Xfinity vs. Spectrum: Which Cable Giant Does It Better?

Xfinity vs. Spectrum: Which is better for your home?

Xfinity and Spectrum are the biggest cable internet providers in the country. Each ISP is available to over 100 million Americans — with a combined footprint covering about a third of the population — so there’s a good chance you’ll be eligible for service from one of these providers.

Cable internet, the most broadly available wired internet type, is a popular option for home internet. With speeds that typically reach a gigabit, bundling opportunities and competitive introductory rates, cable internet is a solid alternative to 5G, DSL or satellite internet and a good second-best option if fiber isn’t available at your address.

Of the two most widely available cable internet providers, we like Spectrum Internet because it offers unlimited data, no contracts and better overall value in the long term. However, if Spectrum is unavailable at your address, Xfinity is a decent alternative, featuring a wide range of plan offerings and competitive introductory rates. Here’s the full rundown.

Xfinity vs. Spectrum: Coverage and availability

According to the most recent data, the Federal Communications Commission reports that Xfinity and Spectrum’s services combined cover around 63% of households nationwide. Both providers’ coverage is most concentrated in the Northeast, the Midwest and the South. You’ll also find Xfinity and Spectrum plans available in parts of the West, Southwest and mountainous regions of the US. Spectrum even offers internet service throughout the majority of Hawaii.

Despite the large swaths of coverage, there’s less overlap between the two providers’ footprints than you might think. Though you’ll find both available in several metro regions across the country, including Atlanta, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Minneapolis and Orlando, the two providers each tend to stick to whatever parts of the map they’ve managed to wall off for themselves, with one often claiming a city’s central, downtown area and the other planting its flag in many of the adjacent suburbs.

That means you aren’t likely to find Xfinity and Spectrum available at the same address — but moving across town might mean switching from one provider to another.

Xfinity vs. Spectrum: Plans and prices

Comparing Xfinity and Spectrum pricing side by side isn’t easy. While Spectrum keeps it simple with two consistent plans across its coverage area, Xfinity offers multiple plans with varying terms and fees across its three service regions.

Spectrum home internet plans

Let’s get the easy one out of the way first. With Spectrum, you have two plans to choose from, with max download speeds of 500 megabits per second or 1,000Mbps. Depending on your choice, your monthly bill will range from $50 to $70 during your promo period. After that, your monthly rate will increase by $30, meaning you’ll pay $80 to $100 each month. The good news is that no contracts or data caps are associated with either of those plans.

Xfinity home internet plans (West division)

Xfinity home internet plans (Central division)

Xfinity home internet plans (Northeast division)

Xfinity offers a wider variety of plans, with prices and details varying across markets. Most Xfinity plans come with a 1.2TB data cap (more on that in a bit), and in certain regions, some plans come with a one- or two-year contract. In all regions, max download speeds range from 150Mbps to 10,000Mbps. Select parts of the footprint may have access to an Xfinity fiber connection. That said, per the FCC, fiber is available to less than 0.5% of Xfinity subscribers. For most Xfinity addresses, a 2,000 or 1,200Mbps cable plan will be the fastest speed available.

Pricing is where Xfinity gets complicated. For starters, let’s pull out that top-tier Gigabit Pro plan, which is only available at addresses with access to Xfinity fiber. It costs a hefty $300 per month and comes with a two-year agreement in all three regions. You’ll also need to request a site survey to verify that your address is serviceable for the plan.

As for the standard cable internet plans, available everywhere with download speeds of up to 1,200Mbps and occasionally up to 2,000Mbps, monthly prices range from $20 to $95 during the promo period and from $64 to $126 after that. Just pay attention to those price jumps because, in some regions, they can get awfully steep.

How steep? Things aren’t so bad in the West, where the average price increase on those cable plans is around $30. This is also the case for the Central region, where most customers will probably be required to sign a one- to two-year contract. For the Northeast, the average jump is also $30 a month, with a few surprises. The Connect More plan jumps from $35 monthly to a staggering $90 monthly.

Xfinity vs. Spectrum: Which offers the better value?

The easiest way to get a quick sense of value with an internet plan is to look at the monthly cost per Mbps. Spectrum’s average cost across its two plans during the first year promo period is 9 cents for each Mbps of download speed. After year one, that average goes up to 13 cents per Mbps. Both are decent figures — the only cable provider that does better is WideOpenWest, or WOW, which charges an average of 7 cents per Mbps during the first year and 21 cents per Mbps after that.

