Kenya guide
Best internet service providers in Kenya (2026): prices, speeds and coverage compared
Eight providers, every figure dated. This page is run by iNet Africa, a coast fiber ISP and one of the eight, so we show you where the others are cheaper or reach further. Prices come from each provider's published rates and coverage from their own maps, verified 12 September 2026.
The eight providers, side by side
"Best" lists usually rank by brand size. We think the questions that decide it are simpler: is it a wire or a radio, is it capped, what does it cost to start, and does anyone answer the phone.
All prices verified 12 September 2026.
| Provider | Type | Entry price / month | Plans and speeds | Data limits | Getting connected | Where it reaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safaricom Home Fibre | Fiber (shared capacity) | From KES 800 (Wi-Fi Bamba, 10 Mbps, select estates); Fibre Lite 15 Mbps at KES 1,500; main plans from KES 2,999 | Bronze 40 Mbps KES 2,999 · Silver 60 Mbps KES 4,100 · Gold 150 Mbps KES 6,299 · Diamond 500 Mbps KES 12,499 · Platinum 1 Gbps KES 20,000 | Fair-usage caps of 1.5 to 7 TB depending on plan (speeds drop after), on a published 1:4 shared-capacity ratio | Free installation and router advertised on published plans | Nairobi and the major towns. Estate by estate rather than whole towns, so check their coverage map for your street. |
| Zuku Fiber | Fiber | KES 2,999 (Shujaa, 40 Mbps) | Shujaa 40 Mbps KES 2,999 · Bingwa 80 Mbps KES 3,999 · Stream 100 Mbps KES 4,399 · Connect 200 Mbps KES 9,999 | Sold as uncapped fiber | Free installation and free modem. TV add-on KES 299 a month plus a one-off KES 5,000 decoder. | Live in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kiambu, Thika, Ngong and Rongai (74 listed areas, 71 live). |
| Faiba Home Plus (JTL) | Fiber (sold as dedicated) | KES 3,000 (35 Mbps), as reported | 35 Mbps KES 3,000 · 60 Mbps KES 4,000 · 90 Mbps KES 5,000 · 150 Mbps KES 10,000 · 200 Mbps KES 15,000 · 300 Mbps KES 20,000 · 1 Gbps KES 30,000 | Unlimited, sold as a dedicated (non-shared) line | Not published; ask JTL when you order | JTL says its fiber footprint is expanding across Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret. Service is estate by estate. |
| Poa Internet | Fixed wireless (estate networks) | KES 1,500 a month (20 Mbps), or KES 450 a week or KES 75 a day | One home plan: 20 Mbps, unlimited, paid monthly, weekly or daily | Unlimited, no caps (their words) | Free, with a 48-hour installation guarantee | Estate-based wireless networks in Nairobi and Kiambu, plus Mombasa estates. Their coverage checker decides street by street. |
| Airtel 5G Smart Connect | 5G home router (mobile network) | KES 1,999 (15 Mbps, 30 days) | 15 Mbps KES 1,999 · 30 Mbps KES 2,999 per 30 days; 90-day and 180-day bundles also sold | 1,000 GB a month fair-usage allowance, then 2 Mbps until renewal. 300 GB top-up for KES 1,000. | Router free; KES 1,000 connection fee. Self-setup. | Wherever Airtel's 5G signal reaches; Airtel says 39 counties. It is a mobile-network service, so speed depends on the mast. |
| Starlink | Satellite | About KES 4,000 a month (Residential Lite); Residential KES 6,500 | Residential Lite and Residential. Hardware sold separately: Mini kit KES 27,000, Standard kit KES 49,900 at Kenyan resellers, with instalment and rental offers. | Unlimited under a fair-use policy | Self-install. No local technician. | Anywhere with a clear view of the sky |
| Mawingu | Fixed wireless | KES 2,500 (up to 20 Mbps) | Up to 20 Mbps KES 2,500 · up to 30 Mbps KES 3,000 · up to 40 Mbps KES 4,500 | Unlimited | Free installation plus a refundable deposit (amount on application) | Central Kenya and the coast; a fiber product covers Wajir, Garissa, Isiolo and Marsabit. |
| iNet Africa | Fiber (fixed wireless where fiber has not reached yet) | KES 2,500 (20 Mbps fiber, unlimited) | 20 Mbps KES 2,500 · 40 Mbps KES 3,150 · 60 Mbps KES 3,650 · 80 Mbps KES 4,100 · 100 Mbps KES 5,200 · 150 Mbps KES 6,250 | Unlimited. No caps, no throttling. | KES 5,000 covers installation plus your first month on any plan up to KES 5,000 a month; installation is free on bigger plans. No router rental. | Kenyan coast only: Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi and Mayungu; Mazeras and Rabai west of Mombasa; Diani and Ukunda on the south coast. Mambrui and Gongoni on fixed wireless. |
Sources and dates: Zuku, Poa, Airtel, Mawingu and iNet read from their own pages on 12 September 2026; Safaricom from its published plan pages on 28 July 2026 with speeds cross-checked against reports of its 30 April 2026 upgrade; Faiba tiers from its packages page on 12 September 2026with prices as reported on 14 July 2026; Starlink monthly prices from starlink.com on 31 July 2026 and kit prices from Kenyan resellers. Providers change prices, so check theirs before deciding. Spotted something outdated? Tell us and we'll fix it.
