Last year, we made a big change to how we compare internet service providers (ISPs). Rather than using speed as the main indicator of quality, we now combine speed test data with other metrics like price, coverage, and customer satisfaction.

To do this, we independently gather internet speed metrics from readers throughout the year, conduct in-depth user satisfaction surveys, and work with broadband analytics companies to fill in the gaps. Why? Because this new methodology enables us to pinpoint more than just the fastest ISPs in Canada. Armed with all this data, we can now definitively determine the best ISPs in the country. 

Additionally, to help you make the most informed decision that you possibly can when choosing an ISP, we also break all this data down by region. No matter if you live in the most populous part of Toronto or the most remote area of the Northwest Territories, you can rest assured that we've crunched the numbers to find the best providers where you live. So, without further ado, here are the best ISPs in Canada for 2024:

If you're reading this from the US, head over to our Best ISPs ranking for the United States.

The Best Major Canadian ISPs for 2024

Major ISPs are the big household names with millions of customers. We differentiate them from all the other providers on this list by expecting more tests (a minimum of 1,000), more users, and a bigger reach than just a few municipalities, preferably across multiple provinces.

The line is sometimes fuzzy. Canada’s Third Party Internet Access (TPIA) laws allow independent ISPs to lease the physical lines owned by the big players. There’s also constant consolidation. The big ISPs frequently snap up smaller players, sometimes to operate as a “flanker” brand for a different kind of customer base—a tactic that’s big with mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) in the cellular world. Most of the ISPs in Canada are mobile providers as well, which further complicates things.

Major ISPs like to merge, too. The latest was the cable company Rogers, which now completely owns Shaw Communications. As you’ll see below, we combine their separate test numbers into a single chart entry. 

What’s not fuzzy is the clear winner for the Best ISP in Canada. For the second time, that company is Bell Canada. 

Bell is also the fastest ISP among the majors. It wasn’t last year, though it has been the fastest several times in past surveys. Furthermore, Bell breaks out its fibre service from its DSL service in our results. Bell's fiber internet not only earns a perfect 10 rating for speed, but also for price. 

Telus PureFibre puts up a valiant fight against its rival and comes close to winning, but is ultimately limited by its coverage rating and this year’s slightly reduced speed rating.

Rounding out the top three is Rogers, replete with all the speed tests and coverage it gained by adding Shaw to its footprint. That’s the same spot Rogers was in last year.

In fourth place, TekSavvy is also in the same position as it was in 2023.

The major newcomer to the top ten this year is Xplore. Thanks to the fact that it now breaks out the data for the various types of internet service it provides, Xplore’s fixed-wireless service earns enough tests to make the list. Plus, thanks to the nature of fixed wireless, it also boasts a broad coverage area. 

One name you won't see on the list above is Starlink, though it still makes it onto the overall list of major players. It’s at position number 11 this year, and can’t place better due to low ratings on its speed and price. 

The Best Canadian ISPs for 2024 Overall

Only 17 ISPs make our list of majors this year. Despite consolidation, we have a full 74 ISPs to consider in the list of all the ISPs in the country. To make the cut, each of these providers needs to have at least 100 speed tests. 

While the initial data for the major ISPs in this list would be the same, the ratings they get when we convert the data to a 1 to 10 scale differ because there are so many other players. But do they change that much? No. In fact, it's little enough that Bell Canada still comes in as the Best ISP overall. 

The big three again take the top three slots—but in this case, Rogers and Telus flip-flop, with Rogers at number two, trailing Telus by a tenth of a point. It's a close race. Rogers is slower in speed, but has better coverage than Telus. 

ISPs in the top ten here that aren't on the major providers list include Xplore’s satellite tech and Virgin, which is now owned by Bell. 

You can’t see it on the list above, but there’s also another repeat winner to mention: an ISP that outperforms all others in the nation in our median tests. For the third year in a row, telMAX, located in the greater Toronto area, has the absolute best PCMag Speed Index number (a mix of download and upload speeds) across all 74 ISPs. It’s impressive, but the index of 479.4 is actually down from last year’s 578.8. Last year’s second-place speed demon, Lakeland Networks, didn’t have enough response to make the list this year. (For all the numbers, read the full tables below.)

