Sonic Internet Logo
star star star star_border star_border

4.9

Overall Score

error This company may not service all states.
See states serviced
LAST UPDATED: January 26th, 2024

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, Sonic Internet offers download speeds up to 20 Mbps, no data caps, and a one-year contract.

View Sonic Internet Reviews

As an internet provider, Sonic Internet's mission is simple: to provide the best internet speed and great customer service for the most affordable price. The company strives to accomplish its mission by continually innovating and working to change the face of the broadband service industry.

Top Ranked Companies

thumb_up

The Good

  • Brand New Fiber-Optic Lines
  • No Data Limits

Brand New Fiber-Optic Lines

Sonic Internet's service lines are brand new in every area where the company operates. This means that the lines are using the most current fiber optic technology, which keeps the network constantly running at full speed. Some players in the internet service provider industry will vary in speed depending on the time of day, so users may not be getting the actual speed that they are paying for each month. However, Sonic Internet customers do not have to worry about this issue. Fiber internet service is considered the most reliable connection.

No Data Limits

Some ISP companies set limits on how much data their customers can use each month. Sonic Internet does not impose any data caps on its customers' usage. Each Sonic customer can use as much data as desired each month while still enjoying quick speeds.

thumb_down

The Bad

  • 12-Month Contract
  • Limited Service Area
  • Slow Speeds

12-Month Contract

While several other internet providers do not require any contracts, Sonic Internet requires its customers to sign into a minimum 12-month agreement in order to utilize the company's services. If the customer needs to cancel the internet connection for any reason before the end of the contract, they will be required to pay an early termination fee.

Limited Service Area

Sonic Internet's service area is incredibly limited; the company only operates in a few cities in California. Not only does this restrict the number of consumers who have access to Sonic Internet's services, but it also makes it difficult for existing Sonic customers who move outside of the company's service area because they have to deal with the hassle of switching providers and cancelling their contract.

Slow Speeds

Sonic Internet's top download speed is 20 Mbps, which is incredibly slow in the industry. Many other companies offer more than 20 Mbps as their bottom speed and go as fast as 1 Gbps.

gavel

The Bottom Line

Sonic offers its customers fiber internet and no data limits. However, the company's service area is limited to a few cities in California, the speeds are very slow, and its customers are required to sign into a 12-month contract. We do not recommend working with Sonic Internet at this time.

View Best Internet Service Companies

Was this content helpful?
thumb_up Yes thumb_down No

Star Rating

info

3.2

star star star star_border star_border

41 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

44%

4 grade

0%

3 grade

12%

2 grade

22%

1 grade

22%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

star star star star_border star_border

Quality

star star star star_half star_border

Service

star star star star_half star_border

Trustworthiness

star star star star_border star_border
cancel

Filter by:

arrow_drop_down

Sort by:

arrow_drop_down
info
check_circle

Review Source

star star star star star

Kanyin Esther

I truly like sonic internet provider at for me it has unbeatable fastest speed service I love the way they offer me and my family a good price sonic internet is the internet provider that makes me keep up with my online meetings schedule

2 months ago

check_circle

Review Source

star star star star star

Jake Benson Chicago, IL

I like Sonic Fiber Internet is incredibly fast, up to 2× faster than competitors. Their customer service and commitment to data privacy are outstanding. I highly recommend Sonic for their speed and excellent support.

2 months ago

star star star star star

Darla Wylie Brentwood, CA

Sonic is the best internet/phone service in my area. When other internet services are not working.....for whatever reason 🙄 (x.....) Sonic is working. One time in 5 years it has gone off and when I called the customer service department they had a direct line to see how long your service would be down. They were up and running before the time of estimate they gave me on the recording. I have been a customer for almost 10 years and I do not plan on leaving anytime soon. Thank you Sonic for recognizing me as a valued customer and giving me great value for my money!!

