Staff rating

4.2

Customer rating

4.0

(13)

Plans starting at $19.99

Download speeds up to 1200 Mbps

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Staff rating

3.6

Plans starting at $50.00

Download speeds up to 940 Mbps

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Staff rating

4.0

Customer rating

4.2

(5)

Plans starting at $59.95

Download speeds up to 100 Mbps

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See what providers service your area.

Staff rating

4.2

Astound Broadband offers very inexpensive internet at fast speeds

Top-notch customer service and shockingly low intro pricing make switching to one of Astound’s brands (Wave, RCN, Grande, or enTouch) an easy choice. Astound Broadband offers internet speeds varying from 300 Mbps to 1,500 Mbps. You can lock in a very low introductory rate for one to three years, starting at around $20 a month! Astound Broadband often offers extra perks when you sign up, like an Amazon gift card, a month of free service, and 50% off installation.

What we like

Award-winning service and speed
Low introductory prices
No contract required

What we dislike

Price increase after intro period

See full review

Savings tip: Astound Broadband often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.

Check deals

Staff rating

3.6

We were extremely impressed with Brightspeed’s prices—you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better deal on gigabit fiber internet. While its fiber coverage area is growing, it currently remains very small. Plus, it's a brand-new provider so there are still a lot of unknowns.

What we like

No data caps or contracts
Reasonable pricing
Good availability on DSL

What we dislike

Mostly limited to DSL
New, unproven company

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Savings tip: Brightspeed often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.

Check deals

Staff rating

4.0

Earthlink offers amazing customer experience at slightly more cost

If you're willing to pay a little bit more for an exceptional customer experience, EarthLink may be the right choice for your Internet service. EarthLink is an interesting Internet provider. Instead of serving internet through its own infrastructure, it partners with other internet providers to repackage their service, acting as a go-between. This means slightly higher prices, but EarthLink's superior customer experience delivers true value and peace of mind.

What we like

Wide availability
Amazing customer service
No price hikes

What we dislike

Premium prices
Plans vary greatly by area

See full review

Savings tip: EarthLink often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.

Check deals

Value

4.5

Lock-in a low price for 1–3 years

Astound Broadband offers very inexpensive DSL, cable, and fiber internet plans with at least three plan options and no data caps in most areas. Nearly all plans are priced under $50 for the first year.

For many Astound Broadband internet plans, you can get speeds up to 300 Mbps for as low as $20 a month with a three-year price lock. For speeds up to 1,000 Mbps, you may be eligible to get a deal for $20 a month for six months, and then $55 a month with a three-year price lock. Even after price increases, that's a deal. National benchmarks for similar plans are in the $130 range, so you’ll be getting a great deal. (1)

You can make the most of Astound Broadband's internet offers in a few ways. One, sign up for Astound internet online. Astound Broadband offers some deals exclusively online. Two, sign up for autopay and e-billing with Astound. When you use an automatic bank account, you'll save the most. You'll save a little less when you use an automated credit or debit card. Three, look at current deals Astound is offering. You can often find offers that include an Amazon gift card, one month of free internet, or 50% off installation, depending on your eligibility.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit

Astound Broadband's website

or call 1-844-443-5172 to speak with a rep.

See pricing

Value

4.0

Excellent fiber deals (and decent DSL)

Brightspeed is slowly building out a fiber network that offers a pretty great value at $65 per month for up to 940 Mbps. That’s just 7 cents per Mbps, which puts it right in line with top fiber providers like AT&T. Unfortunately, this fiber service is still not widely available.

Because Brightspeed’s fiber footprint is still fairly small, the vast majority of Brightspeed’s current service offerings are DSL. That means that you’re going to pay more money for less speed—it’s just the nature of the DSL beast.

The upshot is that Brightspeed’s DSL prices are actually pretty competitive, starting at $50 per month. With advertised speeds of up to 140 Mbps (but often lower, depending on where you live), that puts the provider at about 36 cents per Mbps. This, of course, falls far short of most cable and fiber providers.

Learn more about the differences between fiber and DSL internet.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit

Brightspeed's website

or call 1-833-438-0878 to speak with a rep.

See pricing

Value

5.0

High value and superior customer experience

You often get what you pay for, and that's the case with EarthLink. Although EarthLink offers slightly higher pricing, you get value for your dollar, and you may even end up paying less than you would with competitors in the long-run.

There’s no getting around it: EarthLink's face-value prices are almost always higher than the competition. Although, depending on the area you're in, the difference can be as little as a few dollars per month. EarthLink's slightly elevated price tag equates to some of the best customer service from an internet provider.

EarthLink doesn’t actually have its own internet infrastructure. Instead, it partners with other local DSL and fiber internet providers, like AT&T and Frontier, and EarthLink uses their infrastructure. This costs EarthLink money, and some of this naturally gets passed down to customers. In return, you’re promised a superior customer experience.

