Frontier offers fast and affordable fiber internet plans and Spectrum’s bundles provide steep discounts.
Frontier vs. Spectrum Internet
8 min readSpectrum is a quality cable internet provider with coverage across the U.S. With Spectrum, you get:
- No contracts
- No early termination fees
- Free router rental
- 12 months before any price hikes
- Generous sign-up discounts
- Optional bundles with mobile lines and live TV plans
Frontier’s fiber internet plans have both fast download and upload speeds, providing a smooth, reliable experience. It has a smaller coverage area than some competitors, but with it, you still get:
- Low starting prices
- Unlimited data
- Free installation
- Free router rental
- 12 months before any price hikes
- Optional DSL service
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Honest reviews written by real people
Why trust Reviews.org? Because we are real people writing these reviews, and we interview customers and experts to do our research. Learn more about Reviews.org and our process on our How We Test Internet page.
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Spectrum vs. Frontier: Plans, pricing, and deals
Spectrum Internet plans and prices
Frontier Internet plans and prices
Spectrum Internet is a cable internet provider with plans starting at 500Mbps for $50 per month, up to 1Gbps for $70 per month. All plans come with unlimited data, modem rental, and no early termination fees, plus more great Spectrum deals. Currently, prices increase by $30 per month in your second year. On the 500Mbps plan, you can pay $10 more per month for Advanced Wi-Fi, which is a rental of an advanced router. Otherwise, you can supply your own router at no extra cost.
Available in 25 states, Frontier’s fiber plans start at $29.99 per month for 200Mbps and go up to $199.99 per month for 7,000Mbps symmetrical speeds. After the first year, prices increase by $10 per month, but it’s a small price to pay for unlimited data, free installation, and free router rental. If you cancel before your first 12 months are up, you need to pay a prorated early termination fee, up to $200. Frontier also offers limited DSL service for $64.99 per month plus $100 installation, but you need to call to see if it's available. Explore Frontier's current deals and discounts now.
Spectrum vs. Frontier: Fees for modem and installation
Spectrum wins in the deals arena, offering a free unlimited mobile line for a year when you order internet. Spectrum also offers affordable bundle deals and price locks when you add mobile and live streaming TV. And for qualifying households and seniors, Spectrum offers a $30 per month low-income plan–learn more in our overview of Spectrum's low-income options.
Frontier doesn’t have a ton of snazzy deals, but the plan itself comes with an Amazon eero router at no extra cost. This is nifty equipment that can connect to additional eeros to get quality Wi-Fi coverage throughout your house.
Spectrum add-ons and perks
Select the Spectrum Internet + Wi-Fi + TV + Xumo Bundle when buying your internet plan online.
Add Spectrum Voice when buying your internet plan online.
Frontier add-ons and perks
Add whole-home Wi-Fi when buying your Frontier internet plan online.
Add YouTube TV when buying your Frontier internet plan online.
Add Wi-Fi Secure powered by eero when buying your Frontier internet plan online.
Add Unlimited Digital Voice when buying your Frontier internet plan online.
Sign up for the Fiber 500, 1 Gig, 2 Gig, or 5 Gig plan to claim up to $200 in a Visa reward card.
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 Spectrum and Frontier 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 Spectrum vs. Frontier
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 Spectrum review and Frontier review.
Speed and reliability
Spectrum: 4.0/5.0 | Frontier: 3.75/5.0
Frontier’s fiber internet plans provide fast symmetrical speeds, so users get a reliable experience for both downloading and uploading. This is great whether you’re working from home, Face-Timing friends, streaming 4K videos, or posting on social media. While Frontier isn’t on our Fastest Internet Providers list, upgrades in its speed capacity have made it into a strong contender against fast internet providers like Google Fiber or Verizon Fios. This isn’t the same case for Frontier’s DSL plans, which have varying speeds depending on your area. Frontier speed tests averaged about 213Mbps download speed, and 185Mbps upload speed, which are reliable speeds for most households.
Spectrum is one of Reviews.org’s top-rated internet providers and is our recommended pick for cable internet. Performing well in our speed test, the provider gets fast download speeds all the way up to 1Gbps, so you can enjoy quick downloads of large games, uninterrupted streaming, and seamless browsing. However, since Spectrum is a cable provider, it doesn’t get symmetrical speeds. This means that even if you sign up for gigabit speeds, you may need to be patient when you’re doing any kind of uploading task such as posting a photo dump on Instagram, livestreaming on Twitch, or saving files online. Cable is also a more variable technology, so it’s more prone to outages and slow-downs.
Frontier is faster and more reliable than Spectrum, but the average internet user may find the two to be pretty similar, especially if you’re just watching Netflix and only occasionally taking Zoom calls. Regardless, we still recommend Frontier’s fiber plan because it uses the latest and greatest tech, but you still get good service with Spectrum.
Dollar value
Spectrum: 3.8/5.0 | Frontier: 3.0/5.0
Even though Spectrum is priced reasonably, you get a better deal with Frontier, both in the first year with promotional prices, and after your promo period is over.
