Best German Internet Providers
Find the best internet provider in Germany with our help.
We know that there are way too many internet providers out there to not get lost.
And believe us, signing up with the wrong internet provider can be a costly mistake. We have all been there and done that unfortunately.
But with our help you will learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the biggest internet service providers in Germany.
Generally all internet service providers in Germany offer DSL with at least 16Mbit/s and up to 250Mbit/s or even in few selected areas up to 1.000Mb/s via glass fiber.
You will also notice that the all internet providers offer many different extras on top of just providing internet that it is very difficult to compare the prices.
If you want to have a German landline phone number all providers are able to offer you that.
One more important thing to remember. If you want to get the fastest internet connection as possible make sure to run the speed test with each provider.
You will be surprised how big the differences in speed can be depending on the provider.
Be aware that most contracts are valid for 24 months and there is no possibility to cancel the contract before that.
Therefore it is really important to choose the right provider as you are stuck with them for a while.
And make sure to continue reading after our comparison of the best German internet providers. We will show you how you can save a lot of money (Spoiler-alert: You will need to change your internet contract every 24 months).
Comparison German Internet Providers 2024
| 1&1 Internet* | Deutsche Telekom* | O2* | |
| Internet speed | 16MBits – 1.000MBits | 16MBits – 250MBits | 10MBits – 250MBits |
| Best deal | DSL 100 100MBits Download 40MBits Upload | MagentaZuhause 50 50MBits Download 10MBits Upload | o2 my HomeL 100 100MBits Download 40MBits Upload |
| Monthly price best deal | 9,99€ first 10 months 44,99€ afterwards Setup 0€ | 19,95€ first 6 months 42,95€ afterwards Setup 69,95€ Up to 200€ discount possible | 19,99€ first 6 months 34,99€ afterwards Setup 0€ |
| German landline included | Yes Flatrate calls within Germany Flatrate mobile calls 9,99€/month | Yes Flatrate calls within Germany 19,0ct/min mobile phones | Yes Flatrate calls within Germany Flatrate mobile phones |
| Internet/Phone/TV packages | Yes TV in HD quality 4,99€/month | Yes Additional 10,00€/month | No |
| Unlimited high speed internet | Yes | Yes | Yes |
1&1 Internet*
1&1 Internet is the best internet provider in Germany in terms of service, quality and speed.
It comes as no surprise that 1&1 are rated No.1 in several consumer magazines since 2016.
Also, if you read a bit about 1&1 online you will see that most 1&1 customers would recommend 1&1 to their friends which is a very important measurement of customer satisfaction.
Signing up with 1&1 is an easy and straight forward process and we will compare the best options for you.
Overview:
- Very fast internet via glass fiber with up to 1.000Mb/s
- Discounted router when signing up for 24 months
- Fair terms of condition
- TV in HD quality available
- Very good prices for DSL
- DSL contracts also include a German landline
- Customer service is not reachable via phone 24/7
Very fast Internet
1&1 is one of the first internet providers in Germany that offers high speed internet via glass fiber in many areas.
With their availability test you can find out if internet via glass fiber is already available in your street. During the signup process you will run this test to determine which speed options are available for you.
But even if speed is not your main focus 1&1 has other very good offers which almost always come with a German land-line number.
The basic package comes with up to 16Mbit/s, the slightly more expensive package already offers internet with up to 250Mbit/s.
For heavy internet users the high speed option comes with 250Mbit/s and in some areas you might even get the full speed of 1.000Mbit/s via glass fibre.
Discounted router – 1&1 Homeserver
1&1 will also offer a discounted Fritzbox (which they call Homeserver) with your contract, if you sign up for 24 months.
Believe us, right now there is no better option out here in Germany than the Fritzbox routers, which usually start at at least 100€.
So getting a Homeserver for a small monthly fee is already a great deal.
In case you already own a router – we always recommend a Fritzbox as they work with any German internet provider – you can use your own hardware and save that money.
Clear and fair terms of condition
You will get the internet speed that you were promised when signing up.
1&1 double checks during sign up process if the option you have chosen really is available.
And if after your internet access is ready and you will not reach the speed that was promised you can cancel your contract without problems.
TV in HD quality
With all new DSL contracts you will get the option for German TV in HD quality for just 4,99€/month.
Over 86 German TV stations in HD quality? Sounds like a great deal to us!
Very good prices for DSL speed
Compared to other internet providers 1&1 offers very competitive rates and great service.
There is always some kind of a promotion available, usually with the first 10 to 12 months with a heavy discount.
Keep your eyes open as 1&1 offers special deals from time to time on certain packages.
Internet plus German land-line
All 1&1 internet contracts come with a German land-line number, which is still very useful nowadays.
Most packages include a flat-rate for calls to other German land-lines.
Furthermore calls from your land-line to 1&1 mobile networks are free of charge as well.
Customer service not 24/7 via phone
This is just a minor negative point, as most of the time you can solve any problems via their chat or email.
But if you run into more serious problems like not being able to connect to the internet it is nice to know that you can call their service team on a German landline number, which is usually free of charge.
So unless your internet crashes on a Sunday night at 4 am this should not even be a negative point for you.
Summary:
Having tested many internet providers in Germany 1&1 Internet* is clearly the best choice for you when moving to Germany.
1&1 Internet is very reliable and fast and their prices are almost unbeatable.
And to top all that you will get a heavily discounted Homeserver from Fritzbox with all 24 months contracts.
Deutsche Telekom*
Another very good choice for a German internet provider is Deutsche Telekom, or short just Telekom.
Be aware that prices are a bit higher compared to other competitors but Telekom offers many extras included that otherwise would cost with another provider.
Furthermore make sure to check if you are eligible for their 10€ monthly discount if you also have a mobile phone contract with Deutsche Telekom (search for MagentaEins Vorteil).
