Verizon Fios vs Optimum at a glance
| Verizon Fios | Optimum | |
|---|---|---|
| Main technology | Fiber | Cable |
| Residential locations on that technology | 9,364,253 | 5,352,613 |
| 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We do not publish speeds or prices here.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 Verizon Fios and Optimum 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 | Verizon Fios | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
| Amarillo, TX Metro Area | 78% | 79% |
| Big Spring, TX Micro Area | 74% | 73% |
| Enid, OK Metro Area | 76% | 71% |
| San Angelo, TX Metro Area | 68% | 76% |
| Clovis, NM Micro Area | 68% | 70% |
| Parkersburg-Vienna, WV Metro Area | 66% | 73% |
| Victoria, TX Metro Area | 65% | 65% |
| Lubbock, TX Metro Area | 64% | 79% |
| Hereford, TX Micro Area | 75% | 64% |
| Snyder, TX Micro Area | 64% | 63% |
| Greenville, NC Metro Area | 62% | 81% |
| Tyler, TX Metro Area | 62% | 75% |
| Jonesboro, AR Metro Area | 69% | 61% |
| Branson, MO Micro Area | 60% | 66% |
| Helena-West Helena, AR Micro Area | 59% | 68% |
| Plainview, TX Micro Area | 72% | 59% |
| College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area | 58% | 70% |
| El Dorado, AR Micro Area | 57% | 63% |
| Rocky Mount, NC Metro Area | 54% | 60% |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT Metro Area | 53% | 65% |
| Mountain Home, AR Micro Area | 57% | 52% |
| Russellville, AR Micro Area | 55% | 52% |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area | 89% | 51% |
| Abilene, TX Metro Area | 50% | 67% |
| Magnolia, AR Micro Area | 51% | 49% |
Showing 25 of 136 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.
That is the case here: Verizon Fios is mainly fiber and Optimum 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.