Breaking Down the Costs: Should You Rent or Buy Your Internet Equipment?

That equipment fee might not seem like much when you first sign up for internet, but fast forward a few years and you’re looking at hundreds in wasted dollars.

Most internet service providers (ISPs) charge between $10 and $15 monthly for equipment rental, a cost that can be found on your ISP’s broadband nutrition label. Meanwhile, you can generally pick up a modem and router for less than $200 from retailers. Buying your own internet equipment usually pays for itself within the first year but often comes with some extra headaches.

Confession Time: I’ve been writing about the internet for six years, and for all six of them, I’ve carried around a shameful secret: I’ve rented a router from Xfinity for most of that time. Even though I’ve always advised readers to buy their own equipment, my rented modem and router worked fine, even though I knew in the back of my mind that it was a waste of money.

Then I took a look through my old bills and added up the numbers: $873. That’s how much I’ve spent on Xfinity’s equipment fees over those six years. With this money, I could’ve bought one of CNET’s best mesh routers, bought another as a backup, doubled the internet speed, or even booked a flight to Oslo. It was finally time to become an owner of my modem and router.

Why Buying Internet Equipment Makes Sense

As satisfied as I was with my Xfinity gear, owning your own equipment is almost always the better option. You’ll often get better performance—my upload speeds increased by more than 2,000%—and it’ll usually pay for itself within the first year or two.

The average internet bill in the US comes in at $63 per month—and that’s before adding extra taxes and fees. Some fees are unavoidable, but equipment rental charges don’t fall into that category.

You might be content to pay a bit extra for the convenience of not having to buy and set up your own equipment. But if you’re looking to save money in the long run, and are comfortable purchasing and managing your own gear, it’s a far better deal to shell out for your own router and modem. You may also be able to take advantage of any low-income discounts available in your state.

How to Choose the Right Modem and Router

The best internet is the internet you never notice, and I can’t remember the last time my connection went out or I saw a buffering wheel in my home. And this is all with a device from 2017 that Xfinity describes as an “old Wireless Gateway with limited speeds and functionality.”

This goes to show how much the type of internet user you are has to do with what kind of equipment you need. I live in a 750-square-foot apartment, and my internet needs are mostly limited to video calls and TV streaming. If you live in a larger home with multiple floors, the same router likely won’t cut it. Similarly, activities like online gaming hinge on split-second reactions. If this instantaneous responsiveness is important to you, it’s probably worth investing in a gaming router that minimizes lag.

Wi-Fi routers range from entry-level models like the TP-Link AC1200 for $35 to ultra-advanced mesh systems like the Netgear Orbi 970 Series for $1,445. CNET tests each Wi-Fi router by running three speed tests in five different rooms in our testing facility, logging results for download speed, upload speed, and latency. This process is repeated six times, accounting for variations in network performance at different times of the day.

After consulting our picks for the best wireless routers, I decided to go with our budget pick: the TP-Link Archer AX21. My colleague and router connoisseur Ry Crist wrote, “It’s nothing fancy, but it offered near flawless performance for small- to medium-size homes in our tests, and it’s a cinch to setup.” I get only 200Mbps through my Xfinity plan, so the 700Mbps speed the TP-Link hits at close range is more than enough juice, and it only cost $85 when I bought it. However, several government agencies have since opened an investigation into TP-Link for ties to Chinese cyber-attacks.

Do You Need to Buy a Modem?

Depending on your internet type, you may need to purchase a cable modem in addition to your router. Some ISPs, like Spectrum, include the modem for free but charge extra for a router.

The main thing to look for in a modem is compatibility. Your internet provider will have a page on their website that lists all the models it works with, and you shouldn’t stray from this. You may also have a choice between DOCSIS 3.0 and 3.1; the newer standard provides faster speeds, but DOCSIS 3.1 modems are typically more expensive. Other important factors include speed limits and the number of Ethernet ports.

Xfinity doesn’t provide a free modem, so I had to buy one in addition to a Wi-Fi router. I opted for the Hitron CODA Modem – a DOCSIS 3.1 model that’s one of the cheapest Xfinity-compatible models I could find for $100 at the time I purchased it. It supports speeds up to 867Mbps, which is more than enough for my Xfinity plan.

How to Set Up Your New Modem and Router

Ordering the equipment is the easy part; setting up third-party equipment is what keeps many customers hooked for years. The process is largely the same whether you’re starting service fresh with a new provider or swapping out old equipment. Here’s everything you’ll need to do.

1. Activate Your New Modem with Your ISP

The modem is the piece of equipment that brings the internet to your home through a coaxial cable connected to your internet provider’s network. Before it can work, ISPs need to tie your specific modem to your account. If you’re replacing old equipment, they will also turn off the old one as they activate the new modem. ISPs do this by logging your MAC (media access control) number, which is found on the bottom of the modem.

You can usually do this through your internet provider’s app, in a live chat, or by calling a customer service number.

2. Connect the Coax Cable to Your Modem

After your new modem’s MAC address is registered with your ISP, you’ll be prompted to connect your modem to the cable outlet in your wall and plug it into a power outlet. You may have to wait up to 5 minutes, and your modem’s lights will tell you when it’s receiving the internet signal. Once the indicator lights are on, you’re ready to set up your wireless router.