With Xfinity’s smattering of cable plans, you’ll pay an average of 17 cents per Mbps during the first year and 39 cents per Mbps after your promo ends and your bill goes up. (The Gigabit Pro fiber plan does come in at 3 cents per Mbps, but again, you’re paying an unrealistic $300 each month for it.) That’s still better than many other competitors, including cable internet rival Cox Communications, which charges an average of 15 cents per Mbps during year one and 26 cents per Mbps after that.

With more plans and three separate regions, there’s a lot of variance in the Xfinity value proposition, and some plans offer better value than others. Overall, though, you’ll be paying a bit more than you will with Spectrum.

When you factor in Xfinity’s contracts, data caps and price hikes, it’s pretty clear that Spectrum wins on value.

Xfinity vs. Spectrum: Service terms and fees

Neither provider goes overboard with extra fees, and both give you the flexibility to skip them whenever possible. Here’s the breakdown:

Installation

Xfinity charges $100 for in-home, professional installation of your home internet service. Spectrum charges $65. You can skip the fee with both providers by using a self-install kit and plugging everything in yourself, though Spectrum charges $30 for its self-install equipment and Xfinity charges $40.

It’s also pretty standard for internet providers to waive the fee for professional installation to help entice you into signing up, so it’s worth asking for that if you’re trying to negotiate the best deal.

Equipment rental

Both providers charge a monthly equipment fee for renting a gateway or router, but you can skip that fee by using your own gear in both cases. It’s a little easier with Spectrum, which provides a modem at no cost and then charges $10 per month if you rent a router — just get a router of your own and kiss that $10 fee goodbye. The gigabit plan comes with the router and modem at no extra cost.

With Xfinity, you’ll be charged $15 per month for renting a combination modem/router gateway device for most plans, so you’ll need both a modem and a router of your own (or a combo device of your own) to skip the fee. In some cases, Xfinity waives the fee for that gateway for 12 months.

Data caps

Here’s where Spectrum and Xfinity start to part ways. None of Spectrum’s internet plans have a data cap, so you can browse, stream, Zoom and download all you like without the fear of going over your data limit and incurring extra charges. On the other hand, Xfinity enforces a data cap of 1.2TB (1,200GB) for most of its plans. You’ll see extra charges on your bill if you burn through more data in a given month.

Specifically, Xfinity will charge a $10 fee for every 50GB of data over the cap, up to a maximum charge of $100 monthly. The good news is that 1.2TB should be more than enough for most households. In fact, according to the latest OpenVault 2024 report, the average American household uses 590GB of data. That’s a little over a third of the size of Xfinity’s data cap, so many homes should be in a safe zone, so to speak.

Still, if you’re a heavy user of home internet — someone with lots of family members or roommates online, or someone who regularly games online, downloads or uploads lots of large files, or spends most of the day tied up in video calls — then a data cap might rightly give you pause. In that case, you might want to consider signing up for Xfinity’s unlimited data offer, which will add $30 to your monthly bill. But remember that it’s only really worth it if you would otherwise incur at least three overage charges per month.

How do Xfinity and Spectrum fare in customer satisfaction?

The American Customer Satisfaction Index released its 2024 scores for the ISP category, and the overall rating among non-fiber internet providers increased two points from the previous year to 68 out of 100. Spectrum’s score met the overall average among non-fiber ISPs, whereas Xfinity scored a point below at 67. Both Xfinity and Spectrum trailed behind T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and cable internet rival Cox. Xfinity scoring below the industry average might have something to do with its hike in prices, which can get pretty steep after a year.

J.D. Power also ranks internet providers for customer satisfaction. Its 2024 report is divided across four regions — Xfinity outscored Spectrum in all of them and beat the overall category average. Out of a 1,000-point scale, Xfinity received scores of 532 in the East region, 530 in the North Central region, 565 in the South region and 531 in the West region. That comes to an average score of 539, scoring below the overall ISP average of 618.

Spectrum’s overall average with J.D. Power rings in at 522, 96 points below the overall ISP average. The company’s strongest finish was a 561 in the South; its weakest was a 492 in the East.

Our overall verdict: Spectrum wins

It’s a close one. Both providers are huge, but Xfinity has a slightly larger footprint, and boasts a better variety of plans than Spectrum. Still, I say Spectrum wins out for offering much better value than Xfinity. You’ll pay less per Mbps with Spectrum, and you won’t have to put up with data caps, contracts or severe price hikes like Comcast’s customers experience. What’s more, Spectrum’s plans and prices are more straightforward to understand than Xfinity’s.

As cable providers, neither will offer upload speeds that are anything close to fiber. But if fiber isn’t an option, they’re your next best bet for a fast, reliable connection at home. Between the two, I give the edge to Spectrum.

Xfinity vs. Spectrum FAQs