GoNetspeed vs Spectrum
These two overlap in 25 metro areas and 106 towns and cities, so for a lot of people this is a real choice rather than a hypothetical one. The first question is not which is better. It is which of them can reach you.
GoNetspeed vs Spectrum at a glance
| Measure | GoNetspeed | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Main technology | Fiber | Cable |
| Residential locations on that technology | 534,197 | 33,900,003 |
| Single technology or mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Full coverage detail | Where GoNetspeed is available | Where Spectrum is available |
We do not publish speeds or prices here. Both providers change them constantly and by market, and a stale number is worse than no number. Coverage is the part that is federally reported and verifiable.
Where you can get both
Metro areas where both GoNetspeed and Spectrum report service, ranked by how well covered the less available of the two is because that is what decides whether you genuinely get a choice.
| Metro area | GoNetspeed | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Seneca Falls, NY Micro Area | 56% | 88% |
| Portland-South Portland, ME Metro Area | 29% | 72% |
| Bangor, ME Metro Area | 27% | 78% |
| Lewiston-Auburn, ME Metro Area | 25% | 92% |
| Augusta-Waterville, ME Micro Area | 23% | 92% |
| Albertville, AL Micro Area | 21% | 80% |
| Sedalia, MO Micro Area | 19% | 71% |
| Utica-Rome, NY Metro Area | 13% | 87% |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT Metro Area | 16% | 12% |
| Torrington, CT Micro Area | 10% | 41% |
| Springfield, MA Metro Area | 9% | 25% |
| Gadsden, AL Metro Area | 8% | 20% |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area | 8% | 96% |
| Warrensburg, MO Micro Area | 6% | 81% |
| Ithaca, NY Metro Area | 5% | 87% |
| Rochester, NY Metro Area | 4% | 94% |
| Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metro Area | 4% | 76% |
| Decatur, AL Metro Area | 3% | 77% |
| Cullman, AL Micro Area | 3% | 67% |
| Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT Metro Area | 31% | 3% |
| New Haven-Milford, CT Metro Area | 31% | 2% |
| Columbia, MO Metro Area | 2% | 21% |
| Jefferson City, MO Metro Area | 1% | 8% |
| Pittsfield, MA Metro Area | 1% | 86% |
| Rutland, VT Micro Area | 6% | 0% |
Where only one of them reaches
GoNetspeed reports service in 9 states and Spectrum in 42, and they share 9 of them. Overlap is the exception, not the rule, so if you are outside the table above this is the part that answers your question.
2 metro areas have GoNetspeed and not Spectrum
- Marshall, MO Micro Area 11% covered
- Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area 2% covered
488 metro areas have Spectrum and not GoNetspeed
- Kill Devil Hills, NC Micro Area 96% covered
- Akron, OH Metro Area 96% covered
- Jacksonville, NC Metro Area 96% covered
- Morehead City, NC Micro Area 96% covered
- Kapaa, HI Micro Area 96% covered
- Urban Honolulu, HI Metro Area 95% covered
- Racine, WI Metro Area 95% covered
- Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area 95% covered
States where only Spectrum reports service: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and 21 more.
Showing the eight best covered of each. Ranked by reported coverage within the metro, from the same FCC filing as the table above. Providers self report and overstate, so read these as a ceiling on where a company will sell to you, not a promise about your street.
Which should you pick?
Honestly, in most of the places above only one of them will actually reach your building, and that settles it. Where both do reach you, the useful question is the technology rather than the brand.
That is the case here: GoNetspeed is mainly fiber and Spectrum is mainly cable. The practical difference is upload speed and consistency rather than headline download speed, we explain what that means here.
See which one reaches your address →
What we will not do is tell you one is better because it pays us more. See the affiliate disclosure for how that works.