People living in urban settings or densely populated areas have the luxury of choosing between more than one internet provider for service at their address. But those who live in more rural areas are usually stuck with just one — and typically, that option is satellite internet.
While DSL and some fixed wireless options may also be available (like offerings from Rise Broadband, for example), satellite internet is usually the only option that offers at least 100Mbps in download speeds. Though much slower, less reliable and less affordable than ground-laid cable internet or fiber-optic broadband, satellite providers can offer service pretty much anywhere and, if nothing else is available, is a lifeline for those who live in rural spaces.
If you’re considering satellite internet, your choices boil down to Starlink, Hughesnet or Viasat. Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet has raised the bar for satellite internet providers and surged in popularity more recently. By maintaining over 6,000 LEO satellites and offering speeds up to 220Mbps (plus options for customers on the go), Starlink has an obvious advantage over Hughesnet and Viasat. But it’s not for everyone.
Starlink’s monthly prices are higher than Hughesnet and Viasat, for one, and Hughesnet and Viasat still offer dependable internet plans for their customers. Viasat offers coverage to over 99% of Americans and offers a new all-in-one plan with speeds up to 150 megabits per second. Hughesnet was the first satellite internet service to offer broadband speeds of up to 25Mbps, and now, with its new plans, customers can expect download speeds of up to 100Mbps. Sure, it might not match the flashiness of introducing a multi-gigabit plan but it’s not to be underestimated for satellite internet.
Picking between Hughesnet and Viasat might feel like choosing between Coke and Pepsi — a matter of taste between two largely identical products — but there are some distinct differences you’ll want to be well aware of before deciding. Let’s have a look.
Hughesnet vs. Viasat overview comparison
| Hughesnet | Viasat | |
|---|---|---|
| Max speeds | 50-100Mbps download, 5Mbps upload | 25-150Mbps download, 3Mbps upload |
| Lowest promo cost | $50-$95 | $100 |
| Regular monthly cost | $75-$120 | $100 |
| Contract | Two years | None |
| Monthly equipment costs | $15-$20 or $400-$550 one-time purchase | $15 or $300 one-time purchase |
| Data allowance | 100-200GB | 850GB |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Our take – Hughesnet offers three plan tiers with a max speed download of 100Mbps, not too far off from Viasat’s max download speed offering. Monthly data allowances range from 100GB to 200GB, which is a bit low, but you won’t be fined overage fees for exceeding that limit. Hughesnet does enforce contract agreements.
Our take – Viasat offers just one all-in-one plan with a fixed price of $100 monthly for 150Mbps. Although its a bit more expensive than Hughesnet (though, notably, lower than Starlink’s standard monthly cost), it does come with more speed potential and a much higher data cap of 850GB. Viasat does not require contracts or use promotional pricing.
Both providers offer service across the country, though Hughesnet does a better job covering Alaska than Viasat.
Hughesnet vs. Viasat: Availability is similar
Hughesnet and Viasat are both available across all 50 states, though Hughesnet covers more of Alaska than Viasat. They’re the only major ISPs with coverage that extensive (besides Starlink). That’s because satellite internet doesn’t depend on ground-laid cable, fiber deployments or the need for a cellular tower. All you need for a satellite internet connection is a dish — to be installed by your provider — which connects you to the GEO satellites orbiting approximately 20,000 miles above the Earth.
Viasat vs. Hughesnet: Plans and pricing comparison
At first glance, it may seem like Hughesnet and Viasat offer identical plans, but there are a few distinctions with speed, pricing, contract requirements and data caps to be aware of. Let’s take a closer look.
