Windstream vs. Cox Internet Providers Compared

Kinetic by Windstream offers fast, reliable fiber

Kinetic by Windstream currently serves about 1.2 million customers in 18 states [1]. Kinetic provides fiber internet with blazing-fast, symmetrical speeds that will equip you for anything you want to do online [2]. Kinetic’s fiber internet offerings regularly go to speeds  up to 2000 Mbps, which is far faster internet speed than most households need! In select areas, the speeds even rise to 8000 Mbps. Kinetic by Windstream also offers decent prices given the high speeds you will get from their fiber connection. Most customer reviews online indicate that users are pleased with their Kinetic fiber service.

Pricing is simple and transparent for fiber plans from Kinetic by Windstream

Kinetic’s fiber internet prices are posted clearly for the whole world to see on their website. As soon as you click through to the state you live in, you will see prices posted, and those prices are consistent across states. We appreciate this transparency in pricing, which is not common among internet providers. Kinetic by Windstream does not set data caps or require you to sign annual contracts for internet plans. That means you will not face unexpected overage charges or early termination fees. The first tier plan starts at 24.99 for 100. Kinetic’s monthly plan prices are not as low as those offered by some other fiber providers, but many customers will be willing to pay for these symmetrical fiber upload and download speeds. There is an equipment rental fee, but you may use your own router instead. You also have the option to purchase an additional advanced internet security plan, but the purchase is not required.

Be aware of price hikes and data overage for heavy-streaming households

Cox offers a first-tier plan at $50/month for 100 Mbps download speed. That’s about the same as many other providers ask for their first-tier plans. The good news is that Cox's first-tier price is the standard price, so it won’t go up automatically after a promotional period. Unfortunately, the higher speed plans do have steep price hikes after the first year’s promotional rate. And when those price increases kick in, you’ll be paying more per month, on average, than you would for the same speeds through Xfinity or Spectrum. In addition, there’s a monthly rental fee for the Cox modem/router, though you are allowed to buy your own compatible router if you wish. Another big question about Cox pricing will be how much data you use. Cox does have a data cap. The cap is high at 1.2 TB, so many households will never exceed it. But 14% of American households do exceed 1 TB of data usage per month, according to the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society [2]. And if you do exceed your cap, you will face overage charges [3] In other words, if you are a heavy data user, you may end up with a higher monthly bill. So be aware of these data caps as a factor in your pricing if you live in a household with multiple people who stream 4K or play real-time games online every day. If your internet activities don’t include lots of HD streaming, gaming, or large file uploads, or you only have one or two household members, you are unlikely to exceed your monthly data cap.

Windstream offers multigigabit fiber speeds

Fiber internet will give you the fastest and most reliable internet connection on the market, hands down. Windstream even has an 8 Gigabit (8000 Mbps) option available to over 400,000 households [3]. The question is, who exactly needs 8 Gigs of symmetrical internet speed? Right now, 8 Gigs is excessive speed for most residential internet users. 1 Gig will more than supply all the bandwidth that most homes need. Even very large households with multiple devices all streaming or gaming simultaneously don’t usually need more than 1 Gig, thanks to the symmetrical speeds of fiber internet. For now, then, 8 Gigs may not be a speed that gets a lot of takers. But in the future, as virtual reality (VR) and assisted reality (AR) become more common, that massive bandwidth may be more useful.

Years of solid operations equip Cox with reliable infrastructure

As the fifth-largest ISP in the United States, Cox has a thirty-year record of delivering internet access to customers. This means that when you order internet service, it will work as it should the vast majority of the time. Cox home internet serves metro areas in 19 states [1]. Cox uses hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) technology, like its major competitors Xfinity and Spectrum. Ordinarily, your internet service will be carried by fiber-optic lines along the main arteries until it gets within about a mile of your house. Somewhere near that point, the network will switch to copper coaxial cable. This structure is called Fiber-to-the-Node (FTTN). It is faster than an all-copper network, but not as fast as all-fiber, which is also known as Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH). Cox does offer a small percentage of all-fiber connections and is building out more, but for the moment, you are most likely to get HFC, i.e., cable internet service [4]. Download speeds with Cox’s cable internet will go as high as 1000 Mbps in some areas, and upload speeds will top out around 100 Mbps. Though this upload speed is far below the symmetrical high speeds of an all-fiber connection, Cox cable internet still provides plenty of speed for most households. Cox uses data caps of 1.2 TB/month on its plans. This allowance will provide plenty of data for most households. But if you have a large household and you all do unusually heavy streaming or gaming to go over 1 TB, you may incur up to a maximum of $100 in overage charges [3]. You can get Cox plans with unlimited data, but only by paying more each month for an unlimited plan.

Equipment fee is optional, installation is free

Kinetic charges about $10 a month to rent a Kinetic router, with free installation included. But you can also use your own router if you want to skip the fee. Just make sure that if you buy your own, though, the router is compatible. Be aware that ISPs also cannot provide tech support for customers’ personal routers. Kinetic also offers a Wi-Fi management tool for their own gateway that will allow you to change your settings without all the hassle of logging in to your router online. A Whole Home Wi-Fi tech installation comes free with all the fiber plans.

Cox offers optional self-installation, charges equipment rental fee

When you order Cox internet service, you will be able to select either professional installation or self-installation. Self-installation will save you about $100, as long as you’re willing to deal with instructions for connection and activation. If you want to use a Cox-supplied modem/router, you will get their Panoramic Wi-Fi gateway. Higher-tier plans will receive a Wi-Fi 6 gateway, while the lower tier of plans will have a more typical Wi-Fi 5 compatible device. All customers will pay a $13/month rental fee for the equipment in addition to their monthly plan fee. However, Cox will forego the fee if you use your own compatible modem/router, which may make it cheaper in the long run for you to buy one rather than renting.

Kinetic by Windstream improves its customer experience

Kinetic scored just lower than average for customer satisfaction on the 2023 J.D. Power Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study [4]. However, the five-year trend for Windstream shows a general upward trend in customer reviews and scores. It’s not completely surprising that Kinetic by Windstream would rise rapidly in the ratings since they switched their technology to 100% fiber internet. In general, fiber providers rank highest in customer satisfaction. Kinetic by Windstream also offers all the usual amenities of a major ISP for customer service. Customers can chat online with a rep or call by phone for billing or technical support. Phone hours are open six days a week for billing support and seven days a week for tech support [5]. Overall, we recommend fiber internet from Kinetic by Windstream. This provider will give you a reliable, strong, and super-fast connection.

Cox customer service ranks below average on national surveys

Cox gets a resounding “meh” for customer service on recognized national surveys of customer satisfaction such as the J.D. Power survey [5]. Cox ranks below average in each region where it provides service. In an industry not known for good customer service, it’s hard to split hairs about exactly what the rankings mean. Even some of the best ISPs occasionally get their share of negativity when you look up review compilation maps [6]. But because J.D. Power is widely regarded as one of the more objective rating systems, we’re going to give Cox 3 stars for customer service.