Internet as we know today, has become ubiquitous and a necessity. Imagine a month without the internet and the world will stop. That said, it is not yet affordable everywhere and is yet to reach many places. A report suggests that broadband in the Southern Hemisphere is expensive than the North. Here, we are going to list out the average monthly cost of internet in all major countries.
The Average Monthly Cost Of Internet In All Major Countries.
Here is the list of the average monthly cost of 60+ Mbps with unlimited data across the major countries in the world:
| United Arab Emirates | 102$ |
| Qatar | 86$ |
| South Africa | 67$ |
| Saudi Arabia | 63$ |
| United States | 61$ |
| Iceland | 60$ |
| Puerto Rico | 59$ |
| Switzerland | 58$ |
| Costa Rica | 58$ |
| Ireland | 57$ |
| New Zealand | 56$ |
| Canada | 55$ |
| Australia | 52$ |
| Norway | 52$ |
| Dominican Republic | 51$ |
| Panama | 50$ |
| Belgium | 50$ |
| Spain | 45$ |
| Cyprus | 45$ |
| Lebanon | 45$ |
| Jordan | 44$ |
| Netherlands | 42$ |
| Japan | 42$ |
| Philippines | 41$ |
| Iraq | 40$ |
| Chile | 39$ |
| Ecuador | 39$ |
| United Kingdom | 38$ |
| Peru | 38$ |
| Malaysia | 36$ |
| Denmark | 35$ |
| Slovenia | 34$ |
| Malta | 34$ |
| Palestinian Territory | 34$ |
| Portugal | 34$ |
| Germany | 33$ |
| Greece | 33$ |
| Uruguay | 33$ |
| Austria | 33$ |
| Brazil | 33$ |
| Indonesia | 33$ |
| Argentina | 32$ |
| Colombia | 31$ |
| France | 31$ |
| Algeria | 31$ |
| Italy | 31$ |
| Sweden | 31$ |
| Singapore | 30$ |
| Morocco | 30$ |
| Montenegro | 28$ |
| Iran | 27$ |
| Hong Kong | 27$ |
| Finland | 26$ |
| Taiwan | 26$ |
| Mexico | 25$ |
| Croatia | 24$ |
| Israel | 24$ |
| Estonia | 24$ |
| South Korea | 24$ |
| Bosnia And Herzegovina | 23$ |
| Thailand | 22$ |
| Albania | 21$ |
| Serbia | 21$ |
| Czech Republic | 20$ |
| Pakistan | 19$ |
| Slovakia | 18$ |
| Nepal | 17$ |
| Latvia | 16$ |
| Egypt | 16$ |
| Tunisia | 16$ |
| Armenia | 16$ |
| Georgia | 15$ |
| Macedonia | 15$ |
| Turkey | 15$ |
| China | 14$ |
| Hungary | 14$ |
| Azerbaijan | 14$ |
| Sri Lanka | 14$ |
| Poland | 13$ |
| India | 12$ |
| Lithuania | 11$ |
| Kosovo | 11$ |
| Bulgaria | 11$ |
| Vietnam | 10$ |
| Kazakhstan | 10$ |
| Moldova | 9$ |
| Romania | 8$ |
| Russia | 7$ |
| Ukraine | 4$ |
North America
In North America, the cost of internet is consistent throughout the continent; there isn’t much variation in the price. Mexico, on the other hand, is the cheapest with an average cost of broadband internet is nearly $27 per month. Internet in the Bahamas is $78 per month which is $10 higher than the USA where it is $68. In Bermuda, the average monthly internet cost is over $127 per month. In St. Pierre and Miquelon, the internet cost is nearly $46 per month. In Greenland, the average broadband cost is over $80 per month.
South America
In average across the 44 countries and territories, broadband is affordable compared to North America. On the South American mainland, the average broadband cost is just over $50 per month. But, in the islands, the pricing is inconsistent, where broadband cost varies by twice or thrice the neighboring areas. For example, the Dutch side of Sint Maarten has the average internet cost of $75 per month, but the French side has $20 per month.
