Spectrum vs. Optimum: Which Internet Provider Is Best?

Compare Spectrum and Optimum head to head

The Spectrum vs. Optimum battle is an interesting one, as we have two hybrid fiber/cable internet providers serving up mostly cable and some fiber-to-the-home service. Optimum clearly has the fastest download speeds of the two, but we can’t ignore its low scores in our latest survey. Both companies raise prices after a year or two once promotional pricing expires.

Pros and cons: Spectrum vs. Optimum

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: Spectrum vs. Optimum

Spectrum plans and pricing

At first glance, Spectrum’s plans appear more expensive than Optimum’s. For example, Spectrum charges up to $70 per month for gigabit internet, while Optimum is around $10 less. But both providers raise their prices after one to two years, so expect Spectrum’s monthly cost to go up about $25 and Optimum’s to go up by $15 per year for at least a few years (if you don’t find a way to renegotiate pricing).

Spectrum has the upper hand with nationwide availability, but it lacks the superfast speeds seen with Optimum. The fastest you can get from Spectrum right now is 1,000Mbps symmetrical speeds if you have access to its fiber internet. Meanwhile, Optimum has the fastest fiber plan of the two at 8,000Mbps.

Optimum plans and pricing

At first, Optimum has Spectrum beat for affordable pricing. For $40 per month, you can get 300Mbps with Optimum or go with Spectrum and spend up to $9.99 more per month.

Later on, the gap narrows. After the first 12 months, Spectrum’s pricing increases up to $25 per month, but Optimum’s pricing increases by up to $15 per month in year one, and then again every year until you reach the prevailing price of $110 per month.

Here’s more of what you can expect:

Extra fees: Spectrum vs. Optimum

*With online orders

Optimum offers its wireless gateways at not charge. Spectrum’s modem or gateway is free to use, but you pay a $7 per month WiFi fee. Spectrum’s WiFi Pods are another $3 per month for each unit.

You can avoid both Spectrum’s fees by purchasing a compatible cable modem, a standalone Wi-Fi router, or a gateway. The drawback is that you’re responsible for all upgrades and replacements unless you switch back to Spectrum’s equipment.

Customer ratings: Spectrum vs. Optimum

Spectrum fared far better than Optimum in our most recent customer satisfaction survey. It ranks seventh for overall satisfaction, a noticeable drop from the previous year’s survey. Its highest rating is in speed satisfaction, with scores above the national average in terms of meeting speed needs and matching advertised speeds. Its weakest point is in price satisfaction, which isn’t surprising given the price increase after the first 12 months—up to $25 per month.

Optimum has some of the lowest ratings out of 15 national internet providers in our survey. We expected a rock bottom price satisfaction based on its historic practice of steep post-promo pricing. It’s abandoned that practice and now raises monthly prices by a more-manageable $15 per year. However, Optimum also came out on the bottom of the stack in customer service. It did slightly better in reliability, speed satisfaction, and overall satisfaction, but not by much.

Best TV and internet bundles

Spectrum doesn’t offer the traditional TV and internet bundle at a huge discount. Instead, you can pair its TV Select Signature plan with any of its internet plans. You can add standard TV and premium channels to the base channel lineup, but they cost extra.

Optimum bundles its Core TV, Entertainment TV, and Premier TV services with its 300 Mbps Internet and 1 Gig internet plans. The Entertainment TV service starts with 80 channels. Core TV service includes 220 channels, while the Premier TV service increases your starting channels to 420.

Internet types: Spectrum vs. Optimum

Spectrum and Optimum use existing coaxial cable lines originally installed for cable TV. Radio waves and up to 32 vacant cable TV channels deliver internet data to a cable modem.

Fiber internet provided by Optimum and Spectrum beams light through glass fibers that reach an optical network terminal (ONT) installed outside or inside your home. It does not use the traditional modem.

Overall, fiber is the best connection for its reliability and symmetrical speeds. Fiber’s fast uploads are ideal if you transfer large files to a remote server or livestream, but its availability is limited. Cable is more widespread than fiber and has slower uploads, but it has fast downloads and an easier installation than fiber.

Data caps: Spectrum vs. Optimum

There’s nothing to report here. Spectrum and Optimum do not enforce data caps, but Spectrum may do so starting in May 2023 once its agreement with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ends.

Contracts: Spectrum vs. Optimum

Spectrum and Optimum do not require contracts. They provide discounted pricing for the first 12-24 months. In both cases, you must keep the service for at least one month before you can cancel.

Installation: Spectrum vs. Optimum

*With online order

Optimum’s standard installation includes the setup of up to two outlets and one wireless device. The premium install includes three outlets, all wireless devices, and one wired device. Optimum doesn’t list a charge for installing its internet connection yourself.

Spectrum’s pro install includes all the necessary cabling and equipment. The technician provides you with the WiFi info and waits long enough for you to connect a wireless device. The self-install kit includes everything you need to get internet in a home with coax cables already installed.

Availability: Spectrum vs. Optimum

Spectrum is the larger internet provider, covering 38.3% of the US according to our proprietary data—all of which is cable internet. Most of its coverage area is in the Eastern and Central time zones, with smaller spots scattered across the nation.

Optimum mostly offers cable internet and some fiber in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. It also offers cable and fiber internet in 18 other states formerly managed under the Suddenlink brand. Parent company Altice USA expects to have 6.5 million fiber connections by 2025.

Final call: Spectrum vs. Optimum

When you stack Spectrum up against Optimum, Spectrum is the clear choice for customer service but it’s a close tie on cost.

Of course, we can’t overlook Optimum’s superfast fiber speeds. It has one of the fastest fiber plans you can get right now, but it’s extremely limited. Fiber is just limited in availability period, so you may have a hard time getting fiber internet from either provider.

But we have to circle back to Optimum’s low scores in our latest customer satisfaction survey  If you find yourself choosing between Spectrum and Optimum, base your decision on tech type. If you get only cable internet from either brand, go with Spectrum. If you can get fiber with Optimum and only cable with Spectrum, go with Optimum.

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.

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