Our choice
Motorola MB7621
Compatible with most ISPs, the MB7621 supports internet plans up to 600 Mbps. It’s widely supported, has a two-year warranty, and pays for itself in about eight months.
The Motorola MB7621 is reliable, supports the fastest Internet speeds available to the vast majority of Americans, and offers compatibility with just about every non-gigabit plan from every cable Internet service provider in the United States. including Xfinity, Spectrum (formerly Time Warner, Charter, and Bright House), Cox, Suddenlink, Sparklight, and WOW (which gives you flexibility if you move or change ISPs). The MB7621 works well for plans up to 600 megabits per second (Mbps), as it is a DOCSIS 3.0 modem that can handle 24 downstream channels and eight upstream channels. It also includes a two-year warranty.
Budget choice
Netgear CM500
Our former top pick is still a good choice if saving money is important to you, and as long as you haven’t upgraded to a service plan faster than 300 Mbps.
Purchase options
*At the time of publication, the price was $76.
In December 2022, average internet speeds in America were around 193 Mbps, according to Speedtest.net. If your plan is in this range and you don’t plan to go beyond 300 Mbps anytime soon, we recommend the Netgear CM500. The CM500 has good ISP compatibility, but its maximum download and upload speeds are lower than our top pick (300 Mbps on the CM500 versus 600 Mbps on the Motorola MB7621). Although the CM500 has a good reputation for reliability, it only comes with a one-year warranty.
(We recommend 16×4 modems like the CM500, even if your plan would work with a slower model, as ISPs are dropping support for 8×4 modems. You’d barely save any money upfront, and you should replace your modem years earlier, so we don’t recommend it.)
Upgrade Choice
Motorola MB8611
The Motorola MB8611 is our choice if you already have gigabit or faster Internet services: it’s one of the cheapest DOCSIS 3.1 gigabit modems with a 2.5 GbE port, it has a two-year warranty and it’s well created.
If you have a gigabit or multi-gig Internet plan and your ISP allows you to use your own modem, the Motorola MB8611 is the best of the DOCSIS 3.1 modems that are widely available right now, thanks to its relatively low price and its two-year warranty. guarantee. You need a DOCSIS 3.1 modem to guarantee gigabit speeds from most cable ISPs, and some ISPs like Sparklight recommend DOCSIS 3.1 modems for new cable modem activations.
Don’t buy a gigabit modem unless you already have gigabit service or know it’s available. The added expense of a DOCSIS 3.1 modem isn’t worth it until you’re on one of these new (and expensive) plans, especially since your ISP can deploy gigabit over fiber instead. only on cable. And they might not even let you bring your own modem once they roll out gigabit service.
Modem compatibility list, updated February 2023
Optimum “encourages” DOCSIS 3.1 modems with the company’s service, and DOCSIS 3.0 (24×8) modems are compatible with their service under 500 Mbps. But you must call Optimum to verify compatibility before purchasing.
