Optimum Internet Review: Customers Say It “Gets the Job Done”

Optimum slides into the honorable mentions of Reviews.org’s Fastest Internet Providers with its fast and reliable fiber packages up to 8,000Mbps. However, most people can just stick with the gigabit plan or lower for regular streaming, gaming, and video calls. Fiber is the most reliable type of internet you can get. Optimum’s fiber plans get you symmetrical download and upload speeds, which give you lots of bandwidth to support remote video calls, fast video uploads, livestreaming, and other heavy-duty tasks.

However, 91% of Optimum customers have cable connections, according to a quarterly 2024 report to shareholders. The company offers a good range of cable internet speeds, but these plans aren’t as fast as fiber, and some customers report having issues with slow speeds and regular outages. Optimum's speed tests averaged over 200Mbps download speeds, but experiences vary: Even though Geoffrey Turbeville pays for a 500Mbps cable plan, he usually only gets 80Mbps speeds. That works for him—“I don’t actually ever need any more out of it,” he says—but it’s not ideal.

Courtney Joan, a college administrator and customer in Beacon, New York feels like she is getting a good deal, but, “I don’t like the speed and the irregularity of it. There are certain times Wi-Fi just drops out.” Even though she is on the 1Gig internet plan, Joan’s most recent internet speed test showed a mere 187Mbps download speed.

Even though you can apply for a credit if you experience an outage that’s longer than four hours, it’s no fun having spotty internet. Shoultz and his wife work from home, but find that Zoom calls are unpredictable and streaming doesn't work well either. “The TV service is spotty, especially now that it's over the internet. If you lose the internet, you also lose TV.”

Turbeville noticed this too while watching the Yankees: “We need to unplug the router and plug it back in fairly regularly, but it does solve the problem.'

The best Optimum plan for most households is the 300Mbps cable internet plan. Getting 300Mbps download speed is the sweet spot for most families who have multiple people wanting to stream, play games and work from home. It’s a great deal that checks the boxes for affordability and speed that works for all your daily internet activities.

Normally we would recommend choosing a fiber internet plan over a cable internet plan, but only about 9% percent of Optimum’s four million residential or business broadband customers are on a fiber plan according to Optimum’s 2024 second-quarter results. This is because Optimum is still expanding its fiber network, so most households aren’t eligible yet. If you are eligible for fiber, then the best plan to go for would be the 300Mbps fiber internet plan.

And if you're still struggling to afford a standard Optimum internet plan, check out our guide on Optimum's low-income internet packages that start as low as $14.99 per month.

And don't forget, we track all of Optimum's latest and best deals in our Optimum internet plans and deals page. Don't miss out on the latest ones you can snag!

Optimum gets low ratings for customer service in HighSpeedInternet.com’s customer satisfaction survey. It comes in last in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) for non-fiber internet service providers.

Several customers told Reviews.org that they experience outages at a frustrating rate and that they get much slower speeds than what they pay for. The good news is that if your internet is out for more than four hours and it’s directly Optimum’s fault, you get a full credit on your bill for the time lost, just as long as you contact them within 30 days.

Some customers describe positive experiences with customer service, but others don’t feel motivated to make a service request because it costs an $80 fee to get a technician to come by and work on an issue. Depending on the customer’s wiring situation, even the additional technical support plans won’t cover the repairs.

Professional installation costs $100, but self-installation is free. Customers can reach out to customer support through the phone, the provider’s web-based chat service, Optimum’s Facebook page, or on Twitter/X. You do need a customer account number in order to be transferred to a real person through the web-based chat. There is a loophole–if you go to the mobile and internet bundle webpage, the mobile support chat connects almost immediately to a live agent after you answer a few screening questions. 

How long it took to get a real human on the phone: Less than a minute.

How the chat service is: Online chat support for Optimum internet requires you to submit your account number to get to a live agent, otherwise you get limited chatbot responses. If you try the chat function on Optimum’s mobile support web pages, you can connect to a helpful live agent.

Optimum offers fast speeds, and you can’t go wrong with the provider’s reliable fiber service. Its cable plans can get the job done, too, but Optimum may not be as reliable as better-rated competitors like Verizon 5G Home Internet. Whatever Optimum plan you’re on, it’s worth a shot calling before your promotional period ends to see if you can dodge the unpredictable promo prices and keep your low rates.