Buckeye Broadband Internet Review

If you live in Toledo, Ohio, or in a surrounding area like southern Michigan, you’ve more than likely heard of a local internet company called Buckeye Broadband.

Buckeye has managed to compete with larger providers by offering affordable promotional prices and budget plans for those who don’t need ultra-fast speeds.

But Buckeye isn’t perfect. With large price increases after promotional periods and slower speeds overall, it won’t necessarily be the ideal service for everyone. Read on to see more details about Buckeye, and find out if it’s the right option for you.

Buckeye offers a range of internet packages for different budgets and needs. The Toledo, Ohio–based company offers quite a few internet-only plans, ranging from a Starter plan to a Supreme plan. There’s even a Gig plan available in some areas.

It depends on how many Mbps do you need. Buckeye’s Starter Plan’s 25 Mbps speeds are fast enough for you to check your email, social network, and perform basic tasks. However, you’ll be limited to only a few devices on your network at once, as well as upload speeds of only 3 Mbps.

If you need faster speeds and the ability to power more devices, the Essential and Ultimate Plans offer speeds of 100 Mbps and 200 Mbps, respectively. With both plans, the upload speeds are 5 Mbps, but you do get free unlimited data for the first six months.

The Essential plan is better for a small household that doesn’t rely heavily on the internet for work or heavy streaming. The Ultimate plan will have enough power for streaming on several devices, for gaming, and for handling the device load of a large family.

If you work from home, you’ll probably want to go with the Supreme plan. The 400 Mbps speeds are ample for work, streaming, and PC gaming.

Buckeye’s prices start out low on most plans, but prices for the Starter, Essential, and Ultimate Plans double after all of the promotions expire.

The lowest tier plan, the Starter Internet Plan, costs $19.99 per month during the promotional period. You can even use your own modem (or rent one from Buckeye for $10 per month). Sounds like a great deal right? Well, it would be, except for the fact that the price goes up to $39.99 after that 6-month promo period. Plus, to get unlimited data, you incur an add-on cost of $30 per month for this plan.

While the Starter Internet Plan sounds like an ideal budget plan, if you need additional services, like modem rental and unlimited data, your monthly base costs can eventually reach as high as $79.99 (ouch!)

Let’s say you go with the Ultimate Internet Plan, which has an introductory price of $59.99. You can still use your own equipment and you even get unlimited data during the promo period with this plan, so there’s no tacked on fee there. However, after six months, your monthly base cost goes up to $79.99, and you have to pay for half of the cost of unlimited data.

But that’s only for months seven through twelve. After a year, you pay for the full cost of the plan, which is a whopping $119.99. The Essential plan has a similar structure: a 6-month promotional cost, followed by a higher cost for months seven through twelve, and then the full rates after a year.

Each plan has its own caveats. But the most straightforward of the plans is the Internet Supreme plan, which starts at $99.99 and goes up to $119.99 after three months. After the promo period, the regular price for this plan is $139.99. You can use your own equipment just like you can with the other plans.

Buckeye does advertise a gigabit speed (1,000 Mbps) option, but it’s not among the standard plan choices. If you want this super-speed plan, you’ll need to request an individual quote from the company.

Buckeye does not have a large service area, as it only provides service in two states: Ohio and Michigan. The company offers service in Toledo, Forestbrook, Piedmont, Parkville, Oil City, as well as various other large and small cities throughout Ohio and southern Michigan.

Depending on exactly where you live in Ohio or Michigan, you may have access to other providers. For its lower-tier plans, Buckeye’s promotional pricing is comparable to competitors like Xfinity, CenturyLink, and Spectrum, and in some cases, you can even find better promotional pricing with Buckeye.

Buckeye’s Starter plan has a promo price of $19.99, which is quite affordable compared to Xfinity’s Performance Starter Plus plan price of $29.99. However, Xfinity also offers 50 Mbps speeds for that low-level plan, compared to only 25 Mbps for Buckeye’s lowest level plan. But how do Buckeye’s other plans compare?

One of its most popular plans, its Essential Internet Plan, is quite reasonable when you look at its promotional pricing alongside competing providers.

As we move up in plans to Buckeye’s more expensive plan options, we start to see a larger gap in speeds and in pricing between Buckeye and the competition.

If you’re looking for the best speeds available at the lowest prices, CenturyLink’s Fiber Gigabit is probably your best bet (provided it’s available where you live). Xfinity also provides a Fiber plan in some areas, but if you’re only looking at cable internet options, Xfinity’s Extreme Pro Plus cable plan is faster and significantly more affordable than Buckeye’s Supreme plan. In addition to its Gigabit Plan, Spectrum also offers more speed for your buck for its other higher-tier plans.

Buckeye isn’t the most affordable option, especially if you want a plan that can support gaming, streaming on multiple devices, or working from home.

• Compared to Xfinity: Buckeye has a cheaper starter plan option than Xfinity during the promotional period, but Xfinity is more affordable than Buckeye for higher-speed plans.
• Compared to CenturyLink: CenturyLink offers unlimited data and no annual contracts, making it a more affordable option than Buckeye in the long run in most cases. However, you’ll want to check out available speeds for CenturyLink’s Simply Unlimited Internet plan in your area, as they can vary.
• Compared to Spectrum: Spectrum’s Internet Ultra plan is a more affordable option than Buckeye’s higher level plans. Buckeye does offer lower-cost starter plans than Spectrum though.

