What is the best internet provider in Sarasota?
CNET recommends Xfinity as the best internet service provider for most Sarasota households. Xfinity offers wide coverage and low monthly costs for home internet. It will likely be an option for your address. Other providers, such as Frontier Fiber and T-Mobile Home Internet, also serve Sarasota and are worth considering for broadband.
Shopping for affordability or the fastest speeds Sarasota has to offer? Xfinity Connect is the cheapest plan in Florida’s Cultural Coast, costing $20 monthly for download speeds up to 75 megabits per second. Frontier Fiber offers the speediest service: 5,000Mbps of symmetrical speeds for $155 per month.
CNET considers speeds, pricing, customer service and overall value to recommend the best internet service in Sarasota across several categories. Our evaluation includes referencing a proprietary database built over years of reviewing internet services. We validate that against provider information by spot-checking local addresses for service availability. We also do a close read of providers’ terms and conditions and, when needed, will call ISPs to verify the details.
Despite our efforts to find the most recent and accurate information, our process has some limitations you should know about. Pricing and speed data are variable: certain addresses may qualify for different service tiers, and monthly costs may vary, even within a city. The best way to identify your particular options is to plug your address into a provider’s website.
Also, the prices, speed and other information listed above and in the provider cards below may differ from what we found in our research. The cards display the full range of a provider’s pricing and speed across the US, according to our database of plan information provided directly by ISPs. At the same time, the text is specific to what’s available in Sarasota. The prices referenced within this article’s text come from our research and include applicable discounts for setting up automatic payments each month — a standard industry offering. Discounts and promotions might also be available for signing a term contract or bundling multiple services.
To learn more about how we review internet providers, visit our full methodology page.
Best internet in Sarasota, Florida, in 2024
75 – 2,000 Mbps
$20 – $120 per month
Our take – Over 98% of Sarasota addresses are serviceable for Xfinity, according to recent FCC data, but wide coverage isn’t Xfinity’s only perk. This cable ISP offers some of the cheapest prices in the area: $20 for 75Mbps or $35 for 200Mbps. Just watch out for a 1.2TB data cap and a one- to two-year contract.
75 – 2,000 Mbps
$20 – $120 per month
500 – 5,000 Mbps
$50 – $155 per month
Our take – If Frontier Fiber is available at your location, move this provider to the top of your list. Frontier offers symmetrical speeds up to 5 gigabits and prices as low as $45 per month, but it serves only about 59% of Sarasota. Frontier also comes with no data caps, contracts or monthly equipment fees.
500 – 5,000 Mbps
$50 – $155 per month
Fixed wireless
72 – 245 Mbps
$60 per month
Our take – T-Mobile Home Internet costs $60 per month — or $40 for eligible mobile users — and offers download speeds up to 245Mbps. With unlimited data and no commitment necessary, T-Mobile Home Internet might be the perfect option for smaller households or those who don’t need too much speed.
Fixed wireless
72 – 245 Mbps
$60 per month
Sarasota internet providers compared
| Provider | Internet technology | Monthly price range | Speed range | Monthly equipment costs | Data cap | Contract | CNET review score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Stream Fiber | Fiber | $85-$125 | 200-1,000Mbps | None | None | 2 years | N/A |
| Frontier Communications | DSL, Fiber | $45-$155 | 500-5,000Mbps | None | None | None | 6.3 |
| Rapid Systems | Fixed wireless | $79-$99 | 10-25Mbps | Varies | None | None | N/A |
| T-Mobile Home Internet | Fixed wireless | $60 ($40 for eligible Go5G Plus and Magenta Max mobile customers) | 72-245Mbps | None | None | None | 7.4 |
| Verizon 5G Home Internet | Fixed wireless | $50-$70 ($35-$45 with qualifying Verizon 5G mobile plans) | 50-1,000Mbps | None | None | None | 7.2 |
| Xfinity | Cable | $20-$85 | 200-1,200Mbps | $15 gateway rental (optional) | 1.2TB | 1-2 years on some plans | 7 |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
What’s the cheapest internet plan in Sarasota?
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
How to find internet deals and promotions in Sarasota
The best internet deals and top promotions in Sarasota depend on what discounts are available during that period. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers.
Sarasota internet providers, such as Xfinity, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, however, such as Frontier Communications 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.
Photo by Thomas Winz/Getty Images
Fastest internet plans in Sarasota
| Provider | Starting monthly price | Max download speed | Max upload speed | Data cap | Connection type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Fiber 5 Gig | $155 | 5,000Mbps | 5,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
| Frontier Fiber 2 Gig | $100 | 2,000Mbps | 2,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
| Xfinity Gigabit Extra | $85 | 1,200Mbps | 35Mbps | 1.2TB | Cable |
| Blue Stream 1 Gig | $125 | 1,000Mbps | 1,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
| Frontier Fiber 1 Gig | $60 | 1,000Mbps | 1,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
| Verizon 5G Home Plus | $70 ($45 with eligible mobile plan) | 1,000Mbps | 75Mbps | None | Fixed wireless |
| Xfinity Gigabit | $60 | 1,000Mbps | 20Mbps | 1.2TB | 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 FCC. 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, 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 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 Sarasota
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. So 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.
But 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:
- Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
- Do customers get decent value for what they’re paying?
- Are customers happy with their service?
While the answers to those questions are often layered and complex, the providers who 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, though 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.
Internet providers in Sarasota FAQs
What is the best internet service provider in Sarasota?
Xfinity’s wide availability and cheap introductory pricing make it Sarasota’s best internet provider for most households.
Is fiber internet available in Sarasota?
Sarasota’s largest fiber provider is Frontier Fiber, but Xfinity and Blue Stream Fiber may also provide fiber connectivity to select households.
What is the cheapest internet provider in Sarasota?
Xfinity offers the cheapest internet service in Sarasota, costing $20 per month for speeds up to 75Mbps.
Which internet provider in Sarasota offers the fastest plan?
The fastest speed available in Sarasota is 5 gigabits — or 5,000Mbps — which Frontier Fiber offers for $155 monthly.
Tyler Fields is your internet guru, delving into the latest trends, developments, and issues shaping the online world. With a focus on internet culture, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, Tyler keeps readers informed about the dynamic landscape of the internet and its impact on our digital lives.