The other reason that EarthLink may offer slightly higher prices: it skips the introductory promotional pricing most internet service providers advertise. For example, when AT&T or Spectrum quote you a price, it’s often for an introductory period of 12 or 24 months. After that introductory period, the price may increase (sometimes dramatically). EarthLink doesn’t do this, which is a plus in our book. It means that EarthLink pricing is straightforward, without any hidden fees, complicated pricing structures, or gimmicks. This also means EarthLink may end up being slightly less expensive in the long-run if you intend to keep it for a couple of years.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit

EarthLink's website

or call 1-833-804-4930 to speak with a rep.

See pricing

Performance

4.5

Award-winning speed

Astound Broadband is very fast. That said, as with most ISPs, you may not experience the speeds advertised for your plan because speeds fluctuate based on numerous conditions.

With Astound, the speed on your plan is the “average” that customers see, so your speeds will vary depending on the gear you’re using, time of day, how many devices are using your Wi-Fi, and more. If you see persistent speed issues, Astound encourages you to call customer service to get help figuring out the issue.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-844-443-5172 to speak with a Astound Broadband rep or

go to its website.

Performance

4.0

Impressive fiber speeds

Impressive is definitely the right word to describe Brightspeed’s performance. The fiber service is excellent, with symmetrical speeds up to 940 Mbps. Symmetrical speed means the upload and download speeds are equal, which makes for much better overall performance compared to typical services where upload is significantly slower.

The DSL service is competitive with most other DSL providers, and seems to be fairly reliable—although we have heard some complaints of outages and interruptions. That said, it is DSL, so you’re only going to get limited speeds.

Our main concern with Brightspeed’s performance is simply how new the company is. It hasn’t had a chance to prove itself yet, and there may be growing pains as it builds out its fiber network. That said, we don’t expect many issues with DSL, since Brightspeed basically inherited the infrastructure directly from CenturyLink.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-833-438-0878 to speak with a Brightspeed rep or

go to its website.

Performance

4.0

Solid performance and fast speeds, but depends on area

EarthLink's performance is tough to rate. Because it is essentially reselling other providers’ services, the speed and reliability are highly dependent on which partners it uses in a given area.

That said, performance is generally good, and there are a wide range of high-speed internet plans available in most areas, so you can get exactly how much you need—up to 5 gigs in some places. Much of the service is fiber, which means performance is reliably consistent. Best of all, every plan has unlimited data, so whatever speed you opt for, you can use it without worry.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-833-804-4930 to speak with a EarthLink rep or

go to its website.

Equipment and installation

3.5

DIY or professional installation

You can rent a modem and one of two Wi-Fi routers from Astound, bringing your total monthly equipment costs between $17 and $27. For most people, the Whole Home Wi-Fi router option will be the right choice. It includes an eero mesh router and an extender, and you can add more extenders to ensure coverage throughout your entire home. This is a reliable Wi-Fi router that supports fast internet speeds, up to 1,500 Mbps!

You can get fancier equipment yourself, if you are a power internet user. Gamers and other heavy streamers can consider the Nighthawk Pro gaming router to reduce lag spikes and achieve more consistent speeds. This router can support speeds up to 5,400 Mbps! That's way more than what the typical household needs, but it's an option for tech heads and gamers.

To save money on equipment fees, you can use own gear or use Astound’s free self-setup option, which is available in most areas. Using DIY install, you'll pay just $10 to activate your service. Astound Broadband even offers detailed online instructions and videos to make it easy to DIY install. If you do want professional help or your home isn’t already properly wired, professional installation starts around $80, which is about average.

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Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on

Astound Broadband plans

available in your area.

View plans

Equipment and installation

3.5

Decent equipment and self-install options

Brightspeed installation is relatively straightforward. The professional installation has a $99 fee attached, which is pretty standard, but self-installation is free. You’ll probably have to go for the pro install with a fiber plan, since you’ll need an optical network terminal (ONT) installed.

For DSL service, you have a choice of professional installation or self-installation, though you can only self-install DSL service if you already have a phone jack in your home. If you don’t, a technician will have to come out and add one.

The equipment is also straightforward. You get a basic wireless gateway (a combination modem and router) that’ll get you online and handle the speeds for your plan. There are none of the mesh systems and other fancy extras some providers offer, but it’ll do the job. Equipment rental will run you $15 per month, which is fairly standard.

That’s kind of the theme with Brightspeed’s equipment and installation process. There’s nothing bad or out of the ordinary, but there’s also nothing particularly interesting or exciting about it.

Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on

Brightspeed plans

available in your area.

