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Metronet vs. WOW Internet Providers Compared

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Metronet Vs WOW

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Rosslyn Elliott

Written by Rosslyn Elliott - Pub. Jul. 27, 2023 / Updated Jan. 20, 2025

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Metronet Vs WOW

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Plans starting at: $60

Popular Package: 2 Gig

Download speeds up to: 2 Gbps

Connection Types: Fiber

Call today & find the best MetroNet internet deals
1-844-637-5113

Plans starting at: $25

Popular Package: Fiber 5 Gig

Download speeds up to: 5 Gbps

Connection Types: Fiber & Cable

Call today & find the best WOW internet deals
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MetroNet Staff rating

4.4

Metronet offers fiber internet’s superior performance with good promotional prices

Metronet is the largest private fiber ISP in the nation, and the tenth-largest fiber provider overall. After a merger in 2022, Metronet now serves customers in over 200 communities in 16 states [1]. Metronet’s map is divided into three major areas: a large swath of the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, four states in the south and southwest including Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado, and finally Florida down in the southeast. Metronet started in Indiana and built out fiber internet with wired service to neighboring states. Continuing an ambitious buildout program, Metronet's goal is to build 500,000 fiber passings per year [2]. That’s good news for customers in their coverage area, because Metronet is a very strong internet provider and all of their internet connections are all-fiber (FTTH). Metronet tends to build in areas that lack another fiber provider, which is a win for customers.

PROS

Fiber internet brings fast, symmetrical speeds Competitive prices for 2 years No data caps or contracts required

Cons

Limited area of coverage Extra fee for tech support Multi-gig plans still rare
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WOW Staff rating

4.0

WOW! delivers fast, reliable internet with attractive pricing

WOW! (WideOpenWest) serves customers in 6 states—Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida [1]—and is the smallest cable internet provider on our list [2]. WOW! serves over 2 million residential, business, and wholesale consumer subscribers, which is still a smaller base compared to industry cable internet giants like Xfinity and Spectrum [3]. Notably,  it serves 470,400 high-speed data subscribers as of December 31, 2024 (down from 490,100 in 2023). But WOW! provides a model of good internet performance, operational success, and general customer satisfaction. In August 2025, WOW! (WideOpenWest) agreed to be acquired by DigitalBridge Group and Crestview Partners in a $1.5 billion transaction valued at $5.20 per share [4]. WOW! uses a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network, like the biggest national cable providers. That technology allows WOW! to provide up to 1,200 Mbps download speed and 50 Mbps upload speed. WOW! also features very low introductory plan prices, far lower than most cable internet providers. Though prices will rise after the first year, you’ll still pay about $20 less for most WOW! plan speeds than you would with Spectrum or Xfinity.  And WOW! scores above average for customer satisfaction too.

PROS

Best prices for cable service Good customer satisfaction Gigabit download speeds

Cons

Limited area of coverage Data caps Slower upload speeds
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Metronet Pricing

4.0

Metronet’s prices start good and stay fair, but there’s a hidden fee

Metronet offers very attractive promotional pricing on the low end of industry rates. Their first-tier plan is only $60/month for the first year, a good 20% lower than some competitors. True, the plan’s speed is slower at 500 Mbps than some rival plans. But with fiber’s symmetrical download and upload speeds, you’re already going to have a lot more speed even than you’ll get from many cable or DSL providers. Two or three other national fiber internet providers offer promotional prices this good. The difference is that Metronet will not raise its prices dramatically when the first year is over. Metronet’s prices will rise only about $10/month at the 12-month mark. There’s just one catch. Unlike many of the other ISPs, Metronet does not offer free tech support. In order to get tech support, you will have to pay $12/month for their program called TechAssure. The fee is not optional. The positive is that all of your technical needs will be taken care of. You will get full service, including any house calls or equipment repair. The negative? Adding $12 to your monthly bill wipes out some of the benefit from Metronet’s low pricing. In Metronet’s favor, the tech support fee will be the only unusual fee on your monthly bill. Because Metronet has no data caps or contracts, you won’t get any surprise overage charges or an early termination fee if you have to cancel your service.
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WOW Pricing

4.0

WOW’s prices are so low they’ll WOW you

If there’s any way that WOW! can claim to have truly earned its name, it’s with low pricing. The first-tier plan will give you 300 Mbps download speed for only $25 a month. That's on the very low end of cable ISP pricing—less than $0.10 per Mbps. A lightning-fast, 1 gigabit speed from WOW! will run you $50. That’s considerably cheaper than several other major cable providers’ multi-gigabit speed plans. WOW!’s lower-speed plans do have a couple of drawbacks that may increase their otherwise excellent prices. Those drawbacks are data caps and a $14/month modem rental fee [5]. Fortunately, the equipment rental fee is optional, meaning that you can skip it if you provide your own modem/router instead. And the data caps are fairly high for the lowest-tier plans (1.5 TB/month) and very high for the 500 Mbps (2.5 TB) and 1 Gig (3 TB) plans [6]. The high caps for the faster plans make it very unlikely that you will exceed your data caps. So, just don’t go overboard and have 40 gamers playing at your house for a month. The vast majority of households will never get close the limits of a 2.5+ TB data cap.
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Metronet Reliability and Performance

