Viasat vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet

Viasat offers satellite internet with the lowest upfront costs, allowing you to try its service with little to no risk through its no-contract plan. Its main internet plan starts at $69.99 per month, depending on your location. Also, be aware that you'll need to pay a monthly equipment lease of $15.

If you use a lot of data (e.g., streaming daily, working from home through the web, frequently videoconferencing, and sharing large data files), the promise of unlimited high-speed data should appeal to you.

T-Mobile offers three plans:

• $35–$55 per month for customers who bundle with a cellular plan.

T-Mobile offers a lot of flexibility with its plans; the main differences are the hardware and support availability. With plans starting at $50 per month, it aligns with other wireless home internet plans (and even some wired broadband options). It's even more budget-friendly when bundled with a T-Mobile voice line, which saves you $15 per month. Bundling your mobile plan with home internet can lead to pretty substantial savings, but even at the full $60 per month, T-Mobile Home Internet is a really good deal.

All of these plans include the wireless gateway (the only equipment you need) at no additional charge, which is nice.

Viasat wins on pure availability. As long as you have a clear view of the sky, you can get connected. However, satellite internet is inherently prone to higher latency (the delay between clicking a link and the page loading) because the signal has to travel to space and back. It can also experience interruptions during heavy rain or snow.

T-Mobile operates on cellular towers. Its 5G network is vast, but if you live in a valley, a dense forest, or far from a highway, your signal might be weak or nonexistent. When you do have a signal, T-Mobile is much more reliable for everyday tasks—its lower latency makes video calls smoother and online gaming actually possible.

It's almost impossible to beat satellite internet's availability. We have to give the nod to Viasat. It's just more likely to be available in remote spots than T-Mobile, which requires cell towers. That said, T-Mobile gets surprisingly close, so unless you're really off the grid, there's a good chance you'll get coverage.

Viasat requires that a satellite dish be mounted on your roof or siding. You cannot install this yourself; a professional technician must come out to align the dish. The installation is typically free, but scheduling can take a few days depending on your location.

T-Mobile is the king of easy setup. They mail you the gateway device for free (included in your monthly plan). You plug it into a wall outlet near a window, scan a QR code on your phone, and you have Wi-Fi in about 5 to 15 minutes.

We have to give the nod to T-Mobile here, if only because there’s no extra cost for the equipment. Both providers give you what you need to get the job done.

Viasat customer support offers phone support and an online customer portal to submit tickets. Viasat also has a decent support site with answers to common questions. It's not going to win any awards, but it gets the job done.

T-Mobile also offers several customer service options. These include 24/7 phone support, live chat, and in-app support using the T-Mobile Home Internet app. Since T-Mobile is such a popular provider, there are also many online community forums and support groups. These can be a good option for advice and answers to less common questions.

We gather reviews from our annual survey on rural internet service providers and evaluate people’s overall satisfaction. Here are reviews that showcase the overall range of consensus from their users.

The consensus on Viasat seems to be that the service is solid, and customers are generally happy with everything except speed. On one hand, this makes sense, since it’s satellite internet—speed is going to be the weak point, for sure. However, it does seem a lot of users don't quite understand what to expect from satellite internet.

T-Mobile customers seem pretty happy overall—especially rural customers who previously had only satellite internet or DSL as options. We’ve seen a few complaints about performance, but they don’t seem consistent (performance issues usually crop up only in oversaturated T-Mobile customer areas), and everyone seems to love the price. In fact, we’ve interviewed customers who use T-Mobile as a backup internet option because of its relatively low cost.

The short answer to that question is a resounding yes. While satellite providers like Viasat still get the edge on availability, 5G home internet (like T-Mobile) wins in nearly every other category. Compared to Viasat, T-Mobile is faster, offers more data, and is far more affordable. Viasat will still work well if you’re in a really remote area, but we highly recommend checking out 5G options before signing up.

At SatelliteInternet.com, we base our analyses on thorough research, including customer interviews, first-hand testing, results from our speed test tool, our annual customer satisfaction survey, and proprietary internet provider data on speeds and pricing. We also dive deep to get all the details on plans, fees, and future developments. We then bring this info together in one place so you can find it easily. Finally, we use our satellite internet industry expertise to help you make the best decisions you can for your household. As always, thanks for reading!

Yes! T-Mobile Home Internet is a very solid option, especially for rural customers. It’s got fast speeds, unlimited data, and a low price—just $60 per month (or less, with a bundled T-Mobile cell plan). We especially like it as an alternative to satellite internet in areas without much infrastructure.

Just a wireless gateway. This device will act a little like a hotspot for your home, grabbing the 5G cell signal from local towers and converting it into a Wi-Fi network for your home.

Yes, 5G home internet should be plenty fast for streaming, even in HD. Most of these plans also have unlimited data, so you can stream as much as you like.

Yes, Viasat is fast enough for Netflix (or your other favorite streaming service). However, some areas may struggle with streaming in HD—we’ve seen some complaints about this from customers. You’ll also need to be mindful of your high-speed data allowance, since video streaming can eat through data very quickly.