What is the best internet provider in Lexington?

Having reliable high-speed internet is essential these days, and there's no shortage of good internet providers in Lexington. There are options for everyone, ranging from affordable service providers to some of the fastest internet speeds around. CNET's top pick is Kinetic by Windstream, which stands out as the best internet service provider in Lexington. Plans start at just $25 a month for 100 megabits per second (also the cheapest plan in the area), and Kinetic's service is ideal for online gaming or video conferencing. Spectrum is also a strong contender, with speeds up to 1,000Mbps in the Lexington area.

If you don’t want to worry about your bill going up, T-Mobile Home Internet provides a price-lock guarantee, ensuring you’ll never pay more than $50 monthly for service. Metronet is another good fiber provider in the area, but Kinetic by Windstream offers a slightly better value.

Best internet in Lexington, Kentucky

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in Lexington

• Satellite internet: No matter where you live in the country, satellite internet is almost always available. However, speeds and prices are low, so it’s rarely your best option. Hughesnet and Viasat offer service to 100% of Lexington households, but we’d only recommend them if you can’t get anything else. Starlink offers faster speeds and lower latency, but you have to pay a high equipment cost of $599 upfront, and plans start at $120 per month. 

Cheap internet options in Lexington

Cheap internet plans are abundant in Lexington, with four different providers offering plans at $50 per month or less.

What's the cheapest internet plan in Lexington?

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Lexington

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

Lexington internet providers, such as Spectrum and T-Mobile Home Internet, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many, including Kinetic by Windstream and Metronet, run the same standard pricing year-round. 

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

How fast is Lexington broadband?

According to Ookla speed test data (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.), Lexington residents receive median download speeds of 138Mbps and upload speeds of 12Mbps, which are slightly above the national average. It ranks 57th out of the 100 most populated cities in the country; behind Louisville (13th) and Nashville (8th), but ahead of Cincinnati (73rd).

Fastest internet plans in Lexington

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 Lexington

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. So what's our approach? For starters, we tap into a proprietary pricing, availability and speed database that draws from our own historical ISP data, partner data and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov. 

This guide leverages an in-house artificial intelligence tool called RAMP, which is trained on our own writing and uses our database to generate content about specific internet service providers that our writers can use in determining and presenting our picks for a given guide. Check CNET’s AI policy for more information about how our teams use (and don’t use) AI tools. 

Because our database is not exhaustive, we go to the FCC's website to check the primary data for ourselves and make sure we're considering every ISP that provides service in an area. Plans and prices also vary by location, so we input local addresses on provider websites to find the specific options available to 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 our pre-publication fact-check.

Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions: 

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

While the answer to those questions is often layered and complex, the providers who come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. When it comes to 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. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

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

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

Internet service in Lexington is in a good place. 98% of the city can access 250/25Mbps speeds, compared to 88% of the country, and fiber internet is available to 76% of households. The best is Kinetic by Windstream, but Metronet is another regional fiber provider offering similar value (just look out for those hidden fees). Kinetic offers the cheapest internet in the area, but only for the first year. After that, prices jump dramatically. 

Internet providers in Lexington FAQs