The Best Broadband Internet Service Providers Methodology

Starting in 2023, PCMag moved beyond speeds alone when rating the best ISPs available. Below are the details on how we generate the rating that pits one ISP against another directly, via a score we call the PCMag Cumulative Broadband ISP Index (PCBII).

Speed/Throughput

Everything begins with a broadband provider’s speed—though that term isn’t entirely accurate. When it comes to network connectivity (such as the connection you have via your ISP to the internet), the proper term is throughput. Data packets are always coming and going between your devices and internet servers, and the throughput of those packets is measured. We use the PCMag Speed Test to gather data from you, our readers. It is a customized version of the Ookla Speedtest (Ookla and PCMag are both owned by Ziff Davis).

Disable your VPN, pause streaming, and run the test for yourself.

PCMag Speed Test collects several data points with every test, including which ISP you use and your location (both based on your IP address), your upload and download throughput, and measurements for jitter and latency (we use those numbers in our annual Best Gaming ISPs story at the end of the year.) We typically garner a few hundred thousand tests over the course of a year for both Canada and the US. We use the previous 12 to 13 months of tests, as specified in each story, using this methodology.

The tests are used to create a PCMag Speed Index (PSI) for each ISP. It’s generated by adding 80% of an ISP’s download speed to 20% of its upload speed, both of which we receive in kilobits per second and then convert to Megabits per second (Mbps). That PSI number has served us well since 2011, letting us compare ISP speeds directly.

Another major change as of 2023: With broadband speeds hitting amazing highs and, in some areas, epic lows, we are using ISPs’ median speeds, not the average, to eliminate outlier tests. This levels the playing field somewhat, so extremely high and low tests don’t skew the numbers completely.

(Credit: Shutterstock)

Speed tests also determine whether we include an ISP. We classify ISPs that receive over 1,000 test results as “Major ISPs”; any others make the list of “All-Around ISPs” as long as they have at least 100 tests.

If an ISP doesn’t have at least 100 tests, we do not include them in the results. If your ISP doesn’t make our list, be sure you and your neighbors run the PCMag Speed Test often.

Reach and Price

For reach and price information, we have data partners that provide a massive amount of numbers that fill in many blanks.

(Credit: BroadbandNow)

For the USA, that partner is BroadbandNow. The site is a leader in helping people find the internet provider that works best for them. Under the guidance of Editor-in-Chief Tyler Cooper, the site also produces extensive research and insight about broadband. BroadbandNow incorporates numbers from the latest FCC coverage dataset.

(Credit: PlanHub)

Our partner for Canada is PlanHub. Based in Montreal, launched in 2013, and still run by co-founders Nadir Marcos and Guillaume Marcade, it specializes in price comparison searches for ISPs and phone and cable plans in Canada.

Reach is another way to phrase coverage percentage—it tells us the potential number of customers the ISP has across households in the nation or region we’re measuring. For example, an ISP could cover 20% of the nation; that number may go up or down in a state or province. The reach also fluctuates based on the type of technology (satellite providers are typically at or close to 100% since customers can put a dish almost anywhere) and partnerships/licensing of lines across ISPs. 

To keep things simple, our price index is based on the cost per Megabit per second (Mbps) of the highest speed-tier offering of each ISP in each partner’s database. We use an Excel formula to convert the wildly varying pricing (from as little as 2 cents per Mbps on up to several dollars per Mbps) to a 1 to 10 scale, with the higher score going to the lower prices. Only one ISP can get a 10, and only one can earn a 1; the rest fall from 1.1 to 9.9. We do the same for coverage percentages/reach, but the higher score goes to the larger percentages, of course.

We realize that going with the highest-speed tier isn’t realistic for many people. But it provides an apples-to-apples method for comparing ISP prices.

Satisfaction

Our satisfaction numbers come from our annual Readers’ Choice survey about ISPs. The overall satisfaction scores fit our requirements well. They’re already on a 1 to 10 scale, so we leave the numbers as is, without converting. Any ISP that doesn’t have a satisfaction rating we leave blank.

For an example of where the numbers come from, here’s the current chart for Reader’s Choice ISPs in the United States.

Gaming Quality

For our separate story on the Best Gaming ISPs each year we add one criterion: The quality of the connection. To quantify that we take the scores on each test for latency (the time it takes for an internet packet to travel from its source to its destination) and jitter (which checks the consistency of the latency) and simply add the numbers together. We use the median number for each ISP to create the PCMag Gaming Quality Index.

The PCMag Cumulative Broadband ISP Index (PCBII) (or Cumulative Gaming ISP Index)

With the four (or five) different scores all on a 1-to-10 scale, where 10 is the best, we add them up to get the PCMag Cumulative Broadband ISP Index.

When we are looking at the Best Gaming ISPs, we factor in the Gaming Quality score and give it a leg up by putting it in a score range of 1 to 20. We still factor in speed, coverage, price, and satisfaction.

The PCBII could soar as high as 40 when an ISP is perfect in every way (in comparison to its competition on the list). It can go as low as 1. The ISP in the chart with the highest PCBII is what we consider the best.

For Best Gaming ISPs, the score can go as high as 60, thanks to that extra 1 to 20 score for quality.

The Best ISP Caveats

Note that each chart is separate and distinct—for example, an ISP might score a 10 for speed on one chart and a 5 on another for that same criterion. That’s because we’re comparing only the ISPs within that chart—not across all ISPs. The cumulative scores for an ISP can and will frequently change across charts depending on who they’re up against.

Our data has gaps because of the sheer number of ISPs in North America. Several exist only in single municipalities. They may be among the best providers, particularly when it comes to speed, but neither PCMag nor its data partners can quantify every small provider.

Consolidation in the broadband industry is constant and ongoing, with acquisitions and mergers happening all the time, sometimes causing ISPs to disappear and other times just to change the financials as the ISPs continue to operate independently with their own customer base.

We realize the information we’re providing here might make you angry. The large ISPs tend to have monopolies in some areas; the fastest and cheapest ISPs might serve only small municipalities. Our conclusions aren’t always actionable unless you’re willing to move to the best ISP’s coverage area. That’s far from feasible. But perhaps this information will give you a reason to pressure your own provider into doing better for you and other customers.

Remember to test your ISP. It makes you a part of the story in the future!