Spectrum’s plans are reasonably priced to start, but after your first 12 months of service, you say goodbye to your affordable prices, especially when you factor in extra prices. Learn more about Spectrum’s hidden fees to see what you’re really paying. This makes it a less attractive deal overall, but there are no early termination fees or contracts, so you can switch before your rates increase if you need to. Switching is probably more hassle than its worth, so the way to get the most out of your Spectrum plan is to bundle. Spectrum promises stable prices when you add live TV and mobile to your account. The maximum duration for price-locked prices is three years, and you do need at least two Unlimited Plus mobile lines and live TV. If you already pay for mobile and live TV, this could be worth the jump. Read our guide for some handy tips to lower your Spectrum internet bill.
Frontier also increases its prices after your first year, but only by $10 per month. Sure, this isn’t the nicest thing to experience as a loyal customer, but Frontier also includes all the extras like professional installation and equipment with your plan. The only snag is the early termination fee, which assigns you a fee to pay for every month you have left on your promotional period. This only applies if you accept the freebies at the start of your plan like a gift card or the professional installation. If you’re certain that you will be moving and switching providers before your first year of service is over, you could avoid the early termination fee by not accepting these perks.
Customer experience
Spectrum: 3.2/5.0 | Frontier: 3.75/5.0
Spectrum isn’t outstanding when it comes to customer experience, getting close to the average score in HighSpeedInternet.com’s 2023 Customer Satisfaction Survey across overall satisfaction, speed, price, reliability, and customer service. Customers that spoke with Reviews.org are happy with their service overall, but technical or customer support could use some work. “It’s totally fine. It’s fast and we’ve never had an outage,” says Anna Harsanyi in New York City.
Another customer, Sakia Anwar, called customer service about a service outage but got stuck with an upselling customer service agent. “I told him three or four times, ‘No, I am not interested,’ and he just would not stop,” she says.
It seems like this is the nature of customer service, as Frontier’s customer service doesn’t get the best reviews either. “It took a really long time just to talk to a real person,” says Sherwin Kamyab, a Frontier customer in Texas who spent over an hour with Frontier to get technical support. “Luckily I called after work. I know Frontier better than to try to call them during my work hours.”
Frontier also gets an average score in HighSpeedInternet.com’s survey, and actual customers who talked with Reviews.org seem more enthusiastic about Frontier when sharing their experiences with us. “No complaints. It's been rock solid,” says user Neatfeek83, who chatted with Reviews.org over Reddit. Still, Frontier customers aren’t as likely to need customer service because fiber doesn’t experience as many outages or slowdowns as cable internet.
Overall quality: Which internet provider should you pick?
Spectrum: 3.7/5.0 | Frontier: 3.5/5.0
You should pick Frontier fiber internet if it’s available in your area. Frontier packs more value into the price and has an overall smoother service. However, Spectrum has wider availability across the country, so your chances are skewed. Spectrum is still a good runner-up, and its fast download speeds are enough for even heavy internet users. Unfortunately, its prices and relatively slow upload speeds mean that Spectrum is a step down from fiber unless it gets some serious upgrades.
Spectrum vs. Frontier: What do customers think?
Spectrum offers fast speeds, but it doesn’t always meet expectations
Internet is a necessity, and some Spectrum customers see the provider as their only option. “Spectrum was the only service provider that offered anything faster than 100Mbps download,” says Sean Huntley, a Spectrum customer in Glendale, California. This puts him and his girlfriend, Alex Brown, in a predicament where they only use Spectrum because no other provider can meet their needs. "Spectrum is competent—and compulsory," says Huntley.
Customers also have varying experiences in terms of the provider’s performance. “It’s not very customer friendly,” says Robyn Straw, a Spectrum customer in St. Cloud who has previously experienced a summer of daily outages that resulted in missed work calls over Zoom. “Just hope you don’t need help from customer service,” says Straw, who is tired of the long waits she experiences whenever she tries to get assistance.
"Spectrum is competent—and compulsory." –Sean Huntley, a Spectrum customer in Glendale, California
Frontier has a reliable network, but customer service can be frustrating
Frontier offers a top-notch internet service, and customers are ecstatic to share their experiences. “Asynchronous speeds were a non-starter for me,” says Reddit user Neatfeek83, who chatted with Reviews.org. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they found that Frontier’s service supported the whole family using the internet at the same time. “A lot of my co-workers who didn't realize the difference between [synchronous/symmetrical and asynchronous speeds] quickly found themselves bottlenecked, waiting for files to upload at substandard speeds.”
Another customer, Sherwin Kamyab, from Plano, Texas, is happy with the service overall. “I love it. To me, the price is fair," says Kamyab, who credits the provider for delivering consistent performance under all circumstances. "Even with the storms, no hiccups.” However, contacting customer service to get the right home networking equipment was frustrating, and resulted in many wasted hours. “It’s easier to herd cats than it is to get in contact with their customer support sometimes,” he remarks. Despite the hurdles getting the right equipment, Kamyab is satisfied with Frontier. “Don’t get me wrong. Their network service is great. It’s just customer service.”
“Even with the storms, no hiccups.” –Sherwin Kamyab, Frontier customer in Plano, Texas
Want Spectrum or Frontier? Find it in your area
Spectrum and Frontier have limited availability, so make sure you check if they’re available in your area first before you go any further down the rabbit hole. After you hit submit, you’ll get a list of all the providers and plans available in your zip code so you can compare prices and speeds.
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