Have you ever shopped at a warehouse club and noticed some decent deals on bulk groceries and products? Sure, the per-unit pricing is low compared to smaller packages, but does your home really need a gallon of peanut butter? Multi-gigabit internet plans are like that.
In fact, compared to slower plans, multi-gig speeds are the better value. They often have a lower cost per unit (cost per Mbps), but they provide way more speed than the typical home will ever need.
Still, the high-speed plans are rising in popularity. According to the latest report from the USTelecom, The Broadband Association, most people are choosing faster speeds between 940 and 1,000Mbps. But with numerous fiber internet providers and some cable ISPs offering above-gig speeds, is more speed truly the answer? Starlink has also indicated that its satellite internet service could reach speeds of 2 gigabits per second at some point.
Should you consider such speeds when shopping for home internet? Here’s what to know.
Read more: Yes, There Is Such a Thing As Too Fast. Here’s How Much Internet Speed You Really Need.
What is multi-gigabit internet?
Multi-gigabit internet plans have maximum data transfer rates (internet speeds) of higher than one gigabit per second. What does that mean, exactly?
Internet speeds are advertised and measured in megabits per second, or Mbps. According to the the latest Ookla data, the average tested household speeds as of June 2024 was 267Mbps in downloads and 39Mbps in uploads. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) That’s fast enough to support streaming, gaming, working from home and so forth on eight or so devices at once.
Gigabit service can be shown as 1,000Mbps and is roughly four times faster than the average tested household speed. Multi-gig plans typically boast maximum speeds of two, five or more times faster than that. A five-gig plan, for example, would provide speeds up to 5,000Mbps to the home.
Another key thing to know about multi-gigabit internet is that most providers use a fiber-optic network capable of delivering symmetrical or near-symmetrical download and upload speeds. Fast upload speeds are less important in the grand scheme of home internet use but are still nice to have and something you won’t necessarily get from a cable, DSL or satellite internet connection.Â
Internet providers with multi-gig plans
So far, numerous major ISPs have introduced multi-gigabit internet speed tiers, including AT&T, Frontier, Google Fiber, Verizon Fios, Xfinity and Ziply Fiber. Several regional and hyperlocal providers offer multi-gig plans with speeds up to 10Gbps as well.
Currently, Ziply offers the fastest multi-gigabit plan with speeds up to 50Gbps, or 50,000Mbps, starting at $900 monthly. Here’s a look at the fastest multi-gig plans currently available from the largest internet service providers.
Top multi-gigabit plans compared
| Plan | Starting monthly price | Max speeds | Equipment fee | Data cap | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T Fiber 5000 Read full review |
$245 | 5Gbps down, 5Gbps up | None | None | None |
| Cox Go Beyond Fast Read full review |
$110 | 2Gbps down, 100Mbps up | $15 (optional) | 1.25TB | None |
| Frontier Fiber 7 Gig Read full review |
$200 | 3Gbps down, 3Gbps up | None | None | None |
| Google Fiber 8 Gig Read full review |
$150 | 8Gbps down, 8Gbps up | None | None | None |
| Metronet 5 Gig Read full review |
$110 | 5Gbps down, 5Gbps up | None | None | None |
| Optimum 8 Gig Read full review |
$280 | 8Gbps down, 8Gbps up | None | None | None |
| Quantum Fiber 8 Gig | $165 | 8Gbps down, 8Gbps up | None | None | None |
| Verizon Fios 2 Gigabit Connection Read full review |
$110 | 2.3Gbps down, 1.5Gbps up | None | None | None |
| Xfinity Gigabit Pro Read full review |
$300 | 10Gbps down, 10Gbps up | $20 | None | 2 years |
| Ziply Fiber 50 Gig | $900 | 50Gbps down, 50Gbps up | $15 (optional) | None | None |
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More multi-gigabit options ahead
Fiber networks have, for the most part, always had the capacity to deliver multi-gig speeds, but many providers have avoided offering them, partly because people didn’t need them and the plans were expensive. As we add more connected devices in our homes and the ongoing pandemic drove record numbers of people to work and learn from home, ISPs saw the need, or at least a potential demand, for faster speeds.
With the fiber-optic infrastructure already in place, boosting speeds was a matter of simply flipping the switch for most providers. Before Ziply Fiber’s multi-gig launch, company CEO Harold Zeitz told CNET that such high-speeds are in part “why we built the network the way that we did,” so that when the time came to roll out multi-gig service, it’d be available to thousands of homes at essentially “the push of a button.”Â
So, are multi-gigabit plans worth the hype?
Depending on the plan you choose, multi-gig service can run well over $100 a month. You get what you pay for — the speeds are undeniably impressive — the speeds are overkill for the average home. According to OpenVault’s Q3 2024 report, the average US household uses 564Mbps in downstream and 31Mbps in upstream.
Speeds of around 500Mbps should be sufficient for a family of three or four users and all their connected devices, and smaller households with fewer connectivity demands could get by on even slower and cheaper plans. Again, according to Ookla data, the national speed test average as of June 2024 was 267Mbps in downloads and 39Mbps in uploads. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis).
Furthermore, there’s the fact that many devices — routers, computers, tablets, smartphones, TVs — are not equipped to handle those speeds. You’ll be getting and paying for speeds up to 2Gbps, 5Gbps or higher to your home, but your devices won’t achieve such speeds because they simply aren’t built with the throughput to support them.Â
Consequently, I would argue that upgrading to a multi-gig service is not worth the added cost. Faster home internet speeds are a good thing, but I’d say, for now, multi-gig speeds may be too much of a good thing.
Is multi-gigabit internet worth the price and hype?
What is multi-gigabit internet?
Multi-gigabit internet is defined as speeds that go beyond 1 gigabit (or 1,000Mbps). Multi-gig plans can typically boast ultra-high speeds which are much faster than gigabit internet. Multi-gigabit plans can be described as 2Gbps and can reach as high as 50Gbps for Ziply Fiber customers.
What is the best multi-gig plan?
This will all depend on the internet provider, pricing and speeds available at your address. In general, having access to a fiber connection will likely determine if you have multi-gigabit speeds. When it comes to availability, AT&T Fiber has a growing fiber network and is available to over 49% of the country. With AT&T Fiber, you can expect speeds of up to 5Gbps, and it comes with the equipment at no additional cost.
Is multi-gigabit internet expensive?
Yes, a multi-gig internet service is more costly than other plans. It can range from around $80 to as high as $900 a month. For instance, Xfinity and Ziply Fiber boast the fastest multi-gigabit speeds of any internet provider, offering a 10Gbps and 50Gbps plan for $300 and $900 a month, respectively. That’s a pretty hefty amount and this is not even considering the monthly equipment fees that may come with service.
If you’re looking to invest in a multi-gig plan, Altafiber has a 2-gigabit plan for $80 a month. That’s a solid deal, considering the speeds that you’d get.
To learn more, read our top picks for the best multi-gigabit internet plans available.