Among 10 qualifying countries of the region 9 falls among the top 100 cheapest broadband connection in the world. Some of the most notable is Argentina where broadband cost is just over $30 per month. At the same time, Paraguay has one of the expensive broadband services that cost over $210 per month.
Most of the countries here have large landmasses with tough terrain which make it difficult to have a solid broadband infrastructure, which is why even with such a high price, broadband is typically slow.
Asia
The world’s largest continent has an affordable broadband connection; especially in China and India where billions of people access the internet at nearly $39 per month. On the contrary, internet costs in some other Asian countries such as Brunei and Laos are staggeringly high costing around $250 per month.
The cheapest broadband is provided in Russia where it is around $12 per month and Iran where it is just $6 per month. Syria and Kazakhstan provide a broadband connection at just $14 per month.
In average broadband, cost varies significantly in multiple regions. Some place has staggeringly high internet cost such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Laos, Maldives etc.; they are also the countries with the top most expensive internet connection.
On the contrary countries such as Sri Lanka, Iran, Nepal and Mongolia fall in the countries with the top cheapest internet connection. Sri Lanka offers the second cheapest internet connection in the world with just under $14 per month. Singapore offers internet connection at just $0.03 per megabit.
Africa
In general, Africa has the most expensive broadband cost. For the most part, there isn’t even enough data on the cost of broadband in places in Africa. In Egypt, the internet cost is around $14 per month but in Namibia, it cost over $460 per month. The highest internet cost is probably in Burkina Faso where internet cost reaches as high as $970 per month.
Oceania
In Australia, the average broadband connection cost nearly $61 per month and New Zealand give internet connection at $67 per month. On the other hand, Papua New Guinea in Oceania the internet connection cost is $600 per month. The Internet connection here is 220% higher than the average annual income.
Oceanis is expensive throughout the region. Except for Australia 11 countries of the regions fall on the expensive side of the list. Like the Caribbean, the reasons for the high broadband cost is because of the island states such as Fiji, Guam, Vanuatu, French Polynesia etc.
Their remoteness gives them the disadvantage of having high-speed and developed broadband facilities. This has forced the population to rely on mobile 3G/LTE connection to be online. Here, the uptake is low and the price is very high.
Baltics
This region consists of only 3 countries i.e. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. All three countries employ FTTH as the leading technology and provide one of the world’s fastest broadband connection. These countries use pure fiber cable which offers up to 1Gbps of broadband speed.
Not only that, they offer high-speed internet connection at some of the cheapest prices; such as Lithuania provides high-speed broadband at just $0.09 per megabit per second. All countries in this region are among the top least expensive internet connection.
Caribbean
Caribbean territories on average are on the top expensive broadband connection list; it is typically because of their geographic position. The nation also doesn’t employ fixed-line broadband but depends on 3G/LTE connection as an alternative to being online. In places with a fixed-line broadband connection the cost is high; moreover, scarce subscription by the people also adds up to its increasing broadband cost. Saint Martin in the area has the cheapest internet connection with an average price of $23 per month; whereas Haiti has the most expensive broadband price i.e. $207 per month.
Central America
In general, Central American countries offer broadband connection at a high cost. On the contrary, many Central American countries have slow internet connection compared to its neighboring continents. Its slow uptake leads to higher prices of internet connection. Mexico offers the cheapest broadband in comparison with the average price at $32 per month. On the other hand, Panama offers the most expensive broadband at $108 per month.
CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States)
This region offers some of the cheapest broadband connection with over 12 countries in the list of least expensive broadband connection. Ukraine provides the cheapest internet connection at just $5 per month. The Russian Federation offer broadband at $9 per month, Belarus at $10 per month, and Moldova at $12 per month. The region comparatively has the well-developed broadband infrastructure with exception of Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan who have sparse population.
Eastern Europe
The Eastern Europe region has over 13 countries and they typically fall on the top 50 cheapest broadband cost in the world. Romania of the region falls on the top 9th cheapest broadband cost with a maximum price of $14 per month. Broadband in this region is not just cheap but fast for its FTTP implementation. Romania and Hungary in the region are in the top 10 countries with the fastest broadband connection.
