T-Mobile makes internet easy and affordable with 5G technology, but it’s still not as fast as Cox’s cable internet service.
Cox vs. T-Mobile 5G: Home Internet Comparison Review
Best value
Overall Quality ⁃ 3.8/5
3.5/5 - Speed and reliability
3.7/5 - Dollar value
4.2/5 - Customer experience
Fast download speeds
Overall Quality ⁃ 3.6/5
3.8/5 - Speed and reliability
3.3/5 - Dollar value
3.8/5 - Customer experience 
8 min readCox offers super fast download speeds for big households with lots of devices, but the company’s prices are high, and customers are often dissatisfied with the service.
T-Mobile’s 5G internet service is a great alternative for those who want more bang for their buck. It is cheaper, simpler, and has higher customer service ratings than Cox. However, you can’t get the same speeds with T-Mobile as you can get with Cox’s cable internet service.
“Overall it’s pretty solid, especially if you don’t have other options. But online gaming is rough.” —Jordan Rivera, a T-Mobile 5G Home Internet customer in Las Vegas
While T-Mobile is a great option for many, especially those in rural areas with limited wired internet options, its performance can depend a lot on your location. If you’re close to a T-Mobile 5G tower then you can get faster, more reliable speeds.
Cox, on the other hand, offers a similar quality of service throughout its cable network, so you can get superfast speeds that are relatively reliable.
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Want to know if T-Mobile 5G Home Internet or Cox are available where you live? Run a search with your zip code below to find out.
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Cox vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Plans, pricing, and speed
| Provider | |  |
|---|---|---|
| Price per month |
$50-$160
|
$9.95-$150
|
| Download speeds | 72–245Mbps | 100-2000 Mbps |
| Upload speeds | 15–31Mbps | 5-100 Mbps |
| Details | View Plans | View Plans |
Data as of 04/05/2023. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.
T-Mobile’s internet service uses 5G technology to give users fast, wireless internet. It’s easy to install and available in many places where other options are limited. There are just two plans to choose from and both give you the same speeds of 72–245Mbps, which is plenty for streaming, gaming, and browsing on a few devices at once.
Cox’s internet service is mostly powered by cable technology, making it faster than T-Mobile’s service, but not as fast as other wired providers, like Google Fiber or AT&T Fiber. There are many plans to choose from, ranging in price from $50–$150 a month. There are no contracts and many customers report price hikes after the first year.
“Cox hasn't failed to provide me what I pay for.” – Peter Drennan-Hart
Cox vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: 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 Cox and T-Mobile Home 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 T-Mobile vs. Cox
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 Cox Internet review and T-Mobile Home Internet review.
Speed and reliability
Cox: 3.8/5.0 | T-Mobile: 3.5/5.0
Over the past year Cox delivered an average download speed of 160.347Mbps, according to results from our speed test. If you opt for one of Cox’s pricier plans, you could see speeds significantly faster than that, but even customers on the cheaper 100 or 250Mbps Cox plans will have enough bandwidth for streaming HD movies or Zooming into a work meeting.
Reliability with Cox is another question. For our standalone review of Cox internet, we interviewed Aaron LaBounty, a former Cox customer in Tulsa. He says, “The download and upload speeds varied wildly.” That’s not what you want to hear, especially from a wired internet provider like Cox.
T-Mobile’s internet service uses wireless 5G technology, which allows for speeds from 72–245Mbps. That means you’ll never be able to get the gigabit speeds that are possible with Cox. However, most everyday activities, like streaming and browsing on a couple of devices, should be fine with T-Mobile.
“Sometimes [when I’m] streaming NBA games at night, the picture looks a little fuzzy. But that might be due to me living in a slightly more rural part of North Carolina,” says Rick Francis, the T-Mobile customer in North Carolina. His statement reflects one big consideration for T-Mobile customers: Your speed depends a lot on your location.
Dollar value
Cox: 3.3/5.0 | T-Mobile: 3.7/5.0
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet makes it onto our list of the cheapest good internet providers. Cox, on the other hand, does not.
T-Mobile’s prices are designed to appeal to budget-conscious customers who want an alternative to cable and fiber internet. It offers a simple, fixed rate with no extra fees or contract requirements. You can even get $10 off your bill every month if you have an eligible T-Mobile wireless plan.
Cox’s prices are higher than those offered by similar cable internet providers, like Xfinity and Spectrum. Plus, the company often raises its prices after your initial year of service, which is frustrating. You might be able to get a slightly cheaper deal on Cox internet when you bundle the service with mobile, TV, or home phone service.
Customer experience
Cox: 3.8/5.0 | T-Mobile: 4.2/5.0
According to surveys, Cox is about average when it comes to keeping its customers happy. In our interview, Audrey, a Cox customer in Louisiana, laments. "The customer service representatives are a very mixed bag,” and says that often the company doesn’t always respond correctly to outages.
