Spectrum vs. Frontier
Spectrum has the upper hand in availability, but Frontier’s fiber is your fastest option if you can get it.
Best for speed
- Customer rating: 3.6
- Price: $49.99–$89.99/mo.
- Max speed: 300–1,000 Mbps (wireless speeds may vary)
- Internet type: Cable
- Data cap: No data cap
- Contract: No contract
Best for affordability
- Customer rating: N/A
- Price: $49.99–$149.99/mo.
- Max fiber speed: 500–2,000 Mbps
- Internet type: DSL, fiber
- Data cap: No data cap
- Contract: 1-year fiber contract
Data as of 5/12/22. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Compare Spectrum and Frontier head to head
Spectrum and Frontier primarily address two different markets: Spectrum provides cable internet and Frontier supplies mostly DSL internet. Frontier has fiber too, but its availability is extremely limited. Go with Frontier fiber if you can get it, as it’s faster and cheaper in the long term.
Pros and cons: Spectrum vs. Frontier
Pros:
Pros:- Good performance
- No modem rental fee
Cons:
Cons:- Expensive after a year
- Extra charge for WiFi
Pros:
- Affordable DSL plan
- Available in rural areas
- Fast fiber
Cons:
- Limited fiber availability
- High fees
- No cable internet
Plans and pricing: Spectrum vs. Frontier
Spectrum and Frontier have a simplified lineup. Because they deliver different types of internet connections, Spectrum cable internet provides faster speeds when compared to DSL.
Both companies offer a plan capable of up to 940 Mbps—although Frontier’s is fiber and Spectrum’s is cable. But Frontier’s Fiber Gig and Fiber 2 Gig plans are extremely limited in availability, while Spectrum’s Internet Gig cable internet service is more accessible.
Spectrum plans and pricing
| Package | Price | Speed | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum Internet® | $49.99/mo. for 12 mos.† | Up to 300 Mbps (wireless speeds may vary) | View Plan |
| Spectrum Internet Ultra® | $69.99/mo. for 12 mos.† | Up to 500 Mbps (wireless speeds may vary) | View Plan |
| Spectrum Internet Gig® | $89.99/mo. for 12 mos.‡ | Up to 1,000 Mbps (wireless speeds may vary) | View Plan |
Frontier plans and pricing
| Package | Price | Speed | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Internet (DSL) | $49.99/mo. w/Auto Pay & Paperless Bill* | N/A | View Plan |
| Frontier Fiber Internet 500 | $49.99/mo. w/Auto Pay & Paperless Bill✝ | Up to 500 Mbps | View Plan |
| Frontier Fiber Gig | $74.99/mo. w/Auto Pay & Paperless Bill# | Up to 940 Mbps | View Plan |
| Frontier Fiber 2 Gig | $149.99/mo. w/Auto Pay & Paperless Bill‡ | Up to 2,000 Mbps | View Plan |
Deals and promotions: Spectrum vs. Frontier
Get a free, 90-day trial of Peacock Premium when you sign up for a qualifying internet plan.
You’ll get $5 off your monthly bill when you set up online autopay.
Extra fees: Spectrum vs. Frontier
| Equipment Fee | Installation Fee | Other Fees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum |
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| Frontier |
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* Free for a limited time.
† When you order service online.
Other than the WiFi charge, Spectrum doesn’t tack on a lot of extra fees. Even if you cancel your service before the 12-month promotional pricing period ends, Spectrum won’t penalize you with an early termination fee.
Frontier charges $85 to activate DSL service but waives the fee for fiber. There’s also no equipment fee—Frontier raised the prices to cover the cost. New to Frontier’s list of other fees is the monthly charge for a paper bill, which began in April 2022.
Customer ratings: Spectrum vs. Frontier
| Overall Rating | Reliability Rating | Customer Service Rating | Speed Rating | Price Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum (2021) | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.2 |
| Frontier (2020) | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
Spectrum ranked lower in our annual customer satisfaction survey than it did in the previous year. Its largest declines were in speed satisfaction and reliability. However, 87% of those surveyed confirmed that their speeds usually or always met their needs. On reliability, 67% of respondents said they “never” or “not often” experienced outages.
Our survey for 2021 didn’t have enough respondents to add Frontier to the list. However, Frontier did well in the previous year, scoring 4.0 in speed satisfaction and 3.8 in reliability, outranking Spectrum’s current scores. Both providers saw low scores in pricing no matter the year, indicating that customers weren’t completely satisfied with the price of their internet plan or bundle.