Near East
The region encompasses countries with varying technological cultures, speed, and price. The cheapest regions are Syria, Israel, and Turkey where broadband cost is nearly $21 per month. On the other hand, the Arab States have some of the expensive broadband cost. The cost range is Saudi Arabia ($95 per month), Bahrain ($97 per month), Qatar ($140 per month), Oman ($152 per month), and the United Arab Emirates at ($160 per month).
North Africa
Compared to the expensive Sub-Saharan African nation, Northern Africa has some of the cheapest broadband connection. Egypt and Tunisia offer some of the cheapest broadband at just $13 and $21 per month respectively.
Northern America
Northern America encompasses Canada, UNS, Greenland, and Bermuda. Except for Canada, all other countries are on the top expensive list of broadband connection. Even for being the cheapest in the comparison Canada provides a broadband connection at over $56 per month. Greenland and Bermuda have expensive broadband largely because of their geographic location. The United States is although comparatively cheaper at $67 per month package but because of lack of competition in the market, the consumers have to pay more than they should be compared to the rest of the world.
Sub-Saharan Africa
The region has over 30 qualifying countries whereas maximum countries having an insufficient or non-existent broadband connection. Central African Republic, Eritrea, Senegal, Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Kiribati, Zambia, and others have no fixed-line broadband connection. The rest of the countries fall on the top most expensive broadband services such as Burkina Faso, Namibia, Mali, Mauritania etc.
Western Europe
The region has 29 qualifying countries and they neither fall on the top expensive nor on the top cheapest list. In comparison, Italy, Germany, Monaco, United Kingdom, and Monaco have the least expensive packages. On the expensive side are Norway, Iceland, Luxembourg, Faroe Island, and Switzerland. The difference in technological cultures and adoption has lead to the varying price of broadband. Jersey, in the region, provides the best value with a cost of $0.11 per megabit per second. It is because of the 100% availability of FTTH connection giving more than an average high-speed internet connection.
Top 5 Cheapest Broadband Connection and their Speed
- Ukraine – $5 per month, 11.28 Mbs
- Sri Lanka – $5.65 per month, 5.84 Mbs
- Iran – $8.20 per month, 2.2 Mbs
- Russian Federation – $9.77 per month, 13.51 Mbs
- Belarus – $10.46 per month, 9.21 Mbs
Top 5 Expensive Broadband Connection and their Speed
- Paraguay – $210.83 per month, 1.73 Mbs
- Lao People’s Democratic Republic – $239.25 per month, 4.29 Mbs
- Namibia – $383.83 per month, 2.62 Mbs
- Papua New Guinea – $571.67 per month, 1.92 Mbs
- Mauritania – $768.16 per month, 0.7 Mbs
World’s Five Most Expensive Broadband Packages
- Burkina Faso – $651
- Laos – $818
- Namibia – $1117
- Mauritania – $1368
- Papua New Guinea – $1849
its expense is due to extremely low take-up and the package also includes building a physical line to your house as there aren’t many. Moreover, the work cost is extremely high.
World’s Five Most Cheapest Broadband Packages
- Syria – $2.5
- Ukraine – $2.1
- Iran – $1.8
- Venezuela – $1.6
- Kyrgyzstan – $1.2
Though cheapest, the broadband connection here is either slow or unreliable. For the most part, the connection is slow with limited availability, except for Ukraine which provides faster internet speed up to 20Mbps at the cheapest price.
Price and Speed Comparison
In reality, countries with the most expensive broadband connection are also among the slowest in the world. On average for the cost of over $500 per month, the average speed is less than 5Mbps, which is not enough to stream an online video in HD. Mauritania, which has one of the most expensive broadband connection at over $760 per month, the speed is just 0.7Mbps which is practically unreliable.
On the contrary, the top five cheapest countries have high internet speed, except for Iran where broadband speed is just over 2Mbps. This reveals that the higher broadband cost doesn’t generally give high speeds; in fact countries with high broadband speeds do offer packages at a cost-effective price.
