Reviews Report

• Although Viasat scores 3.25 out of 5 in our methodology, the perks of HughesNet cannot be ignored, which is why HughesNet is the best satellite internet provider.
• Satellite internet is slower and more expensive than cable internet on average.
• Customers looking for the highest speed satellite internet should choose Viasat.

Even with satellite internet being phased out due to its higher pricing and slower speeds, there are still advantages to installing a satellite internet provider dish outside of your home. When comparing the best satellite internet providers, we compared download speeds, data caps and more to choose the best satellite-based internet providers.

There may only be two major satellite internet providers in the U.S., but internet users should still pay close attention to their options. Based on rural availability, reliability, price, speed and other relevant factors, one provider may be a better option than the other. We dove into the data to see which satellite provider is the best home internet for you if cable, DSL, or fiber-optic are not available in your area.

The 2 Best Satellite Internet Providers of 2021

• HughesNet: Best Overall
• Viasat: Best for High Speeds

Compare the Best Satellite Internet

How to Choose the Best Satellite Internet for Your Home

Determine how much speed you need

At 100 Mbps for its highest plan, Viasat currently offers the fastest satellite internet on the market. But do you really need that much speed? On the one hand,  100 Mbps for $200 per month is cheaper per Mbps than 25 Mbps at $49.99 from HughesNet. However, you can accomplish most streaming and browsing with slower speeds. Plus, maximum speeds of 100 Mbps may not be available everywhere.  

One of the biggest misconceptions in buying satellite internet is that having more Mbps leads to more usability. If you’re only using it for online shopping and social media browsing, you don’t need a lot of Mbps, no matter what the sales agent tells you. To help you gauge what you can do with different speed thresholds, check our table of estimated usage.

*Activity estimates assume 4-8 connected devices

Figure out how much data you use

Data is measured in gigabytes (GB) and is used whenever you send something, receive something, download from, or upload to the internet. Satellite internet plans work similarly to your phone plan: Your data is your allotted internet usage. If you go over your data limit, you won’t be totally cut off from the internet, you’ll just be restricted to slower speeds (typically 1–3 Mbps) until the start of your next billing cycle. This will allow some web browsing, but no video streaming or file downloading — and that web browsing will be slow enough you may resort to the local paper for news and sudoku.

To give you some perspective, here is what HughesNet says you can do with 1 GB of data:

• 2 hours of video streaming
• Upload 300
• Stream 200 songs
• Load 1,024 web pages
• Send or receive 2000 emails

If you stream video at all, you’re more likely to struggle with these data caps. Streaming uses up a huge chunk of data. In fact, Netflix estimates you’ll need 1GB of data per hour to stream SD video. That’s 66 GB to binge all five seasons of Orange is the New Black — more than the top HughesNet plan of 50 GB/month 

We suggest being mindful of your internet habits and see what activities you lean more toward – if you’re a heavy video streamer, you might want to invest in a heavier data allowance per month. HughesNet and Viasat provide you with ways to check how you’re doing on data within a given month.

Satellite Internet FAQ

Our Other Internet Reviews

Satellite internet companies not meeting your needs? Check our other reviews of internet types:

• The Best Internet Service Providers
• The Best Cable Internet
• The Best DSL Internet
• The Best Cheap Internet
• The Best Business Internet

Methodology

We evaluated satellite internet service providers based on customer satisfaction, data caps, download speed, plans, and customer support to determine Reviews.com scores and create our best internet service provider reviews. To compare internet service providers with other brands across the board, we calculate each Reviews.com score based on the following:

• Customer Satisfaction: Reviews.com used J.D. Power’s 2020 Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study to calculate an average rating of internet providers across all applicable regions.
• Top Download Speeds: We awarded higher scores to internet providers with higher download speeds.
• Number of Plans: Internet providers with more plan options to choose from scored higher in our methodology.
• Data Caps: No one wants to be left without internet for the rest of the month, so we awarded internet providers with higher scores if they had high or no data caps. 
• Customer Support: We reviewed and compared the number of channels that customers could reach each provider’s customer support representatives. The more channels of contact available, the higher the score.

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