9 months ago

star star star star star

Hoy Thompson Oakland, CA

Review is way off or old or both. I pay $49.99/mo for fiber (supports up to 10G but I am using 1G at the moment) that has not gone down since it was installed. Average speed is 854-876 Mbps DOWN and 896-918 UP (I did tryout the 10G connection and it was fast, but I don't have a good set of test averages to post). Been a customer since 2016, they are local, get high scores from Electronic Frontier Foundation, no caps, no limits.

9 months ago

star star star star star

Dan Ford Redwood City, CA

I've had a great experience with Sonic Internet. It was easy to sign up, the installer showed up on time, and quickly got me setup. I signed up Summer '21 under promo that provided first 3 months for free then put me on $49.99/month. I love the faster upload speeds, the transparent pricing and avoiding the need to call my broadband provider every 12 months to ask them not to price gouge me. I will NEVER do business with Comcast, AT&T, or Verizon again. They're oligopolists whose business model depends on the majority of their subscribers not calling them to ensure they're on the latest promotion. This is reminiscent of how Blockbuster made big profits off of late fees and we all know what happened to them. Don't know why consumers put up with this nonsense.

1 year ago Edited August 22, 2022

star star star star star

David Couturier San Francisco, CA

Gigabit fiber service they offer is very inexpensive and fast service. The article on this page is nonsense.. Expect speeds of ~900Mbps Up and Down with the lowest latency I have seen in a residential home internet (~3 ms wired). I did have a hiccup when I moved and activated service and the techs had to make a new line all the way to a junction box on another street block. They were very friendly and they cared about making sure that I had good noise levels and stayed until we were able to get over 940 Mbps (Gigabit Ethernet will top at 960 Mbps due to packet headers overhead so 940 is good enough!) They also left me with some optical fiber so that I could relocate the existing OTN since the previous owner had it installed in a questionable location. It's been 6 months and I haven't had any issues.

2 years ago

star star star star star

Paul Sunnyvale, CA

The claims of this website are not true. I suffered with intermittent internet and the world's worst customer support from Comcast and AT&T for many years. Many complaints, no change at all. About four years ago I switched to Sonic and the costs were lower, speeds were higher, and I get a knowledge tech to work with as soon as I call. I am not under a 12 month contract, and Sonic's speeds are equivalent to AT&T's. I cannot recommend this company strongly enough. It is well run, the product is reasonably priced, and the telephone support techs are local, intelligent, and cheerful. Phone and internet, 50 Mbps symmetric. Very happy. Paul in Sunnyvale CA

3 years ago

star star star star star

Matt San Francisco, CA

Its the best internet I have ever had. Comcast and AT&T are trash and really bad companies. My fiber internet in San Francisco gets 115mbps download and 276mbps upload. I just ran the speed test right now. It is FAST and the company is always pleasant to deal with, although I have almost never had to call them. The only bad thing I can say is that they require you to rent the router, but even with that rental fee it is about $45 cheaper than Comcast was, and 5 times the speed. This site has incorrect information since the speed is over 100mbps up and down, not 20mbps like this page says. I HIGHLY recommend Sonic. *Also, I actually work for At&t, since they own WB, and could get a discount on my internet and I still stay with Sonic.

3 years ago

star star star star star

Brigette S. Van Nuys, CA

This company offer a very inexpensive price, have the absolute best customer service and knowledgeable as well as kind technicians, I WOULD NEVER GO BACK TO SPECTRUM! My Wifi is plenty fast. I have no data caps and no longer pay outrageous monthly costs with surcharges, strange, errroneous made up fees, using Spectrums service charges, because my nane begins with a B surcharge. I was so fed up before I found Sonic, that I refused to pay a $250 ( just for one month and all I had was wifi!), bill from Spectrum. Even though not paying this bill is ruining my almost perfect credit, I will never pay that $250. I paid the 40 plus taxes etc etc, that was what I signed up for. But on principal, I will never pay $250 for one month of wifi. I was completely without Wifi for over 6 months. I MUST HAVE IT for work. But, I refuse to go with Spectrum or AT&T. So when I found Sonic, I was mildly hopeful. Now, I am so happy, just overjoyed!! They are by far the most compassionate, knowledgable, all over the best company I have ever dealt with. They remind me of a little book store I loved, years ago. They would always save books for me, they knew my taste. They knew my name. They cared. Sonic is very much like that. I love that!

