Best Internet Providers in Rochester, Minnesota

What is the best ISP in Rochester, MN?

For most households in Rochester, Metronet is the best internet service provider. The fiber optic provider offers fast, symmetrical upload and download speeds at decent prices – at least for the first year. After that, prices rose significantly for three to four years in a row. Metronet also includes hidden fees that you don’t usually see with ISPs.

Spectrum has the widest coverage in Rochester. Its cable internet plans are available to 92% of Rochester homes and are generally a pretty good deal. Prices also increase significantly with Spectrum, but this doesn’t kick in until the third year for most plans.

If you don’t want to deal with price increases, wireless is a good alternative—especially for smaller households that don’t need a ton of bandwidth. T-Mobile Home Internet is our favorite option in the area. It only has one $60 per month plan, but you can only pay $40 when you connect to a cell phone plan.

The best internet in Rochester, MN

Rochester, Minnesota Internet Providers Compared

Supplier	Internet technologies	Monthly price range	Speed ​​range	Monthly equipment costs	Data Limitation	A contract	CNET review result
CenturyLink Read the full review	DSL	$55	Up to 100Mbps	$15 (optional)	None	None	6.7
Metronet Read the full review	Fibers	$30-$50	100-1000 Mbps	None	None	None	6.9
Spectrum Read the full review	Cable	$40-$60	300-1000 Mbps	$7 (optional)	None	None	7.2
Starlink Read the full review	Satellite	$120	25-220Mbps	$599 in advance	None	None	6.5
T-Mobile Home Internet Read the full review	Fixed wireless	$60 ($40-$50 with mobile plans)	72-245Mbps	None	None	None	7.4
Verizon 5G Home Internet Read the full review	Fixed wireless	$50-$70 ($35-$45 for eligible Verizon Wireless customers)	100-300Mbps	None	None	None	7.2

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Source: CNET analysis of vendor data.

What is the cheapest internet plan in Rochester?

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Source: CNET analysis of vendor data.

How to Find Internet Deals and Promotions in Rochester

The best internet deals and top promotions in Rochester depend on what discounts are available at any given time. Most deals are short-lived, but we’re often on the lookout for the latest deals.

First steps

How many members of your household use the Internet?

The next one

Rochester Internet providers such as Metronet, T-Mobile Home Internet and Verizon 5G Home Internet may offer lower introductory rates or streaming add-ons for a limited time. However, others, including Spectrum, have the same standard prices throughout the year.

For a more extensive list of promotions, see our guide to the best internet deals.

Fastest internet plans in Rochester

Supplier	Starting price	Maximum download speed	Maximum upload speed	Data Limitation	Connection type
Metronet 1 Gb Read the full review	$50	1000 Mbps	1000 Mbps	None	Fibers
Spectrum Internet Gig Read the full review	$60	1000 Mbps	35Mbps	None	Cable

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Source: CNET analysis of vendor data.

What is 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 include video conferencing, streaming video, or gaming, you’ll have a better experience with a more stable connection. Here’s an overview of recommended minimum download speeds for different apps, according to the FCC. Note that these are guidelines only — and that Internet speed, service, and performance vary by connection type, provider, and address.

For more information, see our guide to how much internet speed do you really need?.

• 0 to 5 Mbps lets you handle the basics – surfing the web, sending and receiving email, streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40 Mbps gives you higher quality video streaming and video conferencing.
• 40 to 100 Mbps should provide a single user with enough bandwidth to meet the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming.
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one or two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities such as video conferencing, streaming and online gaming.
• 500 to 1000 Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities simultaneously.

How CNET chose the best ISPs in Rochester

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest ones smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it is not practical to personally test every ISP in a city. So what is our approach? We start by researching pricing, availability, and speed information, drawing on our own historical data from ISPs, provider sites, and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission on FCC.gov.

But it doesn’t end there. We go to the FCC website to check our data and make sure we’re looking at every ISP that provides service in an area. We also enter local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look at sources including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power to gauge how satisfied customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent change; all information provided is accurate at the time of publication.

Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:

1. Does the provider offer relatively fast internet access?
2. Are customers getting decent value for what they pay?
3. Are customers satisfied with their service?

While the answers to these questions are often multi-layered and complex, the vendors that come closest to saying yes to all three are the ones we recommend. When choosing the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, although we also take into account things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively easy. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and 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.

ISPs in Rochester Frequently Asked Questions