CenturyLink offers the best value for DSL or fiber internet, but Cox remains competitive with accelerated speeds.
Cox Internet vs. CenturyLink: Compare Pros and Cons
Speed and reliability
3.5 / 5
Dollar value
3.8 / 5
Customer experience
3.8 / 5
Speed and reliability
3.8 / 5
Dollar value
3.3 / 5
Customer experience
3.8 / 5
7 min readCenturyLink has the advantage, offering high speed internet at a better price between these two internet providers. Its fiber internet service is available at nearly half the price for comparable speeds from Cox. And the customers we spoke to give mostly positive ratings for CenturyLink’s service and plans.
Yet while Cox can’t beat CenturyLink on value, it offers a competitive internet plan, especially when it comes to speed. Cox’s fastest plan actually outpaces CenturyLink, but the caveat is that you definitely pay for it. In terms of customer satisfaction, it’s neck and neck with CenturyLink.
Want to know which of these providers is the right one for you? Read on for our head-to-head comparisons on speed and reliability, dollar value, customer experience, and more.
“CenturyLink has been reliable and affordable and offers enough speed for the average household.” —Cai Crawford
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Want to know if Cox Internet or CenturyLink are available where you live? Run a search with your zip code below to find out.
CenturyLink vs. Cox: Plans, pricing, and speed
| Provider |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Price per month |
$50-$75
|
$9.95-$150
|
| Download speeds | 140-940 Mbps | 100-2000 Mbps |
| Upload speeds | 20-940 Mbps | 5-100 Mbps |
| Details | View Plans | View Plans |
Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change. Data verified as of the article's publication date.
CenturyLink offers two types of internet service: Old-fashioned DSL, which runs through a phone line, and fiber internet, which provides much faster speeds through fiber-optic cables. And while it’s not necessarily surprising that its fiber internet plan is a better deal overall, what is surprising is that its 500Mbps fiber plan is actually cheaper than DSL. Its fiber plans aren’t available everywhere, unfortunately, but either way, its plans are more than reasonable, especially because there are no overage fees or contracts.
Cox doesn’t offer plan pricing that’s as much of a bargain as CenturyLink, but it does offer a wider range of options for subscribers. Its cable internet plans feature five different tiers, which span from an inexpensive $50 per month 100Mbps plan on up to the Go Beyond Fast plan, which offers up to 2,000Mbps download speeds. That said, the faster it gets, the more you pay. Cox also doesn’t lock you into a contract, but there are additional fees, including data overages.
"[Cox is] pretty easy to set up and doesn’t require any weird cabling.” —Isaac Chandler
CenturyLink vs. Cox: Fees for modem and installation
What makes this review legit?
Our fact-based research process centers on interviews with internet customers across the country, helping us understand how internet services hold up against diverse needs and challenges.
To put together this review, we looked at results from our speed test, pulled data from customer satisfaction surveys, and pored over the fine print to compare prices and speeds between the two providers. To flesh out our analysis, we also interviewed CenturyLink and Cox Internet customers to get their firsthand insights. We let their experiences guide our research and shape our conclusions. We also speak with ISP spokespeople and industry experts to get insights into connection types, speed capabilities, and other technical issues related to internet service.
The matchup: How we rate CenturyLink vs. Cox Internet
For all our internet reviews, we give a rating based on three main criteria—speed and reliability, dollar value, and customer experience—which we then average to make an overall score.
Here, we compare those ratings face to face. We then offer some analysis and context for important factors to keep in mind.
Want to know more? Read our full-length CenturyLink review and Cox Internet review.
Speed and reliability
CenturyLink: 3.5/5.0 | Cox: 3.8/5.0
When it comes to speed, Cox comes out ahead. While it doesn’t rank among Reviews.org’s five fastest internet providers, it more than holds its own for speedy internet service with an average download speed of 160Mbps. However, customers give somewhat mixed reviews in terms of reliability, with some users reporting issues with outages.
By comparison, CenturyLink’s DSL service is considerably slower than Cox, averaging download speeds of about 55Mbps and topping out at 80Mbps for its entry-level tier. Yet even customers who subscribe to CenturyLink for DSL rate the service as dependable and mostly have only positive things to say about it.
However, when you upgrade to CenturyLink’s fiber internet service, the speed skyrockets, topping out at an impressive 940Mbps. Still, that’s only about half the speed of Cox’s top-tier service, the Go Beyond Fast plan, which tops out at 2,000 Mbps.
Dollar value
CenturyLink: 3.8/5.0 | Cox: 3.3/5.0
The price is right for CenturyLink’s internet service, which is a good deal no matter which plan you sign up for. Its DSL plans are uniformly low, but its fiber plans are an even better deal, giving users a significant boost in download speeds for only a modest price increase. It’s baseline fiber plan is only $50 a month for speeds of up to 500Mbps. And that speed nearly doubles for only $75 per month.
CenturyLink also doesn’t lock subscribers into a contract, and it offers unlimited data, which only sweetens the deal. However, because fiber infrastructure isn’t available everywhere, signing up for its higher speed service is conditional on availability. But for those in areas where it’s available, CenturyLink’s fiber internet is definitely a deal worth looking into.