4 years ago

star star star star star

fearles jane San Francisco, CA

Download Mbps 11.62 Upload Mbps .94 Excelsior, San Francisco December 2, 2018 Works for me. Unlike ATT, I can now watch movies on Netflix without glitches. I like my landline, don't want everyone yanking my chain when I am away from home. That makes a difference, because ATT is extra charges for each of long distance, caller ID, voicemail, etc. Now I can have a long conversation with my cousin in Canada or my friend in Selma, California (Raisin Capital of the World!) without a thought about cost. The majority of my incoming calls are from spoofed numbers trying to sell me health insurance, and I prefer to keep my mobile clear of that sort of thing. Service is from live people who answer their phones.

5 years ago

star star star star star

Fundevin Los Angeles, CA

For the price of $40 a month you can get gigabit internet,(like actually 1000 mbits up and down, round the clock, no rental fees). This makes Xfinitys 60 dollars 200 mbit plan just look silly. The installation team is incredibly friendly and understanding, and they will set you up for whatever you need. They have a phone service, but they won't try to upsell you on it, and its super easy to take it off if you don't want it.

1 year ago Edited March 22, 2023

star star star star star

FiberLine

The review (updated August 2022) is completely inaccurate with regard to Sonic.net product descriptions, service, and prices. My experience with Sonics onsite installers and service personnel, both at home and in commercial locations has been top notch. I don't understand how you can possibly rate Comcast Xfinity as #1 overall. I lived with their slow, overpriced services, inflexible contracts, and disorganized staff for years while waiting for Sonic to be available in my area. I couldn't get rid of them fast enough.

1 year ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Jan Robertson Burlingame, CA

We've had it for 7 years. Generally has been good BUT recently two major failures. One was an emergency they knew about on a Sunday but did nothing to fix it until Monday morning! Now they have given us notice that tomorrow, a Friday morning, they have a SCHEDULED "emergency" maintenance. Are you kidding me, on a weekday? Don't they know that lots of people work from home and rely on internet for business to do their jobs? Especially on a Friday when many 'hybrid' workers work from home. Sonic if you do this again we need to seriously think about switching!

7 months ago

star star star star_border star_border

GM LIAO San Francisco, CA

I subscribed Sonic in San Francisco. The good thing is that the speed is fast (1G), reliable, and there's no contract - it just go month by month. The bad thing is that it comes as a bundle - it's ad said it's $50 for 1G, however you have to get a voice line with it, it turned out you have to pay $67 (with tax) with it.

7 months ago

star star star star_border star_border

Debra Modesto, CA

I’ve been a Sonic customer for many years. Originally I subscribed to their internet service and used their sonic email. When I moved to a different part of town in 2009, Sonic did not provide internet services in my neighborhood but I paid a $6 fee per month to keep my sonic email because of their spam filters and terrific customer service. Fast forward to 2021 and I’m disappointed. Their spam filter does not work as well as it used to - spam gets through to Inbox, and their server is glitchy. Many times I cannot see email in my Sent folder nor my Drafts folder. Frustrating. It is not my settings, it is Sonic’s server that is glitchy. Thinking of changing email and using another service at this point.

2 years ago

star star star star_border star_border

Alan Sunnyvale, CA

You must rent their modem and VOIP equipment. Add that in and my bills were about $67 a month for roughly 20MBs. That isn't very good. I bought a cable modem for $120 and I pay $30/mo for 1 year ($40 after) and get 60MBs; I also pay OOMA about $6/mo. Way faster in aggregate for 50% of the price. The other problem is that they charge you for the last month when you are returning the equipment (at your expense) to them. Huh? With Comcast, you call them and you are shutoff immediately. Mind you, I don't *like* Comcast. They have simply horrible customer service. By contrast, I have nothing but praise for Sonic's CS. That is why I'm giving them 3 stars. It isn't for the value of the service. That is *maybe* 2 stars, but more likely 1. I won't be a customer of Sonic again unless their pricing structure changes.