Hughesnet plans and pricing
| Plan | Monthly price | Max speeds | Fees and service details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Select Plan | $50 ($75 after 12 months) | 50Mbps download, 5Mbps upload | Unlimited data (100GB soft cap), $15 monthly equipment or $400 upfront and 2 year-contract | |
| Elite Plan | $65 ($90 after 12 months) | 100Mbps download, 5Mbps upload | Unlimited data (200GB soft cap), $15 monthly equipment or $400 upfront and 2-year contract | |
| Fusion Plan | $95 ($120 after 12 months) | 100Mbps download, 5Mbps upload | Unlimited data (200GB soft cap), $20 monthly equipment or $550 upfront and 2-year contract |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Viasat plans and pricing
| Plan | Monthly price | Max speeds | Fees and service details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viasat Unleashed Read full review |
$100 | 150Mbps | Unlimited data (850GB soft cap), $15 monthly equipment or $300 upfront and no contract |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
One of the first things you’ll notice is that Viasat does not increase its prices after a year, which would typically occur with most cable and fiber providers. Hughesnet, on the other hand, does bump its price up by $25 after a year.
Viasat gives customers more speed options
When it comes to the fastest speed available, Viasat tops Hughesnet by 50Mbps. The Viasat Unleashed plan has a maximum download speed of 150Mbps for $100 monthly. Hughesnet falls just behind in speed, with its fastest speed of 100Mbps.
Viasat’s faster plans aren’t available everywhere, though. Although it boasts a 150Mbps plan, the maximum speed may be only 25Mbps in some areas. Meanwhile, the 50Mbps you get from Hughesnet is available across all serviceable areas, allowing Hughesnet to boast that it can provide potentially better speeds to all customers in its regions.
Keep in mind that the Federal Communications Commission has raised its qualifications for “broadband” from 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload to 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload. That means not all Hughesnet and Viasat customers will receive broadband speeds, as the FCC defines it.
Neither provider offers truly unlimited data
Although Hughesnet and Viasat advertise being free of data caps — Hughesnet touts its “unlimited data” and Viasat even puts “unlimited” in the plan names — but neither provider offers truly unlimited data.
In the case of Hughesnet, there are no hard data caps, which means you won’t be cut off or face overage fees if you go over your monthly data allowance. But you will experience slowdowns once you burn through your monthly allotment of “priority data.” Specifically, customers who exceed the monthly data cap can expect their download speeds to be throttled for the remainder of the month.
It’s a similar story over at Viasat. The company won’t charge you additional fees for exceeding the data limit, but you will suffer from severely reduced download speeds for the remainder of that month.
It’s tempting to give Viasat the nod here because it offers a much higher data allotment than what you’ll get with Hughesnet. For example, the Viasat Unleashed plan has 850GB of data while Hughesnet’s Elite plan features just 200GB. Viasat also has a Data Extender feature that allows you to change your video quality — from the typical 720p to 480p — to help lower your data usage. But before we assume Viasat offers a better deal with “unlimited data,” let me throw out a couple of caveats.
First, like the speeds, Viasat’s data allowances can vary from region to region. Meanwhile, Hughesnet’s data caps are consistent across the entire coverage map. Hughesnet customers can also buy Data Tokens, adding gigabytes to their monthly cap. Again, Viasat doesn’t match that.
It’s a close call, but I’m inclined to give Viasat just a slight edge since the totals are higher when it comes to a data comparison. Both providers have data limits that can be tough to live with, but Viasat presents a data threshold that’s four times higher than Hughesnet’s top plan.
Additional fees are steep, but Viasat’s are slightly cheaper
One of the necessary evils of satellite internet service is a higher equipment fee than you’ll see with cable, DSL or fiber. Most cable providers will allow you to skirt the monthly modem/router fee by using your own equipment, but most satellite providers won’t give you that option. Let’s take a closer look at what you can expect from Hughesnet and Viasat.
One-time installation fee
Self-installation isn’t an option with either of the major satellite internet providers. With Viasat and Hughesnet, it’s professional installation only, requiring a technician visit and setup of the satellite dish and equipment. Viasat offers professional installation at no cost for new customers, but Hughesnet, on the other hand, is a bit tricky. Hughesnet offers free installation if you choose to lease your equipment, which comes at $15 to $20 per month. If you choose to purchase your equipment, standard installation will cost you $200.
Unless you want to buy it for a steep upfront fee, you’ll need to pay $13 per month to rent your equipment from Viasat — and installation costs $100, too.
