The only ISP with a perfect Gaming Quality Index score from PCMag? Pulse!
PCMag’s annual Best Gaming ISPs report for 2025 is out, and it firmly places Pulse’s network performance at the top of the national charts.
Fast, reliable internet is a must-have for modern living, but it’s a non-negotiable for online gamers. PCMag collects and analyzes speed test results from across the USA and combines them with data on jitter, latency, price, and availability to come up with its Best Gaming ISPs rankings. For the second year in a row, Pulse tops the chart when it comes to Gaming Quality.
Special shout-out to Pulse, the 10-gig town-utility ISP in Loveland, Colorado. It’s a division of the town’s water and power department, and like last year, it has the absolute best Gaming Quality Index score nationally, making it the only ISP with a perfect 20 score for gaming. Unlike last year, however, that score (plus some great speed and price ratings) put it in the top 10 overall. —PCMag Best Gaming ISPs 2025
Image from PCMag
Jitter, Latency, and Lag
PCMag’s rating criteria includes jitter and latency. What do these have to do with gaming? They are two key metrics that significantly impact the quality and responsiveness of your online experience (and not just in gaming!).
Latency is the time delay between sending and receiving data packets across a network. The higher the latency, the longer the delay—even milliseconds can be the difference between winning and losing when reacting to enemies, obstacles, or other competitors. High latency can lead to laggy gaming and slow page load times.
Jitter is the variation or inconsistency in delay between those data packets. This can cause choppy gameplay, jerky movements, distorted audio quality, and poor streaming quality.
…the jitter and latency on Pulse connections are so low they almost don’t exist. —PCMag Best Gaming ISPs 2025
Low jitter and latency translate to smooth, responsive, and immersive gameplay—the type of network performance gamers need to stay ahead of the competition. We go into more detail about the importance of latency, ping, and jitter in this article.
Image from PCMag
Beyond the Rankings
Of course, much more goes into making a superb network beyond speed, jitter, and latency. Pulse’s network is ultra-reliable, with over 99.95% uptime. Fiber internet is superior to other types of connections because of its vast bandwidth capacity, which is needed for large game downloads and smooth gameplay. Not only is Pulse currently the only ISP in the area that can deliver 10-Gig symmetrical speeds to residents, but PCMag has also ranked Pulse as the fastest internet in CO in 2023 and 2024 (and second-fastest in the USA)!
Check out why tech professional Cody chooses Pulse for his family.
To see the complete PCMag ratings and methodology, visit PGMag.com/articles/the-best-gaming-isps-for-2025.
