How To Lower Your Optimum Internet Bill

Optimum offers several plans in every coverage area it serves. Are you sure you’re on the right one?

Many people are paying for way more internet speed than they actually use. For example, one Altice Optimum Internet customer wrote about paying for a 1 Gig internet plan when they use two smart TVs, two laptops, and several smart home devices on their Wi-Fi network. Most of the users on the forum suggested—and we agree—that they could save money by switching to a slower, cheaper plan, while still powering all those devices.

Honestly, most households really don’t need gigabit internet. Unless you’re a professional gamer, have 10+ devices streaming at once, or work remotely on Zoom calls all day, you can probably make do with 500 or even 300Mbps. Switching from a 1 Gig Internet plan to a 300Mbps would save you a full $25 a month. That’s $300 a year!

You might be able to switch to a lower-speed plan and boost your internet performance in other ways, like upgrading your gear (we’ll talk about that more below). In any case, you can always go to a slower speed plan and then switch back if you find yourself stuck with low-quality video streams or lag in your Warzone 2 games.

One of the best ways to save money on your Optimum internet bill without losing out on performance is bundling. In fact, Optimum makes our list of the very best TV and internet bundling deals. You can get tons of cable channels and superfast internet without paying an arm and a leg.

Here’s a look at some of our favorite Optimum bundles.

Another way that you can bundle with Optimum internet is by signing up for the company’s mobile plan. Optimum Mobile is available only to existing Optimum customers. It’s not the cheapest unlimited data plan on the market, but it’s a good deal compared to pricier plans from Verizon or AT&T.

If you’re an existing Optimum customer, then you might not be eligible for all of the latest deals that the company is offering for new customers. But you may be able to take advantage of some of these deals, and it can help if you want to negotiate with the company to lower your bill (we’ll talk about that next).

There are also discounts you might be eligible for as an Optimum Internet customer. For example, the company has an Optimum Advantage Internet plan that it doesn’t advertise widely. The plan is available for seniors, veterans, and those with students in their household, but it is a very affordable way to get high-speed internet.

This Optimum Advantage Internet plan also comes with free installation, Wi-Fi router rental, and no data caps.

Some Optimum customers may also qualify for military or senior discounts. If you think you might be able to take advantage of these, call Optimum (888-276-5255) to check.

Normally you don’t think about haggling when you’re signing up for internet service. But you might be surprised at how far a little negotiation can go. Just be warned, it definitely isn’t like bargaining down the price of a cool old lamp at a flea market.

Negotiating down your internet price with Optimum is a delicate dance. One user describes the process in eight steps, beginning with logging into your account. Essentially, you want to get a customer service agent on the phone to talk about your account.

Once you’re speaking with an agent, you can lay out your predicament clearly: You think you’re overpaying for internet. Normally, just saying this won’t make your price go down. But, if you can demonstrate that you’re seriously considering leaving and there is a better deal offered by another company or another plan, then you might get somewhere. 

One Optimum customer warns, “You can’t back down and say you will call back later or think about it when you don’t get what you want. They’ll know you’re bluffing, and it will be noted on your account for the next person . . . It’s a negotiation where they hold most of the cards, and canceling is really your only card.”

So, unless you’re really willing to cancel your Optimum service, you might want to be careful about calling to negotiate a price change.

No matter which way the call goes, always be friendly to your customer service representative. You’ll get more help from retention agents who feel respected, and kindness can go a long way.

Optimum used to charge users a monthly equipment rental fee. But the company has done away with this charge, which we think is a great move. However, you might still be able to save some cash by getting your own modem and Wi-Fi router.

How does this work? While Optimum’s standard equipment works fine for most people, it is far from ideal for those who want to maximize speeds. So, if you’re on a 1 Gig plan from Optimum, but you’re using a subpar router, you might be seeing speeds around 500Mbps or even slower.

As one Optimum user puts it when discussing which Optimum plan to buy: “The speed won't be the issue, it's about the router you use and how it handles traffic.” So, if you upgrade to a better cable modem and Wi-Fi router, you might be able to downgrade to a cheaper plan and still see the same—or even better—speeds you got before.

Buying new equipment will cost you more in the short run, but you’ll be able to use it for years to come, even if you switch to another provider, like Xfinity, that does charge rental fees.

Hopefully one of the tips above worked to lower your Optimum internet bill. But if not, maybe it’s time to say sayonara, bon voyage, bye-bye. Now, with 5G home internet from companies like T-Mobile, there are high-speed alternatives almost everywhere in the country.

You can see all the best internet plans in your area with the zip code tool below. If you’re lucky, you’ll see some fiber internet plans listed there. While some of Optimum’s plans are fiber-based, many rely on older cable internet network technology, which isn’t as fast or reliable.

Either way, switching to another ISP can help you save money. And, if you wait six or so months, you might find an email or letter in your mailbox from Optimum, begging you to come back and offering a sweet, low-price deal.

We’ve been researching, testing, and writing about Optimum internet for nearly a decade. So we know what the provider does well (like offering fast download speeds) and what they don’t do so well (like having annoying price hikes). We also know a lot about Optimum’s competitors and the kinds of deals they offer.

For this guide, we used all of this deep knowledge about Optimum, consulted some of our own proprietary data, and looked at what real Optimum Internet customers had to say. We laid out only well-researched and verified solutions for lowering your bill. Not all of them will work for everyone, but hopefully you’ve found one or two that do.