If you were online in South Africa in the early 2000s, you knew MWEB — it was the name that made uncapped internet a thing here. Two decades on it’s still going, now under new ownership, and it quietly rates among the most-satisfied ISP customer bases in the country. So is the heritage brand still worth buying? Short answer: yes, with one thing to know.
Who MWEB is now
MWEB is a retail ISP — it resells fibre (and wireless, voice, hosting and more) over the big open-access networks; it doesn’t own infrastructure. It was founded by Naspers back in 1997, pioneered uncapped ADSL in SA, and passed through a few owners before Webafrica acquired it in 2023. It still runs as its own brand — own website, own plans, own support — with the back office now shared with Webafrica.
Does the old name still deliver?
Encouragingly, yes. In the independent customer-satisfaction rankings into 2026, MWEB placed second — essentially tied with Afrihost and ahead of its own parent, Webafrica. For a brand that’s changed hands more than once, holding a top-two satisfaction spot is a genuinely good sign that the service hasn’t been hollowed out. It also carries a broad product range, including prepaid fibre — handy if you want a line without a debit order or want to keep spend variable.
MWEB packages and prices
Pricing is squarely mid-market — not the cheapest, not the priciest, in line with what you’d expect from an established name. Here’s roughly where the popular speeds land (cheapest we were tracking; it depends on the network at your address):
| Speed | From /mo |
|---|---|
| 20/10 Mbps | R369 |
| 50/50 Mbps | R639 |
| 100/100 Mbps | R869 |
| 200/200 Mbps | R1 059 |
| 1 Gbps | from ~R799 on some networks |
As always, promos move the numbers, so confirm the live price before you order. If the exact rand matters most, it’s worth lining MWEB up against the other ISPs on your line — including its stablemate Webafrica.
The verdict
MWEB is a safe, well-liked pick — a heritage brand that’s kept its service reputation intact, with a top-two satisfaction score and a useful prepaid option. It’s rarely the outright cheapest, so if price is everything, compare it against the field first. But if you want a dependable name with a proven support record, it earns its place on the shortlist. Its live ratings are on the MWEB provider page.
Check your address to see whether MWEB can reach you, then compare it against every other ISP on your line by real monthly price and rating — our fibre deals page ranks them for you.