5.0

It’s all-fiber for the win with Metronet

There’s no getting past the fact that an all-fiber connection will give you much more speed and reliability than a cable or DSL internet connection. One of the great advantages of Metronet is that they deliver all-fiber service, every time. The fiber will run from their main network to the wall of your home. You will get symmetrical speeds, so your download and upload speeds will be the same. For any activities involving streaming, real-time gaming, and large file uploads, fiber is unbeatable. Fiber offers even more speed and bandwidth for the future. As technology continues to advance with developments such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), we will begin to need the kind of bandwidth that only fiber offers. Some fiber providers are already beginning to provide 8 Gigs and 10 gigs for residential customers. Though Metronet still tops out at 2000 Mbps, their all-fiber connection will be able to meet your future speed needs. Fiber has some other benefits too. Fiber connections don’t weaken or slow in bad weather the way satellite or fixed-wireless connections do. And fiber connections are much harder to hack into or tap than a copper cable.
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WOW Reliability and Performance

4.0

WOW! cable delivers gigabit downloads but asymmetrical upload speeds; fiber offers symmetrical multi-gigabit service

WOW's hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) cable network delivers download speeds up to 1,200 Mbps across approximately 99% of its service footprint [7], matching the technical capabilities of national cable providers such as Spectrum and Xfinity. Upload speeds on cable plans are capped at 50 Mbps regardless of download tier. This asymmetrical speed structure is standard for cable internet technology and sufficient for typical household activities including streaming multiple 4K devices and online gaming.

WOW's cable plans provide adequate performance for households with average internet usage patterns. The 1,200 Mbps top speed on cable supports simultaneous streaming, video conferencing, and gaming across multiple devices. However, the 50 Mbps upload limitation presents constraints for specific use cases. Users who regularly upload large files (such as video content creators), operate cloud-based backup systems, or require symmetrical bandwidth for enterprise-grade applications will experience performance bottlenecks with cable service.

In select Greenfield expansion markets, WOW offers all-fiber service with symmetrical speeds up to 5,000 Mbps for both downloads and uploads. Fiber service is currently available within 5.7% of WOW's total coverage footprint [8], concentrated in newer markets including Central Florida, Hernando County (Florida), Greenville County (South Carolina), and select areas in Michigan and Alabama [9]. The symmetrical nature of fiber service eliminates the upload speed constraints present in cable plans, making fiber suitable for bandwidth-intensive applications, heavy content creation, and households with 10+ simultaneous high-bandwidth users.

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Metronet Equipment, Installation and Bonus Features

4.5

No equipment rental fees, low-cost installation with Metronet plans

For all plans up to 2 Gigs, Metronet will provide you with an eero wireless router at no charge [3]. If you are lucky enough to be able to get a 3-5 Gig plan, you will have to provide your own router to handle that level of speed. Metronet suggests a 10GB WAN/LAN compatible router such as the TP Link Archer AXE3000 [4]. Standard installation will only cost you $25 when you order a Metronet fiber internet plan. While this isn’t as good as free installation, it’s a lot cheaper than the usual $99 fee you’ll pay for installation from many ISPs.
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1-844-637-5113

WOW Equipment, Installation and Bonus Features

4.0

Equipment rental fees are optional, self-installation is free for WOW!

All WOW! plans come with a free self-installation kit. If for any reason you’re not comfortable with self-installation, you can get pro installation for $50. Though most plans will allow you to rent a modem/router from WOW! for about $14/month, you also have the option to supply your own equipment (which removes that fee). This choice may be better for your budget if you plan to have service for more than a year. Just make sure you check with WOW! to be sure your router has compatible specs.
Call today & find the best WOW internet deals
1-833-864-0259

Metronet Experience & Support

4.0

Metronet customers are usually happy with their internet service

Metronet is another ISP that is too small to qualify for major national surveys of customer satisfaction. That means that estimating customer satisfaction is more an art than an exact science – or at least more qualitative than quantitative. The good news is that on the whole, online user reviews for Metronet are much more positive than for ISP competitors who offer cable or DSL service. You don’t see some of the angry rants online about Metronet that you will unfortunately see for cable internet and DSL internet. That’s not to say that cable and DSL providers don’t frequently provide good service, because they do. It’s just statistically more likely that you will see customer rants thrown in the mix. That’s the advantage of all-fiber internet that Metronet is reaping. Again and again, companies that move toward fiber service seem to have happier customers because the networks are newer and the technology is more reliable [5]. And for that reason, we’re going to award 4 stars to Metronet’s customer satisfaction.
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1-844-637-5113

WOW Experience & Support

4.0

WOW! maintains above-average customer satisfaction despite declining subscriber base

WOW scored 733 out of 1,000 in J.D. Power's North Central region study [10] and outperformed larger ISPs including Cox in the 2023 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study [11]. This positions WOW above the cable industry average of 68 out of 100 on the ACSI scale [12], though below top fiber providers like AT&T Fiber (80) and Verizon Fios (77) [13].