View Buckeye Broadband Plans | Read Buckeye Broadband TV Review

Buckeye’s speeds range from 25 to 1,000 Mbps. Our fastest ISPs report indicates that speeds in Ohio—where the company is headquartered and where much of their coverage area is—has lower speeds than the national average. Download speeds in Ohio average 40.2 Mbps, and download speeds in Michigan average 51.4 Mbps—both lower than the national average internet download speed of 57.2 Mbps. Buckeye didn’t make our list of the fastest internet providers, as the brand isn’t as fast as many of the larger providers available.

On the bright side, Buckeye does offer internet packages for a variety of different needs, with a Starter Plan that’s ideal for a single person or couple who doesn’t spend much time at home, all the way up to a Supreme or Gig Plan or that will serve well for home office workers.

Buckeye’s upload speeds are relatively mediocre, and you may find competing providers offer faster upload speeds (ranging from 3 to 30 Mbps depending on the plan and provider). Upload speeds are important for gaming, content creation, and for those who are having meetings or presentations at home. If you want to upload large files, send a lot of emails, or if you’re a gamer, you’ll want to consider upload speeds before deciding on a plan.

Most of Buckeye’s plans include unlimited data for the first six months. For the mid-level plans (Essential and Ultimate), you pay half of the price for unlimited data for months seven through twelve, and then you pay the full price of the plan after the 12-month period ends. The Starter Plan works a bit differently though, and you have the option to include or not include unlimited data for a cost of $30 per month.

• Buckeye Broadband data cap: 250 GB for Starter plan, and you have the option to add on unlimited data for $30 per month. Unlimited data is automatically factored into the monthly costs for the other plans.
• Overage fee: If a customer goes over their data plan, they’re charged a flat fee of $10 per 50 GB of additional data.

View Buckeye Broadband Plans | Read Buckeye Broadband TV Review

Buckeye Broadband used to offer a pay-as-you-go internet service called Nymble, but it no longer offers this option. Still, Buckeye internet contracts often end up on a month-to-month basis, but your specific contract length will depend on the plan and available promotions.

It’s best to ask the representative for details regarding the length of your contract to make sure you don’t incur a fee for cancelling. If you are subject to a cancellation fee, the company’s residential service agreement quotes the fee as $25 times the number of months remaining in your agreement or 75% of the amount you would pay for service through the end of the contract term (whichever is less).

• Contract cancelation fee: $25 times the number of months remaining in your agreement
• Late fee: $19 for late payments
• Data overage fee: $10 per 50 GB of additional data

You can bring your own modem if it’s on the approved list of modems supported by the provider. You can also pay $10 per month to rent a modem from Buckeye.

• Buckeye Broadband modem rental fee: $10 per month, but you can use your own equipment and avoid this fee

If you want suggestions on the best routers, check out our guide to the best routers for streaming.

As of June 5, 2021, Buckeye doesn’t charge activation fees to new customers. Regardless of whether you bring your own modem or rent a modem from the provider, you can get your internet installed with minimal (or no) fees.

• Installation fees: There are no installation fees for new customers with most plans, but this could change based on your location and the current promotions available. The fee is $10 if it’s not waived.

View Buckeye Broadband Plans | Read Buckeye Broadband TV Review

Looking at the user reviews on Yelp¹ and the Better Business Bureau,² it seems like Buckeye’s customer service has some real room for improvement. Many online complaints reference service outages, price-gouging, and difficulty getting a customer service agent on the line. You can contact Buckeye through its Toledo and Erie offices, through Twitter, or via Facebook.

Toledo Office: +1-419-725-9000
2700 Oregon Rd
Northwood, OH 43619

Erie Office: +1-419-502-4444
774 Crossings Rd
Sandusky, OH 44870

Buckeye Twitter

View Buckeye Broadband Plans | Read Buckeye Broadband TV Review

Buckeye Broadband is better for individuals or couples looking for a low-cost plan for basic web-searching, emailing, and social networking. For high-speed plans, you’ll likely be better off with a different provider.

• Prices and plans: Buckeye Broadband’s Starter Plan is one of the lowest-cost plans available (in terms of promotional pricing). However, once you get up into the higher-tier plans, other companies like Xfinity and Spectrum offer better deals.
• Speed: Buckeye Broadband won’t necessarily be the fastest option, but it will serve your needs. Its higher level plans can even provide enough juice for gaming and work-from-home, but relative to competing providers, you’ll likely receive lower speeds at a higher cost (especially once promotions end).
• Data caps: Buckeye Broadband includes a 250GB data cap on its lowest-level Starter Plan, and the cost for unlimited data is $30. For the mid-level plans, this cost is waived for the first six months, you pay one-half of the cost for months seven through twelve, and then you incur the full cost of the plan and unlimited data. For the Supreme Plan, the unlimited data cost is factored into the price.
• Contracts, equipment, and fees: Buckeye Broadband has few (if any) sign-up fees as of 6/15/21, but this depends on the current promotions available. You can bring your own equipment to avoid a modem rental fee of $10.
• Customer service: Buckeye scores low on the Better Business Bureau and other sites for its customer service. However, many internet service providers receive low scores on customer service. Buckeye Broadband is not included in the ACSI report, as it's a small company that only serves two states (Ohio and Michigan).

• Starter: $19.99 promotional price, 25 Mbps (download) 3 Mbps (Upload)
• Essential: $39.99 promotional price, 100 Mbps (download) 5 Mbps (Upload)
• Ultimate: $59.99 promotional price, 200 Mbps (download) 5 Mbps (Upload)
• Supreme: $99.99 promotional price, 400 Mbps (download) 10 Mbps (Upload)
• Gig: Request quote, 1,000 Mbps (download)

If you still have questions about Buckeye Broadband, check out some of the FAQs below.

View Buckeye Broadband Plans | Read Buckeye Broadband TV Review

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