There's no purer form of rage than what stems from watching your streaming content buffer ad infinitum. Whether it's upload speeds, download speeds, or latency that's causing the stop-and-go, there's a better life out there: You just need a good internet service provider recommendation.
The FCC does require internet service providers to provide some level of transparency about their broadband plans. But switching internet typically still involves tedious research — unless you're simply handed some cold, hard data on the fastest ISPs for streaming. Mashable's parent company, Ziff Davis, happens to have a service that literally gives out awards for ISPs with the fastest internet speeds: meet Ookla. Between January and June of 2025, Ookla conducted millions of consumer-initiated speed connection tests (officially called the Speedtest) of the top internet service providers (some fiber, some hybrid fiber-coaxial).
Those results are accompanied by a handful of user experience metrics to form one big Speedtest Connectivity Report, and we got the inside scoop. Now, we're passing it along to you. Let's get you up to speed on which internet service providers are the best for streaming in 2025.
AT&T Fiber
Fastest ISP
- Coverage: 25 states
- Ookla 5-star customer rating: 3.7
- Ookla Consumer Sentiment Score: 3.70 (first place)
- Ookla Fixed Network consistency: 95.4% (tie for first place)
- Ookla Game Score : 92.04 (third place)
- Ookla Speed Score: 78.33 (first place)
- Ookla Video Streaming Score: 78.74 (third place)
- Price: Fiber plans starting at $55/month (300 Mbps)
- Type: Fiber optic
In Ookla's latest speed test, AT&T Fiber internet was the clear winner in virtually all categories. While Verizon and Cox narrowly edged out AT&T in the video streaming category, AT&T Fiber is still the fastest ISP for 2025, with strong performance and reliability across the country.
AT&T scored first in Ookla’s Speed Score while also scoring a win in Consumer Sentiment. AT&T Fiber was also consistently the fastest ISP in 14 of the regions where it was tested. The next closest was XFINITIY with eight regions. In individual cities, AT&T was also the fastest ISP in more cities than any other service Ookla tested.
To top it off, AT&T Fiber was also the fastest ISP in 2024, suggesting it's a reliable choice.
According to Ookla, AT&T Fiber achieved a Speed Score of 78.33, with top download speeds of 894.73 Mbps and top upload speeds of 823.55 Mbps.
- Median download speeds: 363.54 Mbps
- Median upload speeds: 296.52 Mbps
Verizon
Best for streaming
- Coverage: 25 states
- Ookla 5-star customer rating: 3.54
- Ookla Consumer Sentiment Score: 3.54 (third place)
- Ookla Fixed Network consistency: 92.4% (sixth place)
- Ookla Game Score : 93.55 (close second place)
- Ookla Speed Score: 75.01 (third place)
- Ookla Video Streaming Score: 80.86 (first place)
- Price: Fiber plans starting at $49.99/month (300 Mbps)
- Type: Fiber optic, 5G, LTE
The popular mobile network Verizon did rather well in Ookla’s testing of ISPs as well, and it may be a smart option if you're already in the Verizon network. Like T-Mobile, it also has bundle options for customers who sign up for multiple services, letting you get free streaming services or even a Nintendo Switch. Verizon internet scored third overall in fixed speeds, and like Cox, Verizon bounced around the various categories measured by Ookla. For instance, Verizon is ranked last in Consistency, though all of the tested networks received a passing grade in that category.
Ookla says Verizon also has the best video streaming experience of any ISP they tested. Big Red also scored well on Gaming (second) and Customer Sentiment (third). The Consistency ratings are also neck-and-neck, so Verizon doesn’t get dinged too terribly for being at the bottom of that list.
We should also note that Verizon offers multiple types of internet service, including both fiber optic and wireless. The brand's Fios Home Internet uses a fiber optic network, and it's the best, most reliable option in our experience. Unfortunately, Fios is only available in the Northeast, though Verizon also offers 5G and LTE home internet plans. So, if you do have access to Verizon Fios Home Internet, that's your best bet for speed.
Based on more than 6.2 million customer speed tests, Verizon received a Speed Score of 75.01.
- Median download speeds: 287.28 Mbps
- Median upload speeds: 182.57 Mbps
Frontier Fiber
Best ISP for gaming
- Coverage: 27 states
- Ookla 5-star customer rating: 3.64
- Ookla Consumer Sentiment Score: 3.64 (second place)
- Ookla Fixed Network consistency: 95.9% (first place)
- Ookla Game Score : 93.84 (first place)
- Ookla Speed Score: 78.30 (second place)
- Ookla Video Streaming Score: N/A
- Price: Fiber plans starting at $54.99/month (500 Mbps)
- Type: Fiber optic
Frontier Fiber did surprisingly well against the giants of the ISP space. The smaller company scored a second place victory in Ookla’s fixed speed rankings, and it managed similar scores in nearly all other rankings. (It was the winner as the best ISP for gamers.) There really isn’t much to complain about here. Even the brand’s coverage map is fairly large, covering 27 states along both coasts.
Frontier Fiber was consistent across all of the categories from Ookla. On top of its second place speed rating, it also scored first or second in Consistency, Gaming, and Consumer Sentiment. The lone outlier is Video Experience, where Frontier Fiber was unranked due to lack of data.
Frontier Fiber received a Speed Score of 78.3, and barely trailed AT&T Fiber in overall speeds. For reference, the next closest ISP, Verizon, had median download speeds of 287.28, a significant difference.
- Median download speeds: 359.06 Mbps
- Median upload speeds: 296.08 Mbps
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