Switchful Logo

Rise Broadband vs. Verizon Fios Internet plan comparison


Headshot of Dave Schafer
Rebecca Palmer smiles for the camera
Researched by
Headshot of Bri Field
Reviewed by
Bri FieldAssigning Editor
Updated 2/9/23

We’re committed to transparency. We may earn money when you follow our recommendations, but compensation doesn’t affect our ratings. Learn more.
Rise Broadband
Staff rating
3.0
Customer rating
2.6
(3)

  • Plans starting at $25.00
  • Download speeds up to 1000 Mbps
Verizon Fios brand
Staff rating
4.3
Customer rating
4.3
(178)

  • Plans starting at $49.99
  • Download speeds up to 940 Mbps
Rise Broadband
Staff rating
3.0

Rise Broadband brings good speeds and great prices to rural customers

Rise Broadband offers competitive fixed wireless speeds at reasonable prices for rural customers. While it won’t compete with your typical fiber or cable internet service, it offers a compelling alternative to satellite.


What we like

  • Strong rural availability
  • More data than satellite
  • Low latency
What we dislike

  • Limited speeds
  • weather can impact service
Verizon Fios brand
Staff rating
4.3

Fast, affordable fiber internet with a big East Coast footprint

Verizon Fios offers fast, reliable fiber internet, along with one of the best overall customer experiences in the business. Verizon Fios is highly recommended, and it's one of the best home internet providers we reviewed.


What we like

  • Reliable, symmetrical speeds
  • No contracts
What we dislike

  • Limited availability
  • No plan above 1 gig
Rise Broadband
Value
3.0
Much better value than satellite, but won't compete with traditional cable or fiber

Rise Broadband is a tough service to rate because it’s not your typical ISP. Rise Broadband provides what’s known as “fixed wireless” service, which means the signal is beamed from a tower wirelessly to your home (rather than running through cable or fiber lines). It’s also generally aimed more at rural areas where cable lines don’t exist. This means it primarily competes with satellite internet and DSL. All this has to be taken into account when considering value.

So, where does Rise stand? Compared to DSL and satellite, it’s an outstanding value. It offers better performance and higher data allowances (with an unlimited data add-on available) than satellite and DSL, and at significantly lower prices. That said, if you’re in an area that has a cable or fiber option, you may find that those providers offer more for your money.

Verizon Fios brand
Value
4.0
More speed for your money

Verizon Fios is an excellent value overall. The provider offers three fiber-to-the-home plans, starting at about $50 per month for 300 Mbps, which is more for the money than you’ll get with many competitors. The mid-tier plan is also a solid value.

The highest-tier gigabit option is less competitively priced, at closer to $90 per month. However, that's still about 25% lower than the national benchmark for similar plans. (1) And you do get the benefit of symmetrical speeds with this fiber internet plan, which you won’t find with every provider. This helps offset the cost somewhat. For an additional $10 each month at the highest tier, you get 2 TB of cloud storage, a subscription to Disney+, and a MoCA adapter for internet gaming.

It's worth noting that Verizon also offers DSL internet in some areas, with speeds as high as 15 Mbps and bundled prices in the range of $75 per month, but are phasing it out in 2023. That's awfully slow compared to fiber internet, and quite expensive, but it's better than nothing. The good news is Verizon is rapidly building out its fiber-to-the-home network, so many households that have been stuck with DSL may soon be eligible for Fios. Get more info and sign up for updates from Verizon.

Rise Broadband
Performance
2.5
Better performance than other rural options

Performance-wise, Rise Broadband offers solid speeds—with the caveat that we’re comparing internet options in rural areas here. Most coverage areas have a choice of 25 Mbps and 50 Mbps plans, and some select areas have up to 100 Mbps available. These speeds would be pretty bad in areas with more options. However, if you’re considering fixed wireless, you probably don’t have many more options.

Compared to a satellite provider like Viasat, these speeds are about average—maybe even a little slow. However, fixed wireless like Rise won’t suffer from the huge latency of satellite internet, which makes it much more usable for gaming and other real-time tasks. Rise should handle HD streaming in a small household without too much trouble. You can optionally add unlimited data for an extra $10 per month, which makes a big difference without making the price unreasonable.

Verizon Fios brand
Performance
5.0
Blazing-fast speeds with rock-solid performance

Performance is where Verizon Fios really shines. PCMag named it the fastest Major Internet Service Provider in 2022—and the 9 years before that. (2) The fiber optic connections are rock solid, and the speeds offered are excellent. Additionally, all plans have symmetrical speeds, which is ideal for anyone who uploads a lot of content. Our only complaint is that we’d like to see an even faster plan from Verizon—some competitors have started offering 2,000 Mbps (or faster).

