Spectrum Internet vs. Google Fiber

Google Fiber is the best choice with superb internet service at a competitive price, but Spectrum’s fast speeds and mobile bundles make it great too.

Better value
Google Fiber
Overall Quality ⁃ 4.8/5
bullet 5.0/5 - Speed and reliability
bullet 4.8/5 - Dollar value
bullet 4.5/5 - Customer experience
Wider availability
Spectrum
Overall Quality ⁃ 3.8/5
bullet 4.0/5 - Speed and reliability
bullet 3.8/5 - Dollar value
bullet 3.2/5 - Customer experience
Peter Holslin
Sep 24, 2024
Icon Time To Read9 min read

Google Fiber is the obvious pick between these two internet providers. Alphabet Inc.’s famous fiber brand gets you fast, extremely reliable internet for a better price in the long run than what you pay for Spectrum—and most other cable providers too, for that matter. The customers we spoke with gave Google Fiber rave reviews. 

“With Google, we got more than enough bandwidth to do anything we needed online,” said RJ Bass, an IT specialist in Kansas City.

But while Spectrum comes in a distant second, it still delivers solid service for most of its customers. One of our best-rated cable providers, Spectrum offers solid download speeds, unlimited data, and no contracts. New Spectrum internet customers can also get a free Unlimited Mobile cellular line for a year.

Want to know which of these internet providers is best for you? Read on for our head-to-head comparisons on speed and reliability, dollar value, customer experience, and more.

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Google Fiber vs. Spectrum—plans, pricing and speed

ProviderGoogle FiberSpectrum
Price per month$70–$150$50–$70
Price hikes?NonePrice goes up $20/mo. after 12 or 24 mos.
Download speeds8000 Mbps1000 Mbps
Upload speeds8000 Mbps1000 Mbps
Details
Data as of 04/05/2023. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.

Google Fiber gets you deluxe internet from the start—the base plan delivers enough bandwidth for a huge household, with 1,000Mbps speeds for $70 per month. You can invest in even faster speeds if you so desire, but that basic plan really is the best deal—a download speed of 1,000Mbps is the top speed from many other providers, giving you plenty of bandwidth for pretty much any internet need and large numbers of Wi-Fi users. Even better, none of Google Fiber’s plans come with data caps, equipment fees, contracts, or other hidden costs. What you see is what you pay month after month.

"[Spectrum is] very affordable, and if I’m having an issue, they’re very good about troubleshooting,” said Sakia Anwar, a Spectrum customer in Queens, New York.

Spectrum isn’t quite as sweet of a deal, but it still has much to offer. The cable provider’s baseline plan has decent speeds, but 500Mbps is still fast enough for small or midsized households, and the starting price is lower than Google’s. Customers can take advantage of options for bundling internet with TV and mobile (through the Spectrum Mobile brand), and you don’t have to worry about data caps or contracts. However, you do have to fork over extra fees for installation and Wi-Fi, and your bill goes up by $20 a month after a year of service.

Google Fiber vs. Spectrum: fees for modem and installation

Service
Google Fiber Fee
Spectrum Fee
Wi-Fi with modem/routerNone$5.00/mo.
Modem/routerNoneNone
Self-installation kit and service activationNone$30.00
Professional installationNone$65.00

What makes this review legit?

Our fact-based research process centers around data analysis, keen-eyed provider comparisons, and interviews with internet customers from across the country. We research and write about internet service every day, with the aim to 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 eleven Spectrum and Google Fiber customers to get their first-hand insights. We let their experiences guide our research and shape our conclusions. We also spoke with a Spectrum spokesperson and experts on internet technology to get answers about Spectrum’s so-called “hybrid fiber coaxial” network and Google’s multi-gigabit capabilities.

how we review products and services

The matchup—how we rate Google Fiber vs. Spectrum

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 Google Fiber review and Spectrum Internet review.

Speed and reliability

internet speed
Google Fiber: 5.0/5.0 | Spectrum: 4.0/5.0

Google Fiber ranks at the top of our Fastest Internet Providers report, delivering faster speeds than every other major fiber and cable internet provider in the country. The provider’s slowest plan starts out at a gigabit, which is the top speed for many other providers. You also get symmetrical upload speeds from Google to handle video calls, livestreams, and cloud-drive uploads with ease.

The multi-gigabit plans aren’t necessary for most people, but they work wonders with a router hardwired to your computer via ethernet. By comparison Spectrum gets much slower speeds—results from our speed test put the cable brand at just 140Mbps on average, falling behind not just Google Fiber but also many other cable internet providers. You can’t get symmetrical speeds from Spectrum either.

