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Best internet providers in St. Joseph, Missouri

St. Joseph residents don’t have a ton of options for internet providers in the area. You’ll likely end up with either a cable internet plan from Optimum or a fixed home wireless connection from T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. The most exciting thing happening for internet in St. Joseph right now is United Fiber’s plans to expand fiber optic internet access throughout the city.

EDITOR'S CHOICE
Optimum
Optimum brand
Staff rating
4.1
Customer rating
3.7

  • Plans starting at $15.00 - $195.00
  • Download speeds up to 940 Mbps
  • Upload speeds up to n/a

Click below for all current Optimum deals

Disclaimer: Availability and pricing are subject to location. Conditions apply. For offer details, view disclaimers

RUNNER-UP
T-Mobile
T-Mobile brand
Staff rating
3.7
Customer rating
4.2

  • Plans starting at $50.00
  • Download speeds up to 182 Mbps
  • Upload speeds up to 23 Mbps

Click below for all current T-Mobile deals

Disclaimer: Availability and pricing are subject to location. Conditions apply.

RUNNER-UP
United Fiber
United Fiber logo

  • Plans starting at $49.95 - $99.95
  • Download speeds up to 1000 Mbps
  • Upload speeds up to 1000 Mbps

Click below for all current United Fiber deals

Disclaimer: Availability and pricing are subject to location. Conditions apply.

How we rank internet providers
We have a robust rating system to score internet service providers overall, but the quality of service could vary city to city. When narrowing down the best providers specific to St. Joseph, we considered factors like availability, value, performance, and customer experience. We source information directly from the ISP's themselves, the FCC, and first-hand insights from residents of St. Joseph.
Mindy Woodall headshot
Researched by
Mindy WoodallContributing Writer
Headshot of Bri Field
Reviewed by
Bri FieldAssigning Editor
Updated 5/8/23

Our top 3 ISP choices in St. Joseph, MO

Optimum internet and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet are our top choices for internet connection in St. Joseph. We also recommend United Fiber, but it has limited availability around St. Joe for now.

#1: Optimum internet

Optimum is the most widely available internet service provider in St. Joseph that’s not satellite. Optimum’s cable internet connection gives St. Joseph residents access to speeds between 300 Mbps and 1 gig. Optimum prices are also pretty good for the first two years, but customers tend to face a price hike after that.

Read our full Optimum internet review.

#2: T-Mobile 5G Home Internet

T-Mobile Home Internet is almost as widely available as Optimum, and its fixed wireless connection is easy to set up yourself. We like that T-Mobile Home Internet is affordable and doesn’t come with the same price hikes as many cable internet providers (such as Optimum).

Read our full T-Mobile 5G Home Internet review.

#3: United Fiber internet

United Fiber is hard to get in St. Joseph right now, but the company has announced plans for expansion in 2023 that should bring fiber optic internet to more St. Joseph residents. If United Fiber’s plans succeed then your internet coverage is about to get a lot better.

All internet providers in St. Joseph

Internet options in St. Joseph are pretty limited. Residents have access to one main cable internet provider, one main fixed wireless internet provider, and then a smattering of older DSL plans or unlicensed fixed wireless providers (which tend to cost a lot for the level of service you get).

St. Joseph has widespread access to satellite internet providers, but we don’t recommend them over cable and fixed wireless internet due to latency and network slowdowns. Even Starlink, which has lower latency than other satellite internet types, is still likely going to be slower than cable internet through Optimum.

Fastest internet providers in St. Joseph

Optimum currently holds the position for fastest internet provider in St. Joseph, although United Fiber offers comparable speeds that will be more widely available after the network expands in 2023.

You can also get decent listed speeds from Starlink, but satellite internet latency means that your experience using it will still be slower than comparable speed plans from other internet providers.

How much speed do you need?

When choosing an internet plan, you want to keep all of your activities running smoothly without paying extra for speeds you don't need. At the bare minimum, you need 25 Mbps to do light browsing on one or two devices. Most households with multiple people and multiple devices will want to look for speeds in the 100–500 Mbps range. Learn how much speed your household needs in our guide to internet speed.
Illustration showing how much internet speed you may need

Cheapest internet providers in St. Joseph

The cheapest internet in St. Joseph is Optimum internet—as long as you’re only looking at the base price. Optimum tends to have hard-to-decipher fees and it also likes to raise customers’ prices after the first year or two, so your actual per-month cost will likely be higher than what’s advertised.

On the other hand, T-Mobile Home Internet keeps pricing simple, and its plan price is similar to Optimum’s when you account for all the extra costs Optimum adds on. T-Mobile Home Internet has lower speeds than Optimum, but it should still work for most households.