If you can only get DSL with Verizon, you'll only be able to upload at speeds up to 15 Mbps and will pay a lot for the privilege. If you have any other option, we'd usually recommend it.

Rise Broadband
Equipment and installation
3.5
Surprisingly great Wi-Fi equipment—watch out for that installation fee, though

Rise Broadband offers surprisingly competitive equipment. The provider offers the TP-Link Deco M4 mesh system, which can easily cover an entire large home. Customers can choose to rent up to three of the devices for $5 more per month each, so you can save a little money if you don’t need the full range of all three routers.

Rise Broadband’s installation fee is a whopping $150. That’s one of the highest of any providers we’ve seen. However, many promotions waive this fee. If you can’t find one in your area, it’s also worth asking the sales rep about it—you never know.

Verizon Fios brand
Equipment and installation
4.0
Equipment included on all plans and free pro installation if you order online

Verizon Fios offers a pretty standard equipment setup for fiber: an optical network terminal (ONT) and a wireless router. Routers are included at no extra cost on each plan, and the fastest plan comes with an included mesh network called Whole-Home Wi-Fi.

Installation costs $99, and there’s no self-install option. However, if you order online, Verizon will waive the fee. This can be an easy way to save some money on your first internet bill. That said, while the fee is expensive, it’s not unheard of among internet service providers.


Rise Broadband
Customer experience
3.0
Drastically improved experience compared to satellite internet, but still suffers from some weather-related interference

The customer experience with Rise Broadband is good overall. It offers solid speeds at a great price—if you’re coming from satellite, it’ll be a whole new world. Our one major gripe isn’t so much with Rise as it is with fixed wireless in general: it’s more susceptible to weather interference than most other types of internet. If you’re in an area with frequent heavy rain or snow, you might have some reliability issues (although satellite would likely have the same issues, too).

Verizon Fios brand
Customer experience
4.5
The leader in customer service among internet providers

If there’s a leader in internet customer experience, it’s probably Verizon Fios. The service is absolutely rock solid, with hardly a hiccup. This, combined with the excellent speeds, makes for a seamless internet experience—it just works.

Verizon also consistently scores well in customer satisfaction. In fact, it took the top spot this year in the ACSI benchmarks (3), tied with AT&T. Meanwhile, PCMag's readers rank Verizon Fios third in overall satisfaction (4).

Connecting away from home is the only place Verizon falls short. With services such as AT&T and Xfinity, subscribers get access to a nationwide network of free hotspots. Verizon doesn't have this offering (but also doesn't trick you into using your home router to let strangers connect).

Endnotes and sources
Endnotes and sources
1.“2022 Urban Rate Survey – Fixed Broadband Service,” FCC. Accessed 19 October 2022.2. "The Fastest ISPs of 2022," PC Mag. Accessed 19 October 2022.3. "Internet Providers," American Customer Satisfaction Index. Accessed 19 October 2022.4. “Readers’ Choice 2022: Your Favorite ISPs for Any Type of Broadband,” PCMag. Accessed 19 October 2022.
Rise Broadband
2.6
(3)
5 Star
0%
4 Star
33%
3 Star
33%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
34%
C
Corriefrom Pahrump , NV
Rise Broadband Customer for Less than a year
Reviewed on: 2022-11-15
For months our internet cuts out every day all day sometimes ever my couple minutes for several hours.
K
Keithfrom Pahrump, NV
Rise Broadband Customer for Less than a year
Reviewed on: 2022-11-10
The speed is terrible. Have been complaining for over a month. Value is average compared to other services. Customer service is friendly
S
Sandyfrom Nyc, Ny
Rise Broadband Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 2022-07-31
It's ok the speed could be better
Verizon Fios
4.2
(178)
5 Star
47%
4 Star
35%
3 Star
16%
2 Star
1%
1 Star
1%
L
Lesliefrom Pottstown, PA
Verizon Fios Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 2022-07-25
They are immensely reliable in the entire time I have had only 2 Fios outages. They don't raise rates, they don't harass me. Nothing they do everything perfectly
J
Jasonfrom Corona, CA
Verizon Fios Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 2022-07-22
Verizon FiOS has good network reliability. Their internet service is great. They can improve on lowering my bill.
M
Mollyfrom Orlando, FL
Verizon Fios Customer for Less than a year
Reviewed on: 2022-07-15
They seem to be awesome so far. Much cheaper than my cable service.
J
Jamiefrom Fredericksburg, VA
Verizon Fios Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 2022-06-25
It's fast internet that we don't usually have a problem with. I do wish they had more packages for combining services, though.
Popular Internet alternatives
Click on a provider to compare.
CenturyLink
Frontier Communications
Cox Communications
TDS Telecom
Windstream Communications
Google Fiber
Smithville
Hawaiian Telcom