Can a Local Deal Get You a Better Price From a Bigger Internet Provider?

If you want to lower your internet bill—and aren’t interested in switching providers—you can use local deals as leverage to negotiate a lower price, especially from national providers. Competition brings out a healthy amount of deals and promos, and internet providers aren’t immune to this. I’ll walk you through how you can use this to your advantage to get a better internet plan price.

Of course, if you aren’t happy with your current internet provider, I suggest shopping around for the best local deal with a new provider. You can still use local internet deals in your favor while negotiating and signing up for a new provider if you see a better offer from other providers.

Let’s get into how to find local deals and negotiate for a lower rate with your internet provider.

Use the zip check tool to find local deals

Internet deals and promotions can vary all the way down to the street level. But you can still use any offers in your surrounding area that may not be available at your exact location to negotiate a better rate.

This is especially useful if internet providers are aware of competing offers in the area. So if you see an ad or billboard from another provider, mention it to your current provider to see what they can counteroffer. You might even find that your internet provider offers a better price for your current plan, so you could even use your own provider’s current promos to your advantage.

If you don’t see any deals or offers worth adding to your negotiation tool belt in your zip code, try searching surrounding zip codes. Since internet plan and promo offerings can vary so much, it’s worth checking out what’s being marketed around you.

Once you have one, or hopefully, a few deals, you’re ready to take the next step in scoring a better internet rate.

Contact your internet provider; it’s time to negotiate

Now that you’ve got a few deals up your sleeve, it’s time to contact your internet provider and start the bargaining process. Don’t worry if you’re nervous or not a fan of bargaining—that’s why we recommend doing the research first.

Even if there aren’t many standout local deals or promos, you might find a better monthly rate from a plan with similar speeds that can be used to negotiate. Here are a few helpful negotiation conversation points you can use during your chat with a customer service agent:

Many internet providers offer autopay, paperless billing, or other discounts for using a certain payment method. You should always ask your agent to check for any discounts you may be eligible for.

Always remember that customer service agents rarely have full control to change monthly rates, so you might need to speak to a few people before getting an offer. Be ready to spend some time as negotiations can take longer than expected if your customer service rep most likely needs to get approval before making any changes official.

Internet deals are constantly changing

Hopefully, you can negotiate a better price with your provider, but if your provider is unable to match or counter any offers this time around, you can always try again later. Your provider might start a new promotion that you’ll qualify for, but you probably won’t hear it from the provider itself.

Internet deals and promotions change often, and you might see new deals or even new plans pop up. You might even find a deal enticing enough to convince you to switch providers, so make sure to check out what’s available in your area at least every once in a while.