T-Mobile vs. Google Fiber: Which Internet Provider Is Best for You?

Compare T-Mobile and Google Fiber head-to-head

Both T-Mobile and Google Fiber are relative newcomers to the internet business, with Google Fiber kicking off the fiber boom of the 2010s and T-Mobile leading the way with the current wave of 5G home internet. Although fiber is faster and more reliable than 5G, Google Fiber is still only available in a handful of cities, whereas T-Mobile is already available nationwide.

It should be noted that while T-Mobile’s nationwide coverage is one of its key advantages, not all areas within that coverage are equal. T-Mobile’s speeds vary considerably, and 5G speeds are most widely available in large urban areas, while more rural areas can expect speeds on the low end of T-Mobile’s estimate.

Pros and cons: T-Mobile vs. Google Fiber

Plans and pricing: T-Mobile vs. Google Fiber

T-Mobile plans and pricing

T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet plan is a great choice if you’re going wireless. You get good value in terms of speed versus cost, along with unlimited data, which is rare for a wireless provider.

T-Mobile’s 5G network can reach pretty decent speeds, but 5G is not available across its entire coverage area, especially in more rural areas where wireless connections are most widely used. This is why there’s such a large range in T-Mobile’s speed estimates. Customers in larger cities are more likely to get the 5G speeds at the high end of that range, but these areas are also more likely to have access to even faster wired connections like cable and fiber.

Google Fiber plans and pricing

Google Fiber gives an amazing value to customers that need a fast connection. It’s one of the smaller nationwide internet service providers (ISPs), but it has had a huge impact in popularizing fiber home internet. Its plans start at a slightly higher price than T-Mobile, but you get much more speed for your dollar.

Fiber is the fastest, most reliable way to connect to the internet and even the most basic fiber plans are still way ahead of where 5G internet is right now.

Neither T-Mobile nor Google Fiber charge you extra fees on top of your monthly bill, which is awesome. New T-Mobile customers have to self-install their equipment, which is fairly easy to do, even if you’ve never done it before. T-Mobile has an app that will walk you through the process from start to finish.

Google Fiber comes with free professional installation, which is even better. Also, they do a great job, which is just more bonus points.

Customer ratings: T-Mobile vs. Google Fiber

T-Mobile was the highest ranked among nationwide providers in our annual customer satisfaction survey, blowing away the competition in overall satisfaction by a decent margin. T-Mobile has been putting a lot of effort into their move to being a provider of home internet, and customers seem to be recognizing that effort.

We didn’t receive enough responses from Google Fiber customers to include it in our nationwide rankings, however, those who did respond gave it incredibly high marks, even higher than those of T-Mobile. With fewer responses, these results should be taken with a grain of salt, but anecdotal evidence definitely supports the idea that Google Fiber customers are very satisfied with their service.

Internet types: T-Mobile vs. Google Fiber

T-Mobile provides 5G home internet, which is one of the newest and fastest wireless internet technologies. 5G is cellular technology, but its high speeds make it a great way to deliver wireless home internet. However, these high speeds are not available across T-Mobile’s entire nationwide footprint.

To reach into less densely populated areas, 5G providers use multiple bands of radio frequencies to maximize the number of households they can reach. This accounts for the wide range of advertised speeds you see advertised with 5G Home internet. Customers in rural areas will get speeds toward the lower end of that advertised range, while those in urban areas that are closer to 5G infrastructure will get higher speeds.

Google Fiber offers fiber-to-the-home internet. Fiber technology is the backbone of the entire internet, and Google Fiber uses that same technology to connect your home to that core network. In addition to being the fastest internet option available, fiber has low latency, which is good for video chat and online games, and high upload speeds, which is good for streamers and other content creators.

Data caps: T-Mobile vs. Google Fiber

Neither T-Mobile nor Google Fiber have data caps, and we think that’s great. This is especially impressive for T-Mobile, since satellite and wireless internet providers often struggle to manage traffic on their networks without imposing harsh data limits. T-Mobile is showing that it can be done, and we hope that other providers follow suit.

Contracts: T-Mobile vs. Google Fiber

Once again, both T-Mobile and Google Fiber get perfect scores for contracts because neither one has them. We definitely think that this is how it should be done by all internet providers. Companies that are confident that the service they provide is valuable don’t need to threaten their customers to keep them around.

Installation: T-Mobile vs. Google Fiber

Neither provider charges for installation, though for T-Mobile customers, self-installation is required. T-Mobile equipment is designed to be easy to set up, so it doesn’t offer professional installation. It does provide an app to walk you through the process, so even those who aren’t technically proficient shouldn’t have any difficulty setting up their new connection.

Google Fiber comes with free professional installation, which makes the process even easier. Our experience with Google Fiber installation has been better than with any other provider, so we’re confident in giving them our highest recommendation.

Availability: T-Mobile vs. Google Fiber

T-Mobile has absolutely massive nationwide coverage in stark contrast to Google Fiber, which is only available in a few select cities. For most people, this will be the deciding factor because if you don’t live in a Google Fiber city, there’s not much you can do about it. Google Fiber is expanding into new cities and new neighborhoods, but most people looking for an internet provider need it right now, so it’s worth keeping an eye on Google Fiber’s progress, but you’ve got to go with what you’ve got.

Final call: T-Mobile vs. Google Fiber

If you have the option of both T-Mobile and Google Fiber in your area, Google Fiber is the clear winner. It gives you the most value for your money, it provides the highest speeds, and it’s the most reliable connection you can get.

Of course, if you don’t have access to Google Fiber, T-Mobile is also an excellent choice. Besides having impressive speeds for a wireless connection, T-Mobile’s straightforward pricing and unlimited data are big selling points.

Methodology

Our HighSpeedInternet.com editorial team bases our analyses on customer input from our annual customer satisfaction survey, results from our speed test tool, and proprietary internet provider data on speeds and pricing. To strengthen our research, we look closely at provider contracts to get hard-to-find information on price hikes, data caps, and extra fees, and we keep tabs on the latest news reports and online reviews. When applicable, we also rely on our personal experiences testing these services.

More about T-Mobile and Google Fiber

• Fiber vs. 5G Home Internet: Which Is Better?
• How Fast Is 5G Home Internet?
• What Is C-Band 5G and Why Does It Matter?
• When Will Google Fiber Be Available in Your City?
• How Fast Is Fiber?