Most of us have been pulled into an internet plan with an attractive rate, only to see an outrageously higher number show up on our bills one day. Internet service providers absolutely love price increases — more than half of the ISPs in CNET’s database had price hikes on some plans after just one year.
That’s a big reason why the industry as a whole ranks at the bottom of the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s rankings — less popular than airlines, social media companies and the US Postal Service.
A lot of that dissatisfaction is due to the confusing pricing that comes with internet plans. I’ve been writing about home internet for five years, and it can still be hard for me to figure out what you’re actually paying each month with some providers.
“Some of the bills we collected are incredibly complicated,” said Jonathan Schwantes, senior policy counsel at Consumer Reports, who helped conduct an analysis of over 22,000 internet bills. “In thousands of cases, it is too hard for people to figure out what they’re paying for, what the hidden fees mean or to even locate the price for internet service.”
Some of that obfuscation was cleared up this year when the US Federal Communications Commission forced internet providers to show customers transparent information on every plan in the form of broadband nutrition labels. But even with these new requirements, it’s not always immediately clear how much (and when) your bill will increase.
So we’ve done the legwork for you. These are the providers with the steepest price hikes in the industry, ranked from the most egregious to the least.
How much each internet provider increases prices by
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Mediacom price increases
| Plan | Starting price | Price after one year | Download speeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xtream Internet 250 | $20 | $50 | 250Mbps |
| Xtream Internet 500 | $45 | $100 | 500Mbps |
| Xtream Internet 1 Gig | $65 | $130 | 1,000Mbps |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Mediacom raises rates on its internet plans by anywhere from $30 to $65 per month after one year. It also has one of the higher equipment rental fees I’ve seen, at $14 monthly, and the cheapest plan has stingy data caps that can result in high overage fees.
Average Mediacom price increase: $50 per month after one year
Spectrum price increases
| Plan | Starting price | Price after 1-2 years | Download speeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet 100 | $30 | $55 | 100Mbps |
| Internet | $40-$50 | $80 | 300Mbps |
| Internet Ultra | $50-$70 | $100 | 500Mbps |
| Internet Gig | $60-$80 | $110 | 1,000Mbps |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Though Spectrum recently raised prices on all its internet plans, it also increases rates for all customers after one or two years. How long the promotional price lasts depends on your location and the plan you choose. Spectrum’s prices also vary widely by location: I saw prices for its Internet Gig plan at $60, $70 and $80 monthly when I entered addresses from various cities. When the promotional period expires, your bill will go up by anywhere from $25 to $50 monthly, depending on the plan.
Average Spectrum price increase: $37.22 per month after one or two years
Cox price increases
| Plan | Starting price | Price after two years | Download speeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go Fast | $50 | $50 | 100Mbps |
| Go Faster | $50 | $70 | 250Mbps |
| Go Even Faster | $60 | $90 | 500Mbps |
| Go Super Fast | $70 | $120 | 1,000Mbps |
| Go Beyond Fast | $110 | $150 | 2,000Mbps |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Cox’s price increases don’t kick in until the third year, but once they do, they can be pretty severe on the faster plans. On the Go Super Fast plan, for instance, your bill will jump by $50 from one month to the next. All of Cox’s plans come with a 1.25TB data cap as well.
Average Cox price increase: $28 per month after two years
Xfinity price increases
| Plan | Starting price | Price after one year | Price after two years | Download speeds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connect | $20 | $56-$57 | $56-$57 | 150Mbps |
| Connect More | $30-$35 | $69-$76 | $69-$76 | 300Mbps |
| Fast | $55 | $55 | $79-$86 | 500Mbps |
| Superfast | $60-$70 | $60-$70 | $83-$96 | 800Mbps |
| Gigabit | $65-$75 | $65-$75 | $99-$106 | 1,000Mbps |
| Gigabit Extra | $80-$85 | $80-$85 | $109-$116 | 1,200Mbps |
| Gigabit X2 | $100-$120 | $100-$120 | $116-$120 | 2,000Mbps |
| Gigabit Pro | $300 | $300 | $300 | 10,000Mbps |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Xfinity has different prices for the three regions of the country where it offers service, and all of them have slightly different price increases, too. But unless you’re on one of the multi-gig plans, your price will increase significantly. Most of the time, this doesn’t kick in until the third year. The exceptions are Xfinity’s cheapest plans — both the Connect and Connect More plans more than double in price after 12 months.
Average Xfinity price increase: $26 per month after one or two years
Hughesnet price increases
| Plan | Starting price | Price after one year | Download speeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Select Plan | $50 | $75 | 50Mbps |
| Elite Plan | $65 | $90 | 100Mbps |
| Fusion Plan | $95 | $120 | 100Mbps |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Hughesnet is a satellite internet provider that’s mostly used in rural areas without any other options. Its prices start on the high side and get even higher after the first year, but the increases aren’t as dramatic as those of some other providers on this list. That said, there are other unfavorable terms, like a $15 monthly equipment fee, low data caps and a two-year contract.
