How To Lower Your Hughesnet Internet Bill

In general, satellite internet plans are more expensive than the average internet plan due to the high cost to maintain and deploy satellites, so it may be challenging to truly find a cheap deal. However, that doesn’t mean you should settle for rising bills. Take a look at these tips to save money with Hughesnet:

• Downgrade to a cheaper plan.
• Lease equipment month to month instead of buying it up front.
• Turn off Wi-Fi when you don’t need it.
• Negotiate with customer service for a lower rate or more data.
• Switch to a more affordable provider.

Switching to a cheaper Hughesnet plan can save you money in the long term. Hughesnet offers four tiers of plans, but only three speeds. The Lite plan is HughesNet’s most affordable plan, delivering speeds of up to 25Mbps and offering 100GB of priority data for $39.99 per month for the first 12 months. Lite is the only Hughesnet option with a 12-month contract; all other plans have a 24-month contract.

Hughesnet offers three higher-end plans called Select, Elite, and Fusion. Select offers up to 50Mbps download speed, while Elite and Fusion both deliver up to 100Mbps download speed and offer 200GB of priority data. Select costs $49.99 per month for the first 24 months, while the Elite plan costs $64.99 for the first 24 months, and the Fusion plan costs $94.99 per month for the first 24 months.

So what’s the difference? Latency. The Elite plan gets a typical latency of 650ms, whereas the Fusion plan uses a combination of both fixed wireless and satellite technology to deliver a typical latency of 100ms. This still makes for a laggy experience, but it’s within an acceptable range for activities like Zoom or streaming shows. So unless you truly want to test the waters between “very laggy” and “laggy,” we recommend you save your money and stick with the mid-tier Elite plan.

Keep in mind that switching your plan may incur a fee (up to $400 in the first 90 days of activation, then reduced by $15 for each additional month of active service), so you may need to hop on the phone and haggle a deal if you want to avoid paying it. Don’t be too scared, though. I chatted with Hughesnet’s chatbot on its website and got an interesting clue about promotional deals:

In the exchange pictured above, the Hughesnet chatbot suggests calling Customer Care to ask about “any current promotions that could help reduce your bill” and “options for adjusting your service without changing plans,” which is essentially a hint that a customer service rep may be able to provide you with a deal over the phone.

Hughesnet equipment is cheaper to lease month to month compared to buying it up front. Here’s the price breakdown:

Purchasing your Hughesnet equipment outright costs $498 from the get-go. This is $40 more than leasing. However, in the end, the overall value of purchasing or leasing depends on how long you end up staying with Hughesnet. The cost of buying equipment is more affordable than leasing if you stay for at least 27 months of service.

Hughesnet internet plans have limited priority data, so it’s best to turn off Wi-Fi or limit background data use when you aren’t actively using it. This way, you can make sure you save your data for activities you truly want to use it for, and you can avoid paying for extra data tokens.

Here’s a checklist you can use to make sure you optimize your data usage:

• Switch your streaming apps to SD quality. It’s not the clearest resolution, but watching Netflix shows in HD can quickly zap up all your data.
• Don’t connect your mobile phone to Wi-Fi. Try to use your 5G or 4G LTE connection to get online.
• If you must use your phone on Wi-Fi, use data-saving mode and turn off background refresh for apps.
• Unplug or disconnect devices that constantly use data (unless you need them), like security cameras, smart TVs, robot vacuums, or smart washing machines that don’t need to be on all the time.

It’s also good practice to check your remaining data daily on the myHughesnet app or through your online account. You can also set up text alerts in case you reach your data cap.

No customer service agent wants a cancellation on their track record. So if you’re tired of paying sky-high rates, pick up the phone and threaten to cancel—you might score yourself a decent deal.

“[This is] actually the best way to get a hold of a retention agent and get a discount if you really want to keep the service and can’t get Starlink,” says Reddit user allthebacon351, who shared this tip with me.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. If you start to sweat just at the thought of talking on the phone, you might want to try this Hughesnet negotiation script that can help you get your point across clearly.

Before you pick up the phone, jot down plans and prices from alternative providers in your area. This can give you a backbone for negotiating because Hughesnet can’t strong-arm you into keeping your expensive rate if you have a better option. For most rural folks, the alternatives might include Starlink or T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. Let’s use Starlink in this example.

Once you’ve looked at providers and prices, call Hughesnet’s Customer Care line at 866-347-3292. Then, follow this script:

From then on, you can prompt the rep to offer you a few different discounts that you’re looking for. This could range from not wanting to pay for the early termination fee for switching to a cheaper Hughesnet plan, getting a new customer discount for 12 months, or increasing your priority data cap.

Of course, this negotiation tactic holds more weight if you show that you are truly willing to walk away. If you aren’t willing to cancel your service yet and it doesn’t seem like you will get a deal, feel free to tell them on the call that you changed your mind.

The last resort for lowering your internet bill is to simply switch to a different internet provider. Below, we list a few of our top alternatives to Hughesnet. Some of these providers also offer contract buyouts or gift cards for new customers that can make the switch a little easier.

Hughesnet customers usually live far from the urban areas where wired options are plentiful. However, according to our zip check search, some of the smallest cities in the country still have a few different providers to choose from, such as Starlink, Viasat, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, or even fiber internet service provided by a local telecom cooperative. To make sure you cover your bases, check your zip code below to get a full list of every provider available in your area.