Google Fiber vs Spectrum
These two overlap in 14 metro areas and 100 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.
Google Fiber vs Spectrum at a glance
| Measure | Google Fiber | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Main technology | Fiber | Cable |
| Residential locations on that technology | 1,886,259 | 33,900,003 |
| Single technology or mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Full coverage detail | Where Google Fiber 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We do not publish speeds or prices here.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 Google Fiber 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 | Google Fiber | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area | 56% | 65% |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area | 33% | 93% |
| Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metro Area | 30% | 88% |
| Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX Metro Area | 22% | 81% |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metro Area | 22% | 86% |
| Huntsville, AL Metro Area | 32% | 12% |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area | 11% | 82% |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Metro Area | 12% | 10% |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA Metro Area | 3% | 17% |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metro Area | 8% | 2% |
| Jefferson City, MO Metro Area | 2% | 8% |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area | 2% | 30% |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area | 1% | 85% |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metro Area | 0% | 2% |
Where only one of them reaches
Google Fiber reports service in 18 states and Spectrum in 42, and they share 16 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.
12 metro areas have Google Fiber and not Spectrum
- Salt Lake City, UT Metro Area 44% covered
- Pocatello, ID Metro Area 34% covered
- Logan, UT-ID Metro Area 20% covered
- Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area 18% covered
- Provo-Orem, UT Metro Area 16% covered
- Ogden-Clearfield, UT Metro Area 4% covered
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Metro Area 3% covered
- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metro Area 2% covered
499 metro areas have Spectrum and not Google Fiber
- 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
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area 96% covered
- Kapaa, HI Micro Area 96% covered
- Urban Honolulu, HI Metro Area 95% covered
- Racine, WI Metro Area 95% covered
States where only Google Fiber reports service: Iowa, Utah. States where only Spectrum reports service: Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana and 14 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: Google Fiber 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.