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

The 100Mbps plan is Metronet’s cheapest internet plan. It costs $29.95 per month for the first 12 months of service and is $10–$80 cheaper than Metronet’s other plans. While it’s not the fastest speed, you can check here to see how much speed you really need. You may be surprised how well the 100Mbps plan works for several people streaming, video conferencing, and playing games.  “It provides a very cheap and reliable service,” says Zamero Reyez, a Ph.D. student at Purdue University who uses Metronet at his apartment in Lafayette, Indiana.

As it goes with most internet services, you also have extra fees on top of your monthly internet bill. There’s a monthly $12.95 Tech Assure fee which covers potential technical repairs and service call visits by a technician, as well as the one-time $75 installation fee. Even with these extra fees, the 100Mbps plan is still cheaper than most fiber plans. That is, until you’ve been a customer for a year. After your first 12 months and again after 24 months, you experience a $10 increase in your monthly payment, so it ends up costing $49.95 per month by your third year on the service.

Yes, Metronet’s internet prices go up by $10 per month after the first 12 months and again after 24 months of service for the 100Mbps, 500Mbps and 5Gbps plans. If you’re on the 1Gbps or 2Gbps plan, your plan will increase by $10 after the first 12 months, 24 months, and again after 36 months of service.  Below is a table with the Metronet’s price increases.

Metronet doesn’t have any contracts, so you can cancel anytime without paying an early termination fee. You can also switch up your plan, so you could initially sign up for a high-speed plan and then downgrade to a lower speed (and thus, a lower monthly price) right before your price increases at the 13-month mark. In many cases, you may find that a slower plan works just fine, especially if you only use the internet for streaming or taking conference calls for work.

One of Metronet’s best internet deals for new customers is the free Eero pro 6E wireless router rental included with Metronet internet plans up to 1Gbps. You can skip the deal and use your own router if you want to, but getting an Eero router is particularly nifty because you can order additional Eeros and create a mesh system for Whole-Home Wi-Fi. If you’re somewhat of a smart home aficionado, you can connect your Eero to Amazon Alexa (Echo, Dot, or Tap). Once you enable the Eero skill on your Alexa, you can ask Alexa to find your phone (in relation to the nearest Eero device), pause profiles, or turn off Eero’s device lights.

Metronet’s cheapest internet plan stands out as one of the most affordable plans compared to other top fiber providers. Neighborhoods don’t usually have several competing fiber providers available, but sometimes areas with Metronet overlap with AT&T Fiber. Metronet’s 100Mbps plan is about $25 cheaper than AT&T’s 300Mbps plan, which is AT&T’s lowest speed on offer. However, AT&T does offer a 20% discount on your internet when you bundle with mobile. If a low price for an internet-only plan is your highest priority, Metronet is the better choice. If you want more value, AT&T gets you more speed per dollar, but 100Mbps is enough for a couple of people who want to stream on their own devices or take video calls.

For those who don’t have the luxury of multiple fiber providers, you’re likely tossing up between Metronet and a cable provider like Xfinity. Xfinity technically offers one of the lowest prices on the market with its 150Mbps Connect plan. While you don’t get symmetrical speeds, this plan only costs $19.99 per month ($30 per month in Central states), but don’t get too comfortable—after 12 to 24 months, the price can go up to $66, so it’s not so cheap after all. You do have an option to bundle your internet with mobile, which Metronet does not offer, unfortunately. Mobile plans cost between $20 to $50 per month, which might be well worth it considering you’re paying for a mobile plan anyway.

Spectrum is another option for cable internet. Spectrum’s cheapest plan costs $50 per month for 500Mbps download speed, which is a good deal, but you get much lower upload speeds. Spectrum does offer the option to add a Spectrum mobile unlimited line, which could save you more money overall.

To really lay out all the options, check your zip code in our availability tool below. After hitting submit, you can see the best (and cheapest) providers in your area, as well as their plans and prices.

There are plenty of steps you can take to save money on your Metronet internet bill. But first things first, use this zip code checker to see every available plan in your area and gauge if you’re paying too much compared to your other options. After that, take a look at these other steps that can help you save:

• Register for a government program: The Lifeline Support program provides qualifying low-income households a $9.25 discount off their monthly bill or up to $34.25 off per month if they live on Tribal lands.
• Negotiate: If you’re up for the challenge, you could call Metronet and say you found a cheaper deal with another provider, (hence why it’s best to see what else is available first), and that you would like them to match the price or provide a discount—or you’ll walk away.
• Downgrade: Chances are, you need less speed than you think. Metronet doesn’t have contracts, so you can switch to a cheaper plan with a slower speed anytime.
• Switch: Check to see the cheaper plans in your area, and make the decision to switch. If all else fails, a 5G provider is a good go-to option when it comes to cheaper internet.

Metronet offers fiber internet plans with speeds between 100Mbps and 5Gbps. Plans cost between $29.95 to $109.95 per month for the first 12 months of service before the prices increase by $10 each year for the second, third, and sometimes fourth year of service (that’s only for the 1Gbps and 2Gbps plans).

When you sign up for a Metronet internet plan, you can also sign up for live TV and streaming services, but there are no discounts or bundle deals. Boo. Metronet offers its own fiber TV service, which includes Basic, Standard, and Preferred tiers of channels. The Standard package gets the most popular sports channels like ESPN, Big 10 Network, Golf Channel, NFL Network and top news channels. For an additional $5, you can also add NFL Redzone, MLB Strikezone, and more. 

You can also sign up for third-party live TV plans via Metronet. If you decide to go this route, you can either get Hulu + Live TV or DIRECTV (either “via Internet” which you plug in a Gemini Air streaming device and sign a contract, or “STREAM” where you can use your own smart TV).

1. Think through your budget.

What’s more annoying than having to look for a new internet provider after you’ve already signed up with one? To avoid going through the hassle multiple times, make a decision after you’ve thought about the total cost of your internet plan—not just the monthly fee. Metronet charges taxes, an installation fee and a monthly Tech Assure fee. Luckily Metronet doesn’t have any router rental fees and you can often get promo gift cards as well.  

2. Consider how much speed you need

Internet providers like to sell you on a higher-speed plan, even if that’s not what you actually need. The average household can work with 100–500Mbps of speed, although it depends on what you use the internet for. If you have tons of connected smart home devices and you also dabble in hosting YouTube livestreams, you might want to go higher. Check how much speed you need, and you might realize that you can get away with a lower-tier plan.

3. Keep your eye out for deals

There are always promotional deals going on to nudge people to switch providers. We compile these on our Best Internet Deals page every month, so check back to see if there’s a deal that makes the switch worth it. Always make sure you check the terms and conditions though—don’t switch just because you see a sparkly deal.

4. Compare prices with other providers

Don’t just rely on the flyers in your mailbox to tell you what internet providers are available for your street. Check our availability tool below, which shows you a list of all the providers in your area alongside their plans and prices.