Spectrum vs. CenturyLink: Which Internet Provider is Better?

Cost, Data and Value for Money

Monthly Cost

Spectrum's cable internet plans are all around $45 for 100 Mbps—not a bad deal, incidentally—and go up in price as you start adding bundling options. The company's most expensive package is the $139.97 100 Mbps internet/Gold TV/Phone service. 

While $45 gets you 100 Mbps from Spectrum, that same price only gets you 10 Mbps with CenturyLink. It costs an additional $20—bringing the monthly cost to $65—for 100 Mbps speeds from the provider.

Data Allowance

Data caps can be a real bummer to worry about. To Spectrum's credit, their plans all come data cap-free. CenturyLink meanwhile, caps their plans at 1,000 GB/month. It should be said that 1,000 GB is a massive amount; but still.

Availability: Spectrum vs. CenturyLink

In terms of overall availability, Spectrum's coverage area is a bit broader than CenturyLink's; as mentioned, Spectrum's internet plans are available in 43 states, while CenturyLink's are available in 37. Given this, we'll declare Spectrum the winner here. 

Customer Reviews: Spectrum vs. CenturyLink

If online reviews are to be believed, both Spectrum and CenturyLink have ample room for improvement when it comes to keeping their customers happy (although, bear in mind that internet providers are generally the most widely derided in the United States). Customers cited Spectrum's rising costs and slower than advertised connections as their reasons for unhappiness, while CenturyLink customers complained about frequent service outages and slow speeds.

JD Power's annual residential internet service provider customer satisfaction study tells a slightly different tale. The 2018 study puts Spectrum near the top in certain regions (it's divided according to four of them), with the east coast the only place the provider earns less than 3 "power cicles." CenturyLink, meanwhile, either does not show on the leader board or comes in with a meager 2 stars, in the south and west.

It's hard to take either of these metrics as gospel, however, so we'll declare this round a toss-up.

Bundle Packages: Spectrum vs CenturyLink

While both Spectrum and CenturyLink offer a wide assortment of double and triple play bundles, i.e. internet + phone or TV, a look through WhistleOut's comparison engine indicates that CenturyLink has more configurations and tiers.

Winner: Spectrum vs CenturyLink

In this head-to-head between two of the nation's largest ISPs, CenturyLink wins on speed and bundling options, Spectrum wins on cost and coverage, and the providers tie with respect to customer reviews. As such, we'll have to declare this battle of titans a toss-up. 

In the end, the best provider for you relates to your specific needs and wants as a customer. Are you looking to save a few bucks by getting a slower plan, or are you willing to shell out top dollar for blazing fast speeds? Do you want more coverage options, or is the reliability of the connection type of utmost concern? 

Whatever your preferences, at least you can go into your internet plan search with your eyes open regarding the strengths and weaknesses of Spectrum and CenturyLink. 

Spectrum Internet Plans

#1	Spectrum	Spectrum Internet Premier Cable 500/20 Mbps Unlimited Data $50/mo ($40 plan + $10 modem) for 1 year + $20 Upfront for 1 year View Plan	$50/mo ($40 plan + $10 modem) for 1 year + $20 Upfront for 1 year	View Plan
#2	Spectrum	Spectrum Internet Premier + Spectrum Unlimited Plus Cable 500/20 Mbps Unlimited Data $60/mo ($40 plan + $20 modem) for 1 year + $20 Upfront for 1 year View Plan	$60/mo ($40 plan + $20 modem) for 1 year + $20 Upfront for 1 year	View Plan
#3	Spectrum	Spectrum Internet Gig Cable 1000/35 Mbps Unlimited Data $70/mo ($60 plan + $10 modem) for 1 year + $20 Upfront for 1 year View Plan	$70/mo ($60 plan + $10 modem) for 1 year + $20 Upfront for 1 year	View Plan
#4	Spectrum	Spectrum Internet Gig + Spectrum Mobile Cable 1000/35 Mbps Unlimited Data $70/mo ($60 plan + $10 modem) for 1 year + $20 Upfront for 1 year View Plan	$70/mo ($60 plan + $10 modem) for 1 year + $20 Upfront for 1 year	View Plan

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CenturyLink Internet Plans

CenturyLink	CenturyLink Simply Unlimited 140 Mbps VDSL 140/20 Mbps Unlimited Data $55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. View Plan	$55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. Available in select locations. Paperless billing required.	View Plan
CenturyLink	CenturyLink Simply Unlimited 100 Mbps VDSL 100/10 Mbps Unlimited Data $55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. View Plan	$55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. Available in select locations. Paperless billing required.	View Plan
CenturyLink	CenturyLink Simply Unlimited 80 Mbps VDSL 80/10 Mbps Unlimited Data $55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $149 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. View Plan	$55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $149 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required.	View Plan
CenturyLink	CenturyLink Simply Unlimited 60 Mbps VDSL 60/5 Mbps Unlimited Data $55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $149 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. View Plan	$55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $149 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required.	View Plan
CenturyLink	CenturyLink Simply Unlimited 40 Mbps VDSL 40/3 Mbps Unlimited Data $55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $25 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. View Plan	$55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $25 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required.	View Plan
CenturyLink	CenturyLink Simply Unlimited 30 Mbps VDSL 30/1.5 Mbps Unlimited Data $55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $25 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. View Plan	$55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $25 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required.	View Plan
CenturyLink	CenturyLink Simply Unlimited 15 Mbps VDSL 15/0.75 Mbps Unlimited Data $55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $25 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. View Plan	$55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $25 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required.	View Plan
CenturyLink	CenturyLink Simply Unlimited 10 Mbps VDSL 10/1 Mbps Unlimited Data $55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $25 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. View Plan	$55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $25 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required.	View Plan
CenturyLink	CenturyLink Simply Unlimited 6 Mbps VDSL 6/0.5 Mbps Unlimited Data $55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $25 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. View Plan	$55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $25 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required.	View Plan
CenturyLink	CenturyLink Simply Unlimited 3 Mbps VDSL 3/0.5 Mbps Unlimited Data $55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $25 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. View Plan	$55/mo Available in select locations. Paperless billing required. + $25 Upfront Available in select locations. Paperless billing required.	View Plan

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