• 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
Fortune Secondary Logo
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
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • 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
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Tesla CEO Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
PoliticsElon Musk
The White House snubs Elon Musk’s offer to cover TSA salaries as airport miseries hit record levels
By Eva RoytburgMarch 25, 2026
5 hours ago
lancaster
AIschools
Two private school boys get probation for using AI to create 350 fake nudes of their classmates
By Mark Scolforo and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
5 hours ago
UN
PoliticsUnited Nations
It’s time for slavery reparations, ‘the gravest crime against humanity,’ UN General Assembly says
By Edith M. Lederer and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
5 hours ago
melania
PoliticsWhite House
Enter Melania Trump, escorted by humanoid robot: ‘I’m Figure 03, a humanoid built for the United States of America’
By Darlene Superville and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
5 hours ago
Personal FinanceGold
How to sell gold and silver: Tax implications and what you should know
By Joseph HostetlerMarch 25, 2026
5 hours ago
iran
Middle EastMiddle East
‘We do not plan on any negotiations’: Iran laughs at White House’s claims of cease-fire talks
By Jon Gambrell, Mike Corder, Munir Ahmed, Aamer Madhani and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

Magazine
The youngest-ever female CEO of a Fortune 500 company is fighting Trump's cuts to keep Medicaid strong
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
2 days ago
Commentary
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
2 days ago
Success
Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers — ‘or you’re neurodivergent’
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago
Success
The job market is so bad that ‘reverse recruiters’ are charging $1,500 a month just to help people look for jobs
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
18 hours ago
Energy
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman calls it 'treason': $580 million in suspicious oil futures traded minutes before Trump's Iran reversal
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago
Success
JPMorgan has started monitoring the keystrokes, video calls, and meetings of its junior investment bankers—and they say it's for employee well-being
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 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.