Best internet providers in San Marcos, Texas
San Marcos doesn’t have much access to fiber internet, but it does have two cable internet options with widespread availability and high speeds in the area: Astound Broadband and Spectrum internet. Brightspeed internet is San Marcos’s fiber provider, but it has highly limited coverage in the area (and we don’t recommend Brightspeed’s DSL option).
- Plans starting at $19.99 - $135.89
- Download speeds up to 1200 Mbps
- Upload speeds up to 50 Mbps
Disclaimer: Availability and pricing are subject to location. Conditions apply. For offer details, view disclaimers
- Plans starting at $29.99 - $169.97
- Download speeds up to 1 Gbps
- Upload speeds up to 35 Mbps
Disclaimer: Availability and pricing are subject to location. Conditions apply. For offer details, view disclaimers
- Plans starting at $50.00 - $100.00
- Download speeds up to 940 Mbps
- Upload speeds up to 940 Mbps
Disclaimer: Subject to availability. Cannot be combined with other offers. Other restrictions, Brightspeed policies and service terms apply.
Our top 3 ISP choices in San Marcos, TX
Astound, Spectrum, and Brightspeed internet are our top three picks for San Marcos, TX.
#1: Astound Broadband
Astound Broadband has good coverage in San Marcos, which is great news if you want access to a range of speeds and prices. Astound’s highest available speed in San Marcos is 1,200 Mbps (over 1 gig). You don’t actually need speeds that fast, but Astound has more practical speed plans as well, including one for up to 300 Mbps.
Read our full Astound Broadband review.
#2: Spectrum internet
Spectrum offers both cable and fiber internet, but San Marcos has access to cable almost exclusively. Spectrum is less widely available in San Marcos than it is in some other neighboring cities, but most addresses here should still be eligible. Spectrum also offers speeds on par with Astound, up to 1 gig at some addresses.
Read our full Spectrum internet review.
#3: Brightspeed internet
Brightspeed took over CenturyLink’s service in San Marcos in 2022. (1) Its fiber internet plans have limited availability here, and most addresses won’t be eligible. If you’re among the lucky people to have access to Brightspeed fiber, then it’s a good value for the price. Brightspeed tends to be much cheaper for higher speeds than Spectrum and Astound.
Read our full Brightspeed internet review.
All internet providers in San Marcos
Aside from our top three picks, internet providers in San Marcos include T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, Verizon Home Internet, Valley Telephone Cooperative, and Spry Wireless. All of these companies use fixed wireless technology to connect you to the web.
On the whole, Valley Telephone Cooperative and Spry Wireless are more expensive for slower speeds than other providers around San Marcos. If you want to go with a fixed wireless provider, you’re better off with T-Mobile Home Internet. Verizon Home Internet is a good choice as well, but it covers less than half of the city.
San Marcos residents have widespread access to satellite internet, but we generally don’t recommend it.
Fastest internet providers in San Marcos
Spectrum, Astound, and Brightspeed all have 1-gig speeds in San Marcos. Astound Broadband is technically the fastest, as you can get up to 1,200 Mbps (1.2 gigs). But no average household really needs gig-level speeds, so the difference between 1,000 Mbps and 1,200 Mbps is basically indistinguishable.
How much speed do you need?
Cheapest internet providers in San Marcos
Astound is the cheapest provider in San Marcos assuming you’re a new customer, you don’t need any extra equipment, and you want the plan with the lowest speeds. Astound also has price hikes after two years and generally requires an installation fee. (Spectrum is more expensive than Astound but has those same conditions.)
T-Mobile Home Internet has more consistent pricing with no price hikes, no installation fees, and no surprise hidden fees. Brightspeed is more expensive than the other options listed here, but you’ll pay less for higher speeds than you would with Spectrum or Astound.
Internet options in nearby cities
Nearby cities have coverage from Spectrum internet but less access to Astound Broadband than San Marcos has. Similar to San Marcos, other cities in the Austin metro don’t have much access to Brightspeed fiber internet, but they may have fiber from other providers like AT&T.
For details on which providers are available near you, check out these cities:
What San Marcos residents are saying on Reddit
San Marcos residents on social media don’t appear to be big fans of Brightspeed internet, but they’re primarily referring to Brightspeed’s DSL plans. Brightspeed has wider coverage for DSL internet in San Marcos than it does for fiber, but we don’t recommend DSL connections. You’d be better off with Spectrum, Astound, or even satellite internet if it came to that.
(I’m sorry in advance if this isn’t allowed)
Austinites - who do you get the internet from? After 48 hours without internet from AT&T (this is the Gilligan’s Island of outages, customer service promised it was a 2 hour outage, then it would be better by midnight, then by morning, and now they’ve been saying “24 hours” for the last 24 hours - not to mention prior shenanigans with coverage in previous years) I am ready to run into the arms of another provider.
I live in that pocket of North Austin that cannot get Google Fiber. Is Spectrum or Xfinity etc all about the same?
Anyone have polarizing feeling about any other companies?
Thanks in advance!
I have Astound which was formerly branded as Grande. My roommate and I are terminally online and for the year and a half we've had it we have only noticed about 2 minutes of downtime.
I’m moving near the Lakeline Mall area and those are my only two options.
AT&T seems to be mostly reliable, from what I’ve read on here and from friends, but I’ve never heard anything from Astound
Avoid AT&T as if your life depends on it.
The last post I saw on this topic was 3 yrs ago so wanted to see if anything changed.
I'm getting jerked around by Spectrum support, want to see if there are any recommended alternatives. I'm willing to pay a little more for better service.
Google fiber... I don't regret it
May be buying a house in SM on the north side of town and the provided internet out there is century link, does anyone have insight on the company, service, an/or pricing?
I would go with any other provider if available. Astound, Spectrum, Att fiber (if it’s there) or even starlink. Most of their network for homes are fed by garbage copper lines and they’re probably price gauging if they’re only ISP in that our neighborhood.
Internet news and infrastructure in San Marcos, TX
Most places in San Marcos have access to internet speeds of at least 250 Mbps, which is more than enough for people to do all the usual internet activities without slowdowns or bandwidth issues. Only about half of San Marcos has access to gig speeds, but they’re not really necessary anyway.
The 2023 ice storm is the most notable event affecting San Marcos’s internet infrastructure recently since power outages reduced internet access throughout the city for days. (2) San Marcos also needs disaster response mechanisms that don’t rely so heavily on English-language internet distribution since not everyone in the city has internet access or uses English as their primary language.
Frequently asked internet questions in San Marcos
Spectrum internet is available throughout most of San Marcos with speeds up to 1 gig.
Prices can vary by area, but Spectrum generally costs somewhere between $30 and $100 (not counting possible installation fees, equipment fees, and other fees). Those prices also go up after the first 1–2 years.
Spectrum is the most widely available cable internet provider in Texas. T-Mobile Home Internet also has good coverage throughout Texas. More rural areas of the state may have to rely on satellite internet or unlicensed fixed wireless providers.