Average Hughesnet price increase: $25 per month after one year
Optimum price increases
| Plan | Starting price | Price after one year | Download speeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300Mbps | $40 | $70 | 300Mbps |
| Fiber 300 | $60 | $70 | 300Mbps |
| 500Mbps | $60 | $90 | 500Mbps |
| Fiber 500 | $80 | $90 | 500Mbps |
| 1 Gig | $80 | $110 | 1,000Mbps |
| Fiber 1 Gig | $100 | $110 | 1,000Mbps |
| Fiber 2 Gig | $120 | $130 | 2,000Mbps |
| Fiber 5 Gig | $180 | $200 | 5,000Mbps |
| Fiber 8 Gig | $280 | $300 | 8,000Mbps |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Optimum offers both cable and fiber internet around the country, but its cable plans are far more widely available. If you get one of Optimum’s cable plans, your bill will increase by $30 per month in the second year. The fiber plans aren’t quite as steep — most go up by only $10 monthly.
Average Optimum price increase: $19 per month after one year
Sparklight price increases
| Plan | Starting price | Price after six months | Price after one year | Download speeds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connect 100 | $35 | $35 | $50 | 100Mbps |
| Connect 300 | $50 | $70 | $70 | 300Mbps |
| Connect 600 | $60 | $80 | $80 | 600Mbps |
| Connect Gig | $70 | $70 | $90 | 1,000Mbps |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Sparklight is one of the rare internet providers that doesn’t wait at least a year to raise your prices. On the Connect 300 and Connect 600 plans, your bill will go up after just six months. Still, the amount it increases by is relatively mild — just $15 to $20 per month.
Average Sparklight price increase: $18.75 per month after one year
Ziply Fiber price increases
| Plan | Starting price | Price after one year | Download speeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiber 100/100 | $20 | $45 | 100Mbps |
| Fiber 300/300 | $40 | $65 | 300Mbps |
| Fiber Gig | $60 | $85 | 1,000Mbps |
| Fiber 2 Gig | $70 | $90 | 2,000Mbps |
| Fiber 5 Gig | $120 | $120 | 5,000Mbps |
| Fiber 10 Gig | $300 | $300 | 10,000Mbps |
| Fiber 50 Gig | $900 | $900 | 50,000Mbps |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Ziply Fiber is known for having the fastest internet speeds of any national provider in the country — an unfathomable 50,000Mbps — and its prices are pretty reasonable. That holds true even after its price increases kick in after the first year, too.
Average Ziply Fiber price increase: $14 per month after one year
Metronet price increases
| Plan | Starting price | Price after one year | Download speeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100Mbps | $30 | $40 | 100Mbps |
| 500Mbps | $40 | $50 | 500Mbps |
| 1 Gig | $50 | $60 | 1,000Mbps |
| 2 Gig | $90 | $100 | 2,000Mbps |
| 5 Gig | $110 | $120 | 5,000Mbps |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Metronet offers cable internet service in 15 states around the country, and its prices are on the reasonable side. Every plan goes up by $10 monthly in the second year, there are no contracts and all the plans but the fastest include the cost of equipment.
Average Metronet price increase: $10 per month after one year
WOW price increases
| Plan | Starting price | Price after one year | Download speeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet 300 | $30 | $40 | 300Mbps |
| Internet 600 | $45 | $55 | 600Mbps |
| Internet 1 Gig | $60 | $70 | 1,000Mbps |
| Internet 1.2 Gigs | $95 | $105 | 1,200Mbps |
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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
WOW offers cable internet plans in parts of the South and Midwest, and all its plans come with $10 monthly price increases. That’s not too bad, especially when you consider that WOW includes equipment at no extra cost and unlimited data on every plan.
Average WOW price increase: $10 per month after one year
Astound Broadband price increases
Most internet providers have confusing pricing; Astound’s is downright inscrutable. More than maybe any other provider in the country, Astound Broadband changes its prices from region to region. All its plans include a two-year price lock guarantee, but there’s no information about what will happen after that (contrary to the FCC’s guidelines on its broadband labels). A customer service representative told me that most plans increase by $10 to $25 monthly after two years, but they couldn’t say for sure how much it would be. I’ve seen prices increase by as much as $60 per month with Astound in the past, but you won’t know for sure unless you sign up.
These internet providers don’t have scheduled price increases
Though these providers don’t play the promotional-pricing-that-expires-after-a-year game, that doesn’t mean your price won’t ever go up. All of them have fine print that essentially says they can raise prices whenever they want. T-Mobile, for instance, used to include a price-lock guarantee on all its plans but abruptly ended that policy for new customers and raised rates earlier this year.
Still, no built-in price increases is better than nothing. Some, like Verizon Fios and Quantum Fiber, even provide price-lock guarantees. These are the ISPs that won’t raise your rates automatically after a year or two:
What you can do about price increases
You probably feel (justifiably) outraged when your internet bill suddenly skyrockets from an unexpected price increase. It might seem like there’s nothing you can do in these situations, but there are a few things you can try to lower the price you’re paying:
- Negotiate with your internet provider: Sometimes, getting back to your old price is as simple as calling your provider and seeing if you can get back on a different promotion. When negotiating your internet bill, make sure you come prepared with information on what other plans they’re offering and prices from competitors in the area. Some customers have also had better luck visiting a store in person than trying to get hold of a human on the phone.
- Purchase your own equipment: The last thing you probably want to do when you get a massive internet bill is spend even more money, but buying your own modem or router can save you money in the long run. These fees usually add about $10 per month to your bill.
- Switch providers: This is likely your last resort. It’s a hassle to switch internet providers. You’ll likely have to return equipment, schedule a new installation and potentially even go without internet for a period of time. But you could save hundreds of dollars a year by getting back onto promotional pricing from another provider. Enter your address on the FCC’s broadband map and see what other options are available to you.
