There’s never been a better time to rid yourself of crappy, overpriced, aging cable modem hardware that you are currently renting from your cable company. With disliked companies like Comcast jacking up rental fees by 25 percent starting January 1, 2015, the financial benefits of upgrading to a new cable modem is even more obvious.

Comcast’s new fee for many markets in the United States will be $10 per month to rent a cable modem. Over a five year period, you would end up spending $600 on a cable modem that you don’t even own. Alternatively, you can purchase your own cable modem for approximately 10 percent of that cost and end up saving $500 over the next few years. Or at least until Google Fiber comes to town!

Our top pick for a new cable modem is Motorola’s SB6121 SURFboard cable modem (Amazon Link). It’s typically on sale around the $70 price point on Amazon and will fit the speed needs of 90 percent of Internet subscribers. It’s also extremely easy to setup and rated 4.5 out 5 stars on Amazon.

Search Ben’s for Surfboard Cable Modem Deals

If you need something slightly more powerful, step up to the SurfBoard SB6141 (around $90, Amazon Link). This modem is ideal for anyone that pays for the fastest Internet plan from their cable provider, typically anything that pushes 150 Mbps speeds or higher. It’s also ranked as the top pick of all cables modems on the market by The Wirecutter.

On the flip side, if you pay for the cheapest Internet plan with your cable provider, you can also go with an inexpensive, budget modem to avoid spending too much up front. You will want to search for “DOCSIS 2.0” modems, an older speed standard. This also means the cable modems will be in $20 to $30 range. Check Amazon here to see these models.

2015 Resolution: Ditch your cable modem rental to save big