View plans

Equipment and Installation

2.5

Reasonably priced equipment, but varies by area

This is another category that’s tough to rate. Since EarthLink partners with other internet service providers (ISPs) to provide service, it doesn’t actually issue its own equipment. Instead, you’ll get equipment from whichever partner EarthLink uses in your area. The good news is that EarthLink does set the fees, and they’re reasonable: $9.95 per month.

It’s a similar story for installation—your service will be installed and set up by a rep from the partner company, not EarthLink itself. The installation fee is $79.95, which isn’t the highest we’ve seen. That said, we’d rather see installation included in the price, particularly since EarthLink’s overall prices tend to be on the high side. Self-install is available only in some service areas.

Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on

EarthLink plans

available in your area.

View plans

Customer experience

4.5

Award-winning customer service

Astound has (sorry in advance) astounding customer service. This company won fifth place in PCMag's Reader's Choice award in 2022 (2), and before it consolidated them under the Astound brand, Grande, Wave, RCN, and WOW! were all recognized in 2021 (3) and we can see why Astound is a fan favorite. You don't have to sign a contract if you don't want to, your plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and if your technician is late for your appointment, Astound will pay you $20 for the inconvenience. Put it all together, and you get a top-notch customer experience.

Visit Astound Broadband's website

or call 1-844-443-5172 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.

Go to provider

Customer experience

3.0

The great unknown

If one area will make or break Brightspeed, it’s customer experience. The provider got its start by acquiring a large number of DSL markets from CenturyLink, so a lot of customers had their internet service transition from one provider to another. A sudden shift in customer experience here could have been really bad.

Opinions of the service are quite mixed so far. Some customers seem to be having a fine experience, with no noticeable change from how things were with CenturyLink. Others have had a rockier transition, with major complaints about speed and customer service.

These types of reports may give you pause, but since the provider is new and the transition from CenturyLink is still happening, things may improve.

Visit Brightspeed's website

or call 1-833-438-0878 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.

Go to provider

Customer Experience

4.5

EarthLink provides a surprisingly exceptional customer service.

Customer service is where EarthLink really shines. The company claims to prioritize customer service and experience, and users seem to agree. The company actually ranks first in some user-driven surveys of internet satisfaction, beating out providers like AT&T and Verizon, despite the slightly higher prices.

From a practical standpoint, it seems that EarthLink representatives are friendlier, more helpful, and more knowledgeable than those we’ve dealt with at other companies. However, we've seen reports that in some places, customer service is handled by the end provider instead, resulting in worse customer service.

Visit EarthLink's website

or call 1-833-804-4930 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.

Go to provider

Made up your mind?

Find out what providers are available near you.

Astound Broadband

4.0

(13)

5 Star

23%

4 Star

54%

3 Star

23%

2 Star

1 Star

Paulfrom Catasauqua, PA

Astound Broadband Customer for 4+ years

Reviewed on: 6-24-2022

I think they charge much too much for their dservice. Lower prices

Juliefrom Passaic, NJ

Astound Broadband Customer for 8+ years

Reviewed on: 6-24-2022

I hope the Internet speed is faster and the price is lower

Margaretfrom New York, NY

Astound Broadband Customer for 1+ years

Reviewed on: 6-17-2022

Astound 5G wifi have increased the speed from my previous internet. I was very happy with the promotion price at $39.99 but when my contract expired my payments doubled. With the spottiness and occasional dropped connections each month, I don't see the value I am paying for.

Lynfrom Somerville, MA

Astound Broadband Customer for 1+ years

Reviewed on: 6-17-2022

I am satisfied with my Astound (formally RCN) service. The signal is consistent. I have no suggestions for improvement.

Brightspeed

0.0

(0)

5 Star

4 Star

3 Star

2 Star

1 Star

EarthLink

4.2

(5)

5 Star

40%

4 Star

40%

3 Star

20%

2 Star

1 Star

Marstonfrom Brooklyn , NY

EarthLink Customer for 4+ years

Reviewed on: 4-4-2023

Earthlink is good internet, but not better than anyone else. I haven't had problems, but I don't expect to have problems.

Jerryfrom Elkin, NC

EarthLink Customer for 8+ years

Reviewed on: 3-14-2023

Earthlink has been pretty good for what I use it for. It's a little expensive but not bad

J.J.from Dominguez, CA

EarthLink Customer for 1+ years

Reviewed on: 8-29-2022

been an ok provider so far. nothing outstanding, nothing to complain about.

Veronica from Macon, GA

EarthLink Customer for Less than a year

Reviewed on: 8-29-2022

Fast internet service, cloud storage

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Endnotes and sources

“2022 Urban Rate Survey – Fixed Broadband Service,” FCC. Accessed 9 December 2022.
“Readers’ Choice 2022: Your Favorite ISPs for Any Type of Broadband,” PCMag. Accessed 9 December 2022.
“Readers’ Choice 2021: Internet Service Providers,” PCMag. Accessed 9 December 2022.

Endnotes and sources