Optimum vs Spectrum at a glance
| Optimum | Spectrum | |
|---|---|---|
| Main technology | Cable | Cable |
| Residential locations on that technology | 5,352,613 | 33,900,003 |
| Single technology or mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Full coverage detail | Coverage page coming | Coverage page coming |
We do not publish speeds or prices here.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 Optimum 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 | Optimum | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| New Bern, NC Metro Area | 48% | 42% |
| Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY Metro Area | 40% | 50% |
| Torrington, CT Micro Area | 39% | 41% |
| Mount Pleasant, TX Micro Area | 41% | 37% |
| Jacksonville, TX Micro Area | 43% | 34% |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area | 51% | 31% |
| Sulphur Springs, TX Micro Area | 40% | 24% |
| Marietta, OH Micro Area | 46% | 23% |
| Bluefield, WV-VA Micro Area | 21% | 20% |
| Marion, NC Micro Area | 20% | 65% |
| Cambridge, OH Micro Area | 19% | 62% |
| Asheville, NC Metro Area | 19% | 68% |
| Cullowhee, NC Micro Area | 21% | 18% |
| Clarksburg, WV Micro Area | 17% | 41% |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metro Area | 16% | 20% |
| Washington, NC Micro Area | 47% | 15% |
| Wichita Falls, TX Metro Area | 15% | 66% |
| Athens, TX Micro Area | 52% | 14% |
| Rocky Mount, NC Metro Area | 60% | 14% |
| Kinston, NC Micro Area | 65% | 13% |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT Metro Area | 65% | 12% |
| Lufkin, TX Micro Area | 62% | 12% |
| Kerrville, TX Micro Area | 12% | 52% |
| Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX Metro Area | 10% | 81% |
| Longview, TX Metro Area | 13% | 10% |
Showing 25 of 59 metro areas where both operate.
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.
Both are mainly cable networks, so the technology argument does not separate them. Compare on price, contract terms and local service reputation instead, none of which the FCC publishes, and none of which we will invent.
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.