Sixty percent of Americans find affordable Internet “extremely important” in their daily life, according to new research from Reviews.org, a website focused on evaluating connected home services and products.

Overall, the most important factor in choosing an internet plan is cost (cited by approximately 34% of survey respondents). It is followed by reliability (33%), speed (30%) and — much less important — plan flexibility (2%).

The concerns of homeowners and renters differ. Homeowners prioritize reliability (37% of survey respondents), cost (32%), and speed/performance (28%). The first two priorities are flipped among renters, with cost mentioned by 39% and reliability by 32%, followed by speed/performance cited by 28% of respondents.

Affordable Internet Study Findings

The average household spends $81 monthly on internet access, according to Reviews.org. The spread between renters and homeowners is great at $71.47 for the former and $98.79 for the latter for monthly internet, the affordable internet study found.

The researchers also found a range of opinions about government internet affordability programs:

· 63% of consumers reported familiarity with government programs that help eligible households get affordable connectivity

· 53% believe they are not eligible for financial assistance

· 40% made “sacrifices” in their budgets to get broadband (compared to 38% for mobile plans)

· 28% have participated in affordable internet programs

· 21% have relied on a mobile hotspot to connect