Unsurprisingly, Google Fiber also beats out Spectrum in terms of reliability. Fiber infrastructure is newer than cable and isn’t vulnerable to electromagnetic interference in the same way that coaxial cables are. Google’s fiber-to-the-home connection ensures that you get smooth speeds around the clock, while a cable connection with Spectrum may be slightly more unstable.

That said, cable internet has been around a long time and is widely known to deliver dependable service for millions of customers. Most of the Spectrum customers who spoke with us were satisfied with their speeds and reliability, and the provider also got above-average rankings for speed in HighSpeedInternet.com’s 2023 customer satisfaction survey. “It’s fast and we’ve never had an outage,” Anna Harsanyi, a Spectrum customer in New York City, told Reviews.org.

Dollar value

dollar value
Google Fiber: 4.8/5.0 | Spectrum: 3.8/5.0

Google Fiber may look like the pricier option between these two providers, but if you break things down by dollar-to-gigabit and factor in Spectrum’s extra fees, Google Fiber proves to offer the better value. Google’s baseline plan costs $70 a month for gigabit upload and download speeds—that’s either the same price or cheaper than Spectrum’s gigabit plan (depending on Spectrum’s service area), which delivers a meager upload speed of 35Mbps.

Spectrum looks to be driving an even harder bargain for its basic Spectrum Internet plan, which delivers speeds up to 500Mbps for a starting price of $40–$50 per month. However, those are introductory rates. After a year, the price goes up by $20 per month. That means you end up paying the same price (or something close) for much slower speeds. You also have to pay for installation and if you’re renting a Spectrum router, you need to fork over $5 a month just to activate the Wi-Fi. But you can save money with a self-install kit.

But there’s no need to break out the sad trombone if you can’t get Google Fiber on your block: Spectrum and Google Fiber both go easy on the customer with other pricing matters. Google has no annual contracts, data caps, installation fees, or equipment fees. Spectrum has no contracts or data caps, and also offers discounts on bundle packages for cable TV and Spectrum Mobile services. New customers are eligible for a $5 monthly Autopay discount and a $100 Visa Rewards Card. And you get a free Unlimited Mobile cellular line for one year with any Spectrum internet plan.

Customer experience

customer experience
Google Fiber: 4.5/5.0 | Spectrum: 3.2/5.0

Most folks can expect a positive and easy customer experience with Google Fiber. The provider got the highest rankings for overall satisfaction and customer satisfaction out of the 25 internet providers surveyed in HighSpeedInternet.com’s 2023 customer satisfaction survey. A member of the Reviews.org team has the provider, and he said it was a breeze to schedule an appointment for installation and make customer service calls after things were all set up.

However, Google Fiber’s track record for customer service may vary in markets where its services are just getting off the ground or there isn’t as high a demand. Mike Strayer, a customer in Salt Lake City, told Reviews.org that it took two solid years to get Google Fiber in his home even though there was a node outside his condo building set up that entire time. Strayer suspects that the brand relied too heavily on subcontractors to handle its various services, leading to miscommunication and bureaucratic delays.

Overall quality: Which internet provider should you pick?

overall quality
Google Fiber: 4.7/5.0 | Spectrum: 3.7/5.0

Google Fiber is the perfect, ideal home internet for any user. Incredibly reliable and surprisingly affordable, it delivers massive bandwidth—including gigabit and multi-gigabit speeds—over a fiber-to-the-home connection. With no hidden fees attached, Google Fiber’s base gigabit package gives you some of the best value you can find on internet anywhere.

Spectrum is more of a default option. The cable provider is widely available nationwide, and customers often sign up when they have nothing faster to choose. Spectrum doesn’t make customers gush with enthusiasm in the same way Google Fiber does, but the baseline plans get you solid download speeds for a decent price (although Google Fiber still has them beat). You can also get bundle discounts for TV and mobile too—including a deal that gets you a free Unlimited Mobile cellular line for a year.

deals badge

Google Fiber vs. Spectrum: What deals and promotions can you get?

Google Fiber doesn’t really offer deals on top of its standard services. In a way, you could say that the service itself is the deal, since you’re getting incredibly fast speeds for a fixed rate, with no price hikes or extra fees. On the other hand, Spectrum puts in a bit more effort to make new customers happy with bundle offers, streaming trials, and other promotions.

Google Fiber
No extra fees for installation or equipment
Symmetrical speeds, gigabit capabilities, and unlimited data. Prices for Google Fiber start at $70 a month.
Spectrum
Free Unlimited Spectrum Mobile phone line for 12 mos.
Sign up for a qualifying Spectrum Internet plan to claim this massive deal. Phone line is $29.99/month after the free 12 months is over.

Spectrum add-ons and perks


Sign up for Autopay


Sign up for a qualifying Spectrum Internet plan


Sign up for a 500 Mbps (or faster) plan


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Google Fiber vs. Spectrum: What do customers say?

