The 5 Best No-Contract Internet Plans

Google Fiber is hands down the best no-contract internet plan available. In fact, it even beats the discounted plans that you can get when you sign a long-term contract or bundle multiple services. Google Fiber doesn’t require a long-term contract on any of its plans. There are no data caps and no hidden fees. There are literally no downsides if you can get Google Fiber.

Getting it, of course, is the tricky part. There are only a handful of cities in the US that have access to Google Fiber. And coverage is limited even within those cities. The rapid expansion of Google Fiber’s network ground to a halt after the company was forced to pull out of Louisville, Kentucky, after its new microtrenching technology failed.¹

If you’ve been holding out all these years in the hope that Google Fiber might reach your city, the odds aren’t looking so good. However, Google did recently announce its first new Google Fiber city in four years, so there’s still hope. But don’t hold your breath. Google also debuted its first 2 Gbps connections, once again raising the bar for fiber providers.^{2, 3}

Google Fiber also offers a contract-free, 2 Gbps plan in some areas. This is far more speed than most households need, but it’s an amazing offer for those who like to be on the cutting edge of technology.

Pros

• Fastest download speeds
• Most reliable connection

Cons

• Limited availability

Optimium Fiber Internet 300 is an amazing deal. There are no data caps. It’s cheaper than most no-contract cable and DSL plans, plus it gives you a fiber-optic connection. This means that you’ll have a reliable connection that doesn’t slow down at peak hours and has blazing fast upload speeds. This makes it perfect for bingeing Netflix after work, livestreaming on Twitch, or conducting work meetings over Zoom.

It’s important to note that Optimum has a relatively small footprint nationwide. And it also provides cable internet, so this plan will be available to only a subset of Optimum customers. But if Optimum is available in your area, this plan is the best one you can get.

Pros

• Low monthly price
• Fiber connection

Cons

• Slower-than-average speeds for fiber
• Limited availability
• Installation fees

AT&T is one of the largest internet providers in the US. It doesn’t offer fiber throughout its entire coverage area, but it has a much larger fiber network than competitors like Google Fiber—and this network is constantly expanding.

AT&T’s gigabit fiber plan is more expensive than many of the no-contract options available, but it’s pretty reasonable for a fiber plan. Combine that with the freedom to cancel at any time without termination fees (AT&T got rid of long-term contracts on all its plans), and you’ve got a pretty great deal.

Pros

• Wide availability
• Fast speeds

Cons

• Higher monthly cost

Spectrum has a lot of the things we love to see in internet providers. None of its plans have contracts, and none of its plans have data caps. These are two things that we think all internet customers should expect from their provider, but for now, Spectrum is ahead of the crowd.

The Spectrum Internet® Ultra plan gives you 400 Mbps download speeds, which is fast enough for most online activities. You could even have multiple people streaming video in 4K and still have bandwidth to spare.

Spectrum actually offers an even faster gigabit connection, but we generally don’t recommend it. Although it’s also a no-contract plan, it comes with an additional gigabit activation fee that makes the initial cost of switching huge.

Spectrum Internet® Ultra is a great plan that gives plenty of speed, but if you’re looking for a gigabit connection, we suggest looking for a fiber plan like those offered by Google Fiber or AT&T.

Pros

• Unlimited data
• Consistent availability

Cons

• Expensive gigabit plan

Xfinity’s best quality is simply its pervasiveness. Xfinity is everywhere. This may not exactly sound like high praise, but considering that the biggest drawback of Google Fiber and Optimum Fiber is their limited availability, having a nationwide network is nothing to sneeze at.

Xfinity Prepaid Internet is certainly not the fastest plan, even when compared to Xfinity’s other offers. You pay more for the same speeds you’d get with a contract. However, if you’re looking for a plan you can set up right away without committing to a contract, Xfinity Prepaid Internet is a very convenient choice.

You still have to purchase a modem to get started, but Xfinity offers low-cost refurbished modems for $35, which is a pretty reasonable price. Professional installation for Xfinity costs $89.99, but if your house is already wired for Xfinity, you can get the equipment to install it yourself.

Pros

• Wide availability
• Good monthly price

Cons

• Slow speeds

Cox StraightUp Internet has the absolute lowest barrier to entry of any no-contract plan. If you’re looking for internet service right away with no commitment, you can’t do much better than this. There’s no cost for the setup, and the Wi-Fi modem is free. The only things you need to get started are $50 for the first month and an address within Cox’s service area. If you happen to stay with Cox for a while anyway, they also guarantee your price for the next three years.

As with Xfinity’s prepaid plans, Cox StraightUp Internet isn’t the fastest internet plan out there. It’s also on a cable network, which can slow down due to traffic at peak-use hours. Still, 50 Mbps is enough speed to connect a few devices to your home Wi-Fi network without any major issues.

The best thing about Cox StraightUp Internet (as the name implies) is its simplicity and transparency. There are no hidden fees and no sneaky tricks. There’s not anything particularly fancy about it either. What you get is decent internet for a decent price.

Pros

• Low initial cost
• 3 year price guarantee

Cons

• Slow speeds

When people think of high-speed internet connections, DSL is usually not what first comes to mind. They wouldn’t be wrong either—DSL’s top speeds are far lower than those of cable or fiber. It might be surprising, then, that CenturyLink’s no-contract DSL plan offers higher speeds than many cable internet plans.

The installation costs for CenturyLink can vary a lot. They do give the option for a standard installation kit, which costs $15. That works great as long as your house is already wired, which will eliminate most upfront costs altogether. You also have the option for a technician to come out, which can cost $99. If they have to run new aerial cables from the nearest utility pole, you may have to pay more. You can also purchase your modem up front, but if you want the flexibility to change providers without wasting your investment, it might be worth it to simply rent a modem for $15 per month.

There are still a lot of downsides to a DSL connection. DSL usually has low upload speeds, and your download speeds can be lower than advertised if your provider’s network hub is far away from where you live. However, DSL is much more widely available in rural areas. While it may not keep up with cable or fiber, it’s still a much better option than satellite. If DSL is what you’re looking for, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better deal than this one.

Pros

• Decent download speeds
• Reasonable prices

Cons

• Slow upload speeds
• Older infrastructure
• High installation costs