Best internet providers in Apex, North Carolina
For most Apex residents, the choice for internet comes down to AT&T’s fiber service or Spectrum’s cable service. We rate AT&T’s fiber service higher overall, but if you’re looking for cheaper plans at lower speeds, Spectrum might work better for you. If you live in one of the very small pockets of Apex without access to either option, T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet isn’t as fast or reliable, but it will get you connected.
- 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 Apex, NC
Our top two picks for internet are AT&T and Spectrum. If you can’t get either of those choices, T-Mobile offers fixed wireless internet that should serve your area.
#1: AT&T internet
AT&T fiber is our top-ranked internet provider nationwide, and it covers almost all neighborhoods in Apex, aside from a few patches in the southern part of the city. As the only fiber provider with widespread coverage (for now), AT&T offers extremely fast upload and download speeds at reasonable prices without price hikes. Some longtime customers might still have AT&T DSL service, but new customers can no longer buy DSL from AT&T. For good reason, too—the fiber service is much better value and performance for the price.
Read our full AT&T internet review.
#2: Spectrum internet
If you live in one of the few areas without AT&T fiber, cable provider Spectrum more than likely has you covered. Spectrum offers service to 97% of Apex. It can’t match AT&T’s highest fiber speeds, but its 1 Gbps download speed should be more than enough for the vast majority of people. Spectrum also offers some lower-tier budget plans that could be attractive if you want to save money—just watch out for hefty second-year price hikes.
Read our full Spectrum internet review.
#3: T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
There are some extremely small areas to the south side of Apex that don’t have either AT&T or Spectrum access. T-Mobile fixed wireless covers those areas with speeds up to 182 Mbps. It’s not the fastest internet, and you could see speed variability based on weather and distance from a tower. That being said, T-Mobile offers some attractive discounts for people who bundle home internet with certain cell phone plans.
Read our full T-Mobile 5G Home Internet review.
All internet providers in Apex
Google Fiber is expanding into Apex, but most households won’t have access yet. If you can get it, Google Fiber is an excellent option with a high customer service reputation.
Outside of the top three providers and Google, your internet options in Apex are pretty limited. Verizon and US Cellular both offer fixed wireless plans similar to T-Mobile’s, but their coverage areas are much smaller, so T-Mobile is probably your best bet unless you already have cell service from another provider.
Satellite providers HughesNet and Viasat are available almost everywhere in the area. Starlink may also be available, but the waitlist can be long. Satellite internet is generally slower and more expensive than other internet types, so we don’t recommend signing up for any of these options unless you have nothing else available at your address.
Fastest internet providers in Apex
AT&T offers the fastest internet by far in Apex, with download and upload speeds reaching up to 5 Gbps (5,000 Mbps). Realistically, this is far more than most households need for even heavy gaming or streaming. The 1 Gbps plans from either AT&T or Spectrum are still extremely fast. Google Fiber will also be joining the mix with gig plans as it builds out fiber infrastructure in Apex.
How much speed do you need?
Cheapest internet providers in Apex
Spectrum has a budget 100 Mbps plan for around $30 per month, but prices will increase after the first year unless you negotiate your bill. If you use T-Mobile cell service and have a qualifying plan, you can get home internet speeds over 100 Mbps for only $25 per month and no price hikes.
For those who need faster speeds, AT&T offers the cheapest gig speeds in the area, and prices won’t increase over time.
Learn more about low-cost and free internet options.
Internet options in nearby cities
Spectrum is the most consistent internet provider across the state, and you can find it pretty much everywhere in nearby cities. AT&T has fairly consistent fiber coverage, but where AT&T doesn’t show up, you might see areas with Brightspeed or Frontier instead. Google Fiber is up-and-coming in the entire Triangle area, with planned expansion in multiple cities, including Apex. See what’s available outside of Apex.
What Apex residents are saying on Reddit
Internet providers are pretty consistent across Apex and nearby cities. In the Raleigh subreddit, most customers are very positive about AT&T fiber service (and Google Fiber, where they can get it). Spectrum has a spottier reputation overall, with some residents pointing out that service quality can vary heavily depending on how old the cable infrastructure is in your area. There’s also a fully dedicated Facebook page to Google Fiber in Apex, where residents share expansion news and personal experiences with construction.
Mentioned to a few neighbors the other night what I pay for my regular (200mbps) internet and they looked at me like I had three heads. Curious what other folks are paying for non-fiber (it’s unavailable to me) internet.
Also if anyone has a success story from calling up a company and getting their bill lowered, I’m all ears.
Google fiber, $70.
Moving here and don’t want crappy internet. Can someone help a brother out?
Spectrum is the waffle house of providers. They are almost always an option no matter what but experience can vary greatly based on location.