Especially if you are already a Telekom customer with your mobile phone contract this MagentaEins offer will be very interesting for you.
Overview:
- Very fast internet via glass fiber with up to 250Mbit/s
- Fair terms of conditions
- Very good prices if eligible for Magenta Eins Vorteil + other extras
- DSL contracts also include a German landline
- For most customers who just want an internet provider Deutsche Telekom might be the most expensive option
Very fast internet via glass fiber with up to 250Mb/s
In some areas you can already reach up to 250Mb/s with Deutsche Telekom. However for most users the 50MB/s option is the best choice.
Fair terms of condition
Telekom will be able to deliver (if not always fully but mostly close) the maximum speed that has been promised in the contract.
During the signup process it will be double-checked if the option you have chosen really is available.
MagentaEins Vorteil + other extras
As already mentioned if you have a 24 months contract for your mobile phone with Deutsche Telekom you are eligible for MagentaEins Vorteil which means a 10€ monthly discount (and some further benefits such as more mobile data).
Also with Telekom you can test some options such as Sky Sport Kompakt for a limited amount of time.
DSL contracts also include a German landline
All Telekom internet contracts include a German landline number.
Possibly most expensive option
If all you want from your internet provider is to get a stable and fast connection at home then Deutsche Telekom might be too expensive for you.
However, if you want to have some great extras such as MagentaTV or some streaming options Deutsche Telekom offers some interesting deals.
Again, if you have a Deutsche Telekom mobile phone contract you will get another 10€ per month discount.
Summary:
Deutsche Telekom* might not always be the cheapest option, but if you are eligible for their MagentaEins discount and if your main concern is a fast and stable internet connection at home then we highly recommend Deutsche Telekom.
O2 Internet*
o2 Internet used to be called Alice in the past. And since o2 took over a lot of things changed for the better.
o2 comes in as a close third in our comparison of the best German internet providers.
Finally also o2 realized that you should not cut the internet speed after heavy usage.
If you pay 25€ a month or more for a flatrate you should expect this.
So we need to congratulate o2 on this wise decision which in the past was one of our critic points.
O2 always made up for any shortcomings here with very cheap monthly rates and also good subsidized hardware.
And since recently all contracts include a flatrate for German landline AND mobile phones.
Furthermore, o2 started to offer a 10€ discount (similar to MagentaEins from Deutsche Telekom) if you have both your internet and your mobile phone contract at o2.
So if you are out for a pure bargain o2 might be a very good option
Overview:
- Awesome prices for DSL contracts
- High speed internet via glass viber with up to 250Mbit/s
- German landline with flatrate for other landlines AND German mobile phones
Awesome prices for DSL contracts
o2 offers constantly the best rates for high speed internet in Germany.
If you are lucky they might even have some special offers like discounts for the first 3 months or very cheap Fritzboxes as router.
So keep your eyes open for some special deals from o2.
High speed internet
Minimum packages offer already 10Mbit/s and top end packages offer up to 250Mbit/s.
Therefore o2 is among the top internet providers when it comes to fast internet.
German landline and mobile phone flatrate
Now this is really something that might be interesting for you as probably most of your friends and colleagues will have a German mobile phone number.
And you can call them for free from your homephone, how cool is that?
This means you could save some money and go for a cheaper mobile contract without an all-net flat, as you can do free calls from your homephone.
Summary:
O2 Internet
Insider Tips to save some money
Check for promotions
Usually all internet providers offer some time-limited promotions (e.g. around Black Friday) every now and then.
If you have the comfort to wait a bit before signing a new contract take the time and compare offers.
Of course if you need an internet provider as quickly as possible at least make sure to check all 3 providers (1&1, Telekom and O2) and compare the best deal for you.
Cancel your contract on time
You will get the cheapest deals only if you change your internet provider every 24 months.
Why? Well because most providers give you a discount on the first 6 to 12 months.
If you forget to cancel your contract, which has to be done usually 3 months before it expires (which would lead to renewal of 1 year), you will pay the higher price of the last 12 months.
Make sure to set a reminder in your calendar to cancel at least 3 months before your existing contract expires.
How to setup a German Internet Provider
This is a pretty straight forward process to be honest.
You can do it the old fashion way and go to one of the many stores of Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Media Markt, Saturn, etc. and sign a contract offline.
However this will be way more expensive than setting up an internet provider online.
So our reccomendation is to follow these steps:
- Check on our site the different options for internet providers for your needs
- Visit their website and choose the best option for you
- Enter your personal information (if you have problems with German we recommend using Chrome and let Chrome translate into German).
- Make sure to untick all unneccesary options such as surf sticks or special routers, etc. This way internet providers try to upsell you unwanted stuff
- After having finished the sign-up process it will take 2-4 weeks until a technician will come to your place and gets you online (if you just change from one provider to the next this usually will not be necessary)
- Enjoy browsing the web at home
As you can see it is not too complicated to find a decent German internet provider. The whole process from signing up until being online should not take more than 2-4 weeks in total.
If you simply switch your ISP (internet service provider) it should be possible in just a few days.
Just make sure you don’t miss the deadline to cancel your old contract, otherwise they will renew themselves for another year.
Summary
Our favorite German internet provider right now is 1&1 Internet*
They offer the best package of fast internet, cheap prices and very good customer care.
But rest assured no matter which provider you choose in the end you will not be disappointed if you followed our tips and did some research before signing up for 24 months.
*Since I love to keep my website as up-to-date as possible for you awesome readers, my content may contain affiliate links. All the links in this post marked with ‘*’ are such affiliate links. Even though I might receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you, all opinions on my website remain my own.
Once you are set with your internet provider it might be worth checking out your choices when it comes to the best German mobile phone contract.