T-Mobile does much better. Not only is it ranked higher by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, but it also leads in HighSpeedInternet.com’s 2023 customer satisfaction survey.
“It’s always been easy to get to a real person on the phone when I call T-Mobile,” Steve Abbott, a T-Mobile customer who lives in a retirement community, tells us when interviewed for our standalone T-Mobile internet review. “I had some questions when I first set up my home internet connection, and the agent I talked to had no problem answering them.”
Overall quality: Which internet provider should you pick?
Cox: 3.5/5.0 | T-Mobile: 3.8/5.0
Cox offers fast download speeds for medium to large households with a lot of devices operating at the same time. However, its prices are higher than similar cable internet providers, and the company’s customer service leaves something to be desired.
T-Mobile’s speeds are its biggest downside. Even at the high end of the speed range, T-Mobile customers get around 250Mbps, which is plenty for small or medium sized households but not enough for super-users. But the company's low prices and amazing reputation among customers make it perfect for those who want a cheap, easy-to-set-up alternative to wired internet.
Cox vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: What deals and promotions can you get?
Most internet companies try to lure in new customers with a bunch of sweetheart deals and promotions. Not Cox. In fact, the company doesn’t have a single deal right now besides a $15 monthly discount for those who sign up for Cox Mobile.
But for those interested in T-Mobile, there are a few offers to sweeten the pot. Right now, you can get a $200 prepaid Mastercard when you sign up for 5G internet service and keep your plans active for 10 weeks. Plus, you can get $10–$20 off your monthly internet bill if you have a qualifying mobile plan.
Cox add-ons and perks
Sign up for unlimited data for an additional $49.99/mo.
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet add-ons and perks
Get 5G Home Internet free for 15 days. You get your money back if you decide not to keep it.
Get your last month of service for free if you get a price hike on your bill.
Customers with 5G Home Internet get free trials of the following streaming services:
- ViX Premium for 1 year
- SiriusXM Streaming for 6 mos.
- Pandora Premium for 4 mos.
Download the T-Mobile Tuesdays app to score weekly deals related to food, gas, and entertainment.
Cox vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: What do customers think?
In speaking with Cox customers across the country, we heard mixed reviews. Some customers think the company does a good enough job for the price. “It's pretty easy to set up and doesn't require any weird cabling,” says Isaac Chandler, a customer in Tulsa. He thinks that the prices are too high, but added that he sticks with Cox, “because I get everything I need with a minimum of fuss and bother.”
Another Cox customer, Peter Dennan-Hart, uses the company simply because, “Cox hasn't failed to provide me what I pay for.”
Other customers, like Paul from Oklahoma, are fed up with the company’s lousy ability to respond to their needs. "We still have obvious Cox lines down in our neighborhood,” Paul says, referring to an incident that happened last year when a dust storm hit his city.
“They didn't actually replace the cable so much as [string] new cable, and they left the old cable lines just dangling off poles onto the ground where they dropped." —Paul, a Cox customer in Oklahoma
The feedback we heard when we talked with customers for our T-Mobile 5G Home Internet review was more positive in general, but still mixed.
Dani Ruiz, a former T-Mobile Home Internet customer in Southern California, tells us, “T-Mobile was great as an in-between option” when he was waiting for Google Fiber lines to go up in his neighborhood. Still, he ended up switching once Google’s faster service was available.
Austin Aguirre, who lives in Tucson, Arizona, says that he has had a positive experience connecting his gaming consoles to the service for online gaming. “I've never experienced latency woes or lag outside of the norm while using T-Mobile as a primary gaming connection,” Aguirre says.
But, unlike Austin, Jordan Rivera, a T-Mobile customer in Las Vegas, has had difficulties with online gaming. “I honestly gave up trying to game on this internet … I would die before knowing anything hit me,” he says about his experience trying to play Apex Legends using T-Mobile internet (to be fair, that’s my experience playing Apex Legends even on superfast fiber internet).
“Took us from low-quality streaming on a single TV to being able to stream two different shows in two different rooms with high definition.” —Steve Abbott
Want Cox or T-Mobile 5G Home Internet? Find it in your area
Cox’s high speed internet is a decent option for big families, especially in areas that don’t have a fiber internet option (like AT&T, Google, or Verizon Fios), but you should definitely look for other, cheaper alternatives before signing up.
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is ideal for smaller households and is available throughout the country, even in rural areas where there are limited alternatives. But it just isn’t as fast as many wired internet options.
You can see all of the plans that Cox and T-Mobile offer at your address using this nifty zip code plan finder. Plus, you get to see plans from all the other providers in your area, making it easy to compare.
See all of the internet plans available in your area by putting your zip code in here.
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