I am grateful for their coverage but wish they would make an effort to replace last mile coax with fiber where the coax loops clearly have persistent issues. I would be happy to pay 2x what TWC charged if they did more proactive upgrades on the last mile.
AT&T on the other hand is the gas station bodega of providers. Sometimes you get a gleaming Sheetz palace at 3am with full food service. If you are out in the middle of nowhere you get a Stop-n-Sip with day old tuna fish and egg sandwiches in a lukewarm cooler if you are lucky.
Looking to hear about your experience In the north Raleigh area, which of the two would be better? I see they are close in rates but which would suck less?
I work from home for the time being so a consistent and strong connection is important.
Thanks !
Southwest Raleigh here but I hate Spectrum with a passion they suck, customer service is a joke if anything goes wrong
Hi Raleigh Reddit,
How has the experience been with AT&T fiber internet? My neighborhood is now fiber friendly, but I still have Spectrum and I'm currious how AT&T fiber service and hardware compares to other providers? I currently own my cable modem and like not paying a equipment fee every month. How does AT&T's hardware compare? I read on AT&T's site I would have to have a seperate wifi antenna that cost extra every month, does anyone use their own wifi antenna/router?
Thanks in advance.
I've had it for years and the best thing about it is I never have to think about it. It just always works. That is crucial for me because I work from home and have for years. I also have their equipment and can get wi-fi inside and outside. I pay $60 month total. I think I payed $50 the first year. I will add that I'm a one-person household, so I can't speak to how it would be for a family with many devices.
Just wondering if anybody else is using any of the 5G home internet providers in the area and what they think about it.
I've got tmobile at the moment and when it first started I was getting some pretty nice speeds (almost up to 200Mbps down), but now it's slowed to a crawl for the past few months (~5mbps down!) and it doesn't have a reliable 5G signal anymore. The rep offered a replacement modem, but that didn't seem to help.
Wondering if I should give verzion home internet a try or just go back to getting gouged by spectrum.
Spectrum is our main but we added Verizon two years ago. I work at home FT and we have a ton of issues with Spectrum. It's out at least once a week and they claim it's because of old cabling, which is probably accurate but we rarely had an issue before Spectrum took over from Time Warner. My husband and i connect all of our wifi devices (including smart tvs and Roku) only to Verizon wifi and have never lost service. When we lose Spectrum, i disconnect my laptop's hardwire & connect to Verizon wifi, again no issues. Also when the power goes out, we still have internet. We use our generator to power our devices and that's been awesome. I'm not ready to totally give up a traditional connection yet, but we do actually like the Verizon service a lot. It's been reliable for us. For reference, we're west Raleigh near Cary and we rarely have any issues with Verizon wireless in our area.
Internet news and infrastructure in Apex, NC
Apex residents have excellent internet access overall, and it’s only improving over time. Over 75% of Apex has access to download speeds of 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps) or higher. (1)
While fiber options in Apex are mostly limited to AT&T, that won’t be the case for long. As of summer 2022, Google Fiber began construction in Apex (2), meaning that residents should have even more high-speed options soon.
Frequently asked internet questions in Apex
Google Fiber is available in Apex, but not widely. Construction began in summer 2022, so most households are still waiting for access. Check your address on Google’s website to sign up for alerts on Google Fiber availability in Apex. If you live in an area without Google Fiber, AT&T currently offers widespread fiber coverage in the area, and you won’t have to sign up for a contract if you want to switch providers later.
We’ve rated both AT&T fiber and Google Fiber very highly, and they both score over 4 stars across hundreds of customer reviews. AT&T offers higher max speeds up to 5 Gbps, but you almost definitely don’t need speeds that high. Google charges slightly less per month on its gig plans. Overall, though, both providers should offer solid fiber service. Compare both companies side by side.
Whether Spectrum or AT&T works better for you depends on your location and household needs. In general, AT&T’s fiber service will be faster and more reliable, and AT&T doesn’t raise prices after the first year like Spectrum does. However, there are some areas in Apex where AT&T doesn’t cover and Spectrum does, and Spectrum has more budget options available. See how the two compare.
If you have multiple people in your household who all want to stream videos, work from home, game, or do anything else online all at the same time, you’ll want to look for cable or fiber internet plans with speeds of 250 Mbps or more. In Apex, that means AT&T’s fiber service, Spectrum, or Google Fiber, once it’s more broadly available. All three have speeds that should more than meet your family’s needs.
- “FCC national broadband map,” Federal Communications Commission. Accessed 20 March 2023.
- “Google Fiber expanding in NC, too, spokesperson says,” WRAL Tech Wire. Accessed 22 March 2023.