Spectrum Internet Review 2023

Spectrum is ideal if you want speeds faster than DSL internet and you don't have access to fiber. It's available in 42 states and offers speeds from up to 300–1000 Mbps, perfect for most homes.

We also like that Spectrum is widely available across the US. Use that zip code internet finder above to see if you live in one of the 42 states it's available. 

Spectrum has five plans to choose from, including regional plans for Ohio, North Carolina, and New York. Its Gig plan teeters on being too expensive, but the service doesn’t require you to sign a contract, which we’re big fans of.

Unlike Xfinity Internet, our top pick, Spectrum offers 3 fewer plans, and the Gig Internet is $25 more. And compared to Cox Internet, Spectrum has more expensive plans, especially after the second-year price hikes.

If you're looking for fast download speeds that'll keep a family gaming and streaming over the weekend, Spectrum has you covered.

Spectrum offers three plans with speeds ranging from 300–1000 Mbps. Sadly, Spectrum's Gig plan is $30 more expensive than Xfinity's Ultrafast plan—and that's during Spectrum's promotional pricing. But Spectrum is a better deal than Cox in our book, especially if you want gigabit speeds.

We're not gonna lie: we'd love to see more plans with greater availability from Spectrum because we love choices! We hope to see Spectrum offer the same prices and speeds as its regional plans.

Sure, the price for the base Spectrum Internet® plan is reasonable, but solo gamers or casual web surfers may not need 300 Mbps. A 100 Mbps plan would be a better option, but Spectrum only offers that to families who qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program.

And with Spectrum Internet®'s new regional plans, you might have a lower monthly price if you live in North Carolina versus California or New York. Take a look at Spectrum's regional plans below.

Spectrum Internet® is available in 42 states, so chances are pretty good it's available near you. Especially if you live in the northeastern US, where Spectrum focuses on connecting cities and towns to the World Wide Web. 

To get a better idea of where Spectrum can be found, check out our Spectrum availability map!

Here are the top five states with the most availability:

1. Ohio
2. Maine
3. New York
4. Wisconsin
5. North Carolina

If you're not sure whether Spectrum Internet® service is available in your area, we can help you out. Just enter your zip code below to see if Spectrum is an option for you.

The up to 300 Mbps plan* should be hefty enough to keep parents happily streaming Schitt's Creek while their kiddo watches Phineas and Ferb on Disney+. (Just maybe not in the same room.)

But if you have more than a few connected devices (like cell phones, home security systems, and smart TVs) and still want to binge-watch The Great British Baking Show when you come home from work, you'll probably want to upgrade to the Spectrum Internet® 500 Mbps plan* with speeds of up to 500 Mbps.

The Spectrum Internet® Gig plan is perfect for large families who love to do all of the above—or for serious gamers or adults who make a living working from home.

So what about all this news coverage of Spectrum's slower-than-advertised speeds? Yeah, we've heard about that too, and it has us shaking our heads.

You'll likely get slower speeds than what you pay for with Spectrum. Unfortunately, that’s the reality of most internet providers: they almost always overpromise and underdeliver on both upload speed and download speed. So if you really need a specific speed, you sadly might want to consider paying for the next level above what you actually need.

The somewhat silver lining is that Spectrum has no contracts. So if your download speeds wane and customer service is no help, it's easy to put a stop to your service and find someone else. You won't get slapped with early termination fees either.

Spectrum doesn't have data caps, so there's nothing to see here. By comparison, Xfinity has a 1.2TB monthly data cap, which you can remove by paying an extra $30 each month. Cox does something similar.

Here’s an idea of what you'll rent from Spectrum and the costs involved.

Spectrum doesn't have contracts, but you must keep the service for at least a month to get the discounted pricing. After that, you can cancel the service at any time.

We like that Spectrum offers a no-contract internet option because it frees you up to switch providers if you’re unsatisfied or moving elsewhere. That's perfect if you're renting, temporarily in a city for work, or just don't like commitments. (We get it.)

Other options for no-contract internet access that may be in your area include Frontier and Xfinity.

The only contract issues we have with Spectrum are its additional fees. Those fees are a confusing bunch, so we'll try to clear them up for you in a minute.

For the duration of your internet contract, Spectrum throws in a free modem, which is pretty nice of them. Most other companies charge anywhere from $10 to $20 extra a month to rent equipment.

However, WiFi costs $5 per month unless you have the Gig plan. This fee applies if you have Spectrum's gateway or one of its standalone routers. The only way to bypass this fee is you use your own router. We're fans of this ARRIS SURFboard SBG6950AC2 modem router combo from Amazon.

If you opt for Spectrum's whole-home WiFi service, each Spectrum WiFi Pod costs $3 per month. So, if you get three pods plus WiFi, your monthly cost is $14.

