The cost per megabit tells a more honest story than the headline price alone.
No Brasil, onde se vive determina não apenas o quanto se paga pela internet, mas o quanto se recebe em troca. Um levantamento de 1.412 planos residenciais revelou que Goiânia oferece o melhor equilíbrio entre preço e velocidade entre as capitais, enquanto Porto Alegre carrega o peso dos maiores custos — um reflexo de como infraestrutura, concorrência e geografia moldam o acesso a um recurso cada vez mais essencial à vida contemporânea.
- A diferença de custo por Mbps entre Goiânia (R$ 0,20) e cidades como Boa Vista ou Porto Alegre (R$ 0,30–0,35) representa até 75% a mais pelo mesmo recurso.
- O preço de um plano residencial no Brasil pode variar de R$ 29,90 a R$ 500 mensais — uma amplitude que expõe a desigualdade de acesso entre regiões e operadoras.
- Planos acima de 500 Mbps entregam a melhor relação custo-velocidade, enquanto as faixas mais lentas cobram até R$ 0,50 por Mbps — penalizando justamente quem pode pagar menos.
- Centro-Oeste e Nordeste lideram em custo-benefício regional, com medianas de R$ 119,99, enquanto Sul e Norte ficam para trás com medianas acima de R$ 140.
- A TIM se destaca com as menores medianas em duas faixas de velocidade, mas a Vivo cobra R$ 500 por seus planos mais rápidos — cinco vezes mais do que a concorrente para velocidades comparáveis.
Um estudo da plataforma MelhorPlano.net analisou 1.412 planos de internet fixa residencial nas capitais brasileiras e chegou a uma conclusão clara: Goiânia oferece o melhor custo-benefício do país. Com mediana de R$ 109,90 mensais e apenas R$ 0,20 por Mbps, a capital goiana supera todas as demais quando o critério é o quanto se paga por unidade de velocidade — a métrica que realmente revela o valor de um plano.
O levantamento excluiu planos via satélite, rádio e conexões acima de 1.000 Mbps para evitar distorções. Ainda assim, a variação encontrada é expressiva: os preços vão de R$ 29,90 a R$ 500 mensais, dependendo da cidade, da operadora e da velocidade contratada. Porto Alegre aparece no extremo oposto de Goiânia, com mediana de R$ 150 e R$ 0,30 por Mbps. Boa Vista tem a menor mediana absoluta (R$ 99,95), mas seu custo por Mbps de R$ 0,35 a torna menos eficiente na prática.
A velocidade importa além dos números: conexões mais rápidas permitem múltiplos usuários em streaming simultâneo, downloads ágeis e jogos online sem travamentos. O Netflix, por exemplo, recomenda ao menos 15 Mbps para vídeos em 4K. Nesse contexto, planos acima de 500 Mbps cobram entre R$ 0,19 e R$ 0,20 por Mbps, enquanto os planos mais lentos chegam a R$ 0,50 — penalizando quem contrata menos.
Regionalmente, Centro-Oeste e Nordeste lideram com medianas de R$ 119,99, enquanto Norte e Sul ficam acima de R$ 140. Entre as operadoras, a TIM registra as menores medianas em duas faixas de velocidade. A Oi é a mais barata na faixa mais lenta (R$ 79,90), mas a Vivo cobra R$ 500 nos planos mais velozes — cinco vezes mais do que a TIM em velocidades equivalentes. Para o consumidor, o preço do plano pode enganar: só o custo por Mbps revela o que se está realmente pagando.
When you're shopping for home internet in Brazil, where you live matters almost as much as what you're willing to pay. A study by MelhorPlano.net, a platform that tracks and compares broadband, mobile, and TV subscription offers across the country, found that Goiânia offers residents the best value for fixed residential internet among Brazil's state capitals. The median price there sits at R$ 109.90 per month, and the cost per megabit of speed—the metric that actually tells you what you're paying for velocity—comes to just R$ 0.20. That's the lowest in the country.
