Verizon Fios is the better service, but Spectrum is available in more locations.
Spectrum Internet vs. Verizon Fios: Which Is Best for You?
Speed and reliability
3.8 / 5
Dollar value
3.2 / 5
Customer experience
4.0 / 5
Speed and reliability
3.75 / 5
Dollar value
3.75 / 5
Customer experience
4.75 / 5
7 min readVerizon Fios is the better pick between these two internet providers. Verizon Fios is one of the best fiber internet providers you can get, with fast speeds, decent customer service, and reasonable prices.
On the other hand, Spectrum is a cable internet provider with solid service but a mixed customer reputation. My colleague Peter Holslin and I have both spent considerable time studying Spectrum’s specs and interviewed a lot of Spectrum internet customers. We’ve found that while Spectrum falls short in comparison to Fios, its affordable plans and reliable speeds would make it a great choice for many customers.
Still, you should definitely get Verizon Fios if it’s available where you live.
“I’ve never had an outage. Not once." -Thomas H., Verizon Fios customer in New York City,
Honest reviews written by real people
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Want to know if Spectrum or Verizon Fios are available where you live? Run a search with your zip code below to find out.
Spectrum vs. Verizon Fios: Plans, pricing, and speed
| Provider |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Price per month | $25-$70 | $49.99-$109.99* |
| Download speeds | 50-1000 Mbps† | 300-2300 Mbps |
| Upload speeds | 4-35 Mbps | 10-2300 Mbps |
| Details |
Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change. Data verified as of the article's publication date.
*
Price per month with Auto Pay & without select 5G mobile plans. Fios plan prices include taxes & fees
†
Limited time offer; subject to change; valid to qualified residential customers who have not subscribed to any services within the previous 30 days and who have no outstanding obligation to Charter.
Spectrum and Verizon Fios plans both have their ups and downs, but in the end, Verizon Fios plans are more cost effective.
Spectrum primary plans start at $50 for 500Mbps and go up to $70 for 1,000Mbps. This is excluding the Internet Assist plan, which costs less but is only available to qualifying low-income internet customers. Verizon Fios goes from $49.99 for 300Mbps to $109.99 for 2,300Mbps. At first glance, the cheapest Spectrum plan is a better deal than the cheapest Fios plan, but dig deeper and you see that’s actually not the case.
While you get 500Mbps for $50 from Spectrum and 300Mbps for the same price from Fios, Spectrum’s prices are promotional—they automatically go up after a preset period. It’s also helpful to remember that Spectrum’s plans work over a cable internet connection. They’re less reliable than Fios’s fiber speeds, and they have far slower upload speeds.
Verizon Fios gives you symmetrical internet speeds with every plan, whereas Spectrum gives you a pittance in upload Mbps. Most people are fine with slow upload speeds, but they’re not great if you spend a lot of time uploading content online, hosting livestreams, or making video calls. “I regularly enjoy superfast speeds, which are essential for my personal and work activities,” says Laviet Joaquin, a long-term Verizon Fios customer. “[Verizon Fios] dependability and swiftness are unmatched and essential for my professional and everyday tasks.”
Both services offer unlimited data, and neither requires a formal commitment. And while Verizon requires fewer fees than Spectrum overall, its professional installation fee is significantly higher.
Spectrum vs. Verizon Fios: 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 Spectrum and Verizon Fios 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 Spectrum vs. Verizon Fios
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 Spectrum review and Verizon Fios review.
Speed and reliability
Spectrum: 3.8/5.0 | Verizon Fios: 3.75/5.0
As mentioned earlier, Fios takes the cake when it comes to speed and reliability. Spectrum is good for cable service, but no cable network can match Fios’s fiber speeds and stable connection.
What makes fiber faster and more dependable?
- The fiber-optic cables in a fiber network allow Fios Internet signals to move rapidly through light.
- The clarity and speed of fiber-optic cables don’t degrade as much as they get further from the signal source.
- Fiber optics are more durable and less prone to damage than copper. While Spectrum’s network is “fiber-rich”—meaning that fiber-optic cables are present—it’s not a full fiber-optic system.
Because of its infrastructure, Verizon Fios has significantly higher maximum download and upload speeds than Spectrum. Fios’s maximum download speed is 2.3 times faster than Spectrum’s, and its maximum upload speed is 65.7 times faster. And all of these speeds come through supersmooth fiber-optic cables right up to your router.
Dollar value
Spectrum: 3.2/5.0 | Verizon Fios: 3.75/5.0
Verizon Fios gives you more value for each dollar than Spectrum. While Spectrum plans initially appear to be the better deal, Spectrum uses promotional pricing. After those prices expire, Spectrum costs shoot up by $20 a month. Fios prices are much more straightforward: What you see is what you get.
Spectrum also has way more fees, like a modem rental fee and a self-installation fee. In contrast, Fios has no rental fee and doesn’t require a self-installation fee if you meet the self-installation requirements (not everyone does). However, the Verizon Fios fee is much more expensive than the Spectrum fee by about 50%.
