Optimum Internet is far from optimum—most should go for T-Mobile 5G Home Internet instead.
Optimum Internet vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
Faster speeds
Overall Quality ⁃ 2.5/5
3.0/5 - Speed and reliability
3.0/5 - Dollar value
1.5/5 - Customer experience
Better customer service
Overall Quality ⁃ 3.8/5
3.5/5 - Speed and reliability
3.7/5 - Dollar value
4.2/5 - Customer experience 
8 min readT-Mobile is the way to go in terms of high-speed internet that’s widely available, and generally reliable. Optimum Internet isn’t necessarily terrible, but, while it offers decently fast speeds and reasonable value for money, the overall customer experience is subpar.
Some customers might find Optimum Internet perfectly fine—especially those who want a fiber connection, which generally offers better reliability. However, customers we spoke to note that their speeds are often below those advertised, and there are a number of extra fees.
T-Mobile, on the other hand, doesn’t offer fiber connections, but it does leverage its 5G network for fast and largely reliable service. Additionally, T-Mobile offers a great customer experience overall, and there are no added fees for things like installation. If you have the choice between the two, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is a better option overall, unless you really want a fiber-based connection.
“Overall it’s pretty solid, especially if you don’t have other options. But online gaming is rough.” –Jordan Rivera, a T-Mobile customer
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Optimum Internet vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Plans, pricing, and speed
| Provider | | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per month |
$35-$280
|
$50-$160
|
| Download speeds | 300-8000 Mbps | 72Mbps–245Mbps |
| Upload speeds | 20-8000 Mbps | 15Mbps–31Mbps |
| Details | View Plans | View Plans |
Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change. Data verified as of the article's publication date.
At a glance, Optimum offers a wider selection of plans and speeds. Optimum’s prices start at only $40 for 300Mbps and go up from there. Optimum’s fastest fiber plan is advertised as offering a hefty 8Gbps in download speeds, which is very impressive overall.
T-Mobile’s plans are a little more conservative. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet plans leverage a wireless cellular connection, so it makes sense that T-Mobile wouldn’t have speeds as fast as Optimum’s fiber plans. T-Mobile offers speeds between 72Mbps and 245Mbps, though unlike other providers, you don’t pay for higher speeds—you just get the speeds available in your area. T-Mobile’s plans cost $50–$70, with the extra money getting you a higher-performance gateway, a Wi-Fi Mesh Access Point, and 24/7 support.
“They get the job done. It’s not bad,” says Geoffrey Turbeville, an Optimum customer.
Optimum vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Fees for modem and installation
What makes this review legit?
Our fact-based research process centers on interviews with internet customers across the country, helping us understand how internet services hold up against diverse needs and challenges.
To put together this review, we looked at results from our speed test, pulled data from customer satisfaction surveys, and pored over the fine print to compare prices and speeds between the two providers. To flesh out our analysis, we also interviewed Optimum and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet customers to get their firsthand insights. We let their experiences guide our research and shape our conclusions. We also speak with ISP spokespeople and industry experts to get insights into connection types, speed capabilities, and other technical issues related to internet service.
The matchup: How we rate Optimum vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
For all our internet reviews, we give a rating based on three main criteria—speed and reliability, dollar value, and customer experience—which we then average to make an overall score.
Here, we compare those ratings face to face. We then offer some analysis and context for important factors to keep in mind.
Want to know more? Read our full-length Optimum review and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet review.
Speed and reliability
Optimum: 3.0/5.0 | T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: 3.5/5.0
Optimum offers faster plans than T-Mobile. Optimum’s plans speed up to 8Gbps, while T-Mobile’s plans only reach download speeds of up to 245Mbps.
There’s much more to it than that—hence why T-Mobile scores higher in this category. Optimum offers both cable and fiber-based plans. Optimum’s fiber plans are the ones that reach those massive speeds and offer symmetrical download and upload speeds. The vast majority of Optimum customers, however, only have cable plans available to them.
