Earthlink will charge you more initially, but prices may be similar to other ISPs by the second or third year
Many internet service providers will offer you a great promotional price for a year or two, but then raise prices much higher.
Earthlink will not offer you initial promotional prices, so their plans may initially give you sticker shock. For initial prices, Earthlink will charge you more for every type of internet service: fiber, fixed wireless, satellite, or DSL. But in some cases, over the course of a few years, you may even end up saving a little money with Earthlink. Only a head-to-head comparison of specific providers in your area will tell you, so check out our price plan comparisonsusing your zip code.
It's inevitable that Earthlink’s prices will be different from region to region and service to service. They are selling a variety of internet offerings from other ISPs. As the “middle man,” they must change their prices for consumers based on whatever they’re paying their many partners.
Here’s an example of the kind of price difference you may encounter. Many fiber internet providers will offer you an initial first-tier promo price of about $50/month. With Earthlink, you may pay $60-70/month for the same fiber internet speed. You will also have a one-year contract and an early termination fee if you cancel your contract early. But you won’t have a big increase in fee after the first year, whereas most other ISPs will raise their prices after a year or two.
Pricing will also vary significantly based on your internet connection type
The biggest difference between Earthlink plans is whether your chosen plan has a data cap.
Earthlink Fiber internet and DSL won’t have data caps. Earthlink satellite internet and fixed wireless (4G LTE or 5G) will have data caps.
If you have a plan with data caps, you may end up having to buy extra data at the end of the month. Because of these unpredictable charges, satellite pricing and fixed wireless pricing for Earthlink are less stable than for their other plans.
This pricing is standard for the industry, as satellite and fixed wireless plans typically have data caps.
But here’s an unusual benefit of Earthlink Wireless Home Internet. Most Earthlink plans require a one-year contract at minimum, but Earthlink’s Wireless Home Internet plans do not require a contract [3].