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Hargray vs. Mediacom vs. Rise Broadband Internet plan comparison


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Headshot of Dave Schafer
Researched by
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Reviewed by
Bri FieldAssigning Editor
Updated 6/24/24

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Hargray
Staff rating
3.7
Customer rating
3.5
(2)

  • Plans starting at $20.00
  • Download speeds up to 1000 Mbps
Xtream by Mediacom brand
Staff rating
3.3
Customer rating
3.3
(18)

  • Plans starting at $24.99
  • Download speeds up to 1000 Mbps
Rise Broadband
Staff rating
3.0
Customer rating
4.0
(1)

  • Plans starting at $25.00
  • Download speeds up to 1000 Mbps
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Hargray
Staff rating
3.7

Solid, well-priced internet for most households

Hargray is a good buy for most families willing to commit to at least a year of service, but its steep setup costs and early termination fees mean canceling too soon will cost you big. Meanwhile, YouTube creators wanting high-performance fiber internet should move on.

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What we like

  • Great service
  • Low price for the speed
  • Low equipment rental costs
What we dislike

  • Steep early termination fees
  • Underutilized fiber network
  • High installation costs
Savings tip: Hargray often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.
Check deals
Xtream by Mediacom brand
Staff rating
3.3

Reliable, fast internet, but watch for fees

Mediacom offers a decent overall experience, with fast speeds and modern Wi-Fi gear. However, big rate hikes, a hefty installation cost, and lots of small fees bring the rating down.

What we like

  • Nice selection of plans
  • Very low initial prices
  • Solid availability
What we dislike

  • Contract required
  • Regular price increases
  • No unlimited data option
Savings tip: Mediacom often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.
Check deals
Rise Broadband
Staff rating
3.0

Rise Broadband brings good speeds and great prices to rural customers

Rise Broadband offers competitive fixed wireless speeds at reasonable prices for rural customers. While it won’t compete with your typical fiber or cable internet service, it offers a compelling alternative to satellite.


What we like

  • Strong rural availability
  • More data than satellite
  • Low latency
What we dislike

  • Limited speeds
  • weather can impact service
Savings tip: Rise Broadband often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.
Check deals
Hargray
Value
2.5
For the average household, it’s a great deal

Overall, Hargray offers a lot of speed for the price, and all plans come with unlimited data, which made us do happy dances. For the best deal (AKA the lowest price-to-speed ratio), stick with one of Hargray’s slowest plans—which are fast enough for most households anyway. This company’s 100 and 200 Mbps plans come in at just 45% of what most plans in the US cost, while its 1 Gig plans cost around 85% of the national benchmark (1).

Higher-speed plans also come with another downside: while Hargray boasts a fiber network, people who upload a lot of video will lament its slow (for fiber) upload speeds. In short, Hargray’s a great deal for most people, but if top performance is important to you, save your happy dance for another provider.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit
Hargray's website
or call 1-877-427-4729 to speak with a rep.
See pricing
Xtream by Mediacom brand
Value
4.0
Excellent initial value, but heavy price hikes hurt the rating

Rating Mediacom’s value requires a long-term mindset. When you first sign up, the prices are extremely low—possibly the best on the market. Some come in at just 20% of the national benchmark, if you opt for paperless billing and autopay (1). However, each year, your cost gradually increases until it reaches a “standard value” (usually after three years). These prices are less exciting: you’ll end up paying roughly double what you initially signed up for. Depending on the length of your contract term, you may be able to jump ship before the price gets too high, but this might be too much effort for some.

Now, to be fair, many internet service providers (ISPs) do this (with a few notable exceptions, like CenturyLink). Mediacom is also pretty transparent about these price hikes and when you can expect them. However, the low starting prices here make the increases feel worse than they are, and that’s not great.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit
Mediacom's website
or call 1-844-716-2788 to speak with a rep.
See pricing
Rise Broadband
Value
3.0
Much better value than satellite, but won't compete with traditional cable or fiber

Rise Broadband is a tough service to rate because it’s not your typical ISP. Rise Broadband provides what’s known as fixed wireless service, which means the signal is beamed from a tower wirelessly to your home (rather than running through cable or fiber lines). It’s also generally aimed more at rural areas where cable lines don’t exist. This means it primarily competes with satellite internet and DSL. All this has to be taken into account when considering value.