In fact, according to a 2024 shareholders report, 92% of Optimum customers have cable connections, which have a maximum speed of 1Gbps. Even then, most customers don’t get the speeds that are advertised to them. One customer, Geoffrey Turbeville, for example, pays for a 500Mbps cable plan but gets speeds of only 80Mbps.
T-Mobile is a whole different beast. T-Mobile plans range in speed between 72Mbps and 245Mbps, which is fast enough for small households, but not that fast in the grand scheme of things, especially for things like online gaming. T-Mobile’s upload speeds are even lower—ranging from 15Mbps to 31Mbps. That may not be enough for things like online gaming and uploading video.
As far as reliability goes, T-Mobile is seemingly far ahead of Optimum, which is impressive considering wired connections like Optimum’s are usually more consistent and stable than wireless.
HighSpeedInternet.com’s customer satisfaction survey for 2023 ranked T-Mobile as second overall in reliability, with Optimum ranking second to last—out of 15 providers.
Dollar value
Optimum: 3.0/5.0 | T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: 3.7/5.0
Optimum doesn’t offer terrible value for money, but overall, T-Mobile offers better value. Optimum’s pricing varies widely, and after a year of being a customer, you can expect your rate to go up from the promotional price to a standard rate.
Optimum notes that most customers should expect their price to go up by $10 to $30 per month. For fiber customers, the new pricing may still be worth it, but it’s still a bitter pill to swallow, especially when you compare the final pricing to something like Google Fiber or Xfinity.
Optimum also charges a range of fees:
- Router rental fee
- Network enhancement fee
- Wi-Fi extender rental fee
- Professional installation fee
- And more
T-Mobile, on the other hand, offers better value overall. T-Mobile charges a flat rate of $50 or $70 with no additional fees. The two plans offer the same speeds, however for the higher monthly fee you may experience faster speeds because it gets you a better gateway. T-Mobile also offers customers a $10 discount on cellular plans that they bundle with home internet plans. That said, these rates may not offer the best bang for buck if there’s a solid fiber provider in your area.
Customer experience
Optimum: 1.5/5.0 | T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: 4.2/5.0
Customer service is an area where T-Mobile is head and shoulders above Optimum. Optimum has a terrible reputation, and several of the customers we talked to expressed their frustration with the service. Optimum scored very poorly on HighSpeedInternet.com’s customer satisfaction survey and dead last in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) amongst non-fiber providers. Additionally, Optimum charges a service fee to send a technician to your location—$80 for a call.
T-Mobile customers, however, are very satisfied with T-Mobile’s service overall. It’s at or near the top of both surveys we noted above, and much of that likely has to do with how easy it is to use T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet service from the beginning.
Setting up T-Mobile’s service is simple: When the gateway arrives, simply download the app and follow the on-screen instructions. Customers note that it was easy to get in touch with customer service when issues came up, and technical issues were resolved quickly.
Overall quality: Which internet provider should you pick?
Optimum and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet serve very different purposes. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet offers solid reliability and reasonable speeds, and its speeds are close to being as advertised. However those speeds also aren’t that fast—and if you’re looking for a provider for things like online gaming, heavy video streaming, and so on, then T-Mobile probably isn’t fast enough.
Optimum fiber plans are fast and reliable, even if speeds sometimes aren’t as advertised. However Optimum’s customer service is severely lacking. Basic users who want a provider for web surfing, basic video streaming, and so on, should go for T-Mobile—it’s more reliable and easier to deal with. But those who need superfast speeds need to consider Optimum instead, despite its poor overall customer satisfaction scores.
Optimum vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: What deals and promotions can you get?
Both Optimum and T-mobile offer a number of deals and promotions for potential customers. Notably, if you sign up for Optimum online, you can get free installation, which equates to savings of $100. Optimum also offers a $60 bill credit when you sign up for a plan that’s 500Mbps or faster.
