Verizon vs. Spectrum: Which Internet Provider Is Best for You?

Compare Verizon and Spectrum head to head

Choosing between Verizon and Spectrum mostly comes down to fiber versus cable. Spectrum’s cable internet is the clear choice if you want speeds faster than DSL internet and there is no fiber internet in your area.

However, we suggest going with fiber from Verizon Fios if you can. Verizon’s high-speed plans are cheaper than Spectrum’s, plus you get the benefits of fiber like symmetrical speeds, low latency, and great reliability.

Jump to: Plans and pricing | Extra fees | Customer ratings | Bundles | Internet connection types | Data caps | Contracts | Installation | Availability

Jump to:

• Plans and pricing
• Extra fees
• Customer ratings
• Bundles
• Internet connection types
• Data caps
• Contracts
• Installation
• Availability

Plans and pricing: Verizon vs. Spectrum

Verizon plans and pricing

At first glance, Verizon offers a wider variety of internet plans than Spectrum. But a closer look shows that Verizon’s Internet 2 Gig plan is limited to specific areas in New York. That narrows the list down for fiber connections in most areas.

Verizon also offers fixed wireless plans with download load speeds up to 1000Mbps.

Spectrum plans and pricing

Like Verizon, Spectrum also serves up speeds maxing out at 300, 500, and 1,000 Mbps (wireless speeds may vary).

The base Spectrum Internet plan is the same price for the same download speed as Verizon’s Internet 300/300 plan. Spectrum’s 500 Mbps plan costs $5 more per month while its gigabit plan matches Verizon’s Fios Gigabit Connection price. But Spectrum increases your monthly cost after the first 12 months, making its cable internet a far less affordable option compared to Verizon’s fiber.

The win for Spectrum, though, is that cable internet has a wider availability than fiber. Given fiber internet is relatively new and scarce in most areas, Spectrum may be your only high-speed option.

Extra fees: Verizon vs. Spectrum

Spectrum doesn’t charge a modem rental fee each month. However, it charges a $5.00 monthly fee for WiFi, whether you have Spectrum’s standalone router or one of its wireless gateways. You can eliminate this fee by buying your own router.

The good news is Spectrum dropped its one-time $199.99 activation fee and lowered the monthly cost for gigabit internet. The plan is now more affordable than ever if you need gigabit speeds and Verizon’s fiber isn’t available where you live. But Verizon is still the cheaper, faster, and more reliable option if you can get it.

Customer ratings: Verizon vs. Spectrum

Verizon ranks second out of 13 national internet providers for overall satisfaction in our latest customer satisfaction survey. Its highest rating is in reliability satisfaction, and that’s not unexpected since fiber is more reliable than cable and DSL. Its lowest rating is in price satisfaction, but it’s still in the top four in that category and above the national average. You simply can’t go wrong with Verizon’s fiber internet.

Spectrum ranks third for overall satisfaction. Its highest rating is in speed satisfaction, and it pulls slightly ahead of Verizon in that category, which is surprising. But a closer look shows more Spectrum customers say their speeds “always” or “usually” meet their speeds than Verizon customers. On the flip side, Spectrum’s weakest point is price satisfaction which, when we compare Spectrum with Verizon, makes total sense. Spectrum has post-promo price hikes, whereas Verizon does not.

Best TV and internet bundles

Verizon’s Mix & Match options come in only four flavors, the cheapest of which costs $119.99 per month. Verizon’s Your Fios TV service includes one set-top box and allows you to pick five of your favorite channels. The More Fios TV service consists of a set-top box, basic DVR service, Verizon’s most popular channels, and regional sports.

Spectrum doesn’t offer TV and internet bundles at a discounted price. Instead, you can pair its TV Select service with any one of its three cable internet plans. Both services have discounted pricing for 12 months, but all premium channels are an added cost. You’ll also see a broadcast surcharge of up to $21 per month that’s not part of the discounted pricing.

Internet types: Verizon vs. Spectrum

Verizon’s DSL service is the slowest of the three using telephone lines already installed in most areas. Meanwhile, Verizon’s Fios network is the fastest of the three due to how the infrastructure is designed. Fiber also has symmetrical speeds, unlike cable and DSL.

Cable internet is the middle ground when it comes to speeds. It relies on cable TV lines, so it’s more widely available than fiber. The fastest cable internet plan you can get from Spectrum is 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps), and in some areas, the upload speed reaches 500 Mbps. Verizon’s fastest fiber plan has symmetrical speeds of up to 2,048 Mbps (2 Gbps).

Data caps: Verizon vs. Spectrum

Verizon and Spectrum do not force data caps, but that may change in the next few years for Spectrum.

Part of Charter’s deal with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2016 when it acquired Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks was that it wouldn’t impose a data cap and usage-based pricing. That agreement will lapse in May 2023, and Charter already attempted to end its agreement two years early but withdrew its petition. In a response to the FCC, Charter implied that customers would benefit from data caps and usage-based pricing.¹

Contracts: Verizon vs. Spectrum

Verizon and Spectrum do not have annual contracts or early termination fees. Spectrum, however, offers discounted pricing for 12 or 24 months, depending on where you live. There’s no catch either—you can cancel the discounted service at any time after the first month without any hidden penalties. They’re just promotions to get you to sign up with Spectrum.

Installation: Verizon vs. Spectrum

Data as of 02/28/2023. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Verizon doesn’t offer a self-install kit, but you can save money by ordering Verizon’s service online—Verizon will waive the pro install fee. Spectrum doesn’t offer a similar discount with its pro install service.

In fact, Spectrum encourages new customers to opt for its self-install kit over a pro install due to COVID-19. Spectrum sends a technician out to customers for completely new installs, relocating the modem, rewiring, and so on.

Availability: Verizon vs. Spectrum

Verizon’s DSL internet covers most of its service areas. Its fiber-based Fios network has a smaller footprint, available in key metro areas within Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Spectrum has a broader footprint across North America. It provides cable internet in California, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, New York, North and South Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and several other states.

Final call: Verizon vs. Spectrum

The choice between Verizon and Spectrum boils down to fiber versus cable internet. Verizon doesn’t offer DSL service to new customers, and its fiber internet has limited availability. We suggest Spectrum’s cable internet over DSL and satellite if you can’t get fiber internet.

But if you live or work where Verizon Fios overlaps in coverage with Spectrum’s cable internet, go with Verizon instead. Fiber internet plans are hard to beat, and Verizon Fios’s fiber plans are a great deal. They’re cheaper than Spectrum plans—even more so after Spectrum’s promotional pricing ends—and provide equal upload and download speeds.

Methodology

Our HighSpeedInternet.com editorial team bases our analyses on customer input from our annual customer satisfaction survey, results from our speed test tool, and proprietary internet provider data on speeds and pricing. To strengthen our research, we look closely at provider contracts to get hard-to-find information on price hikes, data caps, and extra fees, and we keep tabs on the latest news reports and online reviews. When applicable, we also rely on our personal experiences testing these services.

More about Verizon and Spectrum

• AT&T vs. Spectrum
• Xfinity vs. Spectrum
• Google Fiber vs. Spectrum
• Spectrum vs. Frontier
• Verizon vs. Optimum
• Verizon vs. Xfinity
• Verizon vs. RCN

Sources

1. Federal Communications Commission, “Reply of Charter Communications, Inc.,” August 6, 2020. Accessed August 20, 2021.

Disclaimer

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