The Best ISPs in Canada by Province

While things are improving for Canadians living in the middle of the country who want decent internet, the fiber options—along with the better speed and pricing that comes with them—are best in the far east or west of the country’s 10 provinces. You can preview this year’s top ISPs on this map. (Unfortunately, this year we didn’t get enough tests from internet users in the three northern territories of Yukon, Nunavut, and Northwest Territories to include ISPs found there.) 

Below, we break out the winners. We’ll share the fastest ISP in each province as well. 

Telus PureFibre leads the pack in Alberta again, as it did last year. It earns not only Best ISP, but also Fastest ISP, thanks to perfect ten ratings for speed, coverage, and price. Getting a 37.2 cumulative index score puts Telus in Alberta about as close to perfect (a score of 40) as you can get via our methodology. 

Telus PureFiber wins again on the far west coast, with a stellar 36.8 out of 40, but does so with only one perfect rating (for speed—it’s also the province’s Fastest ISP). It comes in second to Starlink on coverage and just a hit behind Vancouver-based Novus for price. 

The central province, Manitoba, has many rural areas, perhaps best served by technologies like fixed-wireless and satellite. Nevertheless, the fiber-specific option from Xplore claims the top spot. The speediest ISP is also Xplore’s fiber. Last year this province went to TekSavvy and Shaw at the top, with Valley Fiber as the fastest. It's paying off for Xplore to separate its offerings in the speed data.

Bell Canada dominates the next six provinces in the list, extending from Ontario out to the east coast. New Brunswick has little competition for Bell, which gets a perfect ten for speed and price, and also retains that high rating for overall satisfaction from our annual Readers’ Choice survey across all the results. Bell took both titles in New Brunswick last year, as well. 

In a couple of the provinces where Bell Canada is named Best ISP, it’s not actually the fastest. Newfoundland and Labrador is one such province. Bell has perfect scores for coverage and price here, but the fasted ISP in the area is Rogers. These are the same winners we saw in 2023. 

Much like last year, Bell Canada takes the title for Best and Fastest ISP in Nova Scotia. The only category where Bell isn’t on top is coverage, as Eastlink has more reach.

For Ontario alone, we have a whopping 42 providers to consider. The top ten above include both the best ISP (surprise, it’s Bell Canada) and the fastest (telMAX, who you may remember as also being the fastest in the nation, period). Bell Canada’s win here is more narrow thanks to the competition it sees from ISPs like TekSavvy and Rogers. 

Prince Edward Island only has two ISPs that come up in our data for 2024. That means automatically assigning a 10 and a 1 to the categories for each—it just so happens that Bell Canada has better speed, price, and coverage, so that’s three perfect 10s, where poor Eastlink gets a 1 for each, despite not really being that far off in capabilities (as you can see in the data at the bottom). Last year, Eastlink was the fastest, but not this time. 

The second-most populated province, Quebec, is a spot where Bell Canada truly shines. It boasts a near-perfect coverage rating (according to our data partner, PlanHub.ca), and a high Reader’s Choice overall satisfaction score of 7.3. This leads the ISP to a cumulative score of 37.2. Even more impressive is that Bell’s PCMag Speed Index in the province is more than double what it was last year, jumping from 324.7 to 663.8.

SaskTel isn't the fastest IPS, the cheapest ISP, or the ISP with the most reach in the province (despite being owned by the provincial government!). But even so, the company manages to edge out its competitors with a winning combination of speed, price, and customer satisfaction—narrowly beating out Rogers+Shaw (which is the fastest ISP there). Last year, when Shaw stood alone, it was both the best and the fastest. Starlink’s presence in Saskatchewan also throws an extra wrinkle into the equation, as its extreme reach and terrible price/speed benefit SaskTel. 

The Best Canadian ISPs: Full Tables

Below are the full tables of all the data, showing the ISPs beyond the top ten lists above. Access each table using the arrows; click the top cell for each column to reorder the rows (click again to reorder in the other direction).

Speeds are based on 251,138 PCMag Speed Test results from Canadian ISP users received between June 1, 2023, and June 6, 2024. Check out our full methodology for additional details.

Don’t see your broadband in the results above? That happens if we don’t get enough tests. Make sure your provider is in the results next time. Click the GO button below.