Best Internet Providers in Boulder, Colorado - CNET
I grew up just north of Boulder, Colorado, so I’m biased, but I believe it to be one of the country’s most unique, beautiful cities. Some might know it as the home of the Colorado Buffaloes college football team, but it can also brag about the speed of its internet connections relative to the rest of the state.
If you live in Boulder (or plan to move there), you have a handful of options, but the two most widely available internet service providers are Xfinity and CenturyLink. CNET’s pick for the best overall internet service provider in Boulder is Xfinity due to its extensive coverage across the city and wide selection of plans. Other options include CenturyLink, which is also widely available but offers only slower DSL plans, fiber plans from Quantum Fiber and 5G home internet offerings from T-Mobile (and, to a lesser degree, Verizon).
<div data-id="listicle-16ed8de3-c916-4b33-8b00-3a026cb20510" data-cy="shortcodeListicle" data-location="LIST" data-position="1" content="LIST ITEM" superlative="" page-position="" linktext="" linkurl="" like="" dislike="" image-carousel="[]" can-collapse="false" collapse-on-page-load="false" can-truncate="false" truncate-on-page-load="false" offer="" techobjectinfo="" overridecredit="" overridecaption="
” imagegroup=”{"imageData":{},"size":"","float":"","lightbox":false,"imageDoNotCrop":false,"imageDoNotResize":false,"imageWatermark":false,"imageParallax":"","imageCrop":"","imageEnlarge":false}” usepricing=”true” ng-block=”{"id":"cpgxgw3gjop4hau","type":"listicle"}” edition=”us” data-key=”cnetlisticle__16ed8de3-c916-4b33-8b00-3a026cb20510″ position=”1″ contenttype=”Best List – Precap” filtershortcodetypes=”” totalfilteritems=”0″ pagelayout=”FAQ Markup + BL Precap” showdetails=”true” tocheadlineitem=”[object Object]” class=”c-shortcodeCollapsableFAQ g-border-thin-light-top g-inner-spacing-bottom-medium g-inner-spacing-left-large g-inner-spacing-right-large g-inner-spacing-top-medium g-outer-spacing-bottom-large g-border-thin-light-bottom g-border-thin-light-right g-border-thin-light-left”>
Our methodology
CNET considers speeds, pricing, customer service and overall value to recommend the best internet service in Boulder 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 Boulder. 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. Other discounts and promotions might also be available for things like signing a term contract or bundling with multiple services.
To learn more about how we review internet providers, visit our full methodology page.
Best internet in Boulder in 2023
Boulder residents can expect median download speeds of approximately 236 megabits per second, according to Ookla Speedtest data — considerably faster than Colorado‘s statewide median (180Mbps) and the national median (210Mbps). Not too shabby.
<div content="LIST ITEM" superlative="Best internet provider in Boulder" linktext="Read our Xfinity Internet review" linkurl="https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/xfinity-internet-review/" like="" dislike="" offer="{"id":"0fb8868e-93e4-4bcb-af49-50ba635a602b","label":"Xfinity Internet","slug":"xfinity-internet","edition":["us"],"imageId":"","imgUrl":"","imageHeight":0,"imageWidth":0,"typeLabel":"Product","objectType":"content_product","icon":""}" techobjectinfo="{"uuid":"0fb8868e-93e4-4bcb-af49-50ba635a602b","name":"Xfinity Internet","slug":"xfinity-internet","productType":"PRODUCT","updateType":"PRISM","mod":1695844732155,"displayDate":"Wed Sep 27 2023 15:58:52 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)"}" overridecredit="" overridecaption="
” imagegroup=”{"uuid":"b91747df-9390-40c9-aeea-c7773a02442b","alt":"xfinity-cnetbb-logo-c","caption":"