Cox might offer more options, but they come at a higher price tag. While at the lowest level Cox plan is about on par with CenturyLink for monthly service, there’s a jump of about $20 between each Cox Internet plan upgrade, and tops out at $150 per month compared to CenturyLink’s $75. And while it doesn’t charge for self-installation, Cox also includes fees for overage charges. There are other opportunities to save money, however, especially when bundling with mobile service.
Customer experience
CenturyLink: 3.8/5.0 | Cox: 3.8/5.0
The customer service experience for CenturyLink subscribers is all over the map. Some customers who use its DSL service have registered complaints about slow and inconsistent service. Some customers have said that they rarely need to contact customer service in order to resolve a connection issue, and that it isn’t hard to reach a real human representative in order to take care of it in a timely manner. But others reporte longer wait times and representatives who don’t provide much in the way of useful solutions.
Cox is about the same in terms of the customer experience, scoring two points below average in a 2023 report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Cox customers report frequent frustrations with service interruptions and a lack of proactivity in informing customers about outages. Customers also say they experience long wait times during customer service calls, and the Cox chatbot, which is named Oliver, isn’t particularly helpful when it comes to actual problems with internet connection issues.
Overall quality: Which internet provider should you pick?
CenturyLink: 3.7/5.0 | Cox: 3.6/5.0 (average of previous scores)
CenturyLink is an excellent choice for home internet. It offers fast speeds at a great value, and its customers offer mostly positive feedback about its service. While customers get a lot more for their money if they sign up for its higher speed fiber service, its DSL internet is still reliable and available at a competitive price.
For those in areas where CenturyLink isn’t available, however, Cox offers a comparably strong product. In fact, Cox’s top speed plan is a little bit faster than CenturyLink’s, which should be attractive to customers seeking an optimal plan for streaming or gaming. That being said, its prices are a bit steeper, though you can get a little more bang for your buck when you bundle with mobile service or other offers.
CenturyLink vs. Cox Internet: What deals and promotions can you get?
CenturyLink doesn’t typically offer the kinds of deals that are typically expected with major internet providers, though it’s already a good deal to begin with, offering higher speeds at lower prices than its competitors. Cox also doesn’t go overboard on the additional perks, but it does have a few good deals worth looking into. Bundle mobile service with Cox Internet and save $14.99 per month, or get unlimited data for $49.99 per month.
Get 20% off Bark online monitoring
Ask a representative about a discount on the Bark parental monitoring app when you sign up for internet service.
Get $14.99 off when you sign up for Cox Mobile service
Eligible with the Go Fast, Go Faster, Go Even Faster, and Go Super Fast internet plans
CenturyLink vs. Cox Internet: What do customers think?
It’s rare for an internet provider to get high marks across the board from customers, and CenturyLink isn’t necessarily an exception to that rule. But customers generally have positive things to say about the service, in particular for the speeds it offers for a relatively low price.
“They are faster, cheaper, and more reliable than my previous cable internet,” says Bruce of Hurricane, Utah, a CenturyLink customer since 2019.
Reddit user FearthePack, a CenturyLink customer in a major Minnesota metropolitan area, agrees: “I love that I've never had an issue with service.”
However, complaints about customer service still came up in the conversations we had with customers about CenturyLink. Cai Crawford, a CenturyLink customer and staffer on the Reviews.org team, had a situation where a technician accidentally cut a line while running fiber to another street. As a result, Crawford and his neighbors didn’t have Wi-Fi for an evening, which was an unnecessary inconvenience.
“They ended up getting it fixed the next morning,” Crawford says. “Reaching support took half an hour or so, even though the outage was relatively localized—only a few dozen homes, I think. And they were really slow to get me an estimated timeline for the repair.”
“It’s an extremely good deal for very high speed.” —Bruce of Hurricane, Utah
Cox customers, much like CenturyLink, have a wide range of responses when asked about their satisfaction with their internet service. Most of them, however, say they’re mostly satisfied with their service.
M.J. Stevens, a customer of 15 years in San Diego says, “Overall, I’d say the service is pretty good and dependable.”
Stevens adds that the service is a bit expensive, and perhaps not the best value, though he continues to subscribe despite the price tag: “I still do it because I get everything I need with a minimum of fuss and bother.”
Some customers express frustration in dealing with customer service. Lindsey Scotney, who runs a hospitality staffing company in Tulsa, details an experience with a customer service agent when she asked about her speeds being throttled, despite having an unlimited data plan.
“He hung up on me intentionally after telling me I was being abusive,” Scotney recalls. “I literally did not raise my voice at all and in a very calm voice just asked him to please let me finish what I was saying.”
“Cox hasn’t failed to provide me what I paid for.” —Peter Drennen-Hart
Want CenturyLink or Cox? Find it in your area
CenturyLink is a solid choice for home internet and an excellent value for the service it provides. It’s available in 16 states in the West and Midwest, though not every plan is available in every state where it provides service, so fiber might not be available.
Cox is a comparably strong option for those who might not be in CenturyLink’s coverage area, however, with a broader range of plans and options available. Cox is available in 18 states across the country, in the South, Midwest, and East and West Coasts. Search with your Zip code below to see if either provider is available in your area.
See CenturyLink, Cox, and other internet providers in your area by searching with your zip code.
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