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Explore Sparklight internet

By Joe Supan Last updated: July 20, 2023

Sparklight (formerly Cable ONE) internet plans deliver reliable speeds without contracts, but you’ll have to watch how much data you use each month.

  • Internet 200

    200 Mbps starting at:

    $50/mo.

    *Pricing per month plus taxes for length of contract. $50/mo. is for 3 months, after which the plan is $65/mo. Additional fees and terms may apply. Pricing varies by location and availability. All prices subject to change at any time. May or may not be available based on service address. Speeds may vary. As of 10/03/22.

Sparklight internet plans and pricing

One of the bright spots of Sparklight, formerly Cable ONE, internet is its wide range of plans to choose from. No matter what your needs are, you should be able to find something that works for you.

Sparklight internet plans and pricing

*Pricing per month plus taxes for length of contract. Additional fees and terms may apply. Pricing varies by location and availability. All prices subject to change at any time. May or may not be available based on service address. Speeds may vary. **Introductory price of $50/mo. good for 3 months, then price is $65/mo. As of 10/03/22.

Which Sparklight plan is the best for you?

Internet 200: Best for most people

Most households use around 400GB of data each month, so the 700GB that comes with the Internet 200 plan gives you some nice breathing room. With 200 Mbps download speed and 20 Mbps upload speed, you’ll also get plenty of bandwidth to stream, game or work on multiple devices at once.

If you do a lot of gaming or uploading files, it might be worth upgrading to the Internet 500 plan. It comes with 40 Mbps of upload speed, which is helpful for things like video conferencing and live gaming. It also gets you 1500GB of data each month, which is plenty for all but the most connected households.

We’ll be honest, most people don’t need 1000 Mbps speeds. But for households that are connecting more than 10 devices at once and do frequent binge-watching, gaming, streaming and video-chatting, the extra bandwidth over the 500 Mbps plan might be worth the price. It also gets you unlimited data, so you don’t need to worry about watching how much you’re using.

Why choose Sparklight internet?

Why we like Sparklight

  • Inexpensive router rental at $10.50/mo.

  • Large provider available in 24 states

  • No contracts required

Things to consider

  • Price increase after 3 months on lowest-priced plan

  • Data caps on all but largest plan

How Sparklight has improved in 2022

  • Speed increase to all plans, now with download speeds from 200-1,000 Mbps and upload speeds from 20-50 Mbps
  • Introduced Sparklight TV, the streaming replacement for traditional cable TV
  • Unlimited data added to 1G plan
  • Data cap increase to the 200 to 500 Mbps plans

Sparklight internet is fairly middle-of-the-road in almost every category. It’s a cable internet provider — not as fast as fiber, but much better than satellite or DSL — so most people will get as much speed as they need to stream, game and work from home. Its prices are almost exactly average for the industry, too. 

But unlike most providers, Sparklight internet has data caps on all of its plans except for their 1G plan. You can add unlimited* data to the Internet 200, Internet 300 or Internet 500 plans for an additional $30/mo.

*After 5TB of data usage, speed may be slowed for network management.

How we scored internet providers

We evaluate broadband providers in four categories: affordability, performance, value and customer satisfaction. Each category contains multiple sub-factors, all of which are weighted differently to impact the provider’s overall score.

We evaluate broadband providers in four categories: affordability, performance, value and customer satisfaction. Each category contains multiple sub-factors, all of which are weighted differently to impact the provider’s overall score.

For each sub-factor, we score all providers on a continuous scale of 1 to 5, relative to the industry as a whole. Because the average download speed in America is currently 180 Mbps, for example, we assigned all plans with download speeds between 100 and 299 Mbps a score between 3 and 4. Xfinity’s 200 Mbps plan received a 3.50 score for download speed, while Spectrum’s 400 Mbps plan got a 4.16.

We only considered standardized data points in our scoring system. More abstract data like consistency of service and brand reputation is still part of our analysis, but we opted to let our writers address them in the context of each review.

Learn more about our methodology

Equipment, installation, contracts and data caps

The price that’s advertised to you when you’re shopping for internet is rarely what you’ll end up seeing on your monthly bill. There are several other fees and stipulations that you’ll want to look out for when comparing internet providers. In general, Sparklight internet plans are pretty reasonable when it comes to these extra considerations. 