Google Fiber

Google Fiber customers give rave reviews

Internet service providers aren’t exactly known for their popularity, but there are plenty of happy Google Fiber customers. RJ Bass, an IT specialist in Kansas City, has moved multiple times over the past decade, and he’s made sure that any new place he moves is able to get Google Fiber.

“I used to be a semi-popular Twitch streamer, and the upload speeds I got from Time Warner were not good enough for me to stream to Twitch while my sons were hosting game servers,” he says. “With Google, we got more than enough bandwidth to do anything we needed online.”

Andy Phillips, a network architect in Austin, Texas, was just as enthusiastic about his home internet setup, which runs on the 8 Gig plan that costs $150 a month. Most internet users don’t need speeds faster than a gigabit, but Phillips benefits enormously from his superpowered home network to handle online gaming and host an always-on VPN server and an online cloud server for sharing movies and music with friends and family. He hardwires his router to his computer via ethernet, making his internet capable of surpassing Google’s advertised 8Gbps bandwidth ceiling.

“Not many can take advantage of speeds over 1Gbps,” Phillips acknowledged in his chat with Reviews.org. “Most people struggle because they only use Wi-Fi, or have hardware limited to 1Gbps.

“But if you have the hardware,” he added, “Google is not going to hold you back.”

The customer experience is solid too. When one of our writers signed up for Google Fiber a few years ago, scheduling installation was easy: A technician showed up during the designated time, set everything up, and plugged in a free Wi-Fi 6E router along with a Wi-Fi extender. Since then, contacting customer support has been a breeze—the writer quickly gets connected to a real person, who answers questions clearly and handles any troubleshooting issues.

Spectrum

Spectrum customers are less enthused

Most of the customers we spoke to about Spectrum decided to sign up because they had no other viable options. Cable internet companies are the only high-speed internet option in many cities and towns. “Spectrum was the only service provider that offered anything faster than 100Mbps download,” said Sean Huntley, a documentary producer who lives in Glendale, California with his girlfriend, Alex Brown.

Huntley and Brown both work in the film industry (Brown is a film editor) and their jobs require them to have a gigabit internet to work remotely, so they go for the fastest-possible Spectrum plan. Their speeds usually clock in at around 400–500Mbps—well below their plan’s advertised max speed but still plenty to handle downloading large video files, even though uploads take longer. All in all, they’re pleased with their service, even if they would prefer fiber. “It’s been competent—and compulsory,” Huntley jokes.

"Spectrum is competent—and compulsory." - Sean Huntley

Still, some users report dealing with poor customer service, and their experiences mirror Spectrum’s middling ratings for customer service. When Sakia Anwar’s internet recently went out at her New York City apartment, her efforts to get the Wi-Fi back on in time for a work call were roadblocked by a customer service agent who tried to sell her a cable TV plan.

“I told him three or four times, ‘No, I am not interested,’ and he just would not stop,” Anwar recalls. “I think he was reading off a script or something. He was like, ‘Oh, okay, thank you for your feedback,’ and he would keep going on. I wanted to punch him in the throat.”

Spectrum is “not very customer friendly,” says Robyn Straw, a customer in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She’s thinking about moving to satellite provider Starlink because she’s gotten so disappointed with the frequent outages and the sluggish customer-service response on her My Spectrum app. “Spectrum can be reliable,” she says, “just hope you don’t need help from customer service.”

Want Google Fiber or Spectrum? Find it in your area.

Google Fiber is the standout pick between these two providers, delivering splendid fiber-optic speeds at a price that’s affordable enough for regular folks. But Spectrum also offers solid service over its cable network—and new customers can get deals on mobile bundles.

You’re much more likely to find Spectrum in your area than Google Fiber. Spectrum is available in 42 states across the country, with a particularly strong footprint in big cities like Los Angeles, New York City, and Portland, Maine. Google Fiber is in a handful of cities and metro areas—and you’ll find both providers in cities including Atlanta, Kansas City, Austin, and San Antonio.

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Find Google Fiber or Spectrum in your area
Peter Holslin
Written by
Peter is a journalist and editor who has been covering tech, culture, and music since the late 2000s. Prior to joining the Reviews.org team as managing editor, he was the senior staff writer at HighSpeedInternet.com, where he covered 5G, mobile hotspots, and internet services. As a freelancer, he’s also written for Rolling Stone, VICE, BuzzFeed, Pitchfork, LA Weekly, and many other publications. He studied writing and journalism at The New School University in New York City and got his start in the media industry as the music editor of the California alt-weekly San Diego CityBeat. He’s also a musician and DJ and owns too many vinyl records for his own good.

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