# AOL

9 Hacker News commenters recommended AOL and 9 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recall AOL as their first gateway to the early internet, with easy drivers, chat and one account for everything. Critics say its dial-up service was expensive and crowded.

## Why people recommend it

- Good early internet experiences (2 comments): "For many, AOL was their onboarding platform for the chaotic internet at large. It served that purpose well." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46412634)) "I had great experiences on both in my formative years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47357867))

## What people warn about

- Expensive service and prices (2 comments): "AOL's service was prohibitively expensive" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46208836)) "Those AOL prices were insane." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46537438))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Starlink](https://hackerapproved.com/p/starlink.md): 547 recommend
- [Comcast internet](https://hackerapproved.com/p/comcast.md): 19 recommend
- [Google Fiber](https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-fiber.md): 18 recommend
- [Andrews & Arnold](https://hackerapproved.com/p/andrews-arnold.md): 10 recommend
- [AT&T Fiber](https://hackerapproved.com/p/at-t-fiber.md): 9 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.aol.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "AOL", https://hackerapproved.com/p/aol/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).