So, where does Rise stand? Compared to DSL and satellite, it’s an outstanding value. It offers better performance and higher data allowances (with an unlimited data add-on available) than satellite and DSL, and at significantly lower prices. That said, if you’re in an area that has a cable or fiber option, you may find that those providers offer more for your money.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit
Rise Broadband's website
or call 1-844-719-8068 to speak with a rep.
See pricing
Hargray
Performance
4.5
Fast enough speeds for most, but we shed a tear for the unused potential

Hargray uses a fiber optic network, which is much more reliable than satellite or fixed wireless (like 5G) internet. Fiber is also capable of faster speeds (up to 5 Gigs for both download and upload) than any other kind of internet.

Unfortunately, Hargray isn’t using its fiber network to its fullest extent. Its fastest speed is only 1 gig, which most cable internet companies offer. It’s kinda bumming us out, like a straight-B student who could totally ace the class if only they’d apply themselves more. But the real bummer is that Hargray gives you only 20–50 Mbps for uploading, which is great but nowhere close to the symmetrical ideal that fiber can deliver. While most people will love how quickly they can upload a file to Google Drive or post to their Insta account, we think it’s a tragic underutilization of fiber technology. We know. #FirstWorldProblems.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-877-427-4729 to speak with a Hargray rep or
go to its website.
Xtream by Mediacom brand
Performance
4.0
Solid performance, but no unlimited data is a bummer

We have no major complaints about Mediacom’s performance. There’s a range of plans available (up to 1 Gbps), so you can find something to suit whatever your needs are. We do have a couple of small gripes, though.

First, there are data caps on all internet plans, with no unlimited data option. The lowest-tier package has a cap of just 350 GB, which is pretty harsh, given the average person uses 536 GB per month (2). The middle-tier internet plans have 1.5 and 3 TB limits, and that's better—this should be plenty for most users and is in line with most other providers that have data caps.

The 1 Gbps plan bumps data caps up to 6 TB, which is effectively unlimited for most use cases, although a household streaming in 4K could theoretically max this one out, too. Going over the cap costs $10 per 50 GB, which, again, is in line with other providers charging overage fees.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-844-716-2788 to speak with a Mediacom rep or
go to its website.
Rise Broadband
Performance
3.0
Better performance than other rural options

Performance-wise, Rise Broadband offers solid speeds—with the caveat that we’re comparing internet options in rural areas here. Most coverage areas have a choice of 25 Mbps and 50 Mbps plans, and some select areas have up to 100 Mbps available. These speeds would be pretty bad in areas with more options. However, if you’re considering fixed wireless, you probably don’t have many more options.

Compared to a satellite provider like Viasat, these speeds are about average—maybe even a little slow. However, fixed wireless like Rise won’t suffer from the huge latency of satellite internet, which makes it much more usable for gaming and other real-time tasks. Rise should handle HD streaming in a small household without too much trouble. You can optionally add unlimited data for an extra $10 per month, which makes a big difference without making the price unreasonable.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-844-719-8068 to speak with a Rise Broadband rep or
go to its website.
Hargray
Equipment and installation
3.0
Low-cost equipment rentals, high-cost installation

Hargray’s equipment rental prices are super reasonable. You can rent a modem for just $4 per month, which makes the hassle of using your own gear a lot less appealing. Unless, of course, you’re a technophile who has a favorite modem (more power to you!). You can use most modems. Hargray’s Wi-Fi gear is also inexpensive, coming in at $10 per month. The price includes at least two extenders and free Wi-Fi setup to make sure your signal is dialed. That’s a sweet deal.

The rest of your internet installation will cost you, though. Professional installation costs around $100. Self-setup is technically free, but you have to cough up a $99 activation fee. The activation fee is refundable after your first year of service, but it still hurts, and you’ll probably forget you have a refund coming long before it hits your account anyway. Still, with self-setup, you’ll get to skip the dreaded installation appointment window, so it might still be worth it.

Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on
Hargray plans
available in your area.
View plans
Xtream by Mediacom brand
Equipment and installation
3.0
Equipment is excellent, but the installation fee is steep

Mediacom offers a home networking combo called Xtream WiFi360pro. It uses a cable modem and eero Pro 6 mesh routers to ensure coverage over your whole house. The cost is $10 per month for a pair of routers, and you can add additional units for $6 each if needed.

Installation is less exciting. A professional installation and an activation fee will cost you around $120 total, and there’s no option to do it yourself. The fees can sometimes be waived with certain promotions—we recommend shopping around for one or asking a sales rep because these are steep.

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Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on
Mediacom plans
available in your area.
View plans
Rise Broadband
Equipment and installation
3.0
Surprisingly great Wi-Fi equipment—watch out for that installation fee, though

Rise Broadband offers surprisingly competitive equipment. The provider offers the TP-Link Deco M4 mesh system, which can easily cover an entire large home. Customers can choose to rent up to three of the devices for $5 more per month each, so you can save a little money if you don’t need the full range of all three routers.

