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Sonic Internet rating
How we calculated our rating
Speed
7.5/10
Value
7.5/10
Customer Care
7/10
Pros
Sonic offers 100% fiber plans with symmetrical download and upload speeds
No price increases
No data caps or contracts
Cons
Limited availability, fiber network has room to expand footprint
Few variability in plans
See more pros and cons
Sonic is a rarity among internet service providers. Unlike your typical ISP, Sonic doesn't offer a range of different speeds or prices. Instead, it features just one plan with a flat rate of $50 a month -- a price that won't increase year over year. The speeds you can get for $50? Up to 10,000 megabits per second.
Compared with the prices and speeds offered by the top providers in the country, it's hard to pass a deal like that up.
For context, the fastest speeds offered by top fiber internet providers like AT&T Fiber and Google Fiber are 5,000Mbps at $245 a month and 8,000Mbps at $150 a month, respectively. Xfinity, one of the top cable providers in California, tops out at 1,200Mbps for $75 monthly.
However, there's a bit of a catch to that attractive $50 price tag. To get 10Gbps of speed, you'll need a router with the proper bandwidth capacity. Sonic doesn't supply that router for free. You can lease a router from Sonic for an extra $20 a month, making your monthly bill around $70. Still, that's a pretty decent price for 10Gbps, beating the value of plans offered by AT&T Fiber and Google Fiber, even with the added equipment fee.
Founded in 1998, Sonic began as a DSL internet provider operating in Santa Rosa, California, before switching to fiber internet and investing in a full fiber-optic network. In 2016, Sonic launched its Gigabit tier priced at just $50 a month, and in 2021, it launched its 10 Gigabit tier for the same price, making it one of the most competitively priced fiber internet providers in the country despite its small footprint.
If you live in California and have access to fiber from Sonic, you won't find a better deal, even for an overall cost of $70 per month. Let's get into some of the fine print of Sonic's internet plan, so you know what to expect.
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Sonic internet plans and pricing
Plan Monthly price Max speeds Fees and service details
Standard Fiber 10 Gigabit $50 8,700Mbps download, 8,700Mbps upload No data caps, contracts or installation fees for new customers; $5-$20 router rental (optional)
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data
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There is currently only one speed you can get with Sonic, as an ISP that “doesn’t believe in tiered internet services,” according to its website. For $50 per month, you can sign up for Sonic’s Standard Fiber 10 Gigabit plan, which actually comes out to an average of 8,700Mbps symmetrical download and upload speeds.
There isn’t a “cheap” tier with Sonic, but $50 a month stands on par with a lot of entry-level internet offerings, regardless of connection type. Spectrum, for example, advertises speeds of 500Mbps download and 20Mbps upload per month for $50; that price increases by around $30 a year. While Sonic reserves the right to increase prices, its broadband nutrition labels advertise that its monthly fee isn't introductory, meaning Sonic won't raise its prices year after year.
But will you actually be getting those 8,700Mbps download and upload speeds? That depends on the equipment you're using and your Wi-Fi set-up. Although it's certainly possible to reach Sonic's advertised max speeds, you'll need a router that has the capacity to do so. Also, it's worth mentioning that although Sonic has won PCMag's "fastest all-around ISP" for three years in a row, PCMag clocked Sonic's median download speed at 829Mbps. (PCMag is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)
Sonic offers straightforward service terms compared to many other ISPs
Sonic's terms of service are pretty straightforward: there are no data caps and no contracts, but you do need to pay for a router rental or supply your own. Additionally, there are no installation fees for new customers, and Sonic will pay up to $200 to buy out your contract with another internet provider, a nice advantage for customers trapped in contracts who want to get the best price from other ISPs.
Add a landline replacement for just $10 a month
Sonic offers just one bundling opportunity: for $10 extra a month, you can sign up for Sonic’s Fusion Fiber 10 Gigabit plan, which gets you the same speeds as the Standard 10Gbps plan, but with a Voice over Internet Protocol phone service tacked on as a replacement for landline service.
In many cases, VoIP can be a cost-efficient alternative to a landline, as Sonic doesn't charge for international calls and allows unlimited calls. Plus, Sonic rolled out an app that lets you manage this calling feature if you add it to your monthly bill.
Make sure you budget for a router
Sonic doesn't include a router in that $50 monthly fee, so note that if you don’t already have one capable of 10Gbps, you’ll need to purchase or rent one from Sonic. Sonic uses routers from Eero with varying bandwidth potential that start at $5 monthly and go up to $20 monthly.