Despite these satisfaction ratings, WOW's subscriber base declined 5% year-over-year from 490,100 to 470,400 as of December 2024, with revenue decreasing 8.1% to $630.9 million. These declines reflect competitive pressure from expanding fiber networks and 5G wireless alternatives rather than service quality issues.

WOW provides 24/7 telephone support and online chat daily from 7:00 AM to 11:45 PM EST [14], plus an online account management portal, and has been named a "Best & Brightest Company to Work For in the Nation" 12 times, including 8 consecutive years as of 2025.

Ultimately, WOW's regional focus enables more personalized service than national cable giants.

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Metronet FAQ's

To order or learn more, call the number on this page or visit Metronet-Fiber.com.
All Metronet internet plans include an eero wireless router, which enhances your connectivity experience. In addition, they offer WholeHome Wi-Fi, a feature that improves coverage throughout your home to remove dead zones and buffering. This ensures a strong, uninterrupted connection for all your online activities.
You can check the availability of Metronet fiber internet in your area by entering your zip code here at CompareInternet.com.
Metronet provides all-fiber coverage in 16 states: Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
You can check the speed of your Metronet internet connection with our speed test.
Yes, fiber internet is the best type of connection for real-time gaming due to its high upload speeds and low latency.
Call today & find the best MetroNet internet deals
1-844-637-5113

WOW FAQ's

WOW! does not provide a static IP address for your home internet account. But WOW! does offer home business accounts that can provide you with a static IP address.
WOW! offers security on a network level, which means you don’t have to manage it yourself. Network Security helps guard your internet connection against phishing, viruses and malware.
WOW! Internet and WOW! Whole-Home Wi-Fi can be self-installed.
Yes, you can. As long as a technician has completed the outside installation or there is an existing WOW! connection, you will be able to install and activate service using your own modem.
Take our internet speed test to find your actual upload and download speed.
The eero devices that support your Whole-Home Wi-Fi provide up to 1500 square feet of coverage per device.
Call today & find the best WOW internet deals
1-833-864-0259

Metronet Accolades

Fastest ISP in the United States 2024
Metronet Ookla Internet Claims for Q1 2024
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1-844-637-5113

WOW Accolades

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Metronet Internet Plans

PlanService TypeDownload SpeedMonthly Price
Free Install! Sign up for ACH autopay for $25 credit.
2 GigFiber InternetUp to 2,000 Mbps Only $80
*Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Read more
Free Install! Sign up for ACH autopay for $25 credit
1 GigFiber InternetUp to 1,000 Mbps Only $70
*Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Read more
Free Install! Sign up for ACH autopay for $25 credit
500 MbFiber InternetUp to 500 Mbps Only $60
*Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Read more
Call today & find the best MetroNet internet deals
1-844-637-5113

WOW Internet Plans

PlanService TypeDownload SpeedMonthly Price
Visa $300 Rewards Card
Fiber 5 GigFiber InternetUp to 5,000 Mbps Only $185
*Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Read more
Visa $300 Rewards Card
Fiber 3 GigFiber InternetUp to 3,000 Mbps Only $100
*Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Read more
Internet 1 GigCable InternetUp to 1,000 Mbps Only $50
*Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Read more
Internet 600Cable InternetUp to 600 Mbps Only $30
*Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Read more
Internet 300Cable InternetUp to 300 Mbps Only $25
*Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Read more
Call today & find the best WOW internet deals
1-833-864-0259

Metronet Customers Review

4.0
Pricing
4.0
5.0
Reliability & Performance
5.0
4.5
Equipment, Installation & Features
4.5
4.0
Customer Experience & Support
4.0
4.4
Overall Rating
4.4
Scot Deabs
4.0
from New Bern, NC on November 2025
Network is reliable. The 1 GB plan for two years at $69.95 has increased to $89.95. Two WholeHome WiFi access points for $19.90, TechAssure for $12.95, and $2.24 for taxes brings it up to $125.04 monthly. Getting download of 200-230 mbps and upload 150-200 mbps.
Glenn T
1.5
from Milwaukee, WI on April 2025
The WiFi is horrible.
Melony B
3.8
from Greenwood, IN on July 2023
The techs were fast and reliable
Timothy Hall
4.8
from Noblesville, IN on August 2022
Ivy Phillips
3.8
from Ankeny, IA on June 2022
Call today & find the best MetroNet internet deals
1-844-637-5113

WOW Customers Review

4.0
Pricing
4.0
4.0
Reliability & Performance
4.0
4.0
Equipment, Installation & Features
4.0
4.0
Customer Experience & Support
4.0
4.0
Overall Rating
4.0
Ann Enghardt
4.0
from Warren, MI on August 2025
I pay $64 for internet per month. I would like the $30/month plan.
Vickie Eller
2.5
from Charlotte, MI on April 2025
Prices go up every month started at 50 then it went to 64.99 now it's at 83.99 I need different internet in my area
Jocelyn Peck
3.3
from Atlanta, GA on March 2022
Sonia Fry
2.8
from Warren, MI on January 2022
Tyler Martinez
4.8
from Evans, GA on November 2021
Call today & find the best WOW internet deals
1-833-864-0259