CNET recommends Xfinity as the best internet service provider for most Sarasota households. Xfinity offers wide coverage in the area, so you’ll likely be serviceable for its speeds up to 1.2 gigabits and low monthly costs for home internet. Other providers, such as Frontier Fiber and T-Mobile Home Internet, also serve Sarasota and are worth considering for broadband. But ultimately, it’ll come down to what’s available at your address. 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 150 megabits per second. Frontier Fiber offers the speediest service: 5,000Mbps of symmetrical speeds for $155 per month.
Our methodology 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. Our take – As one of the largest providers in Sarasota, Xfinity will likely be an option for home internet wherever you’re located in this coastal city. Xfinity is also named as one of CNET’s best cable internet providers for 2024, so you can count on this ISP’s reliability. Availability Over 98% of Sarasota addresses are covered by Xfinity, according to recent FCC data. Select homes may also be serviceable for Xfinity’s fiber network, but availability is scarce. Plans and pricing This cable ISP offers some of the cheapest prices in the area: $20 for 75Mbps or $35 for 300Mbps. Xfinity also offers faster speeds, including 500Mbps, 800Mbps, 1,000Mbps and 1,200Mbps. Fees and service details Equipment is included on all tiers except the cheapest one, but be sure to watch out for a 1.2TB data cap and a one- to two-year contract on some plans. Our take – If Frontier Fiber is available at your location, move this provider to the top of your list. This ISP comes with fast connectivity and flat-rate pricing — meaning your monthly bill won’t increase after the first or second year. Availability Unfortunately, Frontier covers only 60% of Sarasota residents, and that percentage includes Frontier’s fiber and DSL services. You’ll have to input your address into Frontier’s website to see if you’re eligible for its speedy fiber network, but you should consider other providers if you’re only serviceable for DSL. Plans and pricing Frontier Fiber offers speeds up to 5 gigabits and prices as low as $45 per month. All plans come with matching download and upload speeds, a perk only fiber ISPs can provide. Fees and service details There are no data caps, contracts or monthly equipment fees under Frontier Fiber. Our take – T-Mobile Home Internet might be the perfect option for smaller households or those who don’t need too much speed. Or if you’re an eligible Go5G Plus or Magenta Max mobile customer, this ISP’s discount might be especially enticing Availability Over 62% of Sarasota households are serviceable for residential broadband under T-Mobile. Plans and pricing This fixed wireless provider costs $60 per month — or $40 for select mobile users — and offers download speeds up to 245Mbps. Fees and service details Unlimited data and equipment are included in the monthly cost and there are no commitments necessary. Source: CNET analysis of provider data. The average cost for residential broadband in Sarasota is $50 per month. While that number may seem high, there are a few providers in the area that offer internet for less than that. Xfinity is Sarasota’s cheapest ISP, offering a 150-megabit-per-second plan for only $20 per month. Frontier Fiber and Blue Stream Fiber also offer service for less than the average price, but Frontier’s plan offers better cost-per-Mbps compared with Blue Stream. Source: CNET analysis of provider data. 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 and Blue Stream Fiber, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, however, such as Frontier Fiber 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 According to Speedtest by Ookla, Sarasota’s median download speed is 235Mbps, with an upload speed of 40Mbps. Xfinity and Frontier Fiber compete for speed in this Florida city, both reaching download speeds close to 210Mbps. But if you’re looking for faster connection in Sarasota, Frontier Fiber will be your best bet. This ISP offers symmetrical speeds up to 5 gigabits — or 5,000Mbps — for $155 per month. Source: CNET analysis of provider data. 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. 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 use 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: While the answers to those questions are often layered and complex, the providers that 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 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.
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. This cable giant also offers speeds up to 1.2 gigabits and prices as low as $20 per month.
Is fiber internet available in Sarasota? Fiber internet is available to 60% of Sarasota homes, with providers like Frontier Fiber, Xfinity and Blue Stream Fiber offering the largest fiber networks in the area.
What is the cheapest internet provider in Sarasota? Xfinity offers the cheapest internet service in Sarasota, costing $20 per month for speeds up to 150Mbps.
Which internet provider in Sarasota offers the fastest plan? Frontier Fiber, Sarasota’s fastest provider, offers multi-gigabit speeds up to 2 and 5 gigabits for $100 and $155, respectively.