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Clearwave Fiber vs. Hargray vs. T-Mobile Internet plan comparison


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Headshot of Kathryn Casna
Researched by
Headshot of Michal Ash
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Reviewed by
Updated 5/16/23

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Clearwave Logo
Staff rating
3.8

  • Plans starting at $65.00
  • Download speeds up to 1000 Mbps
Hargray
Staff rating
3.7
Customer rating
3.5
(2)

  • Plans starting at $20.00
  • Download speeds up to 1000 Mbps
T-Mobile brand
Staff rating
3.7
Customer rating
4.2
(110)

  • Plans starting at $50.00
  • Download speeds up to 182 Mbps
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Clearwave Logo
Staff rating
3.8

Strong value and performance from a smaller brand

Overall, we like Clearwave Fiber. It’s a speedy fiber provider with decent pricing and good customer service. Our main complaint is that it’s just not as competitive on the pricing as it could be. In general, though, we think people will be happy with Clearwave Fiber.

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What we like

  • Symmetrical speeds
  • Unlimited data
  • No contracts
What we dislike

  • Price hikes after 12 months
  • Relatively new, unproven company
Savings tip: Clearwave Fiber often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.
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Hargray
Staff rating
3.7

Solid, well-priced internet for most households

Hargray is a good buy for most families willing to commit to at least a year of service, but its steep setup costs and early termination fees mean canceling too soon will cost you big. Meanwhile, YouTube creators wanting high-performance fiber internet should move on.

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What we like

  • Great service
  • Low price for the speed
  • Low equipment rental costs
What we dislike

  • Steep early termination fees
  • Underutilized fiber network
  • High installation costs
Savings tip: Hargray often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.
Check deals
T-Mobile brand
Staff rating
3.7

Inexpensive high-speed internet with no contracts

T-Mobile provides an inexpensive 5G internet plan with no contract and decent speed, but not a lot of choices or professional installation.

What we like

  • One low price
  • No commitment
  • Relatively fast
What we dislike

  • Not widely available
  • No professional installation available
  • Inconsistent speeds
Savings tip: T-Mobile often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.
Check deals
Clearwave Logo
Value
3.5
Solid value and transparent pricing

Clearwave Fiber fares decently overall in the value department, in large part because fiber just tends to be a good value. With faster plans, like Fiber 1 Gig, Clearwave is competitive and the performance is excellent. This package offers 11.75 Mbps per dollar spent, compared to the Fiber 500 plan at 6.67 Mbps per dollar. Although the latter is cheaper per month, you can clearly see how you get more for each dollar spent with the top-tier plan.

However, compared to competitors like AT&T, Clearwave is definitely more expensive. This difference is more pronounced with the lower-tier packages, where you get a lot more for your money with other providers.

It’s not all bad news, however. You do get unlimited data on all the plans by default—some providers, notably Xfinity, charge quite a lot for this. The equipment costs are also low, at $10 per month.

Additionally, while the price does increase after 12 months, the bump is relatively small at just $15 per month. Clearwave is very up front about this, which is a refreshing change—normally we have to dig to find out how much a plan’s price will increase after promotional periods end.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit
Clearwave Fiber's website
or call to speak with a rep.
See pricing
Hargray
Value
2.5
For the average household, it’s a great deal

Overall, Hargray offers a lot of speed for the price, and all plans come with unlimited data, which made us do happy dances. For the best deal (AKA the lowest price-to-speed ratio), stick with one of Hargray’s slowest plans—which are fast enough for most households anyway. This company’s 100 and 200 Mbps plans come in at just 45% of what most plans in the US cost, while its 1 Gig plans cost around 85% of the national benchmark (1).

Higher-speed plans also come with another downside: while Hargray boasts a fiber network, people who upload a lot of video will lament its slow (for fiber) upload speeds. In short, Hargray’s a great deal for most people, but if top performance is important to you, save your happy dance for another provider.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit
Hargray's website
or call 1-877-427-4729 to speak with a rep.
See pricing
T-Mobile brand
Value
4.0
One plan, one very low price

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet comes in one download speed (182 Mbps), which is fast enough for a lot of people but slower than most cable plans (up to 1 Gbps) and fiber plans (up to 5 Gbps). The good news? T-Mobile’s plan includes unlimited data, but there may be slowdowns when the network is congested. It’ll cost you $50, which is $0.50 per Mbps, and about right for 5G plans. However, overall, 5G internet is super cheap compared to other kinds of broadband internet. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) benchmarks similar broadband plans at $105.67/month, (1) which comes out to more than a dollar per Mbps!

