The Cheapest EarthLink Internet Plans: Save Money on Wi-Fi

EarthLink’s cheapest plan is the $39.95 per month 100 GB Essentials plan which uses a 5G or 4G LTE fixed wireless connection, depending on your area. Take note, EarthLink’s fixed wireless plans are tiered by data cap, not speed, so all fixed wireless plans (apart from the unlimited plan) advertise download speeds between 25Mbps and 100Mbps, but the actual speed you experience varies depending on the quality of your connection. It’s not a lot, but it may be enough speed for you if you’re not a heavy gamer or content creator. For this plan, you get 100GB of data to start, and then you pay extra for any additional data usage. Your internet usage needs most likely surpass this data cap, as households consume an average of 586GB of data per month, according to Open Vault’s 2024 Q2 report. However, if you only watch an hour-long episode of a Netflix show every night, you might get by without paying $5.95 per 5GB data top-up. But two episodes? There’s no chance.

The 100GB Essentials plan is $40 cheaper than EarthLink’s fixed wireless plan with unlimited data and $10 cheaper than EarthLink’s 300Mbps fiber plan. For fixed wireless plans, all you need to do is plug in the provided modem at your home, so you don’t pay for a technician to come to your house and carry out a long installation process. However, convenience doesn’t come cheap. There’s a one-time activation fee of $79.95 and a monthly equipment rental fee of $14.95.

Thankfully, EarthLink indicates on its website that it doesn’t increase your monthly bill after your first year.

No, EarthLink’s internet prices don’t go up in price after the first 12 months. That’s the biggest bonus with EarthLink, which does away with the price hikes you see with most other internet service providers. The caveat is that you sign up for a 12-month contract, so if you decide to cancel before your first year is up, you’ve got a hefty $200 fee to pay.

Most of the time, EarthLink requires a 12-month contract. However, you can call EarthLink’s customer service line to see if a no-contract plan is available in your area. You also need to call to check the price difference between a month-to-month plan and a 12-month contract, as no-contract prices aren’t available online. 

EarthLink’s cheapest fixed wireless plan is technically cheaper than other comparable internet plans, but the downsides are that you have a data cap and slower speeds. Rather than the quality of the service, one of the biggest selling points for EarthLink is that it doesn’t run credit checks. Phew! If you happen to have a few snags in your credit history, EarthLink doesn’t judge you for it.

EarthLink’s 100 GB Essentials plan is cheaper than T-Mobile and Verizon’s 5G fixed wireless plans, which sell for $50 to $80 per month, unless you bundle your internet with a mobile line. But there’s more to this than meets the eye—EarthLink has a much lower speed cap than T-Mobile, only offering up to 100Mbps where T-Mobile can offer up to 245Mbps and Verizon can offer up to 300Mbps 5G Home Plus plan. Both of the 5G behemoths also provide free equipment rental and free installation, so you’re not paying arbitrary fees for just getting started.  

EarthLink also offers a cheap fiber plan for only $49.95 per month for 300Mbps. This is about $5 cheaper than AT&T’s 300Mbps fiber plan, but AT&T has no cancellation fees, installation fees, or equipment rental fees. EarthLink, on the other hand, makes you pay for all of these additional fees, so it’s not cheaper if you total it up.

Overall, EarthLink’s fixed wireless service isn’t the better choice even if its monthly price is slightly cheaper. However, if you’re tossing up between an EarthLink fiber plan and a cable plan from Xfinity or Spectrum, Earthlink’s fiber is the clear winner. Fiber is more reliable, gets symmetrical speeds, and is less susceptible to slowdowns.

To make the best comparison, type in your zip code in our availability checker below.

EarthLink isn’t the cheapest provider on the market, but there are several tips and tricks you can use to cut down your internet bill.

• Check the competition: Don’t put your eggs in one basket. Instead, use our zip code checker to see the average prices for internet in your area. While this doesn’t reduce your EarthLink bill, being well-informed gives you an edge for negotiating or switching plans.
• Ask for a discount: Get your stone-cold negotiating voice ready and call up EarthLink. Some helpful tactics include asking for a price match to another provider or asking for special deals and discounts off an equipment rental or additional fee.
• Register for Lifeline Support: Internet is a necessity in this day and age. The government helps low-income households who qualify with a $9.25 discount on their monthly bill through the Lifeline Support program. If you live on Tribal lands, you get $34.25 off per month.
• Ditch EarthLink: If the above tips don’t work, it might be time to switch providers. Strong contenders against EarthLink’s fixed wireless plans are the T-Mobile or Verizon 5G Home internet plans, which are affordable and easy to set up.

EarthLink offers a large range of fixed wireless and fiber plans but to get the most accurate idea of what’s available for your address, you can call EarthLink’s customer service line.

EarthLink offers fixed wireless plans starting from $39.95 with 100GB of data up to 300GB of data, all at the same download speed range of 25Mbps to 100Mbps. These plans are either on a 5G or 4G LTE network, but are priced at the same rate. EarthLink does offer a unique 300GB Unlimited plan specifically for working from home, which gets you up to 25Mbps download speed for your first 300GB of data used, and then a reduced speed afterwards.

EarthLink offers fiber plans with 100Mbps and 5Gbps symmetrical speeds for between $49.95 to $189.95 per month. Weirdly enough, the 100Mbps plan is $10 more expensive than the 300Mbps plan, even though it's a lower speed. All fiber plans come with unlimited data, though you do need to pay for equipment rental and installation fees. As these are fiber plans, you get equal download and upload speeds, making it easy to stream, take conference calls, play multiplayer games, upload YouTube videos, or live stream to your heart’s content.

It can be tricky to know exactly which plan to pick, especially if you’re not quite sure what all the technical internet terms mean and how they affect your day-to-day usage. To get a better idea of what’s the right plan for you, follow these tips below.

1. Check your budget

It’s easy to make the mistake of seeing the sticker price for your internet plan and thinking that’s all there is to it. Make sure when you’re planning your monthly budget for internet that you also consider the full cost of your plan. Earthlink has activation fees, taxes, equipment rental, and even a cancellation fee.

2. Find out how much speed you need

You might be surprised how lower-tiered plans might provide enough speed for you and your family. Whether you’re taking Zoom calls all day for meetings or playing games online with friends, you can check how much speed you’re likely going to use. Depending on your household’s usual internet activities, you can estimate what plan speed is right for you.

3. Look out for discounts and deals

At times, Earthlink offers lower prices on specific plans, so you can check the Earthlink website to see if any decent discounts catch your attention. Make sure to bookmark our monthly list of the Best Internet Deals too, so you don’t miss out on any limited deals.

4. Keep tabs on other providers’ prices

You never know if you’re overpaying or getting a steal of a deal if you don’t check what other providers cost. Type in your zip code in our availability tool below and see how much other providers charge for similar plans.