What is the cheapest Internet provider?

Usually there is only one ISP in an area, like Spectrum or AT&T !

It really depends on where you live and what providers are available. Call around or check your mail for offers. Every time I’ve looked into dropping cable, it makes more sense to stay with the bundle of TV, landline and internet. I have Verizon, no premium channels and pay $164/month. If you check around, you can sometimes get special offers if the market is competitive.

I used to have a similar plan to that for around $190, but got out of it since we never used the land line (ever) and watched very little TV. I only have internet with Spectrum but I was thinking there must be something cheaper out there that I don’t know of.

Here you go – - put your zip code in and hit enter. https://www.highspeedinternet.com/

DSL from phone company has a distance limit so is not good in rural areas.

The cheapest ISPs are the ones that don’t cost anything. Of course, it depends on where you are whether any free service is available, and what the cheapest of the others is.

I would add that there are also not-free ISPs which can be lower than $80, but again it depends on where you are, and what you want.

In many places there are companies that want to bundle Internet with cable TV and telephone, which adds up. I haven’t wanted cable TV for a very long time.

In most places, there will be at least one DSL company (through your phone line, not the fastest but good enough for video) and one or more cable companies (through a coax cable designed for TV, usually faster to download things, but usually shared with whatever neighbors also use cable).

In most places, there will also be multiple wireless providers, mostly wanting to sell cell phone service these days, but some may also sell Internet connections via 3G/4G/5G wireless service. Their performance and availability depends on reception at your location. You may be able to get “mobile hotspot devices” from them, if you want.

There are also satellite Internet providers, though they usually want to sell you TV bundles as well, want you to mount a satellite dish, etc.

And there are ISPs who will sell optical fiber connections. Those can be extremely fast… and can range from free to super-expensive or unavailable, depending on where you are.

And then there’s Star Link, the amazing and perhaps frightening new service from Elon Musk that you can see doing dances in the sky on a clear night, involving a spectacular array of new satellites all over the sky. Currently it’s being tested as they add more and more satellites, and has a public test program which you could try to sign up for but I think in most places has a long waiting list and is not cheap.