Spectrum Pricing: Are You Paying Too Much?

From home internet and cell phones to broadcasting Los Angeles Dodgers games, Spectrum’s deep service catalog reflects its status as one of the nation’s biggest telecom providers. Once its acquisition of Cox is wrapped up, it’ll also become the nation’s largest internet service provider (ISP).
In the face of Spectrum’s recent headlines, what does that mean for customers and their monthly bills? As part of CableTV.com’s annual Customer Satisfaction Survey series, we interviewed hundreds of real Spectrum internet and TV customers nationwide to see what they think about their service costs. On top of that, we’ve spent years tracking Spectrum costs as part of our coverage of Spectrum TV and internet pricing.

Are Spectrum’s prices higher or lower than they should be? Keep on reading to find out more.

How much does Spectrum TV and internet cost?

Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Spectrum keeps things simple for shoppers with only four cable TV and internet plans. On the internet side, Spectrum’s pricing is precisely average, with rates starting at $50 monthly, but it also offers generous 500 Mbps starting download speeds. Xfinity’s comparable packages are generally slower and cheaper, though both providers charge the same for their Gig plans.

Spectrum’s cable TV plans are pricier, but for better or worse, they’re also right in line with competitors like Xfinity and Optimum. That said, you’ll also get larger channel counts with Spectrum, including networks like FX and the Magnolia Network.

For cord-cutters, Spectrum’s also the latest provider to get into the streaming game with Spectrum TV Stream, its internet-native TV plan. While TV Stream has a relatively modest 85+ channel count, its reasonable pricing and straightforward setup helped it blow out the competition in this year’s TV Customer Satisfaction Survey.

Has Spectrum increased its internet and TV prices?

Although Spectrum’s never had a widely available budget internet plan, it’s kept its starting internet pricing remarkably consistent. The ISP hasn’t moved off its $50 starting monthly rate for several years and even upped its minimum download speeds in 2024. (That said, Spectrum also uses promotional pricing to hike its internet prices, though you can lock down your internet rate for up to three years with a Spectrum service bundle.)

But Spectrum’s TV rates are a much different story. As with other TV providers, Spectrum’s rates have gone up to cover skyrocketing operating costs. It’s also far from alone here, as $100 is the floor for a basic cable or satellite TV package on most providers. Spectrum TV Stream’s 85+ channel lineup isn’t gigantic, but as its survey scores showed, most customers are willing to trade a few channels for a much lower bill. (And, at $45.00/mo., it’s a helluva lot cheaper than streamers like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV.)

What do customers think of Spectrum’s prices?

As part of our annual internet and cable TV Customer Satisfaction surveys, we talk to hundreds of Spectrum customers to understand how they feel about their service.

Spectrum’s starting internet prices have remained steady, but thanks to factors like its second-year price increase and lack of a widely available budget plan, its price satisfaction scores were generally middling. We consider 70% to be a passing approval mark, though Spectrum was a hair behind Xfinity and ahead of Cox and Optimum in this section.

The survey split between Spectrum’s cable TV and Stream plans reflects how much customers have come to value cord-cutting.

For starters, TV Stream swept the entire category, and Verizon Fios was the only other provider to consistently crack the 70% approval mark. By comparison, Spectrum’s cable TV price satisfaction was middle-tier and typically fell behind competitors like Cox and Xfinity.

Spectrum’s prices compared to inflation

Spectrum’s starting internet price has stayed fairly steady against inflation over time. The ISP saved most of its price cuts for its higher-end gigabit plan, which dropped from $109.99 per month in 2022 to $70.00 per month now. This is in line with broader telco trends that generally treat internet pricing like a set utility.

However, Spectrum’s TV pricing is a different story. Spectrum’s aggressive price hikes widened its value gap against inflation, and play a big part in why its cable TV customers feel they’re not getting a great deal on TV service.

That said, Spectrum TV Stream customers clearly feel like they’re getting a deal on their service. As Spectrum absorbs Cox into its network, we’ll be interested to see if the joint provider can improve its middling price satisfaction scores for its cable TV customers or further lean into streaming.