Customer experience
Spectrum: 4.0/5.0 | Verizon Fios: 4.75/5.0
When it comes to the customer service experience, Verizon Fios garners more critical acclaim than Spectrum. Fios scores exceptionally high on both the HighSpeedInternet.com Customer Satisfaction Survey and the 2024 American Consumer Satisfaction Index in telecommunications. In contrast, Spectrum’s scores range from average to just below it.
In an echo of the critical assessment, we found more satisfied Verizon Fios customers than Spectrum customers, though customers have had substandard experiences with both providers.
Generally, Spectrum’s most significant customer service strength seems to be its ubiquity: The service is available all over the U.S., making it easy to enroll and even move with the service. On the other hand, Verizon Fios excels in not having outages. Some customers don’t even have to interact with the service side. Cheers to that.
Overall quality: Which internet provider should you pick?
Spectrum: 3.7/5.0 | Verizon Fios: 4.1/5.0 (average of previous scores)
In areas where Spectrum and Verizon Fios are both available, Fios is the clear winner. It’s faster and more reliable, has a better value proposition, and offers better customer service.
But Fios isn’t as widespread as Spectrum, and if you live in an area with no Fios, Spectrum is still worth considering as a classic cable option.
Want to compare Spectrum to other Verizon internet services?
You can also look at our Spectrum vs. Verizon 5G Home Internet review.
Spectrum vs. Verizon Fios: What deals and promotions can you get?
We’re all about deals, and whether you go with Spectrum or Fios, you may be able to snag a promotion that gives you a perk or knocks a few bucks off your monthly internet bill.
Bundle Spectrum services for a discount
Receive 500Mbps of Spectrum internet for $30 a month when bundled with phone and TV.
Save money on home appliances with Verizon Fios
Get $400 off Samsung appliances when you sign up for a Fios plan in select service areas.
Spectrum add-ons and perks
Sign up for qualifying Spectrum Internet plans
Sign up for a 500Mbps+ plan
Sign up for Autopay
Verizon Fios add-ons and perks
Sign up for 1Gbps or 2Gbps Fios plan (Black Friday offer valid 11/21/2024–12/01/2024).
Sign up for the Forward plan if eligible.
Order Fios home internet and see the Fios Early Termination Fee instructions to submit request within 90 days.
Sign up for the 1Gbps or 2Gbps Fios plans.
Sign up for the 300Mbps or 500Mbps Fios plans.
Spectrum vs. Verizon Fios: What do customers think?
Spectrum customers say it’s sufficiently affordable and reliable, but they’re meh on the customer service
Spectrum customers we spoke with generally find the service satisfactory. “It’s totally fine. It’s fast, and we’ve never had an outage,” says Spectrum customer Anna Harsanyi in New York City.
“They seem to respond quickly and take care of problems pretty fast,” comments Conrad Burnham, a Spectrum customer located in Los Angeles.
But although some folks, like Anna and Conrad, have great Spectrum experiences, that isn’t typical. Most find their interactions with customer service subpar.
“It’s not very customer friendly,” laments Robyn Straw in St. Cloud, Missouri. When she experienced daily outages in summer 2023, personnel weren’t responsive when contacted through the My Spectrum app. And Straw’s not the only one with a frustrating app experience.
“The Spectrum app is absolutely garbage,” says Reddit user Osmosis_Vanderwal. “My phone says it quits responding between every single screen, and I have to click ‘wait.’”
Here’s what customers have to say about Spectrum:
"They're very affordable, and if I'm having an issue, they're very good about troubleshooting.” –Sakia Anwar of New York City
“Spectrum was the only service provider that offered anything faster than 100Mbps download.” –Sean Huntley of Glendale, California
“I miss ‘old Charter’ and wish there was more competition.” –Joel of Hazelwood, Missouri
“Spectrum was the only service provider that offered anything faster than 100Mbps download.” –Sean Huntley of Glendale, California
“I miss ‘old Charter’ and wish there was more competition.” –Joel of Hazelwood, Missouri
Verizon Fios customers love the speed and reliability but sometimes find customer service frustrating.
Verizon Fios lacks very little in speed and stability.
“Its dependability and swiftness are unmatched and essential for my professional and everyday tasks,” says Laviet Joaquin, who uses Verizon Fios as marketing head of router manufacturer TP-Link.
“When downloading games, I’ve seen almost 500Mbps speeds, which I was impressed by,” says Darren Hansen, a Fios customer in Brooklyn, New York.
Although most Verizon Fios customers sing the provider’s praises, sometimes there are bumps with the customer service side.
“What makes [Verizon Fios] good is that the service is more reliable than anyone else, so I don't need to call as much,” says Reddit user lets_try_civility. “But when I do, whoa boy. It's a disaster.”
Here’s what customers have to say about Verizon Fios:
“No complaints about the service so far.” –Darren Hansen of Brooklyn, New York
“From reliability to performance, it’s everything you can expect.” –Thomas H. “...I don't need to call as much. But when I do, whoa boy. It's a disaster.” –Reddit user lets_try_civility
“From reliability to performance, it’s everything you can expect.” –Thomas H. “...I don't need to call as much. But when I do, whoa boy. It's a disaster.” –Reddit user lets_try_civility
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