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From traveling to settling in a country, the internet has become a deciding factor when people choose a career move or make a lifestyle choice. Being the most important part of everyone’s lives, the cost of the internet differs in every country. While some regions have the cheapest rates, some countries have internet plans that are more expensive than rent. Every country offers a different broadband plan, and if compared, the service, speed, and connectivity vary in every part of the world. The average comparison in each country can be made via the average cost-per-MB or the monthly broadband package.

Countries in Europe and the Middle East offer consistently cheap internet plans, and some Asian countries have also joined the category. Some of the most beautiful places in the world offer budget internet for better connectivity to the world. Let’s take a look at the ten countries that provide cheap internet rates to their citizens.

Ukraine

Ukraine is one of the most liberal countries in the world in terms of Internet regulations. Over 6,000 companies are registered to provide service, while the country has 1,500 internet service providers, as stated by DW. Even the smallest of villages in the country have 15 providers. Due to the tough competition, the prices don’t go above $5 for a broadband plan.

Syria

The war-torn country in West Asia, Syria, has one of the most tragic stories in recent times. Even though the country’s future remains ambiguous, Syria managed to give medical access to its citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, the internet plans for the country are not more than $6.69 for any plan.

Russia

While Russia remains the most dominating country globally, they took things a step further when the country decided to isolate itself from the world. Russia is building its domestic internet, which will provide the government more control over what the citizens can access from the outside world. As mentioned by BBC, they plan to have a big intranet connection like corporate organizations do for better security. Their current average plan costs around $7.50.

Bhutan

Tradition and connectivity live in harmony in Bhutan, a country that has a green cover of more than 75%. Yet, the country has a mobile penetration rate of 85% while an internet penetration rate of 36.9%. The country has over 205 community centers, and there is a rise in Bhutanese tech start-ups that are finding effective solutions to make the country a technologically sound destination. The internet rates of the country are $8.71 per plan.

Sri Lanka

While Sri Lanka has one of the cheapest internet plans in Asia, the country violates net neutrality as telecom partners offer access to applications such as WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn; however, limit the high-speed usage by offering only 2G and 3G network connectivity. Sri Lankan citizens use mobile networks instead to access the internet rather than broadband connections. The country has the cheapest average rates at just $5.65 per plan.

Romania

Romania is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe. Apart from its natural beauty, the country also offers the cheapest high-speed internet in the world. The plan starts at only $10.59 for a speed of more than 1 GBPS. This rate is five times cheaper than countries like Austria and Australia, as noted by Romania Insider.

Moldova

Despite being one of the under-developed countries globally, Moldova ranks third in the coverage of superfast internet in the world. Over 90% of the 3 million population of the country has access to the internet. Their plans start from around $9.95 and offer an astonishing speed of over 1 GBPS per second.

Vietnam

As one of the cheapest countries in the world, it is no surprise that the internet offered in the country is budget-friendly and affordable. Vietnam has the most users in the Asia-Pacific region, with over 69 million out of the 90 million population having access to the internet in this developing country. Internet usage is dominated through mobile penetration due to its $11 mobile plan rates.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan has offered some of the cheapest rates in the world with a plan of just $9.76. Over the years, the Central Asian country has observed a rise in people using social media to raise their voices against oppression. The internet penetration is high in the country, with over 76.8% of users in the country having access to the internet, as noted by Open Democracy.

China

China created its own internet and offered a block for sites such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and even Google. They offer their own platform for people to chat and connect to ensure data privacy and security. Due to site blocking, the internet speed in China is relatively slow, but the plans are cheap, starting at $12.26 a month.

Some of the other countries with cheap internet rates are Iran, Turkey, and Mongolia. While some countries offer no internet regulation due to the rising competition, other countries offer severe blockage from accessing websites from the West, which leads to cheaper internet rates. No matter what the reason, the users get budget-friendly access to the internet to sink information from around the world.

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Sources: DW, BBC, Romania Insider, Open Democracy.