(Credit: PCMag Composite; Kryshtofor Volodymyr/ShutterStock)
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 directly compares one ISP against another, via a score we call the PCMag Cumulative Broadband ISP Index (PCBII).
Speed/Throughput: Still a Crucial ISP Metric
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 constantly being transmitted between your devices and internet servers, and their throughput can be 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.
The 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 conduct a few hundred thousand tests annually for both Canada and the US. We use the previous 12 to 13 months of tests, as specified in each story.
The tests are used to create a PCMag Speed Index (PSI) for each ISP. It's generated by adding 80% of an ISP's median download speed to 20% of its median upload speed; both these speeds are received in Kilobits per second and then converted to Megabits per second (Mbps). That PSI number has served us since 2011, letting us compare ISP speeds directly.
With broadband speeds hitting amazing highs and, in some areas, epic lows, in 2023, we switched to 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.
Speed tests also determine whether we include an ISP. We classify ISPs that receive over a thousand test results as "Major ISPs" (they must also have over 1 million users and provide service across at least four states); any other ISPs are included in the list of "ISPs Overall" as long as they have at least 100 tests. If an ISP doesn't meet the minimum threshold, we do not include them in the results. If your ISP isn't on our list, be sure to run the PCMag Speed Test regularly.
Reach and Price: Important ISP Data
For reach and price information, we have data partners that provide a massive amount of data, filling in many blanks.
For the USA, that partner is BroadbandNow. The site is a leader in helping people find the internet provider that best suits their needs. 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.
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, as well as 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; however, this percentage may vary 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 recognize that opting for the highest-speed tier may not be realistic for many individuals. But it provides an apples-to-apples method for comparing ISP prices.
We use an Excel formula to convert the wildly varying pricing (ranging from as little as 1 cent per Mbps to several dollars per Mbps) to a 1 to 10 scale, with the higher score assigned 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.
As of the end of 2025, we are not applying the 1 to 10 range to the ISPs reach via a fancy formula. We are simply converting the percentage by multiplying it by 10, to better reflect the actual coverage stat. Thus, an ISP with, say, 88% coverage would have an 8.8 score (0.88 × 10 = 8.8).
Consumer Satisfaction: The Readers' Choice Award Winners
Our satisfaction numbers are based on our annual Readers' Choice survey about ISPs. The overall satisfaction scores align well with our requirements. They're already on a 1 to 10 scale, so we leave the numbers as they are, without conversion. For any ISP that doesn't have a satisfaction rating, we leave it blank.
Here's the current chart for Reader's Choice ISPs in the US to show you where the numbers come from:
Gaming Quality: The Consistency of a Connection
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. We then convert the range to a scale of 1 to 20, to give quality for gaming (and other applications, such as video conferencing and VoIP) its due.
The Final Score: The PCMag Cumulative Broadband ISP Index (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.
As noted above, when evaluating the Best Gaming ISPs, we factor in the Gaming Quality score and give it a boost by assigning it 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 the Best Gaming ISPs, the score can reach as high as 60, thanks to the extra 1 to 20 points for quality.
The Best ISPs: Caveats to Keep In Mind
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 with the same source data. That's because we're comparing only the ISPs within that chart—not across all ISPs. The cumulative scores for an ISP will 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 in terms of speed, but neither PCMag nor its data partners can quantify every small provider.
Consolidation in the broadband industry is a continuous and ongoing process, with acquisitions and mergers occurring frequently. These transactions can result in the disappearance of ISPs, name changes, or alterations of their financial structure.
We recognize that the information we're providing here may be upsetting to you. 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!
About Our Expert
I've been writing about computers, the internet, and technology professionally since 1992, more than half of that time with PCMag. I arrived at the end of the print era of PC Magazine as a senior writer. I served for a time as managing editor of business coverage before settling back into the features team for the last decade and a half. I write features on all tech topics, plus I handle several special projects, including the Readers' Choice and Business Choice surveys and yearly coverage of the Best ISPs and Best Gaming ISPs, Best Products of the Year, and Best Brands (plus the Best Brands for Tech Support, Longevity, and Reliability).
I started in tech publishing right out of college, writing and editing stories about hardware and development tools. I migrated to software and hardware coverage for families, and I spent several years exclusively writing about the then-burgeoning technology called Wi-Fi. I was on the founding staff of several magazines, including Windows Sources, FamilyPC, and Access Internet Magazine. All of which are now defunct, and it's not my fault. I have freelanced for publications as diverse as Sony Style, Playboy.com, and Flux. I got my degree at Ithaca College in, of all things, television/radio. But I minored in writing so I'd have a future.
In my long-lost free time, I wrote some novels, a couple of which are not just on my hard drive: BETA TEST ("an unusually lighthearted apocalyptic tale," according to Publishers' Weekly) and a YA book called KALI: THE GHOSTING OF SEPULCHER BAY. Go get them on Kindle.
I work from my home in Ithaca, NY, and did it long before pandemics made it cool.
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