What is the best internet provider in Greenville?

Looking for internet service in Greenville, North Carolina? There are plenty of options worth considering, which can make finding the right provider a tedious process. To help, our experts have reviewed popular options to narrow down the list for you. Optimum is the best internet service provider in Greenville, North Carolina, for most households. In addition to offering one of the fastest plans in the city, Optimum's service includes unlimited data and no annual contracts or equipment fees. If Optimum isn't available at your address, Metronet and T-Mobile are solid picks that most Greenville residents can access.

When looking for internet service providers, you’ll want to consider a few things, including the monthly price and internet speeds available. If you're looking for the cheapest home broadband service from your internet service provider, consider Metronet's 150 megabits per second plan, which costs only $35 monthly. As for the fastest internet provider around, Metronet also offers one of the fastest plans in Greenville -- tied with Verizon 5G Home Internet, Spectrum and Optimum. The rates of these ISPs vary, but all offer speeds up to 1,000Mbps.

Best internet in Greenville, North Carolina

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in Greenville

• Brightspeed: About 72% of Greenville addresses can access Brightspeed's home broadband. While the ISP offers fiber internet to select households, availability is sparse, so you'll probably only be serviceable under its DSL network. If so, you'll pay less and see faster speeds by choosing a different provider. 
• Pavlov Media: Available to less than 1% of Greenville residents, Pavlov Media is another fiber ISP in the area. However, it's most likely not an option for home internet since coverage is so low in Greenville.     
• Satellite internet: Satellite internet from HughesNet, Viasat or Starlink is an option wherever you live. It shouldn't be your first choice -- with high prices and slow speeds, cheaper and faster options are available.
• Spectrum: While you won't find much coverage from Spectrum directly in Greenville, households near Farmville can access this provider's service. If you want a cable provider besides Optimum, Spectrum is the only one you'll find within city limits.
• US Cellular: This popular mobile provider covers 92% of Greenville, so it will most likely be an option at your address. While speeds aren't listed on its website, US Cellular claims plans start at $50 monthly. 
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: Similar to T-Mobile Home Internet, Verizon also offers broadband under its 5G network. Plans cost $50-$70 with speeds reaching up to 1,000Mbps, but eligible mobile customers can receive a $15 monthly discount. 

What’s the cheapest internet plan in Greenville?

The average starting price for home broadband in Greenville is $45, but there are a couple of cheaper options if you want to pay the least monthly amount. Metronet offers the most affordable plan in the city, costing $35 per month for 150Mbps. Optimum also offers a plan under that $45 mark: $40 per month for 300Mbps speed. 

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Greenville

The best internet deals and top promotions in Greenville depend on the discounts available during that period. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers. 

Greenville internet providers, such as Metronet, Optimum and Spectrum, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many, including T-Mobile, Brightspeed and Verizon, run the same standard pricing year-round. 

For a more extensive list of promotions, check out our guide on the best internet deals. 

How fast is Greenville broadband?

Greenville’s median download speed is about 252Mbps, which is pretty fast for home internet. If you’re searching for faster speeds than that, multiple providers offer up to a gigabit of speed for reasonable prices. 

Metronet, Verizon, Spectrum and Optimum all tie for the fastest plan in Greenville, each promising speeds up to 1,000Mbps. Metronet will be your best option since it offers symmetrical download and upload speeds with no data caps or monthly equipment fees. 

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

What’s a good internet speed?

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.

• 0 to 5Mbps allows you to tackle the basics: browsing the internet, sending and receiving email and streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40Mbps gives you higher-quality video streaming and videoconferencing.
• 40 to 100Mbps should give one user sufficient bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming. 
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming. 
• 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.

How CNET chose the best internet providers in Greenville

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it's impractical to personally test every internet service provider in a given city. What's our approach? For starters, we tap into a proprietary database of pricing, availability and speed information that draws from our own historical ISP data, partner data and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov. 

It doesn’t end there: We go to 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: 

• Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds? 
• Do customers get decent value for what they're paying? 
• Are customers happy with their service? 

The answer to those questions is often layered and complex, but the providers who 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, although 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. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

To explore our process in more depth, visit our how we test ISPs page.

What’s the final word on internet providers in Greenville?

If you’re living in Greenville and searching for home broadband, your best bet will be Optimum’s cable service. Although Metronet offers the best fiber internet in the city, less than half of residents can access it. Optimum has much wider coverage than Metronet, and its plans come with unlimited data and no monthly equipment costs. If Optimum isn’t available at your location, Metronet should be your next pick.

Internet providers in Greenville FAQs