5 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Bruce Wallace

Their customer service is generally good, and the signal pretty reliable, but they have been charging me for a piece of equipment I don’t have for a year-and-a-half. If you use them I suggest thoroughly documenting everything you get from them, including with photographs.

7 months ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Matthew Gudenius Saint Helena, CA

We've had Sonic for over 10 years now, since we moved into our house... it was cheaper than AT&T, and provided slightly higher speeds (even on AT&T's infrastructure) When we first moved in, we were getting 8 mbps download, 1 mbps upload... that's nothing to write home about, but it's far better than what we get now! While the rest of the world has gotten more and more bandwidth, ours has shrunk to be WORSE than it was 10 years ago! On a good day, we now get less than 3 mbps download and 0.5 mbps upload. This is not enough to stream videos or music, play online games, or basically do anything else that people do on the internet these days. (During covid, my job required me to upload lessons for my students, and a 5 minute video would take 5 HOURS to upload to YouTube.) And this is on a GOOD day. There are frequently times when we get pings of 700-1000 ms, with 1 mbps download and ZERO mbps upload (yes, you read that right... I get timeout errors even just loading my email. In other words... completely unusable.) I got better internet than this in the middle of a rice paddy in Vietnam. Third world countries have better internet than we have, and we live in one of the 100 wealthiest zipcodes in America, 2 hours away from Silicon Valley and the birthplace of the internet. And in the past, Sonic would actually check out the problems and fix them. Now they just say "You should get our new modem/router"... so we do that... and then the problem stays just as bad (or gets worse.) Sonic (and AT&T) should be ashamed of themselves. We have no choice but to switch to Starlink.

11 months ago

star star star star_border star_border

Gerbrand Ceder Orinda, CA

I have Sonic voer AT&T lines. The first impression I have of the company is disorganized. The installation was going to take a few hours, but when they arrived they figured out that there was no service at our pole, so they had to draw hundreds of ft of new line to a different street. Technician installed the modem, but nothing else. ATA adaptor for phone arrived later in the mail and did not work. Called Sonic and after a half hour hold I gave up. Not sure why people like this service so much

1 year ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Eric LaFranchi Windsor, CA

Sonic has a 1.5 GB limit on email storage which is ridiculous while other companies offer 15GBs for free and more for a minimal fee. My family had 6 Sonic email accounts (Sonic mailboxes) with total storage usage of 14GB and I was being charged $200.00 a month for overage. After multiple email and calls to support, I was told that Sonic would not address the mail storage limits. When I pointed out that several other email services offered 15GB for free and 50-100s gigabytes for minimal monthly or annual change, I was told by customer service to go to another service. My conclusion is that Sonic doesn’t care about the customer and just moves on with their new services and ditches the existing customer that help Sonic to grow into what it is today.

1 year ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Mimi Lain San Francisco, CA

I've had it with Xfinity, they raise prices too often and too fast, their customer service is unremarkable so I heard Sonic is a great alternative. I saw the online promotion indicating 3 months of free service and $49.99 monthly charge for the 2nd tier service, I decided to switch. The online order was simple and easy, but without a lot of explanation until you've signed up. That should have been a sign... The installation was a no show at first by AT&T they've contracted, finally, the AT&T guy showed up and installed the gateway 3 days later, I had to plug in the telephone gadget although I didn't need a landline. I ordered two "eeros" for $19.95 / month rental for I thought it was a gadget required but later returned them for I am able to use my own google wifi as extenders. Nonetheless, I was charged $75.99 for the first month, I called and asked, the guy asked me to call back when Accounting is working, I called again, the woman explained that the 3 month free promotion was only for "Sonic Fiber optic" which was not available in my area, so they had to do it by contracting with AT&T with a node, so it is not real fiber option, and I have to pay additional $16/ month on top of the $49.99 to rent the gateway and phone jack - that was a surprise! I can pay for the gateway but for a phone jack I don't need? They claimed the landline comes "free", I felt deceived for none of these were explained to me before the order was placed! without placing the order, you have no info regarding their policies. I have a bad feeling about this. However, the internet has been working fine, but I will wait and see if I will keep this company - after one month I am bound to a one-year contract!!

