CenturyLink Internet Review 2022

CenturyLink's internet service comes with a handful of perks that make it appealing to anyone on a budget: unlimited data, low prices, no contract, and a price lock guarantee.

But those perks might not outweigh the downsides of confusing download speed availability, lackluster internet speeds, and notoriously difficult customer service.

Let’s compare the pros and cons of CenturyLink internet service and find out if it’s right for you.

While it’s nice to know you’re paying the same price for the most juice CenturyLink can give you, you may not like starting out somewhat clueless about what download speed you’ll get. We feel you.

But CenturyLink still has a few cards up its sleeves, like unlimited data, comparatively cheap prices, and a large service area, that may turn the tables.

Currently, CenturyLink offers internet service in 36 different states, including Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, and North Carolina, among others. Unfortunately, those in states like California and New York can’t get CenturyLink internet.

In the internet availability map above, states in dark blue have more CenturyLink internet coverage, while states in light blue have less coverage. And states in gray have no CenturyLink internet coverage.

As for the CenturyLink Fiber Internet plan, it’s available only in these 19 cities:¹

If you live in a rural area, CenturyLink is a great option, but it's also worth checking out other good rural ISPs like Kinetic by Windstream to see which one offers more coverage in your area.

To double-check that CenturyLink internet is in your city or town, enter your zip code below, and we’ll pull up all the internet providers near you. Easy, peasy.

CenturyLink internet prices are some of the lowest of the low. Combine that with its price lock promise, and you’ve got a recipe for some of the cheapest internet in the US.

Of course, that depends on what CenturyLink speeds you get in your area. If you’re stuck with some of its slower plans, like 15 and 20 Mbps, you’ll find a few cheaper internet plans out there.

As for the CenturyLink Fiber Internet plan, you'll be hard-pressed to find a lower price from other fiber internet plans with gig speeds. A couple of internet service providers (ISPs) with gig plans come close in price, like Frontier Fiber Internet 500 plan,  Xfinity’s Gigabit plan and AT&T Fiber’s Internet 1,000 plan.

View Plans | Read CenturyLink Bundles Review

We mentioned before that CenturyLink’s DSL internet hooks you up with the fastest possible download speeds in your area, up to 100 Mbps, of course.

And if you live in one of the cities with CenturyLink Fiber Internet, your download speeds will skyrocket to 940 Mbps.

Most of CenturyLink’s internet connections are DSL. That puts it at a slight disadvantage when compared to speeds from cable and fiber internet providers.

Compared to Xfinity, Cox, or AT&T Fiber, you'll likely see slower actual speeds from CenturyLink's DSL internet. But its Fiber Internet plan should keep up with the pack.

All of CenturyLink’s internet plans come with unlimited data. This is a great option for someone who works from home, as it provides a seamless experience for uploading multiple large files, video streaming, and even generating a hotspot for your tablet, computer or phone.

• CenturyLink data cap: Unlimited

View Plans | Read CenturyLink Bundles Review

Cue the hallelujahs. CenturyLink doesn’t make you sign a contract for any of its internet plans.

That means you keep your service for as long as you want and duck out at any time with no early termination fees (ETF) raining on your parade.

But what about equipment and other fees? Here’s what you can expect from CenturyLink on those fronts.

Sometimes renting your ISP’s equipment is the easy way. With CenturyLink, you’ll pay up to $15.00 a month to rent one of its modems. Or you can pay a one-time fee of up to $200 to purchase your modem outright.

• CenturyLink modem rental: Up to $15/mo.
• CenturyLink modem purchase: Up to $200 one-time cost

If you’re a new customer, CenturyLink will likely hook you up with one of its newest modems.

Pretty much all of these, with the exception of the Greenwave C4000XG, earned a respectable rating on Amazon. So you shouldn’t feel like you need to bring your own modem and router unless you really want to.

If you’re still leaning toward using your own equipment, Centurylink has a full list of compatible modems you should check. If you’re on the Fiber Internet plan, be aware that you’ll need to double-check that the modem you choose supports fiber technology and speeds up to 940 Mbps. (Otherwise, you’ll end up with slow internet speeds, among other troubles.)

CenturyLink doesn’t hammer you with any extra fees out of the blue, although it does charge $99 to install your internet devices and service.

Of course, from time to time, CenturyLink also runs free installation promotions. So if that one-time installation fee is making you hesitate, wait for a bit and see if you can land free installation instead.

• Installation fee: $99 one-time fee
• Early termination fees: None

We wish internet providers would level up their customer service efforts. This goes for pretty much every ISP out there, not just CenturyLink.

It was nice to see CenturyLink make an effort and bump up its score in the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) report. It dropped from a score of 63 out of 100 in 2020 to 62 out of 100 in 2021.² And that’s below the industry average of 65 out of 100.

But a number doesn’t tell the whole story. We talked to a handful of CenturyLink customers that we know, and almost all of them said they’ve had bad experiences with its customer service department.

One customer, Candice, told us her CenturyLink technician never showed up on the day her installation was scheduled.

She called customer service and CenturyLink ended up telling her that someone canceled her appointment. Candice finally managed to get her installation date rescheduled, but only after she talked to multiple people. Even then, her family didn’t have internet for six days.

Installation issues like this can be a real pain, just like outages and slow internet speeds. If your internet is on the fritz, check out our guide on what to do if your CenturyLink internet isn’t working. Or, if you end up having to call, take a quick look at these customer service tips to make your experience at least a teensy bit better.

CenturyLink internet’s unlimited data plans, contract-free subscriptions, and low prices for its fast DSL and fiber internet options make it one of our top choices when it comes to value.

Of course, no internet provider is perfect, and CenturyLink does come with a few hiccups:

• If you live in a CenturyLink DSL internet area, your download speeds can range from 15 to 100 Mbps. We’d prefer a more definitive answer.
• Calling CenturyLink’s customer service “ho-hum” is a compliment. We’ve heard some horror stories—but keep in mind that pretty much every US internet provider has similar issues.

So is CenturyLink internet right for you? If the pros outweigh the cons, then yes. If you can connect to its Fiber Internet plan, even more yes.

• Simply Unlimited Internet: $50.00/mo.*, 15–100 Mbps download speeds, unlimited data cap
• Simply Unlimited CenturyLink Fiber Internet: $65.00/mo.**, 940 Mbps download speeds, unlimited data cap

Depending on which download speed you can get, CenturyLink should be okay for streaming. Its 80 Mbps and 100 Mbps plans should be fine even for a household of two to three people, while its Fiber Internet option has more than enough speed for even large families.

CenturyLink’s download speed isn’t the most reliable—it scored 28th out of 38 different internet providers in our 2021 analysis of the fastest ISPs.

But if you prefer to save money over getting the fastest speeds available, CenturyLink is still an excellent choice thanks to its low monthly prices.

EarthLink and CenturyLink are similar providers but are two separate companies. Both providers offer high-speed DSL and fiber internet with a variety of pricing options. 

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