Internet options in nearby cities

St. Joseph has fewer internet options than many nearby cities, especially bigger metro areas like Kansas City. Other cities in the region have more access to fiber internet plans from companies like AT&T and Google Fiber. St. Joseph is currently still waiting on fiber internet expansion.

For details on which providers are available near you, check out these cities:

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What St. Joseph residents are saying on Reddit

Internet-related posts on social media are mainly centered around internet providers that are available in Kansas City. St. Joseph doesn’t have access to some of the ISPs that Kansas City residents recommend most (like Google Fiber), but fiber internet expansion in St. Joseph should make for interesting conversations in the future.

Check out these Reddit threads to see what people are saying:

Post by u/mj1814
04/16/2022
ISP Question

I'm moving (back) to KCMO, and my property manager said my choices for ISP are:

  • Google Fiber
  • Spectrum
  • AT&T

The ISP I use now isn't available, so I need to change and I'm not familiar with these (other than the names). I'm pretty tech savvy, so I'm capable of looking at the sites and talking to the CSR. What I'd really like, though, are opinions from people who either have a certain service and have no problems, or have changed from one to another for whatever reason, or are looking to change due to particular issues.

TIA!

Most helpful response

I have Google fiber and never have an issue. When I have had to talk to someone (previous location) they were very helpful and patient.


Post by u/TheBubbaJoe
05/20/2022
Moving to a area outside of google fibers coverage. My options are spectrum or AT&T. Which one sucks less?

I currently pay for the 1G speed from fiber. Does anyone have any experience with the other too providers?

Most helpful response

You may also have TMobile 5G home internet or Verizon home internet as an option. About $50 a month or less. Anything to keep away from those other TWO.


Post by u/moistchedder69
03/22/2021
Best Internet Provider?

Just bought a house and I am trying to figure what internet service to use. Looking for affordability and consistency more than anything.

EDIT: Google fiber running away with it. Is it really worth the extra $40 or so a month? I can get spectrum for $39 a month

Most helpful response

Google Fiber.


Post by u/GuyBeinADude
09/08/2021
AT&T Fiber vs. Spectrum

In the process of purchasing a new house. Currently have Google Fiber, but unfortunately isn’t available in our new area. Our options are AT&T fiber or Spectrum. Looking for users of either with any insight into the service!

Thanks!

Most helpful response

We switched to att about 4 months ago when they finally ran fiber to our neighborhood. Ditched spectrum and haven't been happier. Haven't had any outages (with spectrum we'd have a 2 hour outage about every 2 weeks, and the wifi from their modem would constantly flatline and they said they don't guarantee their wifi, wtf it's their modem). And it was half the price for 50% faster speed.


Post by u/Gr00vyGr4vy
12/19/2022
GoogleFiber $35/mo plan?

Hi KC! I am setting up internet at a new place, probably using GF. The basic ($0) plan will be too slow, I think, but I don’t really need/want the $70/mo plan. I’ve heard of a mystical “in-between” plan at $35/mo, but I can’t find reference to it on the GoogleFiber website or via Google (har har).

Can anyone help a fellow KC’er out with any intel? Do I need to call and reference this plan specifically? I’ve also heard of folks qualifying for a $5/mo plan for being in an under-sourced area regardless of income, but doubt we would qualify in my area. Thanks :)

Most helpful response

There was a middle tier in the past but Google Fiber did away with it. Originally you had 3 options, if your home or apartment had a Google Fiber jack, you could get a free 5 mbit plan (which was surprisingly usable until all of the streaming services started going 4k) for $50 a month you could get 100 mbit service and the $70 a month for full 1 gbit service. Now they only do the 1gb and 2gb plans.

Internet news and infrastructure in St. Joseph, MO

St. Joseph’s internet infrastructure is in the middle of an overhaul with the expansion of United Fiber. Local news outlets have reported over the last year about grant funding (1) and plans for United Fiber’s expansion throughout the community. (2)

In St. Joseph, 99% of households can get 100 Mbps, 95% can get 250 Mbps, and 3% can get 1 Gbps.

Frequently asked internet questions in St. Joseph


Plan to spend a minimum of $50 per month on internet in St. Joseph, Missouri. Many plans will cost more than this, but a base plan from one of the main internet providers in the area will likely start at about 50 bucks when you account for fees and taxes.


The main three types of internet service are fiber, cable, satellite, and fixed wireless. These are not the only types that exist, and you will still encounter older types of internet as well, like DSL.


Not yet. St. Joseph still needs to expand its broadband access, especially to include fiber internet plans. United Fiber’s expansion plans should improve the city’s internet infrastructure.

Sources
1. “$8 million grant will help United Fiber expand broadband,” News-PressNOW. Accessed 30 March, 2023.2. “United Fiber to begin broadband service in St. Joseph,” KQTV2. Accessed 30 March, 2023.
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