WOW! vs Spectrum
These two overlap in 21 metro areas and 95 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.
WOW! vs Spectrum at a glance
| Measure | WOW! | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Main technology | Cable | Cable |
| Residential locations on that technology | 1,583,018 | 33,900,003 |
| Single technology or mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Full coverage detail | Coverage page coming | 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We do not publish speeds or prices here.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 WOW! 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 | WOW! | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery, AL Metro Area | 52% | 75% |
| Dothan, AL Metro Area | 45% | 50% |
| Columbus, GA-AL Metro Area | 54% | 30% |
| LaGrange, GA-AL Micro Area | 27% | 72% |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area | 26% | 94% |
| Auburn-Opelika, AL Metro Area | 22% | 72% |
| Charleston-North Charleston, SC Metro Area | 31% | 21% |
| Knoxville, TN Metro Area | 16% | 24% |
| Decatur, AL Metro Area | 13% | 77% |
| Huntsville, AL Metro Area | 53% | 12% |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area | 40% | 11% |
| Lansing-East Lansing, MI Metro Area | 18% | 10% |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro Area | 39% | 8% |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area | 7% | 82% |
| Coldwater, MI Micro Area | 6% | 58% |
| Greenville-Anderson, SC Metro Area | 4% | 85% |
| Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL Metro Area | 2% | 6% |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA Metro Area | 2% | 17% |
| Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI Metro Area | 2% | 31% |
| Flint, MI Metro Area | 1% | 25% |
| Battle Creek, MI Metro Area | 15% | 1% |
Where only one of them reaches
WOW! reports service in 6 states and Spectrum in 42, and they share 6 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 WOW! and not Spectrum
- Panama City, FL Metro Area 73% covered
- Jackson, MI Metro Area 9% covered
492 metro areas have Spectrum and not WOW!
- 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 Spectrum reports service: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine and 24 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.
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.