As a senior, you have enough to handle every day: You need to keep up with the grandkids, watch the local news, get groceries, and follow the latest Facebook group updates. Who has time to deal with internet and TV shopping on top of that?
Considering Optimum has a mountain of internet, phone, and TV plans, I wouldn’t blame you if the prospect of browsing through all of them to choose the right ones makes you wake up in a cold sweat. (What’s worse than your grandkids waiting for Disney+ to finish loading?)
To take some stress off your shoulders, I investigated every Optimum deal and service plan under the sun. Whether you need basic internet or a full-service bundle, here are the best Optimum internet, TV, and phone plans for seniors.
Optimum’s best internet plan for seniors
| Internet package | Price* | Download speeds | Upload speeds up to | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optimum 300 | $40.00/mo. | 300 Mbps | 20 Mbps (cable), 300 Mbps (fiber) | View Plan |
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*w/ $10/mo. elig. Auto Pay & Paperless Bill. Wired connection. WiFi speeds may vary. Not available in all areas.
If you’re a senior searching for Optimum internet, my recommendation for the best Optimum internet plan is Optimum 300. It’s the provider’s cheapest internet plan, but with 300 Mbps download speeds, your household will have enough internet speed to handle YouTube watching and grandkid nights without breaking a sweat.
Does your neighborhood have Optimum fiber internet coverage? If so, you’ll pay the same rate for internet and benefit from upload speeds that are 15x faster than Optimum cable internet.
Need even cheaper internet? Optimum’s Advantage program offers modest 50 Mbps download speeds for a subsidized price of only $14.99 monthly. However, your household needs to be enrolled in an eligible government assistance program, or you need to have a child attending a New York City public school while living in New York City.
Optimum’s FASTPASS program also offers 100 Mbps internet speeds for only $25.00 monthly, but availability varies heavily depending on where you live. Read our Low-Income Internet Guide to learn more.
Optimum’s best TV plan for seniors
| TV package | Price† | Channel count | Popular channels | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core TV | $100.00/mo. | 125+ | HGTV, ESPN, Disney Channel |
|
Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
†Offer for new residential customers. Advertised price OFFER for new Optimum residential customers with eligible Internet plan. Rates are subject to change at any time with advanced notice. Advertised price reflects $5 discount for enrolling in Auto Pay & Paperless Billing, must maintain both to keep discount.
First, we have a disclaimer: If you’re relatively comfortable with technology like a Roku or Google TV, we’d recommend pairing your Optimum internet service with a streaming TV service like YouTube TV instead of an Optimum TV plan.
Optimum’s basic cable TV plans start at $100.00/mo., so you’ll be paying much more monthly on Optimum compared to a streaming service for a similar amount of basic cable channels. (To learn more about cord-cutting, check out our Cable vs. Streaming Guide.)
If you’d still prefer to stick with Optimum, we’d recommend Core TV as Optimum’s best TV plan for seniors. Although it won’t come cheap with its three-figure price tag, you’ll still get a full slate of basic cable channels like Disney Channel, ESPN, and Food Network.
(Optimum’s Basic TV plan is limited to broadcasters like ABC and NBC. We’d recommend it only if you need to have Optimum’s TV hardware, because you can watch these channels for free with an over-the-air antenna.)
Need phone service? Optimum offers two phone options for customers: Optimum Voice is its landline phone service, while Optimum Mobile’s 1 GB plan offers dirt-cheap cell phone service with nationwide coverage.
Visit our Optimum bundles guide and Optimum Mobile review to learn more.
Does Optimum have senior discounts?
As with other ISPs, Optimum doesn’t offer senior discounts for any of its service plans. But seniors or veterans who receive public assistance through programs like Supplemental Security Income may qualify for Optimum Advantage Internet, which offers discounted internet for only $14.99/mo.
Visit our full Optimum deals guide to learn about Optimum’s current deals for new customers.
Why you should trust us
Our internet experts have spent hundreds of hours testing and researching Optimum as part of our regular streaming service, internet, and TV coverage. For this service guide, I drew from our existing Optimum reviews, research, and deals coverage to highlight the best Optimum plan options for seniors. Key factors I prioritized included cost, channel count, and value for senior needs.
Check out our How We Rank page to learn more about our methods.
