Best Prepaid Home Internet Plans for July 2025
What is the best prepaid home internet plan?
When it comes to prepaid internet service, your options are pretty limited. NOW Internet is CNET's pick as the best-prepaid internet plan overall.
NOW Internet offers two prepaid plans with maximum download speeds of 100 or 200 Mbps per second. The service comes with no credit checks, no contract requirements" target="_blank , free equipment, unlimited data" target="_self and straightforward, pay-as-you-go pricing. You'll find additional details about the service and other potential prepaid internet options below.
More prepaid internet options would certainly be ideal. Since the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program" target="_self , many Americans have struggled to afford home internet" target="_self . There are a few ACP alternatives" target="_self for cheap internet , but prepaid service is not likely to be one of them. Here's how the prepaid services compare.
Best prepaid internet plans
Best prepaid home internet providers compared
Please note that the plans below show each provider's cheapest available tier. The max speed is the top advertised speed for that given plan, but it might not be available in your area. Overall, the best selection for you -- and the most cost-effective plan -- might be a different tier that provides a faster speed at a higher price but a better value. To fully understand more about this value-based approach, check out CNET's guide to examining the cost per Mbps" target="_blank .
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Factors to consider when choosing a prepaid home internet plan
Prepaid home internet service is ideal for getting a quick and easy connection, but it isn't for everyone. Here are some things you'll want to keep in mind when shopping for prepaid internet service.
Availability
Most major ISPs don't offer a separate prepaid internet plan. So, for example, if AT&T" target="_self and Spectrum" target="_self are the primary ISPs in your area, you won't have the option of a prepaid home internet plan.
Costs
Consider the upfront and long-term cost of prepaid versus standard service to determine which is the better value. You could possibly get a cheaper plan from an ISP with no upfront costs.
Speeds
Will 100 to 200Mbps be enough speed for your needs? Unless you're already a Verizon Fios prepaid customer, that's the fastest you'll get from a prepaid home internet service. For a few dollars more per month, it's possible to get faster speeds than you'd get from a prepaid plan.
Payment options
With prepaid internet, your service ends abruptly when the prepaid period is over. Consider enrolling in auto-renew payments -- it's available from both Cox and NOW -- to avoid any unexpected service disruptions.
How we chose the best prepaid internet plans
Selecting the best prepaid internet plans began the same way we at CNET evaluate all of the best internet providers: by seeing what's available. In the case of the best prepaid home internet, the choices are much more limited than, say, the best fiber internet providers or even the best rural ISPs .
Cox and NOW Internet are the only two national internet providers to offer separate prepaid internet plans. Verizon Fios no longer offers its prepaid service to new customers and CenturyLink" target="_self has a prepay option, but it's just a different way to pay for standard service. AT&T, Kinetic" target="_self , Mediacom" target="_self , Spectrum and others do not offer a standalone prepaid plan.
After narrowing down the options, we considered speeds, pricing and service terms such as fees, data caps and contracts, along with customer satisfaction reports to determine the overall value of each prepaid internet plan.
That's a similar approach to how we review and evaluate all major internet providers across the US, even though the category of prepaid internet is much more limited. See our guide to how CNET reviews internet providers to learn more.
The bottom line on prepaid internet
Prepaid internet is separate from low-income internet plans in that there are no qualifications such as credit checks or deposits to sign up. The lack of high speeds and overall value are often a drawback to prepaid internet, but you may consider slower speeds a fair trade for simple, cheap internet service. NOW Internet service is our pick for the best prepaid internet, but Cox's StraightUp Internet may suit your needs as well if NOW Internet is unavailable.
