← Back to Blog

Is Fiber Internet Actually Worth the Upgrade in 2025?

Look, I get it. You're probably tired of seeing ads for fiber internet promising "blazing fast speeds" and wondering if it's just marketing hype. I was skeptical too until last month when I finally made the switch from cable to fiber.

After running literally hundreds of speed tests (yes, I have a problem), here's what I actually found.

The Setup

For context, I was paying Comcast about $80/month for their "300 Mbps" cable plan. In reality, I was getting around 220-280 Mbps most of the time, dropping to like 150 during peak hours. Not terrible, but also not what I was paying for.

Then a fiber provider finally came to my neighborhood offering 500 Mbps for $70/month. After weeks of debating (and my partner getting fed up with buffering during video calls), I took the plunge.

The Speed Difference is Real (But Not How You Think)

Here's where it gets interesting. During off-peak hours, the raw download speeds weren't dramatically different - cable gave me ~270 Mbps, fiber gives me ~485 Mbps. Nice improvement, but not life-changing for most stuff.

BUT - and this is huge - the consistency is night and day. With cable, I'd see:

• Morning (7-9 AM): 250-280 Mbps
• Midday (12-2 PM): 220-240 Mbps
• Evening (7-10 PM): 150-200 Mbps
• Late night (11 PM-2 AM): 280-300 Mbps

With fiber? I get 480-495 Mbps basically all the time. At 8 PM on a Friday when everyone's streaming Netflix, I'm still pulling 490 Mbps. That's the real difference.

Upload Speeds Changed Everything

This was the game-changer I didn't expect. My cable plan gave me like 10-12 Mbps upload. My fiber plan? 500 Mbps symmetric.

If you work from home or do any kind of content creation, the upload speed alone might justify the switch.

Latency and Gaming

I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I do play some online games. My ping to most servers dropped from 25-35ms with cable to 8-15ms with fiber. For competitive gaming, that's apparently a big deal. For casual play, I honestly can't tell much difference.

The Downsides (Yes, There Are Some)

Let's be real - it's not all perfect:

1. Installation took forever. They said 2-3 weeks, it took 6 weeks. And they had to drill through my wall.
2. The equipment matters. Your old router probably can't handle these speeds. I had to upgrade to a WiFi 6 router to actually see the benefits.
3. WiFi is still WiFi. Even with fiber, if you're on WiFi three rooms away, you're not getting 500 Mbps. Physics doesn't care about your internet plan.
4. Not available everywhere. Obviously. If you don't have fiber in your area, this whole post is useless to you (sorry).

Who Should Upgrade?

Fiber is probably worth it if you:

• Work from home with lots of video calls
• Have multiple people streaming 4K content simultaneously
• Upload large files regularly (video editing, photography, etc.)
• Are paying similar prices for cable anyway
• Play competitive online games

It's probably NOT worth it if you:

• Mostly just browse websites and check email
• Live alone and don't stream much
• Would have to pay significantly more than cable
• Have cable that's already meeting your needs

Bottom Line

After a month with fiber, would I go back to cable? No way. But is it revolutionary? Also no. It's just... better. More reliable, faster uploads, consistent speeds during peak times.

If the price is comparable to what you're paying now and it's available in your area, I'd say go for it. Just know that you won't suddenly become a productivity superhero or anything. Your internet will just work better, more consistently.

And honestly? In 2025, that reliability is worth alot.

← Back to Blog