Best internet providers in St. Louis, Missouri
We recommend AT&T fiber for the fastest speeds and most reliable connection in St. Louis. As long as you can get AT&T fiber at your address then it leaves the competition in the dust. But if you can’t access AT&T fiber, Spectrum is your next-best bet for high internet speeds to support activities like work-from-home and gaming.
As a budget option, we recommend T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. It’s widely available in St. Louis and has affordable pricing for basic home internet use.
- Plans starting at $55.00 - $180.00
- Download speeds up to 5000Mbps
- Upload speeds up to 5000Mbps
Disclaimer: Availability and pricing are subject to location. Conditions apply. For offer details, view disclaimers
- Plans starting at $29.99 - $169.97
- Download speeds up to 1 Gbps
- Upload speeds up to 1 Gbps
Disclaimer: Availability and pricing are subject to location. Conditions apply. For offer details, view disclaimers
- Plans starting at $50.00
- Download speeds up to 182 Mbps
- Upload speeds up to 23 Mbps
Disclaimer: Availability and pricing are subject to location. Conditions apply.
Our top 3 ISP choices in St. Louis, MO
For the most reliable internet options in St. Louis, we recommend AT&T fiber, Spectrum internet, and T-Mobile Home Internet.
#1: AT&T fiber internet
AT&T fiber is our top choice in St. Louis, Missouri, assuming you can get it at your address. AT&T fiber has wide, albeit patchy, coverage across St. Louis, and its combination of speed and affordability make it an excellent choice for high-speed internet—especially if you work from home.
Read our full AT&T internet review.
#2: Spectrum internet
Spectrum internet has cable internet coverage over much of St. Louis, and it has wider availability than AT&T fiber. If you can’t get fiber where you live, then Spectrum is a good second choice for decent speeds. But keep in mind that Spectrum charges several fees, and its fastest plan (1 gig, or 1,000 Mbps,) is quite expensive.
Read our full Spectrum internet review.
#3: T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
T-Mobile is our third choice for St. Louis thanks to its simplicity, affordability, and coverage. T-Mobile has wider availability in St. Louis than either AT&T fiber or Spectrum internet, and it's notoriously affordable and easy to set up. But keep in mind that fixed wireless internet isn’t always as fast or as reliable as fiber and cable connection types.
All internet providers in St. Louis
You’ll see one little-known name on the list of St. Louis internet providers: Brown Dog Networks. As an unlicensed fixed wireless provider, Brown Dog Networks uses public frequencies to connect you to the internet, which can be more accessible for people in rural areas. But since St. Louis isn’t rural and you likely have other options, we can’t recommend Brown Dog Networks over more reliable brands like AT&T and Spectrum.
We also don’t recommend satellite internet providers like HughesNet, Viasat, and Starlink. Satellite internet has a hard time competing with fiber and cable connection speeds, and you often have to deal with data caps and latency.
Fastest internet providers in St. Louis
AT&T fiber has the fastest speeds in St. Louis. It advertises plans up to 5 gigs, or 5,000 Mbps. That’s much faster than individual households need. Even if you host mass video calls or love online gaming, AT&T fiber’s 1 gig plan should be more than fast enough.
Spectrum and Verizon Home Internet also offer fast plans in St. Louis. Both Spectrum and Verizon Home Internet can get you up to 1 gig (1,000 Mbps) depending on availability at your address.
How much speed do you need?
Cheapest internet providers in St. Louis
Fixed wireless providers are your best bet for cheap internet in St. Louis. Verizon Home Internet and T-Mobile Home Internet often have lower prices than traditional internet plans, as long as you bundle internet with qualifying cell phone plans. You can also easily install fixed wireless routers yourself and skip installation costs and appointments.
Spectrum is also among the cheapest internet providers in St. Louis, and you’re more likely to have Spectrum available at your address than Verizon Home Internet.
Internet options in nearby cities
Your internet options in cities close to St. Louis will likely still include Spectrum and T-Mobile Home Internet. AT&T fiber and Verizon Home Internet are less likely to be available in some St. Louis suburbs, but additional options like Wisper and i3 Broadband might open up.
For details on which providers are available near you, check out these cities:
What St. Louis residents are saying on Reddit
Social media threads from the last year confirm our opinion that AT&T fiber is the best option for high-speed internet in the St. Louis area. Redditors in particular seem to like AT&T fiber better than Spectrum and AT&T’s old DSL plans. But availability remains an issue—AT&T fiber has somewhat patchwork coverage around St. Louis and may not be available at your address yet.
Added:
- spectrum can get me 1000 mbps down and 30 up. I'll probably do that until I can get fiber
A couple years ago some guys were working near the road near me and said they were putting in lines for fiber. But we still don't have it.
I'm self employed and it's really starting to affect my ability to work and keep my income where it needs to be.
It's supposed to be at 50 mbps but rarely is. Upload speed is usually below 10.
