Cox vs. Frontier

Cox internet is fast and affordable, but Frontier brings the heat with great bundle options.

Jump to: Side-by-side comparison | Plans and pricing | Important features | Equipment | Customer experience | Coverage area | Advantages and disadvantages | Bundles | FAQ

The bottom line

Cox is great for customers looking for internet-only plans. It offers fast speeds at a much lower price point than Frontier, and it has shorter contracts (with the option of going contract-free). It suffers a little in the bundle department though. You’ll pay more for a bundle with Cox than you will with Frontier.

Frontier is ideal for content creators and anyone else who shares a lot of media online, thanks to the much faster upload speeds. Frontier is also a perfect choice for users looking to bundle services since their prices are generally lower than what you get from Cox. Just watch for those two-year contracts.

Side-by-side comparison

Packages and pricing

Let’s dive right into the meat and potatoes: the plans. Both providers offer a similar range of speeds, but the pricing is quite different between them. Take a look at how it plays out.

Cox packages

Cox packages are all the same type of service: cable. And they’re generally a better deal than AT&T at the lower end, but the top tiers are more expensive than comparable AT&T plans. Gigablast, in particular, is much more expensive than AT&T’s Internet 1000 plan. That said, if you don’t need superfast internet speeds because you routinely upload large files or game with your buds online, Cox is usually the better deal.

Each plan is available with or without a contract, but you’ll pay an extra $10 per month if you opt to ditch the contract.

Frontier FiOS packages

Frontier offers similar speeds to Cox. The prices are a bit higher, and the contract is longer (two years versus one), but Frontier has the major advantage of faster upload speeds.

With Cox, upload speeds are around 10% of your download speeds, while Frontier FiOS keeps the two equal thanks to the higher fiber bandwidth. That means you can switch from streaming to uploading vacation photos without a glitch.

Important features

Speed

When it comes to speed, there’s not a lot of difference between Cox and Frontier. Both offer packages up to 1 Gbps, making them capable of handling anything you can throw at them.

Not sure how these speeds compare to your current plan? Use our speed test tool to see how your current service stacks up to what you could upgrade to.

Internet type

Although we’re dealing with two different types of internet service here (Cox is cable, Frontier FiOS is fiber), the download speeds available don’t change much between the service types. The main difference is that Frontier features symmetrical speeds. That means the upload speed is roughly the same as the download speed, where normally it’s only about 10%.

The higher upload speed makes a big difference for sharing large media files, making it ideal for photographers, videographers, YouTubers, and other content creators. It’s also handy for just video chatting with Grandma and Grandpa.

Data caps

Cox has data caps, but Frontier doesn’t. That’s big, especially if you’ve got those superfast upload speeds to take advantage of. That said, while Cox’s data cap is pretty large at 1 TB, it’s still a limit on how much you can use your connection, and limits are never fun.

Equipment

Renting vs. buying

Renting

We think you should probably stick to the equipment provided by Cox and Frontier. That way you don’t have to do any additional shopping. You already know the router is compatible with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and that it can handle your plan’s speed.

It’s also much easier to get tech support for gear that your ISP is familiar with. So unless you’re a tech genius, stick with leasing a modem and router from your ISP.

Buying

If you have your eye on a zippy router from the future or hate renting anything, you can buy your own equipment. Since Cox uses cable, you can use your own modem and router since so many modems are available for cable services.

With Frontier, especially the FiOS fiber service, you’ll probably need to use Frontier’s modem and just add your own router on top of that.

The best reason to use your own gear is you get to call the shots with performance and security. If you have specific performance needs, like a longer range to accommodate a large house, you can set that up. The same goes for advanced security needs, like a stronger firewall.

If you’re looking to purchase your own router, check out our guides on the best long-range routers and modem/router combos first.

Customer experience

Now that we know what packages and equipment Cox and Frontier provide, let’s take a look at the experience of living with them as your ISP.

Installation and setup

Both providers charge $75 to install your internet service. Frontier will waive the fee when you sign a two-year contract, and since most of its plans require one, taking advantage of this benefit is easy.

Cox and Frontier also both offer self-install options, which can be a more affordable and convenient option for the DIY crowd. Just know that there may come a time when you want to chuck your system out the window should tech issues arise.

If you have a fiber plan from Frontier, things might be a little dicier. Since fiber is still less common than cable, there’s a chance you may need to fork over the cash to let the pros handle things. We just thought you should know that before you let your head dance with dreams of installing your own fiber service.

Customer service

Both providers offer decent customer service, but neither of them will wait on you hand and foot. That’s generally the standard in this industry, so you can’t complain too much.

Still, Cox ranks significantly higher in our customer satisfaction survey (in fifth place) while Frontier comes in third from last. Still, we don’t think you’ll have too many problems with either, and we haven’t heard any of the horror stories you occasionally read about with ISPs.

Apps

Cox and Frontier offer mobile apps to make your experience better. The Cox Connect and MyFrontier apps let you manage your account, pay your bills, and more—right from your smartphone.

There are also apps available from both Cox and Frontier for watching live TV and managing DVR recordings. These are handy for killing time when you’re waiting for a layover or at the doctor’s office.

Availability and coverage

We’ve made it easy to see the internet packages available in your neck of the woods. Just enter your ZIP code below.

Advantages and disadvantages

Keep bills simple and save money by bundling.

Cox and Frontier both provide TV and phone service in addition to internet. You can consolidate your bills and often save quite a bit of money by getting your TV and internet service from the same provider.

With Cox, we’re fans of the Cox Silver Bundle. This bundle gets you 140+ channels of TV, including HBO® and SHOWTIME®, as well as 300 Mbps internet and phone service, for $109.99 per month.

View Cox bundles

Frontier also offers Triple Play bundles. The best deal is probably the 100/100 internet, FiOS TV Prime HD, and phone service for $89.99 a month.

View Frontier bundles

FAQ about Cox and Frontier

What’s the difference between cable and fiber?

Generally speaking, the difference between cable and fiber is that fiber allows for faster upload speeds (symmetrical speeds) thanks to greater bandwidth.

Fiber also has the potential to have faster download speeds, but cable speeds have caught up in the last few years. Now you’ll often find similar download speeds available between the two service types.

What is a Triple Play?

A Triple Play is a bundle of TV, internet, and phone service from a single provider. You’ll also find Double Plays, which are bundles of either internet and TV, internet and phone, or TV and phone service.

Bundles are a great way to save some money compared to buying each service individually. It also makes it easier to pay your bill.

What is Frontier Vantage Fiber?

Vantage Fiber is a different fiber service from Frontier. It’s similar to FiOS, but it’s available in different markets.

Basically the reason FiOS exists is because Frontier bought the FiOS service and name from Verizon in certain markets, and it kept the branding the same (except for those two capitalized letters) for those markets.