Business Internet Costs
Many factors need to be considered when looking into the cost of business internet. Most providers will offer plans that only reflect the cost of internet itself while others will offer one price that covers additional fees and costs, such as installation or early termination.
In our review, we found the base price of business internet to range from $49.99 per month to $500 per month, depending on the type of service and plan. This range does not include any additional equipment or installation fees that may be included.
The Business Internet price ranges for the best picks we reviewed are as follows:
- AT&T: $75 to $325 per month
- Comcast: $69.99 to $349.99 per month
- Spectrum: $49.99 to $164.99 per month
- Verizon: $69.99 to $199.99 per month
- Viasat: $175 to $500 per month
- Optimum: $55 to $150 per month
AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and Spectrum’s prices reflect internet-only. Viasat’s price range, while reflective of its internet cost, comes with many features that offset its price point. These features include but are not limited to hardware leasing, multiple IP addresses and prioritized connections.
Business Internet Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Dedicated Internet | A private gateway connection for your business allows you to keep operations afloat without fear of digital congestion slowing you down. |
| Wireless Internet Backup | In the event of an internet or power outage, ISPs will have some form of wireless internet backup that can serve as a secondary connection. |
| Business-Exclusive Phone and TV Deals | Connect with your customers and employees by bundling the internet with phone and TV services. |
| Contract Buyouts | Receive credit from a future provider to pay off early termination fees from a previous provider. |
Dedicated Internet
If you’re running your business under a shared internet connection, there’s a chance that you may have experienced slow internet speeds in moments of high traffic or congestion. When using business internet, however, customers typically will have a dedicated internet option that delivers fast internet speeds through a private connection. Even in moments of high internet traffic, business-critical systems, such as point-of-sale software and data transfers, can continue running smoothly.
Verizon Internet Gateway for businesses offers 5G wireless connection with fast, symmetrical upload and download speeds. (Source: Verizon)
Internet Backup Options
Things happen. Internet outages, natural disasters and other unexpected events could cause business internet to go down momentarily. Business internet providers are aware of this and know that businesses could end up losing money if they lose connectivity. When reviewing our vendors, we found that each of them offered various types of internet backup options.
Whether it’s purchasing broadband internet as a secondary connection or using a backup router that offers hours of battery-powered connection, business internet providers typically will include this as part of their internet plans as well as 24/7 support and protection to keep you in the loop about your connection status until the primary connection comes back online.
Business-exclusive phone and TV deals
A lot of businesses nowadays don’t just rely on the internet to run their business. Calling via phone and video is just as relevant, whether a company is exclusively in-office or works off of a remote/hybrid work model. Most business internet providers are aware of this and may offer potential business customers great deals if they bundle internet with their phone or TV services.
Service providers like Optimum offer multiple bundle options that can help lower your annual expenses. Source: Optimum
In some cases, business customers may be able to save some money on this as well. More often than not, bundling business internet with other services offered by the internet provider will result in a discounted price for all services.
Contract Buyouts
When starting a business, you may decide that switching providers is the best move. Maybe you’ve already started a business and you’re wanting to take advantage of offers provided by another internet provider. Some business internet providers do offer the option of buying out a contract from a previous provider to close in on a contract with a business customer.
It’s not strictly a contract buyout, however. The provider is not purchasing the contract to then give the new contract to the new business customer. Rather, they provide a limited amount of “credit” to cover early termination fees and other costs associated with ending a contract early. Be wary that the new provider may require your existing contract to explicitly say “early termination fees” as proof of the cancellation.
Advantages of Business Internet
Compared to traditional residential internet, most business internet plans come with additional perks for business owners to help them either kick-start their careers or grow their company even further:
Priority connection just for your business: Most if not all business internet plans come with a priority connection data limit. When connection speeds slow down due to high traffic, your business can run uninterrupted with a private network dedicated specifically to your business. If you operate your business in multiple buildings, you may be able to get dedicated internet for each location as well.
24/7 business support: Customers purchasing business internet will have access to 24/7 support for business-specific inquiries. General questions and maintenance/outage support can be handled through a provider’s specified contact method.
Discounts from bundles: Providers like Verizon and Spectrum offer some major discounts when you bundle their business internet with additional services offered, such as TV or mobile. These plans are designed to enhance your business internet experience and make running your business much more effective. These add-ons include features like web conferencing and extended phone lines.
Choosing Business Internet
When choosing a business internet provider, here are some things to consider.
1. Your Business Type
Do you plan on starting your business as a sole proprietor? Do you want to open up a small shop in a rural area? Is your business model heavily reliant on digital marketing and web conferencing? Figuring out your business type could greatly determine the business internet plan you decide on for your business needs.
Some internet providers include additional features for specific business internet plans, while others offer them for an additional charge. Consider this when deciding what specific business internet needs you have for your business.
2. Location
After considering the pros and cons of being a small business owner and establishing your business brand, you’ll want to think about where to host your business. Most of the business internet providers we’ve listed offer relatively vast internet coverage. However, location is still something that should be considered when deciding what business internet plan to use. This is especially important if your team works off of a hybrid work model, where some employees may need to work from home in addition to working on-site. If you decide to make telecommuting a permanent arrangement for your business model, you’ll also need to consider if being a fully-remote team is an option.
3. Business Size
Do you plan on starting your own business as an aspiring entrepreneur or do you have a team already established? Do you have an idea of how many people you plan on hiring or have you closed in on your initial round of employees? If your business size is relatively small, you may be able to utilize a lower-tier business internet plan. When you need to upgrade or switch, most business internet providers will be more than happy to help you transition as your business scales.
Methodology
At Business News Daily, our team of small business tech experts research and tested business internet service providers to find the best for your business. We compared some of the leading solutions across more than 25 key metrics. We considered 24 internet service providers and closely reviewed and tested 11 of them before selecting our six best picks above.
Below are the factors we considered when determining our best picks. Each is weighted according to how much the criteria typically influences business owners’ buying decisions.
- Pricing (30%): We considered the monthly cost of business internet services, as well as installation fees, equipment fees and the number of pricing plans available. We also considered whether bundle services with business phone services were available.
- Speed and Uptime (25%): We also considered upload and download speeds, putting particular emphasis on symmetrical internet services. We also reviewed network uptime statistics to determine which internet service providers were the most reliable.
- Types of Plans (20%): We reviewed the types of internet services available as well, placing particular emphasis on the providers that offered the most flexible options. We looked for services with shared, wireless, and dedicated internet options.
- Customer Support (15%): We examined the ease with which customers can contact the team in need of help. We reviewed customer feedback to determine how well the customer service team meets the needs of existing customers.
- Expert Insight (10%): Our product reviews are conducted by tech experts who are deeply familiar with business internet. Given their institutional knowledge of different platforms and firsthand experiences using these programs, we take their judgment into account when determining our best picks.
In addition to scoring each business internet service we reviewed based on this criteria, we also determined the best use case scenarios for each. No two businesses are exactly alike, so we put ourselves in the shoes of different types of small business owners and identify the best business internet service for a variety of needs.
To learn more about how we review and test tech products and services for small businesses, read about our editorial process here.
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