I would love to know for certain if the lines for it are really here or not. And what the hold up is. AT&T hasn't been any help. How can I get in touch with someone that actually knows and will tell me?
It was suggested to me to change to a business acct, isn't faster but an AT&T employee said that there might be less people on it where I live so maybe it would be faster. Something about all residential accts on same ip address and business ones being on a separate one so maybe it would be faster. But I don’t know if that is true or not.
For what its worth I'm in west county, 63017. I'm wondering if I should switch to spectrum or maybe starlink? Or are there any other options?
It was also suggested to try connecting wired instead of wireless but my office is on a different floor than where the internet comes in, I can't imagine dealing with that long of cable going through the house.
Any other suggestions?
There isn't an official AT&T map that will show entire areas. You will not get an answer from any AT&T source about a build-out plan, and it constantly changes. The date for your home literally does not exist. That said, I've found this map to be quite accurate as to where there's fiber coverage right now:
(make sure to click the "fiber" tab on the map). It gets more detailed as you zoom in.
Spectrum just jumped my bill 33% saying that I was on a promotion that expired, even though I’ve been on the same plan for 8 years and was unaware of any promotion. It’s now $100/month for 500mb internet service. AT&T is offering this same speed at $65/month. Is there any reason not to switch? I know they’re both garbage companies, but does anyone have any reasons I shouldn’t just bounce between them?
AT&T Fiber > Spectrum > AT&T Internet
Regular price for Spectrum internet is $80/month for their minimum speed 300 Mb/s. You will not benefit from paying $20 extra for 500 Mb/s.
P.S. Spectrum hides its regular rates from you until after you sign up for service to make it hard to know what you'll really be paying once the promotion expires, but once you receive your first bill, both your promotional and nonpromotional rates should be pretty clearly displayed on every bill to avoid surprises when the promotional period expires. I suspect people who get surprised by the nonpromotional rate just don't ever look at their bills. Is my guess true for you?
Maybe I should ask; who sucks the least.
I'm very pleased with AT&T Fiber
Looking for the best/fastest and some what decently cheap internet providers. My apartment agent told me they use At & T, but mentioned I could use which ever one I want. Anyone have any recommendations?
If it's AT&T Fiber (vs. DSL), then that's the only right answer.
Hello. I’ve been living in an apartment complex that provides internet as part of the rent. But an now moving to a house on June 1st, so I am looking for the best wireless internet provider here. Also if anyone knows which cell service is the best here that would also be appreciated. I currently have AT&T and my service is not as good as it was back East.
Originally from Philly, and Verizon Fios internet was the best there, but they don’t offer that service here. Anyway, thank you for your time.
We are in the Tower Grove area if that makes a difference.
Update: Thanks for all the comments. I was able to set up AT&T fiber service for when we move in.
Local fiber like Gateway or Elite > AT&T Fiber > Spectrum > everything else including AT&T DSL.
For cell service, AT&T is "generally" the best around here but everyone has bad pockets, streets or neighborhoods they just don't serve well. T-Mobile is good too and has filled in a lot. Verizon overall is more so-so, though in STL city proper they have a very dense, very fast 5G network. Verizon might even be best in the city but turns to crap pretty quickly in the suburbs and rural eastern Missouri. T-Mobile used to be similar but has improved since starting work on integrating Sprint.
Internet news and infrastructure in St. Louis, MO
Most of the internet buzz in St. Louis over the last year or so has been around the expansion of fiber internet and internet-speed inequity among various parts of the city. St. Louisins are eagerly witnessing the continued expansion of AT&T fiber, but not every neighborhood is getting access quickly enough.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in 2022 that low-income St. Louis neighborhoods face a “digital divide.” (1) Fiber internet expansion could be an important step toward higher internet speeds and more reliable connectivity for low-income neighborhoods.
Frequently asked internet questions in St. Louis
Yes, AT&T fiber internet is available in parts of St. Louis. You can also get Elite Fiber internet in a select few parts of St. Louis, but its availability is heavily restricted compared to AT&T fiber. AT&T fiber advertises up to 5-gig speeds in the St. Louis area.
AT&T fiber advertises faster speeds than Spectrum in St. Louis, but Spectrum is more widely available. You’ll need to check your address to see if you’re eligible for AT&T fiber. If not, then Spectrum still has high-speed internet options that could work for you. See a side-by-side comparison of AT&T and Spectrum internet.
The cheapest but best internet in St. Louis is T-Mobile Home Internet. It has no contracts, no installation costs, and no equipment fees, and it’s widely available in the St. Louis area. If Verizon Home Internet is available at your address, it may be even cheaper than T-Mobile Home Internet depending on how you set up your plan. Both providers offer discounts for bundling with specific mobile plans.
If you don't get a strong cell signal at your home, Spectrum offers more reliable cable plans starting around $30 per month for 100 Mbps speeds.
- “Digital divide hits St. Louis low-income neighborhoods the hardest, report shows,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Accessed 19 February, 2023.