CenturyLink internet plans and pricing
Data effective as of publish date. Pricing and speeds are subject to change. Not all offers available in all areas.
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CenturyLink Fiber Internet
If it’s available in your area, we recommend CenturyLink’s fiber internet plan. With download and upload speeds up to 940 Mbps, this plan will let you gobble (or reverse-gobble) a gigabyte of content in eight seconds. Also, there are no contracts for as long as you’re with CenturyLink.
We always recommend getting fiber internet if you can (your doctor recommends fiber and so do we), because you’ll get best-in-class upload and download speeds compared to cable or DSL internet. At $65 per month, CenturyLink Fiber Internet is also cheaper than most fiber internet plans that cost around $80 per month.
CenturyLink also offers a cheaper 100 Mbps fiber internet plan for $50 per month, but there’s little reason to downgrade. Once you add the 100 Mbps plan’s $15 monthly modem fee (which is waived on the 940 Mbps plan), you won’t be saving any money and you’ll also get slower internet performance. In certain markets, CenturyLink has upped this starting package to a 200 Mbps plan and lowered its price to $30 for the first year. The savings make it a slightly better deal, but we’d still consider CenturyLink’s 940 Mbps fiber plan to be a better overall value.
Although CenturyLink’s fiber internet plans are affordably priced, CenturyLink still has the same problem as a lot of fiber internet providers—the internet service provider’s (ISP) fiber network is still being rolled out.
If you’re in or near a major city with CenturyLink coverage, there’s a decent chance you can get fiber internet. But if you’re not? Then your only CenturyLink option will be the ISP’s Simply Unlimited Internet DSL plan.
Pro tip: You’ll need a modem and Wi-Fi router for CenturyLink internet. CenturyLink offers a combo modem/Wi-Fi router for $15 per month or you can buy it outright for $200. The combo device (usually called a gateway) is free if you get CenturyLink Fiber Internet.
You can also purchase your own modem to save on rental fees. Check out our CenturyLink combo modem-router guide to learn more about your hardware options.
Simply Unlimited Internet
To the fiber internet-deprived: DSL can still be workable. With maximum download speeds of 100 Mbps, Simply Unlimited Internet is 10x slower than fiber and its download/upload speeds aren’t equal.
But at $50 per month, the DSL plan still offers value if your house just needs the internet for occasional Netflix sessions, and you’re not doing things like daily video calls. We’re also fans of Simply Unlimited Internet’s unlimited data and no-contract pricing. You won’t have to worry about expensive data overage fees or a surprise price hike after your promotional rate ends.
Like with most DSL plans, your CenturyLink DSL options are going to depend on the area-availability goblin. For example, with Simply Unlimited Internet, you’ll get only one internet option that has the fastest speed available at your address. That means you might get a 100 Mbps plan, but you also might live in an area where CenturyLink can guarantee only “up to 1.5 Mbps.” (I do.) And that’s unfortunate.
We’d recommend Simply Unlimited Internet only if your address gets a download speed of at least 40 Mbps. At between 40 Mbps to 80 Mbps, your internet won’t be blazing fast, but you’ll be able to check your email or watch videos.
Simply Unlimited Internet can even be a deal if you’re lucky enough to have 100 Mbps download speeds at your address. At $50 per month for 100 Mbps, the DSL plan beats comparable flat-rate internet plans from Xfinity ($45/mo. for 50 Mbps) and Cox ($50/mo. for 25 Mbps). But if your address gets less than 40 Mbps from CenturyLink, you’ll be better off with a competing cable ISP.