Many of the offers appearing on this site are from advertisers from which this website receives compensation for being listed here. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). These offers do not represent all available deposit, investment, loan or credit products.

In the last 10 years, the dominant story in the cable TV industry has been cord-cutting. Droves of viewers continue to flee gigantic 20th-century corporations because of their outrageously high prices, monopolistic cornering of the regional markets, litany of hidden fees and lousy customer service.

Tips: Unplug These Appliances That Hike Up Your Electricity Bill Also See: 6 Household Staples That Are a Waste of Money

Many cable companies seem to go out of their way to prove the stereotype. Others, however, are actually cheaper than some of the most popular live TV streaming services.

Here’s a look at the cable companies that are easiest on your wallet and those that take the biggest bite out of your take-home pay.

On a purely dollars-and-cents basis, Spectrum is a tough cable company to beat. With coverage in cities across 41 states, it’s one of the most widely available cable providers in America — and it’s also one of the only names in the game with no-contract service.

POLL: What Do You Think of Elon Musk Buying Twitter?

According to Reviews.org, Spectrum offers one of the best dollars-to-channels ratios in the industry: more than 125 channels for $49.99 per month for the first year, including premium channels like HBO if you bundle with internet and voice.

When you move beyond cost, however, the luster begins to tarnish a bit. J.D. Power ranked the major cable providers in terms of overall customer satisfaction in every region of the country. Nowhere in America did Spectrum place above average, and nationally it came in dead last.

Xfinity offers more than 125 channels for $90 per month. The Ultimate Double Play costs $110 for more than 185 channels for the first 12 months.

Even at the inflated non-contract price, Xfinity remains one of the only cable companies offering so many channels for less than $100. But be warned: Xfinity is infamous for its laundry list of fees, which is long even by the standards of cable providers. The good news is that it’s the most widely available cable TV provider in America.

The Reviews.org statement on Xfinity’s pricing came with a caveat: You won’t find another reliable cable TV provider that offers 185 channels for less than $100 “unless you live in one of the four states Optimum is offered.”

Optimum is stifled by limited regional availability, but its channel lineup is undeniably impressive, especially considering the price and the fact that there’s no contract required.

Although the company has put its television service through several rebrandings that ended with DirecTV STREAM — which is technically not cable TV — AT&T remains one of the biggest residential TV and internet providers in America and therefore must be mentioned. AT&T mostly earns decent marks in the J.D. Power rankings in terms of customer satisfaction, but it isn’t exactly easy on your wallet.

The entry-level plan with just 65 channels starts at $69.99 after a three-month reduced-rate introductory period. If you want 90 channels, it goes up to $89.99, then up to $104.99 for 130 channels. It’s a whopping $149.99 per month for just 140 channels.

Although Verizon is adding customers to its rolls of broadband users, the company is hemorrhaging subscribers from its Fios TV service. Part of that, of course, is because of the continuing national shift to streaming and cord-cutting — but some of it might have to do with Verizon’s painfully long list of fees.

Its TV plans range from $70 to $110 — not bad, considering the $70 plan delivers 125 channels — but the devil is in the fine print. First of all, there’s a $99 installation fee unless you want to install it yourself. Then, according to Reviews.org, you must either rent a router for $15 a month or buy one for $300 — going with your own is not an option. All plans come with a set-top box, but additional boxes for different rooms cost $12 each per month. Depending on how much you want, DVR can cost up to $30 per month.

Mediacom is available in nearly half the country; and, while its internet service is fairly priced, it earns a place among the worst because it doesn’t offer any standalone TV service. All TV plans must be bundled with internet or phone. Bundling options range from $30 to $140, but the provider gets another black mark because of its channel count, which tops out at just 170 for the top package.

See how the minimum wage has changed — or not — over the years.

See how the minimum wage has changed — or not — over the years.

Advertiser Disclosure: Many of the offers appearing on this site are from advertisers from which this website receives compensation for being listed here. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). These offers do not represent all available deposit, investment, loan or credit products.

Sign up for our daily newsletter for the latest financial news and trending topics.

For our full Privacy Policy, click here.