Spectrum encourages self-installation because most homes already have cable TV lines, making it super easy to install internet yourself. You can get a pro install if you need it, but Spectrum usually reserves the pro install for homes without cable TV lines, or if something isn't working during the self-install.

The pro install fee is one of the most reasonable we've seen. Take a look:

• Pro installation fees: $59.99
• Self-installation fee: $24.99
• WiFi Pod install: $49.99
• Internet Gig equipment upgrade fee: $19.99
• Early termination fees: No contract means no early termination fee. Yay!

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) scores ISPs for customer service each year, and the internet industry averaged a score of 66 out of 100 for 2023. (That might seem insanely low, but internet customer service just ranks poorly in general compared to other industries.) So if you look at Spectrum's latest score of 64 out of 100, it’s only a little worse than average, which in internet customer assistance terms means it’s practically fantastic. 

Still, if you need to call Spectrum customer service, you should probably expect things to be a little … rough. But we have some tips to help! Ready?  First thing's first; take a deep breath and grab a pen and paper.

1. Use online chat or email if you can. Chat and email free you up to continue living your life without a cell phone attached to your ear. Both of these methods also keep a log of what was said or promised, which is perfect if you need to refer back to it for proof.
2. Advocate for yourself. If your current customer service rep isn't cutting it, ask to speak to someone else—or their manager. It may seem disrespectful, but at the end of the day you're the customer and you deserve fair and respectful treatment!
3. Negotiate. Spectrum doesn't have contracts, so this can be a huge bargaining chip for you. Research other internet providers' prices and speeds before you call or chat, and don't be afraid to say you'll cancel your service if Spectrum can't give you what you're asking for.

Get in touch with Spectrum here:

• Phone: 1-855-707-7328
• Online chat
• Twitter: @Ask_Spectrum
• Facebook: @Spectrum
• Spectrum also has options to pay your bill including their app.

Spectrum Internet® is a good service, but it doesn't always compare favorably against our top internet service provider picks.

We'll give you some context of how Spectrum stacks up against other top internet providers.

You might hear Spectrum compared to AT&T Fiber or Frontier. That's because these three ISPs serve some of the same parts of the US.

These providers aren’t one-to-one comparable because while Spectrum uses fiber as part of its cable line, it doesn’t have a fiber-only connection yet. So in many cases, we recommend AT&T Fiber or Frontier fiber over Spectrum cable. Or maybe T-Mobile 5G Home Internet if you need a more flexible wireless provider.

We think AT&T Fiber offers the best value—and the lowest prices. Plus, fiber is usually more reliable than the cable internet connection Spectrum uses.

Then there’s Frontier. Frontier offers mostly DSL internet and some fiber, and it’s a great option if AT&T’s fiber internet isn’t available to you. Its gigabit fiber plan is $20 cheaper per month than Spectrum's cable, plus it has faster plans reaching up to 5000 Mbps, just like AT&T. In comparison, Spectrum's max speed is only 1000 Mbps (for now).

Just be wary with Frontier—the prices start out great but eventually skyrocket to the highest price we've seen for a gig speed plan.

Who it’s best for: If your family loves to stream videos or play Farming Simulator 19 together online, Spectrum Internet® with up to 300 Mbps* is fast enough to keep you connected on a budget.

But if you have a large family with kiddos uploading YouTube videos, or a partner who works from home, get the Ultra or Gig plan instead.

Why we picked it: The Spectrum Internet® plan with up to 300 Mbps is the best deal for most homes. It's easy on the wallet and provides enough speed to play games online and stream reruns of Parks and Recreation simultaneously.

As the nation’s second-largest internet provider, Spectrum has to compete with big dogs like Xfinity, Verizon Fios, and AT&T.

How does it stack up?

How does it stack up? It’s a good service with some bugs.

It’s widely available in the United States, offers a wide range of speeds that work for streaming or gaming households, and keeps you going with unlimited data—all while avoiding contracts. And though its confusing fees and iffy customer service will cause some to hesitate, overall, we think Spectrum is a competitive option.

• Spectrum Internet® 300 Mbps: $49.99/mo.** for the first 12 months, up to 300 Mbps download speeds,* no data cap
• Spectrum Internet® 500 Mbps: $69.99/mo. for the first 12 months, up to 500 Mbps download speeds,* no data cap
• Spectrum Internet® Gig: $89.99/mo.^† for the first 12 months, up to 1,000 Mbps download speeds,* no data cap

We research and rate our internet providers based on the following criteria:

• Prices
• Availability
• Speed scores
• Customer service scores
• Connection type

After comparing the criteria, we give you our honest opinion about each provider while giving you the information you need to know before signing up.

We took Spectrum’s price, availability, scores, etc. and spent hours cross-comparing it to competitors to ensure we could accurately represent the service and how it falls in the market.