Who reaches where
From each provider's own coverage page. "Estates" means present in parts of the region, street by street. "Check" means the provider serves the wider region but does not name this one, so ask before you pay. Starlink is not in this table because it works anywhere with open sky.
| Region | Safaricom | Zuku | Faiba | Poa | Airtel 5G | Mawingu | iNet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nairobi and Kiambu | Estates | Yes | Yes | Estates | Check | No | No |
| Mombasa | Estates | Yes | Estates | Estates | Check | No | No |
| Kilifi County (Kilifi, Mtwapa, Watamu, Malindi) | Estates | Estates | No | No | Check | Yes | Yes |
| Kwale (Diani, Ukunda) and Mazeras | Check | No | No | No | Check | Estates | Yes |
| Kisumu | Estates | Yes | Yes | No | Check | No | No |
| Nakuru | Estates | Yes | No | No | Check | No | No |
| Eldoret | Estates | Yes | Yes | No | Check | No | No |
| Thika, Ngong and Rongai | Estates | Yes | No | No | Check | No | No |
| Wajir, Garissa, Isiolo and Marsabit | Check | No | No | No | Check | Yes | No |
Airtel's 5G router works wherever Airtel's 5G signal reaches (Airtel says 39 counties), which is why every row says "check": test the signal at your address first.
How to choose, in six checks
1. Wire, radio or satellite. Fiber (Safaricom, Zuku, Faiba, iNet) carries the speed you pay for down a cable. A 5G router (Airtel), an estate wireless network (Poa, Mawingu, iNet wireless) or Starlink shares a radio, so speed moves with signal, weather and how busy the mast is.
2. The cap. Safaricom publishes fair-usage caps of 1.5 to 7 TB and a 1:4 shared-capacity ratio; Airtel allows 1,000 GB then 2 Mbps. iNet, Faiba, Zuku, Poa and Mawingu publish no cap. A capped plan is fine for a small household and painful for streamers.
3. The cost to start. Free installation is now normal on fiber. Airtel charges KES 1,000 to connect, iNet folds installation and the first month into KES 5,000, Starlink means buying a kit from KES 27,000.
4. Who answers. National brands run call centres; local ISPs run technicians. When a fiber line is cut, the second one matters more.
5. How you pay. Poa sells by the week (KES 450) and even by the day (KES 75). Airtel sells 30-, 90- and 180-day bundles. Everyone else bills monthly by M-Pesa.
6. Your actual address. Every network here is estate by estate. The only reliable answer to "can I get it" is the provider's own coverage check for your street.
Where iNet is beaten: we serve the Kenyan coast only, Safaricom's budget tiers and Poa undercut our KES 2,500 entry price where they exist, and the national brands install free. We think we win on truly unlimited fiber with no caps, total first-year cost, and a technician who lives in your town.
Questions people ask
Which is the best internet service provider in Kenya?
The honest answer is that it depends on your building, because Kenya's networks are estate by estate rather than county by county. Where fiber reaches you, a wired plan from Safaricom, Zuku, Faiba or (on the coast) iNet will beat any wireless or satellite option on consistency. Where it does not, a 5G router from Airtel, an estate wireless network like Poa or Mawingu, or Starlink is the realistic choice. The tables above show who reaches where and what each costs, with every figure verified 12 September 2026.
What is the cheapest home internet in Kenya?
By headline price: Safaricom's Wi-Fi Bamba at KES 800 a month for 10 Mbps in select estates, then Safaricom Fibre Lite (15 Mbps) and Poa (20 Mbps wireless) at KES 1,500, then Airtel's 5G router at KES 1,999 for 15 Mbps. Watch the small print: Safaricom's budget tiers run on shared capacity with fair-usage caps and Airtel drops to 2 Mbps after 1,000 GB. The cheapest fiber with no caps at all is iNet's 20 Mbps plan at KES 2,500 on the Kenyan coast; nationally, Zuku and Safaricom start uncapped-style plans at KES 2,999 for 40 Mbps. Prices verified 12 September 2026.
Which provider has the fastest home internet in Kenya?
On published top tiers, Safaricom (Platinum, 1 Gbps at KES 20,000) and Faiba (1 Gbps at KES 30,000, as reported) sell the fastest home plans, followed by Zuku's 200 Mbps Connect at KES 9,999. Speed you actually get depends on contention: Safaricom publishes a 1:4 shared-capacity ratio, Faiba sells its lines as dedicated, and every wireless or satellite product varies with signal and load. We do not publish speed-test rankings because we have not measured them.
How much does WiFi installation cost in Kenya?
Safaricom, Zuku, Poa and Mawingu advertise free installation on published plans (Mawingu adds a refundable deposit). Airtel gives the 5G router free with a KES 1,000 connection fee. iNet bundles installation and the first month into one KES 5,000 payment on plans up to KES 5,000 a month, free above that. Faiba does not publish its fee. Starlink means buying the kit: KES 27,000 for the Mini and KES 49,900 for the Standard at Kenyan resellers. Verified 12 September 2026.
Which providers are truly unlimited with no fair-usage cap?
iNet (all plans, no caps, no throttling), Faiba (sold as a dedicated unlimited line), Zuku (sold as uncapped fiber), Poa (unlimited, their words) and Mawingu (unlimited) publish no data cap. Safaricom Home Fibre publishes fair-usage caps of 1.5 to 7 TB depending on plan, after which speeds drop. Airtel's 5G plans carry a 1,000 GB monthly allowance, then 2 Mbps. Starlink is unlimited under a fair-use policy.
What are the internet options on the Kenyan coast?
Mombasa has Zuku, Safaricom and Faiba fiber plus Poa and Airtel 5G, estate by estate. Kilifi has iNet fiber, Zuku fiber, Mawingu wireless and Safaricom in select estates. Watamu, Malindi, Diani, Ukunda and Mazeras rely on iNet fiber, with Mawingu wireless in Malindi and Ukunda and Starlink everywhere with open sky. See the coast guide linked below for the town-by-town table.
Town guides: Mombasa · Kilifi · Malindi · Watamu
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