Spectrum vs. Frontier

Spectrum and Frontier primarily address two different markets: Spectrum provides cable internet and Frontier supplies mostly DSL internet. If you have access to both, Frontier would be your cheaper, slower option unless you have access to the company’s fiber internet service.

Pros and cons: Spectrum vs. Frontier

Compare Spectrum and Frontier head to head

Jump to: Plans and pricing | Extra fees | Customer ratings | Bundles | Internet connection types | Data caps | Contracts | Installation | Availability

Jump to:

• Plans and pricing
• Extra fees
• Customer ratings
• Bundles
• Internet connection types
• Data caps
• Contracts
• Installation
• Availability

Plans and pricing: Spectrum vs. Frontier

Spectrum plans and pricing

Spectrum has the upper hand in offering faster speeds on its most basic plans. Meanwhile, Frontier’s three DSL plans may be slower, but they’re accessible in rural areas where Spectrum doesn’t reach. 

Spectrum’s Internet Ultra and Internet Gig plans compete with Frontier’s FiberOptic 500 and Gig plans. But because Frontier’s fiber internet is still relatively scarce, Spectrum may be your only high-speed option until Frontier brings fiber internet to your area—if at all.

Frontier plans and pricing

When comparing the lower-tier Frontier plans with Spectrum, Frontier is expensive. For instance, Frontier’s $44.99 per month Internet Preferred plan supports up to 25 Mbps, while Spectrum’s $49.99 per month Internet plan supports up to 200 Mbps. 

While Frontier’s fiber-to-the-premises network is limited in terms of availability, it is currently expanding its reach.¹ Frontier’s FiberOptic Gig Service matches Spectrum’s Internet Gig service in speed, but it’s $30 cheaper. Even its FiberOptic 500 plan is faster and more affordable than Spectrum’s offering.

Extra fees: Spectrum vs. Frontier

*The $75 installation fee may not apply in 2021 due to Frontier’s mission to protect its employees and customers during the pandemic.

Other than the Wi-Fi charge, Spectrum doesn’t tack on a lot of extra fees. Even if you cancel your service before the 12-month promotional pricing period ends, Spectrum won’t penalize you with an early termination fee.

Frontier typically has three fees upon setup and charges a monthly rental even if you don’t use the company’s equipment. A $10.00 disconnect fee applies to all plans, while customers can see up to $400 in early termination fees.

Customer ratings: Spectrum vs. Frontier

Spectrum ranked lower in our annual customer satisfaction survey than it did in the previous year. Its largest declines were in speed satisfaction and reliability. However, 87% of those surveyed confirmed that their speeds usually or always met their needs. On reliability, 67% of respondents said they “never” or “not often” experienced outages.

Our survey for 2021 didn’t have enough respondents to add Frontier to the list. However, Frontier did well in the previous year, scoring 4.0 in speed satisfaction and 3.8 in reliability, outranking Spectrum’s current scores. Both providers saw low scores in pricing no matter the year, indicating that customers weren’t completely satisfied with the price of their internet plan or bundle.

Best TV and internet bundles

* Requires a 2-year commitment.

Frontier currently doesn’t offer a TV service for new customers. Instead, the company partnered with DISH to provide DSL and satellite TV bundles. Both bundles include local channels and start you with a three-month trial of the DISH Movie Pack™ Online TV service, which usually costs $30 per month.

Spectrum’s two bundles are a bit pricier in terms of dollar per channel/megabit but offer premium channels from the start. Spectrum will alter these bundles if customers want faster internet speeds.

Internet types: Spectrum vs. Frontier

Spectrum offers cable internet, which relies on coaxial cable that’s typically already installed in homes and apartments. Cable internet providers like Spectrum and Xfinity currently limit their speeds to around 1,000 Mbps.

Frontier’s primary market is digital subscriber line (DSL) internet, which uses telephone wires that are also typically already installed in homes and apartments. DSL can reach 115 Mbps, making it a slower and cheaper alternative to cable internet.

Frontier’s ace up the sleeve is its fiber internet service, however. While limited in availability, fiber-optic cables provide symmetrical upload and download speeds—that means you can watch a YouTube video just as fast as you can upload one.

In contrast, coaxial cable connections provided by Spectrum have fast download speeds but extremely slow uploads. If you often transfer large files to the cloud, Frontier’s FiberOptic 500 and Gig plans would be ideal.

Data caps: Spectrum vs. Frontier

With Spectrum and Frontier, you won’t see data caps like other internet providers. You get unlimited data, which translates to no monthly overage fees and no monthly charges for unrestricted access. They also don’t intentionally throttle your connection, no matter how much you download—the data spigot remains wide open every month.

Contracts: Spectrum vs. Frontier

Spectrum and Frontier do not enforce contracts. Spectrum offers a discount for the first 12 months. But even though prices go up after that, customers can cancel the service at any time without penalty.

Frontier’s internet plans are monthly as well and offer a two- or three-year price guarantee. A two-year commitment comes into play when you bundle Frontier Internet with DISH.

Installation: Spectrum vs. Frontier

*The $75 installation fee may not apply in 2021 due to Frontier’s mission to protect its employees and customers during the pandemic.

Frontier doesn’t appear to charge its $75.00 installation fee at this time, likely due to COVID-19. Frontier states that customers may be required to assist during the installation process, indicating that technicians will perform all the external work.1 All plans have an $85.00 activation fee along with a delivery fee if Frontier ships the equipment to the premises.

Both companies offer a self-installation option. Spectrum charges $9.99 to self-install but doesn’t charge a monthly equipment rental fee. Frontier doesn’t have a self-install charge but enforces a monthly equipment rental fee.

Availability: Spectrum vs. Frontier

Most of Spectrum’s market resides in North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, New York, and Maine. There are scattered chunks of coverage in California, Texas, Florida, and several other states. Overall, Spectrum commands a decent market in the eastern and central time zones.

Frontier’s primary target is in rural areas. Its DSL service is available in 25 states, mainly in the Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest. Its Frontier FiberOptic service is limited to portions of California, Florida, Indiana, and Texas. Frontier expects to expand its fiber-to-the-premises service in California by 350,000 locations over the next six years.²

Final call: Spectrum vs. Frontier

Spectrum provides cable internet, and Frontier supplies mostly DSL internet. If you have access to both, Frontier’s DSL plans would be your cheaper but slower option. They are ideal if you use the internet only for things like email, banking, and social media. 

If you’re streaming games or UHD content, Spectrum’s cable internet plans and Frontier’s fiber internet plans are the better options (although Frontier offers more megabits for your dollar with its fiber plans). If you need to upload large files, consider Frontier’s fiber plans if they’re available since the upload and download speeds are identical.

View Spectrum Plans

View Frontier Plans

Methodology

Our HighSpeedInternet.com editorial team bases our analyses on customer input from our annual customer satisfaction survey, results from our speed test tool, and proprietary internet provider data on speeds and pricing. To strengthen our research, we look closely at provider contracts to get hard-to-find information on price hikes, data caps, and extra fees, and we keep tabs on the latest news reports and online reviews. When applicable, we also rely on our personal experiences testing these services.

Additional resources

• AT&T vs. Spectrum
• DSL vs. Fiber Internet: Which One Is Right for You?
• DSL vs. Cable: Which Is Right for You?
• Xfinity vs. Spectrum
• Xfinity vs. Frontier

Disclaimer

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