Equipment

Sparklight’s WiFi ONE 2-in-1 router will add $10.50/mo. to your internet bill, which is actually on the cheap end — most companies charge closer to $15/mo. for equipment. Sparklight internet will also include up to two Wi-Fi extenders at no extra cost. These are pretty much what they sound like: a way to spread your internet connection to every corner of your house. 

Installation

Sparklight is currently waiving its $90 installation fee, but you will still have to pay a $30 activation fee. This isn’t ideal, but most providers charge a similar amount when you first set up service. 

Contracts

There are no contracts with Sparklight internet plans, and the company actually offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re not happy with your service. 

Data caps

Sparklight’s data caps are probably the biggest drawback to its internet service. If you go over your data cap, Sparklight will charge you $10 and provide another 100GB for the rest of the month. Each additional 100GB you use will cost another $10, with a maximum of $50/mo.  

You do have the option of getting unlimited data for an extra $30/mo., but this is a lot of money to pay for something most internet providers include for free.

Compare Sparklight internet to other providers

When shopping for an internet plan, it’s important to compare it to other providers. See how Sparklight internet stacks up to competitors when it comes to prices, speeds, data caps and contracts.

*Pricing per month plus taxes for length of contract. Additional fees and terms may apply. Pricing varies by location and availability. All prices subject to change at any time. May or may not be available based on service address. As of 10/03/22.

For most people, the best internet provider will come down to what kind of connection is available at your address. If you can get fiber internet from a provider like AT&T or CenturyLink, it’s almost always the best option. Fiber provides a faster, more reliable connection than cable, and you won’t have to worry about the data caps that come with Sparklight internet.

But if you’re choosing between Sparklight and a DSL service — any plan that’s not explicitly called “fiber” from AT&T or CenturyLink — you’re probably better off with Sparklight’s cable internet. DSL speeds often top out below 25 Mbps, so it can be difficult to do things like streaming, gaming or working from home.

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Bundling Sparklight internet with streaming TV

In late 2022-early 2023, Sparklight is phasing out its traditional cable service and transitioning to Sparklight TV, a digital service.

The new service is compatible with Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Sony, Sharp and others.

Sparklight TV is available everywhere if you are on the go. You can also add premium movie channels to your live TV service.

You can add two TV plans to any of Sparklight’s internet packages or get them as standalone plans:

  • The Best Value plan starts at $120/mo., is good for use on six screens and 200 hours of DVR. It includes up to 100 channels plus local broad channels, news, weather and sports.
  • The Good Value plan starts at $56/mo., is good for use on six screens and also offers 200 hours of DVR. It includes up to 20 channels, including local broadcast, cable faith, music and shopping channels.

Customer satisfaction

In general, Sparklight internet has received above-average customer satisfaction scores relative to the industry. The American Customer Satisfaction Index rated it second, just under AT&T, with a 71/100.

J.D. Power was a little more lukewarm on Sparklight. It was only included in scores for the South region, but it received a 716/1000 — directly in the middle of the 12 providers in the area.

Sparklight internet FAQs

What type of internet is Sparklight?

Sparklight uses a combination of coaxial cable and fiber-optic lines to deliver the internet.

To take advantage of Sparklight’s whole-home WiFi ONE service, you must lease your modem through Sparklight. Otherwise, you are able to use a DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem for most speeds. Find a full list of compatible modems here.

Yes. Any plan can be upgraded to unlimited data for an extra $30/mo. However, after 5 TB of data usage, speed may be slowed for network management.

Yes. Sparklight plans allow for self-installation as long as you have the modem that supports them. Be sure to confirm the type of modem you need when you place your order.

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Joe Supan

Written by:

Joe Supan

Principal Writer, Broadband Content

Joe Supan is a principal writer for Allconnect and CNET. He has helped build the proprietary metrics used on Allconnect’s review pages, utilizing thousands of data points to help readers navigate these complex… Read more

Robin Layton

Edited by:

Robin Layton

Editor, Broadband Content

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