• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

The Best (and Worst) Airports Ranked by Free Wi-Fi Speeds

By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 18, 2017, 10:55 AM ET

It’s not hard to find free Wi-Fi at a North American airport these days, but more often than not, it’s a sluggish affair.

Passengers at Denver International Airport don’t have any complaints, though. In fact, that facility has the fastest free airport Wi-Fi in the North America, according to a new study from Speedtest. The site, which allows users to test their own bandwidth speeds, says downloads at DEN have actually gotten 27% faster since January, making it the airport with the fastest WiFi in the world.

Vancouver International Airport came in second free Wi-Fi rankings, followed by Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle-Tacoma.

It is worth noting, though, that (with the exception of Denver) all of the airports listed showed speeds that were slightly slower than the national average of all Wi-Fi connections, including those in private homes.

Sign up: Click here to subscribe to the Broadsheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the world’s most powerful women.

“Slightly slower” is still notably faster than many other North American airports, though. Hartsfield-Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport, ranked second to last in the study, with speeds that were just 5% that of a typical home Wi-Fi connection. New York’s three airports all came in at roughly a quarter of the average home speed.

Others that fell far short of the connection speed most people are used to included Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago’s O’Hare, and Las Vegas’ McCarran International.

The worst airport for Wi-Fi in North America, though? That dubious honor goes to Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, with speeds that are less than 4% of the average speed in Canada.

The takeaway? If you’ve got work to Atlanta, Montreal or Toronto (the third slowest city), make sure your laptop or tablet is plugged in. Otherwise, you’re facing some major battery drain.

About the Author
By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
Billionaire philanthropy's growing divide: Mark Zuckerberg stops funding immigration reform as MacKenzie Scott doubles down on DEI
By Ashley LutzDecember 22, 2025
22 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeDecember 22, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Travel & Leisure
After pouring $450 million into Florida real estate, Larry Ellison plans to lure the ultrarich to an exclusive town just minutes from Mar-a-Lago
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezDecember 22, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Meet a 55-year-old automotive technician in Arkansas who didn’t care if his kids went to college: ‘There are options’
By Muskaan ArshadDecember 21, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Mitt Romney says the U.S. is on a cliff—and taxing the rich is now necessary 'given the magnitude of our national debt'
By Dave SmithDecember 22, 2025
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Multimillionaire musician Will.i.am says work-life balance is for people ‘working on someone else’s dream’ and not for visionaries—he grinds from 5-to-9 after his 9-to-5
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 21, 2025
2 days ago

Latest in

SuccessSmall Business
10 crucial insights for small business owners to succeed in 2026—and beyond
By Ashley LutzDecember 23, 2025
59 minutes ago
Spanx founder Sara Blakely
SuccessMost Powerful Women
6 ‘unhinged’ things Spanx founder Sara Blakely did that ultimately shaped the success of her $1.2 billion empire
By Sydney LakeDecember 23, 2025
1 hour ago
Photo of Sam Altman
SuccessCareers
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman says in 10 years’ time college graduates will be working ‘some completely new, exciting, super well-paid’ job in space
By Preston ForeDecember 23, 2025
2 hours ago
Personal Financegold prices
Current price of gold as of December 23, 2025
By Danny BakstDecember 23, 2025
2 hours ago
Price of silver for December 23, 2025
Personal Financesilver
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, December 23, 2025
By Joseph HostetlerDecember 23, 2025
2 hours ago
Price of platinum on December 23, 2025
Personal Financemoney management
Current price of platinum as of Tuesday, December 23, 2025
By Joseph HostetlerDecember 23, 2025
2 hours ago