CenturyLink
available in 
Price: $50.00–$75.00/mo.*
Speeds: 40–940Mbps
Data cap: None
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◊ Provider star ratings are based on user reviews and our independent customer satisfaction survey.
Data effective 03/15/2024. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*Speed may not be available in your area. Maximum download/upload speed of up to 940Mbps via a wired connection. Paperless billing required. Taxes and fees apply. Offer details. Offer includes professional installation at customer’s eligible location.
Our CenturyLink internet review
Mar 15, 2024 | Share
CenturyLink is a major internet provider with two types of internet to choose from: fiber and DSL. Its fiber plan is one of the best deals you can get, with very fast speeds at affordable prices with lots of extra perks. The DSL internet plans aren’t nearly as fast, but they’re worth considering if you live in a rural area and have few internet service options otherwise.
Pros
- No data caps
- No annual contracts
- Excellent speeds on fiber plans
- Affordable prices
Cons
- Limited availability for fiber
- Inconsistent DSL speeds
Jump to: Plans and pricing | Speed and data caps | Fees | Installation, equipment, and contracts | Customer ratings | CenturyLink vs. the competition | Bottom line | FAQ
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Compare CenturyLink internet plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | Speed | View on CenturyLink site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simply Unlimited Internet 40-80Mbps | $55.00/mo.** | Up to 80 Mbps | |
| Simply Unlimited Internet 100Mbps | $55.00/mo.* | Up to 100 Mbps | |
| Simply Unlimited Internet 140Mbps | $55.00/mo.* | Up to 140 Mbps | |
| CenturyLink Fiber Internet 500Mbps | $50.00/mo.# | 500 Mbps | |
| CenturyLink Fiber Gigabit Internet | $75.00/mo.‡ | 940 Mbps |
**Service is not available everywhere. Offer is available to qualifying customers only. Limited time offer. Paperless billing required. Additional taxes, fees, and surcharges apply.
*Speed may not be available in your area. Paperless billing or prepay required. Additional taxes, fees, and surcharges apply. Get the fastest internet speed available at your location (max speed is up to 100 Mbps).
* Speed may not be available in your area. Paperless billing or prepay required. Additional taxes, fees, and surcharges apply. Get the fastest internet speed available at your location (max speed is up to 140 Mbps).
# Service is not available everywhere. Offer is available to qualifying customers only. Limited time offer. Paperless billing required. Additional taxes, fees, and surcharges apply.
‡Speed may not be available in your area. Maximum download/upload speed of up to 940 Mbps via a wired connection. Paperless billing required. Taxes and fees apply. Offer details. Offer includes professional installation at customer’s eligible location.
Find out if CenturyLink is available in your area.
CenturyLink speeds
CenturyLink’s fastest plan can reach speeds up to 940 Mbps, which is powerful enough to let up to a dozen users or more stream in 4K, play online games, attend Zoom meetings with ease. On the other hand, CenturyLink’s DSL plans are fairly slow. Although they technically top out at 140Mbps, in reality, many DSL users get sluggish speeds in the range of 5–25Mbps.
How fast are your CenturyLink speeds?
Click below for a quick speed test and find out.
Download speed
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Upload speed
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Latency (ping)
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Jitter
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Use our How Much Internet Speed Do I Need? tool for a quick rundown of how much bandwidth is best for you.
CenturyLink data caps
CenturyLink does not have data caps on any of its internet plans. You can use all the data you want all month long without worrying about overage fees or throttled speeds. Yay!
Our favorite plan: CenturyLink Fiber Internet 500Mbps
We love CenturyLink’s Fiber Internet because it delivers fast, reliable speeds for a reasonable price. A speed of 500Mbps is excellent for most households, and you also get symmetrical upload speeds to give you a massive speed boost for backing up cloud drives and making Zoom calls. This plan also comes with unlimited data, installation, and a router at no extra cost.
CenturyLink ongoing deals and promotions
If you refer a new customer to CenturyLink services and they sign up, you and the new customer will both get a reward of up to $100. Plus, get free installation when you sign up for a plan with 940Mbps speeds.
CenturyLink internet fees
| Cost | |
|---|---|
| Equipment fee | $15.00/mo. (no fee on fiber gigabit plan) |
| Installation fee | $15.00–$99.00 (no fee on fiber gigabit plan) |
| Data overage fee | N/A |
| Early termination fee | N/A |
CenturyLink goes easy on the fees. None of its plans have data caps or annual contracts, so you don’t have to worry about overage fees for using too much data or early termination fees when you cancel your plan. CenturyLink’s fiber gigabit plan also comes with a gateway (modem/router) at no extra charge.