T-Mobile, on the other hand, gives a $200 prepaid Mastercard for those who sign up for T-Mobile 5G Home Internet and keep their plan active for 10 weeks. And, when you combine T-Mobile 5G Home Internet with a T-Mobile phone plan, you get between $10 and $20 off your plan.
Get cash with certain plans
Get $50–$200 in a prepaid card and free installation when you sign up for a plan of 500Mbps or higher.
Get $10 to $20 off per month
Bundle T-Mobile 5G Home Internet with a T-Mobile phone plan to get $10–$20 off your plan every month.
Optimum add-ons and perks
Sign up for a 1Gbps internet plan.
Sign up for a 300Mbps plan and mobile bundle.
Transfer up to 4 numbers on any Unlimited line and get up to $100 per line on an Optimum Prepaid Mastercard.
T-Mobile add-ons and perks
Try T-Mobile 5G Home Internet for 15 days, and get a full refund if you decide not to sign up.
Get your last month for free if you get a price hike on your bill.
Sign up for 5G Home Internet to get a free trial of the following streaming services:
- ViX Premium for 1 year
- SiriusXM Streaming for 6 mos.
- Pandora Premium for 4 mos.
Optimum vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: What do customers think?
Optimum customers generally have mixed views of the cable and fiber provider
As we were researching our full Optimum review, we spoke to a number of Optimum customers and found that a number of them feel that the provider hit them with price hikes too often—and could often get away with it because the customers had no realistic alternative in their area. This is a fundamental issue in the internet service provider space in general, but it’s never good to see a company taking advantage of the problem.
“I don’t have any bargaining power,” says Geoffrey Turbeville, who has been an Optimum cable customer in Brooklyn for six years only because it's the sole high-speed internet provider available. Turbeville talked to us for our review, and seemed resigned to his fate as a reluctant customer. “We really only have one option.”
Other customers have similar experiences. Luther Shoultz, a business executive in New Jersey, feels the same way: “If there were multiple providers available, companies could really start on really making sure customers are happy instead of making promises they can’t keep.”
“Once Verizon Fios came to my street, it changed things,” –Josh Michael, an eight-year Optimum customer in Brooklyn
Customers say T-Mobile offers a great alternative in many cities
Steve Abbott, a T-Mobile 5G Home Internet customer in Mission Viejo, California, told us in a recent interview that until T-Mobile showed up, he and his wife were stuck with a DSL plan that uses dated technology.
“We could barely stream Lakers and Dodger games, let alone shows on Netflix,” Abbott said of his previous DSL plan in a chat for our review of T-Mobile’s 5G internet service. Abbott says that T-Mobile 5G Home Internet “took us from low-quality streaming on a single TV to being able to stream two different shows in two different rooms with high definition.”
Customers do note that the service is better for basic use cases and not for those who need high-speed, low-latency connections for things like online gaming. “I honestly gave up trying to game on this internet,” says Jordan Rivera, a T-Mobile 5G Home Internet customer in Las Vegas, Nevada. “I would die before knowing anything hit me. I mostly play single player games now, ha. Overall it’s pretty solid, especially if you don’t have other options,” Rivera adds. “But online gaming is rough.”
“Overall it’s pretty solid, especially if you don’t have other options. But online gaming is rough.” –Jordan Rivera, a T-Mobile customer in Las Vegas.
Want Optimum or T-Mobile 5G Home Internet? Find it in your area.
For those who want reliability and a better customer service experience, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is the way to go. It’s a better overall service, and generally more reliable. However, those who want higher-speed connections with lower latency should avoid a 5G-based service for now and instead go for a wired fiber or cable based service. Again, small households who just want decent internet for basic tasks should go for T-Mobile, but more demanding users may be forced to go for the less-loved Optimum instead.
Find Optimum or T-Mobile 5G Home Internet in your area
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