Plans starting at: $30
Popular Package: INTERNET GIG
Download speeds up to: 2 Gbps
Connection Types: Fiber & Cable
Plans starting at: $35
Popular Package: Fiber Internet Gig
Download speeds up to: 10 Gbps
Connection Types: Fiber
Spectrum Staff rating
Spectrum offers gigabit speeds and great bundle deals
Spectrum is one of the two largest internet service providers in the country. Like its rival Xfinity, Spectrum is a cable internet company that uses hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) technology. HFC brings you much faster speeds than old-fashioned coaxial cable internet. In select areas, Spectrum offers gigabit speeds up to 2000 Mbps. Spectrum’s promotional prices for new customers are very good, and still remain reasonable when your 12-month promotion ends. The company also offers outstanding bundling deals, with cell phone lines currently only about $30/month with your internet plan. Spectrum has two big advantages over Xfinity. Spectrum’s pricing is much simpler, and Spectrum has no data caps. That’s why we give Spectrum the edge after comparing the two biggest cable internet providers head-to-head.PROS
Cons
Cities with Spectrum availability
Ziply Fiber Staff rating
Ziply Fiber offers all-fiber service with great pricing, but many customers still only have DSL option
Ziply Fiber is another newcomer to the world of internet providers, and thus far, the word on Ziply Fiber is mostly positive. Ziply Fiber provides a mix of all-fiber and DSL connections across its coverage area, with a goal to move to all-fiber as quickly as possible. With Ziply Fiber, you will get some of the best fiber internet prices in the industry. Ziply Fiber is also on the leading edge of fast fiber speeds, with an amazing 50 Gigs available across its service area as of October 2023 [1] Ziply Fiber launched in 2020 when it bought Frontier’s Northwest footprint in four states: Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon [2]. At the time, only 30% of the network was fiber and the rest was DSL. In 2021, Ziply Fiber stated a goal to move to 80% fiber by 2024 [3]. With Ziply Fiber’s commitment to fiber expansion, great pricing, unlimited data, and free installation, there’s a whole lot to like about this newcomer ISP. The only downside is that a high percentage of its customers still have only DSL access, which brings higher prices and lower internet performance.PROS
Cons
Spectrum Internet Plans
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Ziply Fiber Internet Plans
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Spectrum Pricing
Spectrum offers great initial deals, but bundling may be the best deal ever
Spectrum is a major player in internet service, with 30 million broadband subscribers [1]. Spectrum offers attractive promotional pricing, especially their first-tier internet plan at $30/month for up to 100 Mbps.Spectrum offers unlimited data without caps
Spectrum offers a big price advantage because it has no hard data caps, unlike many other cable and DSL providers. If you’re a heavy-data-usage household (including remote workers, real-time gamers and streaming binge-watchers), having no data caps may be crucial for your budget. If you’re living by yourself and you watch a movie once a week, the absence of data caps won’t matter as much. But for a larger household, having no data caps will offer you peace of mind and a more predictable bill without overage charges.Spectrum One, the bundle deal of the year?
In late 2022, Spectrum introduced a new bundle deal called Spectrum One that may just change your mind about your preferred internet service provider [2]. If you are an existing Spectrum customer, Spectrum will bundle their Spectrum Mobile cell phone service with your internet and charge you only about $30/month for a line with unlimited data. You can add more mobile service at the same price. Here’s another little secret: Spectrum Mobile service is currently provided by Verizon networks. So, if you have two cell phones on your bundle, you will be getting major mobile power and coverage but saving over $80/month off the price of two typical cell phone plans. We’re betting that’s enough to send many of us to Spectrum.Ziply Fiber Pricing
Ziply Fiber’s prices are unbeatable for all-fiber internet, but DSL internet is no bargain
Ziply Fiber is one of only a few fiber internet companies in the nation that offers a rate of $/month for fiber internet. That’s a good deal! Ziply Fiber also offers Mbps download/upload speed for $/month. If you are lucky enough to have access to Ziply Fiber's all-fiber network, you will save 30-40% over some competitors’ prices. But Ziply Fiber has the same split fiber/DSL profile as a couple of other start-up fiber providers. The existing network that Ziply Fiber took over from Frontier in 2020 was 70% DSL. Since then, Ziply Fiber has built out more fiber to bring fiber/DSL ratios to about 50-50 [4]. But there’s a good chance you may get DSL instead of fiber even if Ziply Fiber serves your area. And if you sign up for DSL, your prices will be much higher, even though you will get slower speeds. No matter what your DSL speed is, it won’t match the speed of Ziply Fiber’s first-tier fiber plan, and yet you will pay more for a DSL plan. That’s the way the industry works right now, and it’s certainly not fair to DSL customers. But on the positive side, Ziply Fiber’s pricing for both DSL and fiber is predictable because there are no data caps. You won’t have to worry about unexpected overage charges with a Ziply Fiber plan of either kind. You also won’t be required to sign an annual contract, which means you won’t face any early termination fees.Spectrum Reliability and Performance
Spectrum internet will rise to unprecedented speeds in next few years with up to 10/6 Gbps
