Spectrum Internet Review: Plans, Pricing, Speed and Availability

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Spectrum home internet rating

How we calculated our rating

Pros

• Straightforward pricing
• No data caps on any plans
• No contracts required for internet service
• Free access to Spectrum's nationwide Wi-Fi hotspots

Cons

• Competitive rates for cable, but pricier than many fiber providers
• Internet service is slightly below the industry average for customer satisfaction

When Charter Communications launched Spectrum One at the end of October 2022, it essentially unveiled a bundle of Spectrum Internet (download speeds of either 300 megabits per second, 500Mbps or 1 gigabit), Charter's Advanced WiFi (featuring a Wi-Fi 6 router) and Spectrum Mobile with unlimited data. The first tier, featuring Spectrum Internet at 300Mbps, comes at a compelling promotional price of $50 per month for 12 months (for new customers), with no taxes, fees or contracts.

Most recently, Ookla's Speedtest Connectivity Report ranked Spectrum fifth among the country's fastest internet providers, just behind Xfinity.

Beyond all that, Charter can boast that Spectrum Internet service features no contracts, includes no termination fees and provides new customers with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Such a straightforward approach can be mighty appealing, especially when internet providers often make their offerings anything but simple. 

Spectrum Internet serves more than 32 million customers in 41 states, so there's a good chance it's available in your area or somewhere nearby. If so, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better cable internet provider, especially since Spectrum doesn't enforce a data cap like its biggest competitors, Xfinity and Cox. If a 100% fiber connection is available at your address, you should strongly consider going with that instead of Spectrum for faster upload speeds and a more reliable connection overall. 

Best Spectrum Internet plans and pricing

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Spectrum has only three internet plan options, not including its low-income option. Data caps or required contracts hinder none of the plans, but after one to two years (depending on your chosen plan), your monthly bill will increase by around $30. Spectrum's price increases are notorious and may be one reason 72,000 home internet customers ditched the service at the outset of 2024, according to an earnings report. Nonetheless, each of Spectrum's internet plans offers a high-quality cable experience with reliable download speeds, making it a solid option for many households with limited options.

The entry-level tier features a maximum download speed of 300 megabits per second, which is plenty fast for a provider's opening option. Comparatively, cable internet providers such as Cox and Xfinity offer plans that start at 100 to 150Mbps.

We pick Spectrum Internet Ultra as our favorite because it's a fast plan (500Mbps) for a reasonable price with a two-year guarantee, as opposed to the 12-month price-lock of the 300Mbps tier. Plus, the cost per megabits per second for Spectrum Internet Ultra comes out to around 14 cents per Mbps, which is pretty good value.

A quick word on cable

Spectrum Internet relies mainly on hybrid fiber-coaxial cable connections to provide service to subscribers' homes. As you can tell by the three fast tiers offered by Charter, a cable connection is a trusty method that offers download speeds much faster than those you'll get with DSL, fixed wireless and satellite. Upload speeds from cable providers aren't typically very fast. Cable internet plans like those offered by Optimum, Xfinity, Cox and Spectrum, your upload speeds will typically stay in the double digits, which may negatively affect your streaming, gaming and remote work needs. Fiber internet provides faster downloads and equally zippy upload speeds, making it a desirable and efficient alternative to cable.

According to a December 2023 report from the Federal Communications Commission, Spectrum's cable internet service is available to nearly 30% of the country, but just under 1% of Spectrum's potential customer base is eligible for fiber. According to our source, that's not true. Charter does not release its fiber/HFC percentage publicly, but the spokesperson said the FCC's info is outdated: "A sizable percentage of our network is fiber, from our facilities down to the neighborhood, and virtually all of the 53 million homes our network passes can access gigabit speeds." 

Yet the issue isn't about gigabit speeds. After all, other cable internet competitors, like Cox and Xfinity, can boast of their Gig plans. It's all about the symmetrical speeds and better performance of a 100% fiber network; that's something Spectrum doesn't have.

Where can you get Spectrum Internet?

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Spectrum Internet serves 41 states across the country, so it's easier to list the states where Charter Communications doesn't operate: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Utah (as well as Washington, D.C). If you live anywhere other than that, there's an above-average chance you're within Spectrum's coverage map or close to it.

Most cable internet providers struggle to offer service to rural areas with low population density, and Spectrum is no exception. If that's your situation, check out our rundown of the best rural internet providers.

Straightforward terms for Spectrum Internet 

Charter tends to keep its Spectrum offerings fairly uncomplicated, but let's burrow down to see what else you can expect with your service.

Additional monthly fees

Spectrum prides itself on a no-data-caps-or-extra-fees approach, which is mostly accurate. On top of the lack of contracts or data limits, each Spectrum plan comes with a free modem. If you want to connect to Spectrum's network wirelessly over Wi-Fi, you'll need to pay an additional $7 monthly for the Spectrum router. Fortunately, like many other ISPs, Spectrum allows you to skip that extra fee by using your own, Spectrum-compatible equipment, with the caveat that you won't be eligible for Spectrum technical support. 

One-time installation fees

Spectrum temporarily suspended all in-home professional installations during the pandemic, but professional, in-home installation is once again an option. The standard in-home installation fee is $65. Most installations of Spectrum Internet can be done on a self-install basis. In those cases, you'll need to use a self-installation kit, which is $30 and can be shipped to your address or sent to a Spectrum store for pickup. 

You'll also still need to pay a one-time charge of $30 for service activation and an additional $10 charge for the Wi-Fi activation fee.

No data caps

In contrast to some ISP rivals (we're looking at you, Cox and Xfinity), Spectrum does not impose data caps on any of its customers. That means you won't have to track your data usage for fear of throttling issues once you hit some arbitrary threshold. 

Free access to nationwide Wi-Fi hotspots

In addition to connecting at home, Spectrum Out-of-Home WiFi is available to customers for free whenever they're out and about. The company features approximately 530,000 hotspots across its entire coverage map. To connect when you're in range of a network, sign in with your account username and password for unlimited access. Customers can also use the My Spectrum app for quick access.

Spectrum Internet vs. competitors: Customer satisfaction scores could improve 

The good news is that Charter's Spectrum service is doing better now with customers than it has since Charter acquired Time Warner Cable in mid-2016, but there's still work to do. 

For example, Spectrum was consistently below US regional averages when you look at the J.D. Power US Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study for 2023. Spectrum earned its highest score in the South region, capturing 728 on a 1,000-point scale, but that still placed it behind Google Fiber, AT&T, Frontier and Xfinity in that same area. 

Over at the American Customer Satisfaction Index, Spectrum jumped 6% in 2024 to score 68 points. That puts it right at the average for nonfiber ISPs, which might initially seem like no big deal, but it's the second year in a row that Spectrum has increased its score. That consistent growth is a positive step and a sign that it's continuing to do better in the eyes of its customers.

What's the final word on Spectrum Internet?

Spectrum Internet offers three high-speed tiers with unlimited data and no contracts. Customers are also spared some extra fees you might find with other ISPs. There's no additional monthly fee for the modem, for example. Of those three plans, we like Spectrum Internet Ultra the most.

One thing Charter Spectrum has in common with most providers is it does bump up your monthly price after your initial promo period, so be aware of that pending change. Spectrum can also provide fast download speeds as a cable provider, but the technology doesn't offer symmetrical upload speeds, which may negatively impact those working remotely from home.

Spectrum Internet FAQs