The research examined 1,412 active residential plans across Brazil's capitals, excluding satellite and radio internet as well as plans exceeding 1,000 megabits, to keep the data from skewing toward outliers. The price range for a home broadband package is staggering: as low as R$ 29.90 monthly and as high as R$ 500, depending on which city you're in, which provider you choose, and how fast you want your connection. Porto Alegre, by contrast, tops the list for highest costs, with a median of R$ 150 and a per-megabit price of R$ 0.30—fifty percent more expensive than Goiânia's rate.
Boa Vista presents an interesting case: it has the lowest median price overall at R$ 99.95, but the cost per megabit jumps to R$ 0.35, making it less efficient than Goiânia when you factor in actual speed. The difference matters in practice. A faster, more stable connection lets you download large files quickly, support multiple people streaming simultaneously, and play online games without lag. Netflix, for instance, recommends at least 15 megabits per second for 4K video playback.
When the researchers looked at speed tiers, a clear pattern emerged. Plans offering more than 500 megabits deliver the best value, charging around R$ 0.19 to R$ 0.20 per megabit. The worst deal, by contrast, comes from the slowest tier—plans between zero and 250 megabits—which cost R$ 0.50 per megabit. The cheapest plan in the entire study, at R$ 29.90 monthly, falls into the 250-to-500 megabit range, while the most expensive, at R$ 500, sits in the 750-to-1,000 megabit tier.
Regionally, the Center-West and Northeast regions offer the best residential broadband deals, with median prices of R$ 119.99. The North and South regions lag behind, with medians of R$ 141.90 and R$ 147.00 respectively. Among the four major providers, TIM posted the lowest median prices in two speed categories: R$ 107.50 for plans between 250 and 500 megabits, and R$ 154.20 for the 750-to-1,000 megabit range. Oi undercuts competitors in the slowest tier at R$ 79.90, while Vivo's pricing climbs steeply at the high end, charging R$ 500 for its fastest plans—five times what TIM charges for comparable speed.
The variation across capitals is substantial. Vitória costs R$ 100 at median with R$ 0.31 per megabit. Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Salvador all cluster around R$ 119.90 with per-megabit costs between R$ 0.28 and R$ 0.30. Cuiabá, Palmas, and São Luís each hit R$ 149.90, among the priciest in the country. For consumers trying to understand what they're actually paying for speed, the per-megabit metric tells a more honest story than the headline price alone. A plan might look cheap until you realize you're paying three times as much per unit of speed as someone in a neighboring state.
Notable Quotes
Plans offering more than 500 megabits deliver the best value, charging around R$ 0.19 to R$ 0.20 per megabit, while the slowest tier costs R$ 0.50 per megabit.— MelhorPlano.net analysis
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter which city you live in? Isn't internet just internet?
The infrastructure and competition vary wildly. Goiânia has better provider density or more aggressive pricing. Porto Alegre, despite being a major city, doesn't have the same competitive pressure. It's about local market dynamics.
So someone in Porto Alegre is just stuck paying more?
Not entirely stuck—they have options—but yes, they're paying a premium. R$ 150 versus R$ 110 adds up fast over a year. And that's just the median. Some plans there are even costlier.
The per-megabit thing seems like the real story. Why don't people just look at that number?
Because it's not how providers advertise. They show you the monthly price and the speed in big numbers. The cost per megabit requires math. Most people don't do it. But it's the only fair way to compare across different speed tiers.
What about TIM being cheapest in some tiers but not others? That's odd.
Providers don't compete equally everywhere. TIM might have invested heavily in the 250-to-500 range because that's where most residential customers cluster. Vivo's R$ 500 plan suggests they're targeting a niche—maybe businesses or power users—not the mass market.
If I'm in Goiânia and paying R$ 0.20 per megabit, what am I actually getting?
A 500-megabit plan would cost around R$ 100. In Porto Alegre, the same speed might run you R$ 150. Over two years, that's R$ 1,200 difference. For the same service.