Note that Sonic's routers have different bandwidth potentials depending on whether they're wired with an ethernet cable or used without one. You'll always get faster speeds with Ethernet, but it's worth noting that if you want to take advantage of that 10Gbps speed, you'll need the right setup.
Sonic routers compared
Sonic Wi-Fi 6: Capabilities up to 1Gbps (wired) and 500Mbps (wireless), bandwidth for 75+ devices; $5/mo.
Sonic Wi-Fi Pro 6E: Capabilities up to 1Gbps (wired) and 1.6Gbps (wireless), bandwidth for 100+ devices; $10/mo.
Sonic Wi-Fi 7 Max: Capabilities up to 9.4Gbps (wired) and 4.3Gbps (wireless), bandwidth for 200+ devices; $20/mo.
You’ll need to shell out an extra $20 per month for a router with 10Gbps capability, bringing your monthly bill to $70. Plus, you’ll need to use an Ethernet cable that can consistently get those speeds: a wireless connection to the Wi-Fi 7 Max gets you only around 4.3Gbps.
Where can you get Sonic Internet?
Unfortunately, Sonic is limited to California, in a few metropolitan areas like Santa Rosa, San Francisco and South San Francisco, Oakland, San Mateo and pockets around Berkeley, Brentwood, Concord and Walnut Creek.
Fiber expansion is expensive, and Sonic used its existing DSL network to lay the groundwork for its fiber, though at a cost upward of $10 million. Still, according to the website, Sonic surpassed 100,000 customers in 2019, and we can only assume it has been steadily growing since then.
Customer satisfaction with Sonic: Hard to gauge without the data
Determining how Sonic’s customer service ranks against much bigger ISPs is tricky. Sonic isn’t large enough to be included in data collection from organizations like J.D. Power or the American Customer Satisfaction Index. However, you can check a few sources, like PC Mag Reddit, the Better Business Bureau and ISP reports, to see what customers' general feelings are toward Sonic’s services.
According to PCMag, Sonic was voted the fastest internet provider overallfrom 2022 through 2024. At the Better Business Bureau, Sonic holds a scant 1 out of 5 rating, though only according to a handful of customer reviews about service cancellation and installation issues. Remember that BBB ratings hold AT&T Internet at 1.1 out of 5 and Google Fiber at 1.2 out of 5, so the ISP bar isn't very high.
Oakland and Bay Area Reddit threads generally tout Sonic as one of the best internet service providers in the area, with some users urging Xfinity or AT&T Fiber customers to switch over. Reviews from ISP reports were also generally positive, giving the provider a 4.33 out of 5. Across all websites, there were mixed reviews on tech support, general quality of customer service, pricing and speeds.
The bottom line on Sonic: It's worth the money
Sonic is worth the try, especially if you've been paying high prices for gigabit speeds with Xfinity or are considering investing in a fiber connection. Our only caveat with Sonic is that the monthly price of $50 doesn't include a router renter, unlike many other fiber providers. But you can't go wrong with the symmetrical download and upload speeds that come with fiber internet -- especially if those blazing-fast speeds come at a reasonable monthly price.
As Sonic expands its fiber network, we hope it also expands its pricing and speed tiers for customers. But if you live in west California and are searching for affordable fiber internet, Sonic might just be the best option for you.
Sonic internet FAQs
What speeds does Sonic offer?
Sonic offers speeds up to 10,000Mbps of full-fiber internet, symmetrical download and upload speeds.
Does Sonic have data caps or contracts?
No, Sonic doesn’t have any data caps, contracts or installation fees for new customers.
Does Sonic internet require a modem?
No, Sonic doesn't require a modem. The Optical Network Terminal, which is installed during your professional fiber installation, functions as a modem. You do need a router, however. You can rent an Eero router from Sonic for between $5 to $20 a month, depending on the speeds you need, or you can purchase your own.
How much does Sonic internet cost?
Sonic differs from other internet service providers because it doesn’t offer different price tiers. The flat fee for internet service from Sonic is $50 a month. For $10 extra monthly, you can add its Voice over Internet Protocol calling service as a landline replacement. If you factor in router rental costs (which vary from $5 to $20 monthly unless you decide to buy your own), that price comes out to $55 to $70 -- very competitive compared to AT&T Fiber and Google Fiber.