Customers can sign up for speeds as high as 8,000Mbps.
• Satellite internet: If you’re covered by fiber, cable or fixed wireless, those are likely your first choices for getting connected. If you’re in a remote area around Nashville and don’t have a good ISP option, look into satellite internet service from Starlink, Viasat or Hughesnet.
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: Verizon’s coverage map shows most of Nashville is blanketed by its 5G Ultra Wideband service that delivers speeds of up to 300Mbps, but your real-world speed will vary. It’s a tough competitor for T-Mobile Home Internet. If you’re a Verizon phone customer, you can bundle your services and get your 5G internet for as low as $35 per month with autopay and select mobile plans. That’s quite a bargain if you’re in a strong service area.

Cheap internet options in Nashville

Nashville can be an affordable place to get hooked up to home internet. The average starting price for the city’s ISPs works out to $51, but Xfinity offers up some bargains and T-Mobile or Verizon customers with select plans can add 5G home internet (where available) for discounted rates.

What’s the cheapest internet plan in Nashville?

Show more (2 items)

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Nashville

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

Nashville internet providers, such as Xfinity, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many, including AT&T 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 Nashville broadband?

Ookla, the provider of the Speedtest.net service, places Nashville at number 47 in its ranking of internet speeds for the 100 most populous US cities. The Music City weighs in with a median download speed of about 233Mbps and a median upload speed of over 65Mbps.

Google Fiber reigns as the fastest internet provider in Nashville by a long shot. Its $150-per-month 8-gigabit plan is your fastest residential option, so long as it’s available at your address. Google Fiber’s $125 5-gigabit plan is the next closest competitor.

Fastest internet plans in Nashville

Provider	Starting price	Max download speed	Max upload speed	Data cap	Connection type
Google Fiber 8 Gig Read full review	$150	8,000Mbps	8,000Mbps	None	Fiber
AT&T Fiber 5000 Read full review	$245	5,000Mbps	5,000Mbps	None	Fiber
AT&T Fiber 2000 Read full review	$145	2,000Mbps	2,000Mbps	None	Fiber
Google Fiber 2 Gig Read full review	$100	2,000Mbps	2,000Mbps	None	Fiber
Xfinity Gigabit X2 Read full review	$95	2,000Mbps	200Mbps	None	Cable
Xfinity Gigabit Read full review	$65	1,000Mbps	35Mbps	1.2TB	Cable
AT&T Fiber 1000 Read full review	$80	1,000Mbps	1,000Mbps	None	Fiber
Google Fiber 1 Gig Read full review	$70	1,000Mbps	1,000Mbps	None	Fiber

Show more (3 items)

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 video conferencing, 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 video conferencing.
• 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 video conferencing, 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 Nashville

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 the Federal Communications Commission at 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 the time 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 it comes to 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 how we test ISPs page.

What’s the final word on Nashville internet providers?

Nashville is well covered by ISPs with options ranging from fast fiber to convenient cable to no-fuss 5G. AT&T Fiber and Google Fiber deliver the goods for sheer speed, but availability may be limited. Xfinity covers most of the area but with slower max speeds and a data cap (which you can pay to get around). T-Mobile and Verizon offer 5G home internet, which is easy to set up but may not be open to new customers in some areas. This means you’re likely to find a Nashville ISP that will work for your location, budget and needs.

Internet providers in Nashville FAQs