Rise Broadband’s installation fee is a whopping $150. That’s one of the highest of any providers we’ve seen. However, many promotions waive this fee. If you can’t find one in your area, it’s also worth asking the sales rep about it—you never know.

Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on
Rise Broadband plans
available in your area.
View plans
Hargray
Customer experience
5.0
Inexpensive technician visits and top-notch premium service plan

Hargray has two levels of customer service (2), and they’re both pretty solid. The first is what you’d expect: you pay full price for all technician visits ($65) and the cost of any repairs, troubleshooting, or installation of new wires and jacks. Other than the cost of work done, there’s no additional charge for this service level.

If connection issues make you nervous or you want Hargray’s highest level of service, you might want to spring for Hargray’s Connected Home Plan for about $6 per month. With that, you’re covered for repairs of common equipment, like wiring, jacks, and splitters—whether the damage was caused by you or an act of God. For services that aren’t fully covered (like learning how to use your Hargray modem or troubleshooting your own router) you pay just $35 per visit.

Visit Hargray's website
or call 1-877-427-4729 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.
Go to provider
Xtream by Mediacom brand
Customer experience
2.5
Lots of fees add up to a so-so experience

The Mediacom customer experience is decent overall. The provider scores a bit below average on customer satisfaction surveys like the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) (3), but overall, the service itself is fine. Speeds are solid and reliable, the Wi-Fi equipment is good, and the prices are competitive (at least initially).

Our biggest knock against Mediacom is the tremendous amount of small fees the company hits you with. In addition to the equipment and installation fees already mentioned, the company charges one-time fees for activation, early termination of your contract, and “Wi-Fi certification” (whatever that means). There’s a fee every time you have a technician come out for service. All these fees add up and can really sour the experience over time.

Visit Mediacom's website
or call 1-844-716-2788 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.
Go to provider
Rise Broadband
Customer experience
3.0
Drastically improved experience compared to satellite internet, but still suffers from some weather-related interference

The customer experience with Rise Broadband is good overall. It offers solid speeds at a great price—if you’re coming from satellite, it’ll be a whole new world. Our one major gripe isn’t so much with Rise as it is with fixed wireless in general: it’s more susceptible to weather interference than most other types of internet. If you’re in an area with frequent heavy rain or snow, you might have some reliability issues (although satellite would likely have the same issues, too).

Multiple customers have noted that speeds fluctuate throughout the year, possibly due to network congestion followed by maintenance and new infrastructure to accommodate the additional traffic. Unfortunately, your experience may be hindered by limited self-help troubleshooting options if you have any issues.

Visit Rise Broadband's website
or call 1-844-719-8068 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.
Go to provider
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Hargray
3.5
(2)
5 Star
0%
4 Star
50%
3 Star
50%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
B
Brian Hillfrom Newark, NJ
Hargray Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 11-14-2022
I have been with them for a good few years. They have been professional and have done good work. My internet is the fastest it has ever been.
E
Earlfrom Danielson, CT
Hargray Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 8-29-2022
They are always there when i want to use them but the price is a bit too high
Mediacom
3.2
(18)
5 Star
6%
4 Star
50%
3 Star
22%
2 Star
11%
1 Star
11%
M
Meganfrom Bay Minette , Al
Mediacom Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 6-22-2022
Better options in the area. My area cannot withstand some of the top options that I would happily pay for if it were available in my area.
A
Anjifrom Havana, FL
Mediacom Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 6-22-2022
They charge alot for service not to work all the time. Customer service is awful and no help at all.
V
Veronicafrom Leesburg, GA
Mediacom Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 6-17-2022
Lower their price. They are the nay provider
R
Richardfrom Poplar Grove, IL
Mediacom Customer for Less than a year
Reviewed on: 6-17-2022
It's too early to tell. We had issues at the beginning, but they seem to be getting better
Rise Broadband
4.0
(1)
5 Star
0%
4 Star
100%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
S
Sandyfrom Nyc, Ny
Rise Broadband Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 8-29-2022
It's ok the speed could be better
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Endnotes and sources
1. “2022 Urban Rate Survey – Fixed Broadband Service,” FCC. Accessed 12 December 2022.2. "Connected Home Plan," Hargray. Accessed 12 December 2022
Endnotes and sources
1. “2022 Urban Rate Survey – Fixed Broadband Service,” FCC. Accessed 15 December 2022.2. "Broadband Insights Report (OVBI)," OpenVault. Accessed 15 December 2022.3. “Internet Service Providers,” American Customer Satisfaction Index. Accessed 15 December 2022.
Endnotes and sources