This work explored a wideband Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna that has a compact rectangular shape, a rectangular stair slot, and a C-shaped metamaterial for isolation improvement. A wideband antenna has been developed and fabricated to determine the effectiveness of a specified metamaterial. To get minimum mutual coupling, the C-shaped metamaterial is positioned between the two rectangular antennas. According to the simulation, the MIMO antenna operates between 2.61 GHz and 7.64 GHz (5.03 GHz). Peak gain of the designed MIMO antenna from 3.4 to 9.1 dB. The envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) is < 0.03, diversity gain (DG) is > 9.99, mean effective gain (MEG) is < − 3 dB, and channel capacity loss (CCL) 0.005 is accomplished. The measured and simulated outcomes are in close acceptance of the performance parameter. Thus, the designed MIMO antenna is ascendancy for S and C-band applications such as Wi-Fi, Satellite up and downlink, and 5G.