How to Save Money on Your Home Internet Bill

Regardless of which internet plan type you have, there are some ways to cut down your costs each month. Here are a few simple tips on how to save money on your internet bill.

Choose Cable Internet Over Fiber

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Cable plans tend to be less expensive than fiber plans, though a few providers like Ting Internet are offering fiber plans for way less than the usual price, but only in select areas. What’s more, there are plenty of cable internet plans offering speeds that rival fiber. A few cable internet service providers with super-fast internet speeds include:

• Optimum
• Astound 
• RCN
• Spectrum

You can view some popular cable internet plans below and compare features like internet speeds, data allowance, contract length, upfront costs, and more. 

If you wanted to save even more money, you could switch to a DSL internet plan, although these plans tend to have slower speeds than cable. But if you’re a single-person or two-person household and don’t need the fastest speeds around, a DSL plan might be worth considering.

Find the Most Affordable Internet Plan in Your Area

If you’re in the market for a new internet plan, you can use our internet search tool, which allows you to compare internet plans from countless internet providers. Here’s how to use it:

• Enter your home address into the search bar.
• Choose how many Mbps you need.
• Optional: You can click “More Options” and look for a bundle or select your current ISP from the list.
• Click “Search.”
• On the results page, you will find a list of available ISPs in your area.
• At this time, you can also adjust your desired data allowance, if necessary.
• If you’d like to search for a specific connection type, click “All Filters,” select “Connection,” then check the boxes of the type you’d like to search for, and click “Apply All.”

Downgrading Your Internet Speeds

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In many cases, internet customers think they need the fastest speeds around which results in them overpaying for their plan. After all, not everyone needs gig internet speeds (or even several hundred Mbps). If you have just one or two people in your household and neither person is a gamer or constantly streaming in HD, then chances are you don’t need a plan with over 100Mbps. In fact, 50Mbps may even suffice. 

Generally speaking, the more people and devices connected to the internet, the faster speeds you need. But you’ll also want to take online activities into consideration—high-demand activities like online gaming and HD streaming require faster internet speeds than social media and email. 

If you aren’t sure what internet speeds your household needs, check out our comprehensive guide.

Switch Internet Service Providers to Get Intro Pricing

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Most internet service providers offer attractive introductory pricing that entices people to sign up, only to raise the price after one or two years—and it’s not typically a small increase either. Some providers up the monthly cost by as much as $40/month. 

You’ll want to check with your current ISP and plan to see if your price has increased from when you signed up. If so, you may want to consider switching to a new ISP to take advantage of their intro offer. Many customers like to switch providers every year or so, but this is only possible if you have several good internet options in your area.

Customers in rural areas who only have access to satellite internet don’t have this luxury. But have no fear, satellite customers, Starlink may very well prove to be the solution for customers in rural areas. And it might be available as early as sometime this year.

Buy Your Own Modem and Router

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Our last tip for how to save money on your home internet is to buy your own modem and router. Many ISPs want you to rent a modem from them, which typically costs about $10/month or $120/year, and as an incentive, they will fix your internet problems for free. 

If you’re okay with troubleshooting some of your internet problems yourself, you may want to invest in buying your own modem. This will save you some money in the long run since you won’t be paying an ongoing monthly price for your equipment. Just make sure that the modem you choose is able to handle your internet speeds—some modems can only handle slower speeds while others have massive speed caps.