2026 Consumer Trust Survey: 67% Considered Switching ISPs Over Hidden Fees

Here’s a look at the key findings from Reviews.org’s 2026 Consumer Trust Survey:

• 71% of Americans report that the price of their home services has increased over the last 12 months.
• 73% of consumers saw their internet bills rise this year (up from 43% last year), with 30% of those affected seeing monthly increases of $10–20.
• 67% have switched or considered switching providers because of hidden or unexpected charges (up from 56% last year).
• 30% reported they’ve either canceled or downgraded their home internet service in the past 12 months due to cost.

When asked about their home spending, 71% of Americans say the price of home services (home internet, utilities, cable TV, etc.) has increased this year. Of those, 90% reported higher electricity or gas bills, 73% reported higher internet bills, and 53% reported higher streaming or cable costs.

Utilities (electric, gas, water) had the most widespread hikes, impacting nearly 90% of respondents — a significant jump from 59% in 2025.

Let’s talk a little more about the patterns in utility increases:

• Utilities reached a record 30 billion in rate increases in 2025, which was double that of 2024, and affected 81 million Americans. In more recent reporting, additional increases will take effect that will affect 56 million Americans.
• According to a report from TIME, the key drivers of increased electricity costs are inflation, aging infrastructure, tariffs, climate change, and data centers — factors that are outside of consumers’ control.
• The 2026 Iran War will affect consumer costs in ways both obvious and less so, and while there’s no wholly accurate way to predict changes, shifts can be expected, and are unlikely to be in the consumer’s favor.

Even though consumers may not be able to control these greater trends, what they can do is prepare for increases through smart budgeting, which includes avoiding surprise costs.

In terms of trust, most Americans report feeling misled, leading many to consider switching because of hidden fees or needing to contact customer support to address bills. All of these issues have increased despite the implementation of the FCC’s Broadband Facts label.

• 65% of respondents say they’ve felt misled by the pricing or terms of their plan (up from 59% last year).
• 67% say hidden fees have made them switch or consider switching (up from 56% last year).
• 66% have contacted customer support about a bill (up from 55% last year).
• 44% are familiar with or trust the transparency of the FCC’s Broadband Facts label.

When it comes to customer satisfaction, price plays the biggest part for most people. And even with clearer labeling required by law, customers still don’t feel like they’re getting the full picture of their monthly bills.

While it’s always recommended to read the fine print of any contract and clarify any uncertain terms, that means the burden often is placed on the consumer to do due diligence — for every single service — to make sure they understand, and that the provider isn’t luring them in with a nice promotional offer only to make it less affordable year after year.

Overall, the sentiment around transparent internet billing doesn’t appear to be getting better, and it has led to customers making their own adjustments to maintain affordability.

To cut costs, it’s often easier to eliminate services outright than to keep searching for alternatives with slightly better deals, sometimes for less or worse quality service, especially assuming those prices will also invariably go up.

At least 30% of respondents say they’ve canceled or downgraded their home internet this year, with 39% saying they’ve downgraded their internet speed or bandwidth to help manage monthly costs, meaning they’re willing to do with less to make their money work.

In our streaming spending report, we discuss streaming and traditional TV costs and consumer trends, suggesting that the combination of increasing costs and services has led more people to be more selective and flexible with which services they maintain. The report also showed that more people are willing to drop streaming services than their traditional cable or satellite services—and that’s reflected here, too.

Among those who did cancel or downgrade services, 49% cut their streaming subscriptions (up 46% percent last year), while cable or satellite TV cancellations were at a lower 31%, which is still a significant amount of people choosing to forgo a service rather than keep up with costs.

And even though they’re more on the “utility” or “need” side of things, cell phone plans are also up for debate: 31% of respondents said they switched phone providers.

Over the last 12 months, did you cancel or downgrade any of the following services?

Compared to insurance (26%) and home security (17%), far more people are willing to part with their streaming, cable and satellite TV, or mobile services to find more cost effective solutions.

The most important aspect of pricing for consumers is knowing their total price rather than an advertised price that comes with hidden fees: 88% of respondents believe all fees should be included in advertised pricing.

The top price complaints? 53% of respondents reported that they were surprised by the price increases after a promotional period, followed by 52% saying “service fees” with unclear descriptions, and a slightly smaller 50% saying taxes and regulatory fees.

In other words, consumers want any additional costs to be mentioned alongside the price of the plan they’re buying into—that includes considering any necessary components to use the service, too: 35% were surprised by equipment rental fees.

Have you ever been surprised by any of the following hidden fees on your internet bill?

And when asked what would most improve satisfaction with their provider, price again came up as the main driver of dissatisfaction:

• 63% said lower monthly costs.
• 31% said transparent pricing.
• 30% said a locked-in price guarantee.

More than customer service, more than slow speeds, hidden fees outweigh all other complaints about internet service providers. And if you consider price as a general category rather than broken up by hidden fees, price hikes after promo periods, and lack of transparent pricing, then it beats all other considerations by far.

Which internet provider practices frustrate you the most? (Top 5)

To put it plainly, price is king when it comes to . While having speed issues or bad service can be frustrating, facing unexpected costs is the worst issue customers experience with their internet service providers.

That means consumers want to see clear, transparent pricing that includes any and all additional fees, including service fees, taxes, equipment rentals, or anything else that will drive up their costs. People want to know exactly what they’re paying for their service, everything else comes as a secondary consideration.