CenturyLink internet installation, equipment, and contracts
Depending on the type of internet service you’re getting and where you live, installing internet with CenturyLink is either fairly simple or somewhat complex. Standard installation costs just $15—you get a kit and set up the internet yourself. Pro installation costs $99, with the price going up if CenturyLink’s technician needs to install any wiring underground outside your home. Installation doesn’t cost anything for gigabit fiber customers.
CenturyLink installation and equipment
In most cases, CenturyLink installation is fairly straightforward—all you need to do is set up the modem and router and activate it through the internet service provider’s customer portal. But you need a professional technician to help if your home doesn’t have the proper cabling, an optical network terminal for fiber, or an internet–friendly phone jack for DSL.
You also need a modem and router. You can rent a gateway (modem/router combo) from CenturyLink for $15 a month. But we actually recommend getting your own router because that saves you money in the long run and gives you more flexibility when it comes to speed, security features, and more.
Pro tip:
If you’re shopping for a router, we recommend Google Nest Wi-Fi. Coming at a solid price, it gives you up-to-date wireless standards for fast speeds and works in homes of all sizes.
Amazon.com Price (as of 5/9/22 10:15 MST). See full disclaimer.
CenturyLink internet contracts
CenturyLink internet plans don’t require annual contracts. You get a plan that works month to month, so you can cancel any time without having to worry about early termination fees.
CenturyLink internet customer ratings
| Overall Rating | Speed | Price | Reliability | Customer service | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CenturyLink customer satisfaction rating | 3.6/5 | 3.6/5 | 3.4/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Average rating* | 3.7/5 | 3.8/5 | 3.4/5 | 3.7/5 | 3.6/5 |
*Based on our annual customer satisfaction survey
CenturyLink gets below-average ratings for most categories in our annual customer satisfaction survey. But it has better ratings for price, rounding out right at the average.
Despite the less-than-stellar ratings, past surveys have shown that the provider’s fiber customers tend to really like their service. Still, the majority find CenturyLink to be adequate or slightly less so.
Does CenturyLink have good customer service?
CenturyLink gets subpar rankings for customer service in our satisfaction survey. It doesn’t end up at the bottom, though, with its 3.5 out of 5 score falling just one decimal point below average.
How CenturyLink compares to the competition
| Provider | Plan price range | Speeds (range) | User rating* | Order online |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | $30.00–$299.95/mo. | 75 Mbps–1 Gbps | 3.7/5 | View Plans |
| Spectrum | $17.99–$89.99/mo. | Up to 30–up to 1,000 Mbps | 3.7/5 | View Plans |
| AT&T | $55.00–$180.00/mo. | Up to 25–5,000 Mbps | 3.7/5 | View Plans |
*According to our annual customer satisfaction survey
While CenturyLink offers an unbeatable fiber gigabit plan, Xfinity—a major rival internet service provider—has more variety, including great budget options and bundle packages.
As for Spectrum, another big internet service provider with overlap in CenturyLink areas, its fastest plans have wider availability than CenturyLink, and it gives you a wider range of speed tiers to pick from. But both providers offer unlimited data and month-to-month contracts with no annual requirement.
CenturyLink beats out rival fiber provider AT&T, though. A fiber plan from CenturyLink gets you faster speeds for a lower price. CenturyLink’s DSL plan also costs $5 less than AT&T’s DSL packages.
Read our full reviews of CenturyLink vs its main internet competitors
Is CenturyLink internet right for you?
CenturyLink internet is right for you if you can get a fiber plan or if you live in a rural area and are content with a relatively sluggish DSL connection.
We love CenturyLink’s gigabit fiber plan. It’s affordable while still delivering excellent download and upload speeds. It’s comparable to most other gigabit plans and comes with a gateway and installation at no extra cost.
It’s hard to give equally glowing reviews to CenturyLink’s DSL internet plans, since DSL in general is just kind of an old and borderline obsolete service. But we do like the fact that CenturyLink offers unlimited data on all of its plans and doesn’t impose annual contracts. And if you’re living in a rural area, then DSL might just be your best option, since satellite and many fixed wireless options are usually a lot more expensive.
FAQ about CenturyLink
What are the best routers for CenturyLink internet?
How fast is CenturyLink DSL?
Can you get CenturyLink internet service in Las Vegas?
Methodology
Our HighSpeedInternet.com editorial team bases our analyses on customer input from our annual customer satisfaction survey, results from our speed test tool, and proprietary internet provider data on speeds and pricing. To strengthen our research, we look closely at provider contracts to get hard-to-find information on price hikes, data caps, and extra fees, and we keep tabs on the latest news reports and online reviews. When applicable, we also rely on our personal experiences testing these services.
Disclaimer
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