Even better, if you’re already a T-Mobile customer with a qualifying Magenta plan, your rate is $25/month. If max download speeds of 100 Mbps works for you, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is a pretty sweet deal, especially if you’re already a customer. But if you’re looking for more plan options, you won’t find them here.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit
T-Mobile's website
or call 1-833-922-2124 to speak with a rep.
See pricing
Clearwave Logo
Performance
5.0
Fast fiber speeds and unlimited data

Clearwave Fiber does better in the performance department. Speeds are fast—up to 1 Gbps—and all the fiber plans offer symmetrical speeds. This means the download and upload speeds are the same.

With something like cable your upload is normally about 10% of your download speed, if that. This helps a lot with live streaming, video calls, and sharing large files like videos.

As for reliability, fiber is generally pretty solid. However, Clearwave is a newer company, so it’s hard to say how well the service will hold up. Here’s what we can say: in some markets, Clearwave has taken over Hargray’s fiber services, which we have found to be somewhat unreliable in the past. Hopefully Clearwave makes improvements for customers going forward.

Available speeds vary by location. Call to speak with a Clearwave Fiber rep or
go to its website.
Hargray
Performance
4.5
Fast enough speeds for most, but we shed a tear for the unused potential

Hargray uses a fiber optic network, which is much more reliable than satellite or fixed wireless (like 5G) internet. Fiber is also capable of faster speeds (up to 5 Gigs for both download and upload) than any other kind of internet.

Unfortunately, Hargray isn’t using its fiber network to its fullest extent. Its fastest speed is only 1 gig, which most cable internet companies offer. It’s kinda bumming us out, like a straight-B student who could totally ace the class if only they’d apply themselves more. But the real bummer is that Hargray gives you only 20–50 Mbps for uploading, which is great but nowhere close to the symmetrical ideal that fiber can deliver. While most people will love how quickly they can upload a file to Google Drive or post to their Insta account, we think it’s a tragic underutilization of fiber technology. We know. #FirstWorldProblems.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-877-427-4729 to speak with a Hargray rep or
go to its website.
T-Mobile brand
Performance
3.0
Faster than advertised, but awkwardly unpredictable

As with any fixed wireless internet provider, speeds fluctuate widely and can be affected by weather, terrain, peak hours, and more. That means you’ll rarely get a steady 100 Mbps. T-Mobile says you’ll likely see anywhere from 33 to 182 Mbps for download and 8 to 25 Mbps for upload. (2) But we think T-Mobile should toot its horn a little louder. Independent research shows speeds average out to around 119 Mbps for download and 16 Mbps for upload—both of which leave other wireless ISPs in the dust. (3)

Generally, 5G internet isn’t as fast as cable internet (up to 1,000 Mbps, or 1 Gbps) or fiber (up to 5 Gbps). But for most people, it’ll feel pretty zippy. Unfortunately, if you’re using your connection for gaming, the inconsistency could cause unpredictable, frustrating lags.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-833-922-2124 to speak with a T-Mobile rep or
go to its website.
Clearwave Logo
Equipment and installation
3.5
No surprises here

Clearwave Fiber offers what it calls the Clearwave Fiber Router. Combined with a whole-home Wi-Fi system and a smartphone app, customers are promised wall-to-wall coverage and a slew of features to help make the experience better. These include individual profiles for people and rooms, bandwidth tests, guest networks, and parental controls. That’s a pretty solid package for $10 per month.

Installation is the typical fiber deal—you’ll need a tech to come out and install the Optical Network Terminal (ONT), which is basically the modem for your fiber network. After that, you can either use Clearwave’s router or bring your own. There’s a $99 installation fee, which is pretty standard.

Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on
Clearwave Fiber plans
available in your area.
View plans
Hargray
Equipment and installation
3.0
Low-cost equipment rentals, high-cost installation

Hargray’s equipment rental prices are super reasonable. You can rent a modem for just $4 per month, which makes the hassle of using your own gear a lot less appealing. Unless, of course, you’re a technophile who has a favorite modem (more power to you!). You can use most modems. Hargray’s Wi-Fi gear is also inexpensive, coming in at $10 per month. The price includes at least two extenders and free Wi-Fi setup to make sure your signal is dialed. That’s a sweet deal.

The rest of your internet installation will cost you, though. Professional installation costs around $100. Self-setup is technically free, but you have to cough up a $99 activation fee. The activation fee is refundable after your first year of service, but it still hurts, and you’ll probably forget you have a refund coming long before it hits your account anyway. Still, with self-setup, you’ll get to skip the dreaded installation appointment window, so it might still be worth it.

Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on
Hargray plans
available in your area.
View plans
T-Mobile brand
Equipment and installation
4.0
You’ll need an app for that

T-Mobile uses a 5G gateway (included at no additional cost) to turn cell signal into Wi-Fi for your home. It’s strong enough to send signal about 30 feet away, depending on how many walls are in the way. It’s compatible with most mesh network extenders. Plus, you can create up to four separate networks, so you can create one for Airbnb guests or your least favorite roommate.

According to T-Mobile, installation should take around 15 minutes—if you have an Android or iOS phone and can download the T-Mobile internet app. If that doesn’t work out, you can call T-Mobile customer service and someone will help you get set up. If you don’t get cell signal or a landline at home, though, you’re going to have a rough day.

Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on
T-Mobile plans
available in your area.
View plans
Clearwave Logo
Customer experience
3.5
Quick and helpful service

Since Clearwave is fairly new, the customer experience is a bit of a question mark. We’ve not seen a ton of user comments about the provider, but the few we have seen have been generally positive, citing good reliability, lack of data caps, and local customer support. This includes both former Hargray customers as well as new Clearwave customers.

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Additionally, while the company’s website lacks self-help options, we chatted with customer service reps several times and were able to consistently get a response within a minute or two. The reps were direct, helpful, and friendly, and we appreciated the speed of the responses.

Visit Clearwave Fiber's website
or call for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.
Go to provider
Hargray
Customer experience
5.0
Inexpensive technician visits and top-notch premium service plan

Hargray has two levels of customer service (2), and they’re both pretty solid. The first is what you’d expect: you pay full price for all technician visits ($65) and the cost of any repairs, troubleshooting, or installation of new wires and jacks. Other than the cost of work done, there’s no additional charge for this service level.

If connection issues make you nervous or you want Hargray’s highest level of service, you might want to spring for Hargray’s Connected Home Plan for about $6 per month. With that, you’re covered for repairs of common equipment, like wiring, jacks, and splitters—whether the damage was caused by you or an act of God. For services that aren’t fully covered (like learning how to use your Hargray modem or troubleshooting your own router) you pay just $35 per visit.

Visit Hargray's website
or call 1-877-427-4729 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.
Go to provider
T-Mobile brand
Customer experience
4.0
Award-winning customer service, but a lackluster guarantee

T-Mobile is fairly new to providing home internet, but it has a solid track record of providing great service to its mobile customers. Both contract and non-contract customers see the best service in the industry, according to J.D. Power. (4)

We don’t like T-Mobile’s short 15-day money-back guarantee, which doesn’t give you much time for a test drive. (We much prefer Starry’s 30-day guarantee.) Even worse, your countdown starts when T-Mobile ships your 5G Gateway, not when it arrives. If there are any shipping delays or it takes you a day or two to get set up, you’ll run out of testing time fast.

Visit T-Mobile's website
or call 1-833-922-2124 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.
Go to provider
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Clearwave Fiber
0.0
(0)
5 Star
0%
4 Star
0%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Hargray
3.5
(2)
5 Star
0%
4 Star
50%
3 Star
50%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
B
Brian Hillfrom Newark, NJ
Hargray Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 11-14-2022
I have been with them for a good few years. They have been professional and have done good work. My internet is the fastest it has ever been.
E
Earlfrom Danielson, CT
Hargray Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 8-29-2022
They are always there when i want to use them but the price is a bit too high
T-Mobile
4.2
(110)
5 Star
43%
4 Star
41%
3 Star
14%
2 Star
1%
1 Star
1%
J
Jordanfrom Atlanta, GA
T-Mobile Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 6-17-2022
For the price I’m paying, I would say my internet is fairly good and is fast and reliant.
C
Ceciliafrom Hoboken, NJ
T-Mobile Customer for Less than a year
Reviewed on: 6-17-2022
Have been with tmobile 20+ years with cell service
T
Theresafrom Austin, TX
T-Mobile Customer for Less than a year
Reviewed on: 6-17-2022
Was previously with Sprint. Not too familiar with T mobile
J
Joefrom Hewitt, NJ
T-Mobile Customer for Less than a year
Reviewed on: 6-17-2022
it is a seamless experience
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Endnotes and sources
Endnotes and sources
1. “2022 Urban Rate Survey – Fixed Broadband Service,” FCC. Accessed 12 December 2022.2. "Connected Home Plan," Hargray. Accessed 12 December 2022
Endnotes and sources
1. “2022 Urban Rate Survey – Fixed Broadband Service,” FCC. Accessed 12 December 2022.2. “Policies, Open Internet,” T-Mobile. Accessed 12 December 2022.3. “USA 5G Experience Report October 2021,” Opensignal. Accessed 12 December 2022.4. "Wireless Customer Care Satisfaction Declines as Staff Turnover Rises, J.D. Power Finds,” J.D. Power. Accessed 12 December 2022.