65% Feel Misled by Their ISP—Here’s What’s Driving It

According to Reviews.org's 2026 Consumer Trust Survey, 65% of consumers say they feel misled by ISP pricing or plan terms.

Consumers thought they were paying one price — the advertised price, plus taxes and a few other fees up front — but instead wound up with a higher price and a bill that includes every fee, whether it was openly discussed or not.

Over half of respondents (56%) say providers are not transparent about pricing. That means the remaining 44% believe their providers are transparent, pointing to a split in consumer experience, which is what the FCC Broadband Nutrition Labels aim to address.

Savvy shoppers may already know to watch for certain charges, like service fees, activation fees, installation fees, and equipment rental costs, and promotional rates that eventually roll off. But other charges are harder to spot: regulatory line items, taxes, speed fees, and data overage fees are often buried in the fine print or omitted from advertised pricing.

When people can't match the advertised price to their bottom line, it becomes harder to budget and easier to lose confidence in their provider. That uncertainty leads to bill questions, plan changes, or shopping for alternatives: 67% say hidden fees have made them consider switching providers.

For internet providers, this means ISP pricing transparency helps improve both customer acquisition and retention. For consumers, it means recognizing where hidden fees are coming from and deciding whether they can budget for them.

Have you felt misled by your internet provider? Here’s a quick checklist of ways to get on the same page as your provider before contacting support or switching:

• Confirm base plan price and any additional fees
• Check when promotions end
• List recurring add-ons
• Review any equipment charges
• Note anything unclear in the contract

By giving your internet bill an audit, you can better understand what your monthly budget actually buys. You can always cut services you don’t use, negotiate for a better deal through bundling or promotions, or find other ways to lower your internet bill.

To compile the data for the 2026 Consumer Trust Survey, we conducted an online survey of 1,000 Americans on Feb. 22, 2026. The survey was designed to gauge consumer sentiment regarding home service costs, price transparency, and provider trust.

To ensure the findings accurately represent the national landscape, the results were stratified to reflect the current U.S. population according to census data for age, gender, and geographic region. The margin of error for this study is ±3% with a 95% confidence level.