3 years ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Noneyabusiness Kailua-Kona, HI

Their customer service is garbage as well as their billing system. I was moving out of California so I was proactive and called ahead of time to ask what I need to do to cancel. They said they don’t prorate and because they bill you in the beginning of the month you can just call and cancel any day after that first day of billing and still have internet for the rest of the month. Lies, they shut down my service literally that day when I called even after you paid the full month of service. I called back it was a huge hassle and mess! They didn’t even know if they could reconnect me that night even though it was their mistake and I had to pay for a whole new month of sonic internet cause they couldn’t reopen my account… they made a new one for me. After many phones, disappointment, and lies that they refunded me money for unused service I am glad to be done with them!!! Good riddance.

1 year ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Rosemary King San Francisco, CA

Just had Sonic installed to replace increased cost of ATT internet. SONIC ADS ARE LIES. There is no residential $39.99 plan, and despite a lined through RentalBoxFee indicating no such charge, there is a $10 fee for equipment rental, a $10 fee for a phone line I did not want, as well as other fees adding up to $66/month - MORE than my last service! There is no truth to their advertising which is intentionally misleading.

1 year ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

jc of Santa Rosa Santa Rosa, CA

What I like best about this company? NOTHING. I wouldn't take Sonic for free after my experience with their install crew and trying to find an appropriate person to talk to about the issue. I ended up with a billing supervisor 3 weeks after clearly articulating my complaint over the phone and writing out my complaint in an email as instructed about their install crew trespassing thru my deadbolted/locked gate) in to my backyard. The Tech support that responded to my written complaint apologized but assured me the line issue was fixed?? and the Billing Supv who I spoke with said the crew used their best judgment- they thought a utility pole was in my backyard- it is not but they also did not have permission to enter my locked yard. One crew member advised me he knew his rights....Not even smart enough to properly locate a pole- how do we trust their skill set in hooking up service. The Billing Supv clearly doesn't understand customer service. Nope, no Sonic for me! You don't understand your own business.

1 year ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Mike Tamir Oakland, CA

Sonic internet is just terrible. I went with them thinking that as a younger company they would be better than ATT for providing internet. Not only was this wrong, it seems like they have red tape every time I called. For price things were also terrible. They advertise as costing $39/month for "phone and internet service" for their gigabit plan, but when you get the bill you end up paying $100/month. How does this happen? They force you to rent a modem and a VOIP phone conversion device per month even if you don't use the phone or want to pay only once for the modem device, and then after you sign up they jack up the rate after you have signed no so that it tops off at nearly 100$. I am so frustrated I will be using one of the internet giants (ATT verizon etc) because (remarkably) it might mean better customer support.

2 years ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Even Sax Alameda, CA

Sonic is basically just AT&T provided through their customer service for more money. You would think that they provide some value add that makes it worth using them instead of AT&T like... customer service, but you would be wrong. Astonishingly, Sonic is able to provide even a lower level of customer service than AT&T, their customer support is poorly trained and intolerably rigid. They force you to pay for and maintain antiquated voip phone equipment and charge you if you do not. They also charge you to rent the equipment. I am truly surprised they are still in business with such a terrible model.

2 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

star star star_border star_border star_border

Josh Sacramento, CA

Was a customer for 7 years, about as slow as any other internet in the Bay Area. You start off paying $40 a month for about a year and by the end we were paying $90 a month without any upgrades in speed. Service never cut out which was a plus. Just be aware they ask for a 30 day notice before ending service, then charge you a lot of extra fees at the end even though we returned all the equipment. Probably the same experience of any of these large internet companies, just wish we had high speed, public internet some small towns are pulling off that isn't run by shady companies.