Additional monthly equipment fee
As I mentioned above, you won’t be able to use your own modem with either Hughesnet or Viasat. Instead, you’ll need to rent or pay for your equipment upfront. With Hughesnet, that means another $15 to $20 per month to lease the Hughesnet Wi-Fi Modem, although you can also buy the equipment for a one-time fee. Depending on your chosen plan, it’ll cost you $300 or $450, which includes the installation fee.
Viasat takes a similar approach but charges customers $15 monthly to rent its Wi-Fi equipment. If you want to go the route of buying the equipment upfront, you’ll be charged a one-time fee of $250. That price is much lower than what you’ll see from Hughesnet — and lower than Starlink’s $349 up-front fee — but it’s still a steep price.
Contracts and early termination fees
Viasat has forgone its two-year contract requirement, a major plus in its favor. It seems to have taken after Starlink and the 5G home internet providers, all of whom require no term agreements. But that isn’t the case for Hughesnet. Hughesnet still requires customers to commit to a two-year contract. If you cancel within the first 90 days of service, you’ll need to pay an early termination fee as steep as $400.
Hughesnet vs. Viasat: Customer satisfaction is a mixed bag
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Though Viasat wasn’t scored at all, Hughesnet finished dead last in J.D. Power’s most recent ISP customer satisfaction survey for the US South region.
Similarly, neither provider placed in J.D. Power’s 2024 Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study. The most recent data we can turn to comes from J.D. Power’s study in 2023, where Hughesnet placed in the South region with a disappointing score of 577 on a 1,000-point scale, dead last among all ISPs listed in that same region. Viasat did not place in any region.
This isn’t necessarily surprising given satellite internet’s reputation for spotty service. The technology is known to be finicky in bad weather, sluggish in performance and pretty expensive compared with other modes of internet.
It’s one of the main reasons billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have invested in low-earth orbit satellites, which are approximately 60 times closer to the ground than those in use by Viasat and Hughesnet. With closer satellites, the signal from your dish won’t need to travel as far, which can potentially reduce latency and boost speeds. It’s no secret that Starlink outpaces both Hughesnet and Viasat in speeds and has a much more dedicated customer base.
What’s the bottom line on Hughesnet vs. Viasat?
So, did you choose Coke or Pepsi? If you reside in a remote stretch of rural America, your only choice for internet service may come down to Hughesnet and Viasat. While Hughesnet’s consistency across all corners of the coverage map makes for a decent pitch, the chance for higher download speeds and greater data allowances tilts the scales toward Viasat. Be sure to check with both to see which one is the better fit at your address — and if anything else is available, be sure to consider that as well.
Hughesnet vs. Viasat FAQs
Which is faster, Hughesnet or Viasat?
If you base it simply on which service has the fastest speed at its top end, the clear winner is Viasat. Some of its markets are now able to reach 150Mbps download speeds. That said, not all Viasat customers have access to that top download speed. There are some markets where subscribers will see maximum speeds of 25Mbps. In those cases, Hughesnet comes out on top because all of its markets have access to 50Mbps download speeds.
Do Hughesnet and Viasat have data caps?
Both Viasat and Hughesnet play a little fast and loose with the term “unlimited data.” Yes, neither indeed enforces a true data cap because customers won’t be charged overage fees or cut off from service once they hit their monthly data allowance. Once that data limit is hit, customers will experience a severe slowdown in internet speed, including throttling for the remainder of their billing cycle. You may avoid taking a hit to your budget, but you’ll certainly get a punch to the gut when it comes to the performance of your internet connection.
Can you game with Viasat and Hughesnet?
For Hughesnet, it all depends on the plan that you choose. Hughesnet’s Fusion plan, which is a combination of satellite and wireless technologies, allows for lower latency and supports online gaming. You could try gaming with Viasat, but we wouldn’t recommend it. If you want to play chess or solitaire, you might be in business, but any first-person shooter or real-time strategy games would likely be hampered by lag.