","credits":null,"imageData":{"id":"b91747df-9390-40c9-aeea-c7773a02442b","filename":"xfinity-cnetbb-logo-c.jpg","path":"https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/a3d97a64536ea74a0149bd255214f6a815b35b17/hub/2023/09/14/b91747df-9390-40c9-aeea-c7773a02442b/xfinity-cnetbb-logo-c.jpg?auto=webp&height=500","dateCreated":{"date":"2023-09-14 19:13:27.000000","timezone":"UTC","timezone_type":3},"primeColor":null,"hasWarning":false},"size":"","float":"","lightbox":false,"imageUrl":"https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/a3d97a64536ea74a0149bd255214f6a815b35b17/hub/2023/09/14/b91747df-9390-40c9-aeea-c7773a02442b/xfinity-cnetbb-logo-c.jpg?auto=webp&height=500","imageCaption":"
","imageCredit":null,"imageAltText":"xfinity-cnetbb-logo-c","imageFilename":"xfinity-cnetbb-logo-c.jpg","imageWidth":1920,"imageHeight":1080,"imageDoNotCrop":false,"imageDoNotResize":false,"imageWatermark":false,"imageDateCreated":"2023-09-14","imageParallax":"","imageCrop":"","imageEnlarge":false}” precap-image-group=”{"uuid":"1a550224-4e71-422b-8401-f4ce2e7d6ac5","alt":"xfinity-cnetbb-logo-w.png","caption":"
","credits":null,"imageData":{"id":"1a550224-4e71-422b-8401-f4ce2e7d6ac5","filename":"xfinity-cnetbb-logo-w.png","path":"https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/fb4edec1176fc02236e3ed01c6d83281c21a90de/hub/2023/09/18/1a550224-4e71-422b-8401-f4ce2e7d6ac5/xfinity-cnetbb-logo-w.png?auto=webp&format=pjpg&height=500","dateCreated":{"date":"2023-09-18 22:09:51.000000","timezone":"UTC","timezone_type":3},"primeColor":null,"hasWarning":false},"size":"","float":"","lightbox":false,"imageUrl":"https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/fb4edec1176fc02236e3ed01c6d83281c21a90de/hub/2023/09/18/1a550224-4e71-422b-8401-f4ce2e7d6ac5/xfinity-cnetbb-logo-w.png?auto=webp&format=pjpg&height=500","imageCaption":"
","imageCredit":null,"imageAltText":"xfinity-cnetbb-logo-w.png","imageFilename":"xfinity-cnetbb-logo-w.png","imageWidth":176,"imageHeight":64,"imageDoNotCrop":false,"imageDoNotResize":false,"imageWatermark":false,"imageDateCreated":"2023-09-18","imageParallax":"","imageCrop":"","imageEnlarge":false}” usepricing=”true” ng-block=”{"id":"5sob170s4mgjyqo","type":"broadband-listicle"}” edition=”us” data-key=”cnetlisticle__14874ed9-6014-4156-a432-c5592c7a1b9d” position=”2″ contenttype=”Best List – Precap” filtershortcodetypes=”” totalfilteritems=”0″ pagelayout=”FAQ Markup + BL Precap” showdetails=”true” tocheadlineitem=”[object Object]” class=”c-broadbandListicle g-outer-spacing-bottom-large”>
Xfinity
Best internet provider in Boulder
Product details
Xfinity is a reliable cable internet provider offering fast download speeds and extensive service across most of the city. Its cable broadband generally scores above-average marks in customer satisfaction surveys, including the most recent American Customer Satisfaction Index report, and finished above average in three of four regions in the J.D. Power study for 2022. The one area where it didn’t? The East region, where Xfinity fell short of the average by one point but still placed second ahead of Cox, Frontier, Optimum and Spectrum.
Availability: Xfinity is available to nearly 99% of Boulder households, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
Plans and pricing: Xfinity offers six competitively priced cable plans. The cheapest is $20 per month and features download speeds up to 75Mbps (though it comes with some limitations and additional requirements, covered below). The fastest plan offered is Gigabit Extra, with max download speeds of 1,200Mbps for $70 monthly. Between the two, you can get 200Mbps for $35 per month, 400Mbps for $50 monthly and, curiously, both 800Mbps and 1,000Mbps for $60 per month. Xfinity also offers Peacock Premium with the 1,000 and 1,200Mbps plans.
Fees and service details: Signing up for the cheapest plan requires signing a one-year contract; all other tiers have no term agreements. The two cheapest plans have a monthly data cap of 1.2 terabytes, but the other tiers offer unlimited data. Finally, Wi-Fi equipment is included in all plans except the cheapest one.