3 years ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Christine Pinole, CA

For me, Sonic was absolutely horrible and I advise everyone to stay away from this company. Sales and advertising: Not blatant lies, but definitely half-truths. They advertise in big, bold letters $40/month. They cheapest price they could offer me was $70/month. After one year, that went up to $80/month. Product/Service: Absolute fail. I even feel like they're a complete scam. They promised download speeds of up to 75 Mbps. I got less than 1 Mbps. That's completely appalling. Guarantee/Warranty: My modem failed within a couple of months. They replaced it for free, but it was a hassle. And then, my phone service keep going out. I kept having to unplug everything and then plug it all back in again. Customer Service: You'll get a English-speaking human but they're rude and they'll talk over you. Cancellation of Service: Again, scammy practices. They claim that it takes 30 days to process cancellations. So, most people call when they're ready to terminate, right? Well, you'll have to pay for service for an extra 30 days from the date that you call to terminate. So you'll be stuck paying for an extra month of service which you neither need nor want. Shady, shady, shady. There are positive reviews all over the internet for this company. Please, please keep in mind that it's so easy for a company to post fake reviews.

5 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Arthur Weiss Berkeley, CA

The service is great but the attractive prices are a joke. They say they will charge $39.99 and then when you add the basic equipment to make it work, it jumps to more than $60.00. After a year it gets worse going up to $70.00 which is the same I previously paid for xfinity. I am really questioning whether it is worth it or not.

1 year ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Xin Cho Berkeley, CA

They advertise 39.99 internet+phone and then charge you an extra 12.90 as 'taxes and fees' for the phone. This is for first year, and afterwards they charge you an extra 10.00 too. This was scummy and not made clear it'd that the charge wouldn't show up until later. Good speeds though, but it's disconnected twice since I've had service.

2 years ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

A Perer Los Angeles, CA

Customer for 3 years as it wasn't quite worth switching but they do everything to take your money. They won't let you return any equipment you don't use like the internet phone device in hopes you'll lose so they can charge you, and they don't prorate bills. They're trying charging me for 30 days of service despite me canceling and using only one day of service because of an overlap of one day. No proration at all. Not good people. Looking to rip you off however they can get away with it.

2 years ago

star star star star star

Nini New York, NY

I utilized high-speed internet for the purpose of completing my educational requirements.

9 months ago Edited June 22, 2023

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Marc Yoon San Francisco, CA

Literally the worst wifi I've ever had the misfortune of wasting my money on. I did not think it was physically possible for wifi to be this slow and inconsistent, but Sonic surprisede every day. I would not wish this wifi on my worst enemies.

2 years ago Edited November 18, 2021

star star star star star

Mrs. RL White

They put their customers first! They support Net Neutrality & always have! Their services rock & are the best price!

6 years ago

star star star star star

Tillman Robinson Petaluma, CA

What are you talking about 20 mbps? I get gig service I assume this article is very very old.

2 years ago

star star star star star

Charles San Francisco, CA

Because the rates are decent, the service is excellent, and the customer service is superior.

6 years ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Danielle Kralj Brentwood, CA

Verified address was available for $50/month 75 Mbps and when they installed it was only 7 Mbps. Now AT&T is charging me $99 to re-install AT&T service

1 year ago

star star star star star

Bill Minor

Great support team. Knowledgable, helpful, always there when you need them.

3 years ago

star star star star star

Doug R

Would like to see more upgrade opptys and ability to unbundle landline service

5 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

MICHAEL WOODS San Francisco, CA

1 Mbps download and 0.5 Mbps upload for about $63 per month in San Francisco.

5 years ago

check_circle

Review Source

star star star star_border star_border

shawne bradley San Francisco, CA

They're customer service was average unable to get any real help.

1 year ago