In 2023, Spectrum was named by Speedtest® as the fastest internet provider in the United States for providing the highest average speed to customers [3]. Spectrum’s hybrid fiber-cable technology is already supplying 2000 Mbps speeds in some areas. Either way, HFC will give you faster, more reliable internet service than anything but fiber. Spectrum customers tend to report reliable, speedy performance. You don’t get glitching or freezing or network slowdowns in most cases. You’ll be well-equipped for gaming, videoconferencing, and HD streaming. On a personal note, I have been a Spectrum customer for three years, and my experience with their service has proven to be very smooth and reliable. But there’s even more innovation coming from Spectrum that will boost HFC performance to fiber-like speeds. If you sign up for Spectrum now, you’re going to get a major bandwidth boost in the next couple of years. Here’s the technical explanation with the specs. Spectrum’s upgrade to the DOCSIS 4.0 standard over the next three years will deliver a maximum 10 Gbps download/ 6 Gbps upload, which can rival any current fiber speeds. By 2025, 85% of Spectrum’s service footprint will have speeds of 5 Gbps download/1 Gbps upload [4]. Fiber has received some great press in the last few years. But hybrid fiber/cable networks like Spectrum’s may be about to have their day in the sun too.Ziply Fiber Reliability and Performance
Ziply Fiber is super-fast on its all-fiber network, but its DSL speeds vary widely
An all-fiber connection will give you much faster, more reliable internet access than a DSL internet connection. You'll get multi-gigabit speeds for both download and upload from your fiber plan. Ziply Fiber even offers speeds as high as 10 Gigs in some places! Though Ziply Fiber’s plan says that its DSL speed goes up to 115 Mbps download/7 Mbps upload, those numbers indicate a maximum speed. Your DSL could also be as slow as 7Mbps download/1 Mbps upload, which was the speed listed for one property we tested in Shoreline, WA [5]. Or, you could get the most common range for today’s DSL speeds, which tends to be about 10-25 Mbps download, 1-3 Mbps upload. Ziply Fiber will tell you what your estimated speed will be when you sign up, but you can also test your internet speed here. Clearly, there’s no comparison between these DSL speeds and even the speeds of the lowest-level Ziply Fiber all-fiber plan. With slow DSL, you may not be able to stream in HD or play real-time games. But if you get Ziply Fiber plans that are 100% fiber, your household will be able to stream and game on multiple devices without glitches or freezing screens.Spectrum Equipment, Installation and Bonus Features
Advanced WiFi and low equipment fees increase appeal for Spectrum
Spectrum will provide you with a free modem and either a Wave 2 router or an advanced, WiFi 6 compatible router [5]. The Charter Red-Dot Design award-winning router can support up to 200 devices simultaneously. User controls allow you to manage which devices are connected and when, and Security Shield automatically blocks online threats. You can even manage your router and your home wireless devices from the Spectrum app on your phone, with no complicated log-in. The router will automatically switch channels to optimize your internet performance.Spectrum offers low equipment fees
Spectrum equipment fees are standardized, very low, and easy to understand. Spectrum modems come free with your service, and Spectrum routers rent for $5/month. Simple, straightforward pricing, unlike the complicated equipment fee charts you have to read for other providers.Spectrum installation fees
Spectrum’s installation fees are middle-of-the-road for the industry. Professional installation by a technician costs $50. You can also choose the Spectrum Express Connect Kit for $0, with a $20 activation fee.Ziply Fiber Equipment, Installation and Bonus Features
Optional equipment rental fees, free installation with Ziply Fiber plans
Ziply Fiber will provide DSL customers with a combined modem/router for between $10-20/month. You can use your own compatible modem and router to avoid the fee, but Ziply Fiber won’t be able to help you with any technical issues related to your personal equipment [6]. If you choose fiber internet from Ziply Fiber, you will get a Wi-Fi 6 fiber router for the same monthly rental fee of $10-20/month. Installation for all Ziply Fiber plans is free, which will save you up to $100 over standard ISP installation fees.Spectrum Experience & Support
Spectrum Customer Service available 24/7
Spectrum provides customer service by phone or online chat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Spectrum also provides an extensive online troubleshooting guide and how-to resource library. If you prefer in-person assistance, Spectrum supports brick-and-mortar stores across its coverage area. These physical locations can also be very handy when you want to exchange equipment. Your Spectrum plan will give you access to a helpful and comprehensive mobile app. The app allows you to check for outages, manage your account, and do almost anything you would do online or by phone. You can even manage your WiFi settings through the app.Ziply Fiber Experience & Support
Customer service about average
Ziply Fiber is still too small an internet provider to qualify for independent review in the J.D. Power survey of customer satisfaction for ISPs. A sampling of online user reviews indicates that most user complaints were related to billing and account administration, especially during the time of transition, right after Ziply Fiber took over its network from Frontier. The balance of positive and negative user comments leads us to award Ziply Fiber 3.5 stars for customer service. But overall, Ziply Fiber is an excellent choice if you have access to its all-fiber plans.Spectrum FAQ's
Ziply Fiber FAQ's
Spectrum Sources
[1] Dgtlinfra.com. "Top 125 Internet Providers in the U.S."
[2] Charter.com. "Charter Launches Spectrum One."
[3] Speedtest.net by Ookla. "Internet Speeds in the United States 2023."
[4] FierceTelecom.com. "Charter Plots 3-Year Upgrade."
[5] Charter.com. "Advanced Home WiFi Puts Customers in Control."
Ziply Fiber Sources
[1] GlobeNewswire.com. "Ziply Fiber Unveils America's Fastest Internet."
[2] APNews.com. "Ziply Fiber Completes Acquisition."
[3] FierceTelecom.com. "Ziply Raises 350 Million to Fuel Fiber Expansion."
[4] ZiplyFiber.com. "Construction Process."
[5] ZiplyFiber.com. Data retrieved for home on N Park Ave, Shoreline, WA.
Spectrum Customers Review
Ziply Fiber Customers Review