Best TV and internet bundles
| Package | Internet speed | TV channels | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum Internet (up to 300 Mbps) + TV Select | Up to 300 Mbps (wireless speeds may vary) | 125+ | $99.98/mo. for 12 mos.‡ | View Bundles |
| Spectrum Internet Ultra + TV Select | Up to 500 Mbps (wireless speeds may vary) | 125+ | $119.98/mo. for 12 mos.‡ | View Bundles |
| Frontier 500 Mbps + DISH America’s Top 120 | Up to 500 Mbps | 190 | $119.98/mo.* | View Bundles |
| Fiber 500 Mbps + DISH America’s Top 120+ | Up to 500 Mbps | 190+ | $134.98/mo.† | View Bundles |
* Internet price per month for 12 mos. Taxes, surcharges, one-year agreement, early termination fee, and one-time charge apply. Max speeds are wired. Wi-Fi, actual & average speeds vary. TV price for new and qualifying former customers only. All offers require credit qualification, 2-year commitment with early termination fee and eAutoPay.
† Internet w/ Auto Pay & Paperless Bill. Per month for 24 mos. One-time charges apply. Max speeds are wired. Wi-Fi, actual & average speeds vary. TV price for new and qualifying former customers only. All offers require credit qualification, 2-year commitment with early termination fee and eAutoPay.
‡ 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.
Frontier currently doesn’t offer a TV service for new customers. Instead, the company partnered with DISH to provide DSL and satellite TV bundles. Both bundles include local channels and start you with a three-month trial of the DISH Movie Pack™ Online TV service, which usually costs $30 per month.
Spectrum doesn’t have discounted bundles. Instead, you can pair its TV Select service with one of its three cable internet plans. Both services have a discount for the first 12 months, but all premium channels are extra. You’ll also see a broadcasting surcharge of up to $20 per month.
Internet types: Spectrum vs. Frontier
| Internet type | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Fiber, cable | View Plans |
| Frontier | Fiber, DSL | View Plans |
Spectrum offers cable internet, which relies on coaxial cable that’s typically already installed in homes and apartments. Cable internet providers like Spectrum and Xfinity currently limit their speeds to around 1,000 Mbps.
Frontier’s primary market is digital subscriber line (DSL) internet, which uses telephone wires that are usually installed in homes and apartments. DSL is a slower alternative to cable internet.
Frontier’s ace up the sleeve is its fiber internet service, however. While limited in availability, fiber-optic cables provide symmetrical upload and download speeds—that means you can watch a YouTube video just as fast as you can upload one.
In contrast, coaxial cable connections provided by Spectrum have fast download speeds but extremely slow uploads. If you often transfer large files to the cloud, Frontier’s Fiber Internet 500 and Fiber Gig plans would be ideal.
Data caps: Spectrum vs. Frontier
| Data Cap | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | No cap | View Plans |
| Frontier | No cap | View Plans |
With Spectrum and Frontier, you won’t see data caps like other internet providers. You get unlimited data, which translates to no monthly overage fees and no monthly charges for unrestricted access. They also don’t intentionally throttle your connection, no matter how much you download—the data spigot remains wide open every month.
Contracts: Spectrum vs. Frontier
| Contract length | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Spectrum |
| View Plans |
| Frontier |
| View Plans |
Spectrum doesn’t enforce a contract. Instead, it offers a discount for the first 12 months. But even though prices go up after that, customers can cancel internet service after one month without penalty.
Frontier’s DSL service doesn’t appear to have a contract. However, all three fiber plans require a one-year agreement. Discounted pricing for the Fiber Internet 500 and Fiber Gig plans end after 12 and 36 months, respectively—there’s no discount with the Fiber 2 Gig plan. A two-year commitment comes into play when you bundle Frontier Internet with DISH.
Methodology
Our HighSpeedteck.com editorial team bases our analyses on customer input from our annual customer satisfaction survey, results from our speed test tool, and proprietary internet provider data on speeds and pricing. To strengthen our research, we look closely at provider contracts to get hard-to-find information on price hikes, data caps, and extra fees, and we keep tabs on the latest news reports and online reviews. When applicable, we also rely on our personal experiences testing these services.
Additional resources
- AT&T vs. Spectrum
- DSL vs. Fiber Internet: Which One Is Right for You?
- DSL vs. Cable: Which Is Right for You?
- Xfinity vs. Spectrum
- Xfinity vs. Frontier
Sources
1. Frontier Communications, “Get Ready for Your Safety-First Appointment.” Accessed May 4, 2021.
2. Frontier Communications, “Before the Public Utilities Commission of the State of California,” December 24, 2020. Accessed May 4, 2021.
3. Frontier Communications. “Frontier Delivers Record Operational Results as It Becomes a Fiber-First Company,” February 23, 2022. Accessed March 18, 2022.
Disclaimer
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