Data caps used to be a standard feature of American home internet. Most of them have quietly disappeared, but not all, and the ones that remain are easy to miss because they live in policy pages rather than plan grids.
This page tracks which major providers still apply a monthly data allowance, which ones only slow you down when the network is busy, and which have no limit at all. If you want the underlying concept explained first, start with our guide to what a data cap actually is and come back here for the provider-by-provider picture.
Quick answer
- Cox is the notable holdout among large wired providers. Its published policy applies a 1.25 TB monthly plan with overage charges unless you add an unlimited data plan.
- Xfinity now includes unlimited data on its current plans. Older accounts in some markets may still carry an allowance, so check your bill rather than assuming.
- Spectrum, AT&T Fiber, Verizon Fios, CenturyLink and Quantum Fiber advertise no caps. Uncapped is now the norm for wired service.
- Wireless home internet has no hard cap but is managed. T-Mobile and Verizon 5G home plans can be slowed during congestion instead of billing you for usage.
- Satellite is the exception that still meters. Traditional satellite plans include a monthly priority data amount, after which speeds drop. Starlink advertises unlimited data on residential plans.
Data caps by provider
| Provider | Monthly allowance | What happens if you go over |
|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Unlimited on current plans | Nothing on current plans. Older plans in some markets carried an allowance with overage charges or an unlimited add-on |
| Cox | 1.25 TB (1,280 GB), download and upload combined | $10 for each additional 50 GB block unless you add the unlimited or 500 GB data plan |
| Spectrum | No cap advertised | Not applicable |
| AT&T Fiber | No cap advertised | Not applicable |
| AT&T Internet Air | No hard cap | Traffic may be managed during congestion |
| Verizon Fios | No cap advertised | Not applicable |
| Verizon 5G Home | No hard cap | Traffic may be managed when the local cell site is busy |
| T-Mobile Home Internet | No hard cap | Speeds can be reduced during congestion; the entry plan is deprioritized relative to higher tiers |
| CenturyLink | Unlimited, no overage charges advertised | Not applicable |
| Quantum Fiber | Unlimited | Not applicable |
| Frontier | No cap advertised on fiber plans | Not applicable |
| Starlink | Unlimited on residential plans | Speeds vary with network congestion rather than usage |
| HughesNet and Viasat | Monthly priority data amount by plan | Service continues at reduced speed once priority data is used |
Policies vary by market, plan and how long you have been a customer. Treat this table as a starting point and confirm the terms attached to your own plan, which is the only version that governs your bill.
Hard cap, soft cap and deprioritization are three different things
A hard cap is a monthly allowance with a financial consequence. Cox is the clearest current example among large wired providers: its published speeds and data policy applies a 1.25 TB monthly plan that counts downloads and uploads together, and charges for each additional block of data unless you buy an add-on.
A soft limit means the provider reserves the right to manage extremely heavy users, usually by slowing them temporarily, without billing extra. Most uncapped wired plans still have language like this buried in the acceptable use policy. In practice, ordinary households never encounter it.
Deprioritization is different again, and it is the model used by 5G home internet. There is no number to exceed. Instead, when a cell site is congested, home internet traffic yields to other traffic, and T-Mobile applies this more aggressively to its entry-level plan than to its higher tiers. The practical result is slower evenings in busy areas rather than a bill you did not expect.
Satellite is a fourth pattern. Traditional satellite plans include a fixed amount of priority data each month, and once it is used the connection continues at a reduced speed for the rest of the billing period. Our comparison of HughesNet and Viasat covers how those allowances differ, and our Starlink review explains why Starlink’s residential plans work differently.
How much data does a normal household actually use?
This is the part that keeps caps from mattering to most people. Streaming is the dominant use, and even heavy 4K viewing on several screens rarely pushes a household past a terabyte in a month unless someone is downloading very large game files regularly or running continuous uploads. Our guide to internet speed for 4K streaming includes rough per-hour figures you can use to estimate.
The households that do exceed a terabyte tend to share a few traits: multiple 4K streams running most of the day, a large game library refreshed often, security cameras uploading continuously, or someone backing up large video projects to the cloud. If two or three of those apply to you, a cap is worth checking before you sign up.
How to check the policy that applies to you
Do not rely on the plan page. Providers publish their real terms in a separate policy document, and the useful ones state the allowance, whether uploads count and what an overage costs. Cox, for example, publishes a speeds and data plans page that lists the allowance and the price of each additional block.
Then check your own account. Most providers show a usage meter in their app or web portal, and existing customers on older plans sometimes have terms that no longer match what the company advertises to new customers. On Xfinity in particular, current plans include unlimited data, but an older account can still carry an allowance, so look at the itemized bill and the usage page rather than the marketing.
If you want the provider-level detail, our reviews go through the policies one company at a time: Xfinity, Cox, AT&T, Spectrum and T-Mobile Home Internet.
What to do if your plan has a cap
Start by measuring. A month of usage data tells you whether the cap is a real constraint or a theoretical one, and most people discover they use far less than they feared.
If you genuinely run past the allowance, compare three options: adding the provider’s unlimited data plan, moving to a higher tier that includes unlimited data, or switching to an uncapped provider at your address. The add-on is often the worst value of the three, so price it against the alternatives rather than accepting it by default. Our guide to lowering your internet bill covers how to negotiate this without ending up on a worse plan.
For rural addresses, where choice is thinner, the practical question is usually which uncapped option exists at all. Our guide to unlimited internet for rural areas works through that.
Bottom line
Caps are no longer the default. Among large wired providers, Cox is the main one still applying a monthly allowance with overage charges, while Spectrum, AT&T Fiber, Verizon Fios, CenturyLink and Quantum Fiber advertise none, and Xfinity now includes unlimited data on current plans. Wireless home internet trades a cap for congestion management, and traditional satellite still meters priority data. Before you worry about it, check a month of your own usage. For most households the cap is a number they will never reach.
How we checked this
We read each provider’s current published consumer terms, including plan pages, data policy documents and offer footnotes, and we only list a policy where the provider states it. Where a provider offers different treatment by plan or market, we say so rather than picking one number. We did not test throttling behavior and we do not publish measurements we did not take. Data policies change and vary by market, so confirm the terms attached to your own plan. Last verified: August 22, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Among large wired providers, Cox is the notable one, with a published 1.25 TB monthly plan and charges for additional data unless you add an unlimited plan. Traditional satellite services still meter priority data. Most other major providers advertise no cap.
Xfinity’s current plans include unlimited data. Some older accounts in some markets still carry a monthly allowance, so check your bill and usage page if you have been a customer for a while.
On Cox, yes: its policy counts downloads and uploads together. Other providers with allowances have historically counted both as well, which matters if you back up large files or run security cameras.
No. A cap is a monthly amount with a financial consequence. Deprioritization means your traffic yields to other traffic when the network is busy, which affects speed rather than your bill. 5G home internet plans use the second model.
Most households land well under a terabyte. Heavy 4K streaming across several screens, frequent large game downloads and continuous cloud uploads are what push a home past that point.