How Much Is Internet per Month?

How much internet costs per month depends primarily on the plan’s internet speed. The amount of speed you need depends on how many people in your household are using the internet, as well as what activities they’re using it for.

How much does internet cost per month?

The 2024 Broadband Pricing Index, issued in December 2024 and published by industry group USTelecom, compiled data from the FCC and other public sources to find the average national pricing of broadband internet.

The pricing index breaks prices into two groups:

Among the most popular plans, the average cost of internet per month was $72.58 in 2024^[0]

This category reflects plans with internet speeds between 100 Mbps and 940 Mbps, or megabits per second, which is a standard measure of internet speed.

Among the highest-speed packages, the average cost of internet per month was $98.68 in 2024. In this category, the service provided downloads of 306 Mbps.

That pricing index considers internet prices and speeds from the 14 largest U.S. cable and telecom providers, which account for more than 90% of all residential broadband customers in the country.

Specific prices and details depend, in part, on the speed you're willing to pay for. If cost is an issue, consider calling your internet provider to learn about your current charges and negotiate ways to save money. Here’s a script and research guide for that call.

Or see if you qualify for government programs that help low-income families get home internet at a fraction of the cost.

» Learn how to get cheap internet

What internet speed do you need?

Will you look for lower prices on popular internet service packages or spring for the fastest speeds available?

Note that the bandwidth you're allotted is shared among all devices on your connection. How much you need depends on how you use the internet.

If you've got one person downloading a video game, someone else streaming a movie and another person refreshing Instagram on his phone, you'll need enough bandwidth to keep everyone happy.

The FCC has developed a Broadband Speed Guide to help consumers determine needs based on typical online activities. The guide details the download speeds required for online tasks such as checking email (1 Mbps), working from home (5 to 25 Mbps) and downloading files (10 Mbps). To determine the overall speed that may be required, multiply each activity by the number of users in a household.

Video streaming tends to eat up the most bandwidth, so households running simultaneous streams may want to pony up for higher speeds. For example, Netflix recommends a 3 Mbps connection for a single high-definition stream (720p resolution) and 5 Mbps for a full HD stream (1080p resolution) and 15 Mbps if you want ultra HD, at 4K resolution. Multiply those by the number of simultaneous streams you want to support.

Online video games don't require much bandwidth to play. However, downloading a video game or other huge file takes lots of bandwidth.

Frequent file-sharers and downloaders might opt for higher speeds, although it's easy enough to schedule your downloads when network demand is low and more bandwidth is free, like late at night.

The FCC Household Broadband Guide also shows how adequate internet service can depend on light, moderate or high use — in addition to the number of users or devices in use at a time.

This data, along with being aware of prevailing average monthly costs can help you find a fair price for the internet service you need.