Xfinity Internet Review: Plans, Pricing, Speeds and Availability Compared

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Xfinity Internet rating

How we calculated our rating

7.0/10

CNET Score

We score internet providers for speed, value and customer care. Our data sources include the FCC, J.D. Power, The American Customer Satisfaction Index and extensive in-house research.

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7.0

/ 10

SCORE

Speed

7.5/10

Value

6.5/10

Customer Care

7/10

Pros

• Good variety of plans
• Some of the fastest residential plans available
• Above average scores in almost all customer satisfaction metrics

Cons

• Data caps for some plans
• Contracts often required to get the lowest price
• Steep jump from promo price to regular rates

See more pros and cons

Xfinity Internet review

Comcast's Xfinity is available to more than a third of US households across 39 states, firmly establishing the company as the largest nationwide cable internet provider. Plans, pricing and service details, including data caps, equipment fees and contracts, differ by region. But you can expect a range of speed tiers and reasonable introductory pricing in all Xfinity markets.

Early in 2023, Comcast began deploying DOCSIS 4.0 technology across its network. This allows over 40 markets to access and experience faster, multigigabit internet speed options, a serious improvement for cable internet, which infamously falls behind the lightning-quick speeds of fiber internet.

What does all that mean for you? Xfinity may be the nation's largest cable internet service provider, but does that automatically make it the best? It's easy to be impressed by the variety of internet speed plans, but my eyes glazed over a bit as I dug into the details. Plus, Xfinity will change its prices and speed offerings from region to region, and sometimes from address to address, making it difficult to know exactly what to expect. Is there such a thing as too many options?

With Xfinity, some plans require you to sign a one- or two-year contract, but not all do. Beyond that, you'll need to contend with a 1.2TB data cap each month (again, not on all plans, but with some) and you can expect the price of your plan to increase over time, sometimes by more than 50% of the initial charge. In May, to coincide with the winding down of the Affordable Connectivity Program, Xfinity introduced NOW Internet, a prepaid, low-cost internet option that may be helpful in offsetting Xfinity's high non-promotional rates.

Headaches like high non-promotional prices and hidden fees are par for the course with ISPs, making it difficult to tell if you're getting a good deal on your home's internet connection. It's worth understanding what you might get, especially if you need speed and fiber isn't an option for your area or address. Let's take a deeper look at Xfinity's plan, prices and service terms.

Xfinity plans and prices

Depending on where you live, Xfinity offers up to seven different internet plans, and if you want the best price, you may have to shackle yourself to a contract. Speeds and prices in the chart below reflect the West region and a discount from the automatic payment enrollment. If you choose to forgo the paperless billing discount, you'll need to add $10 monthly to that.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Out of all those plans, our favorite option is Xfinity's Fast plan. While not the provider's cheapest option, it comes with nearly three times as much speed as the Connect plan (500 megabits per second to the cheapest plan's 150Mbps). The cost per Mbps of the Fast plan comes out to 12 cents, just slightly better than the Connect plan's cost per Mbps of 13 cents but with much more speed. You may have to sign a contract if you live in the West region, but Xfinity doesn't always require it.

Xfinity Internet plans and pricing vary by region

Xfinity Internet plans (West division)

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Xfinity Internet plans (Central division)

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Xfinity Internet plans (Northeast division)

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Yes, Comcast offers slightly different rates depending on the area. Some differences are negligible, but you can find several interesting variances in the midrange plan. The Fast plan (500Mbps) costs $60 monthly in the West division, but in the Northeast and Central regions, it's $50 and $55 per month, respectively. Further, many plans in the West require a contract but in the Northeast and Central, those same plans may not require a contract and feature unlimited data. Why so confusing?

"We're a regional provider and market and price our products based on individual local market dynamics," an Xfinity spokesperson told CNET. "That's why our costs can be different on a market-by-market basis."

These varying prices won't be of much concern or consequence to the average person, unless you plan on moving from one region of the country to another.

Breaking down Xfinity Internet's pricing and value per Mbps

One big consideration with Xfinity plans is the sometimes stark contrast between your enticing promo price and a more costly regular rate. Most ISPs try to lure customers with competitive introductory prices that eventually balloon into a high monthly fee. Xfinity is no exception.

For example, if your household wants a higher-tiered selection like the gigabit plan, you would initially pay $70 monthly (the average between the three regions). Once your promo period passes, your monthly bill would jump to between $106 and $116. That jump is even more dramatic for customers trying to keep their costs down with the Connect plan. It goes from a promo rate averaging $30 monthly to an average of $73 a month. Those in the West may only see the Connect More plan (300Mbps) as an entry-level tier for $20 a month for 12 months while those in the Northeast will have to shell out a staggering $90 monthly after the promo period ends.

Price jumps aside, Xfinity's regular rates -- the amount you'll pay each month after the cost goes up -- aren't all that unreasonable compared to other cable providers. For instance, the cost per Mbps of the regular rate across all plans after the promotional price is 17 cents, which is right about in the middle of what you can expect to pay for cable internet service. It may be more expensive than Spectrum's 9 cents-per-Mbps standard cost, but it's cheaper than Cox's average 26 cents-per-Mbps for its nonpromotional rates. 

What type of internet connection is Xfinity Internet?

One detail you may have noticed in the plan tables is the discrepancy between the download and upload speeds. This is because Xfinity Internet relies almost solely on hybrid fiber-coaxial cable connections to service subscribers' homes. HFC offers speeds much faster than those typically offered by DSL, satellite and fixed wireless networks. Still, due to the asymmetrical nature of the connection, your download speeds will always be much higher than your upload speeds. That's the main reason cable falls short of the performance of fiber-to-the-home networks.

Most of us pay closer attention to download speeds because they affect our ability to watch movies, listen to new music or stream our favorite shows without that nagging buffering. As more of us work from home, our ability to upload files is becoming more critical. For example, Zoom recommends at least 2Mbps of upload speed for single-screen usage of its platform. If you have two remote workers or students on separate Zoom calls simultaneously or on an important work call while the kids are gaming online, you could run into issues quickly on some of these plans.

Most of its footprint uses HFC, but Xfinity offers one FTTH option with its top-speed plan, Gigabit Pro. That plan is available only in select homes equipped for it, so you'll need to request a site survey to ensure that serviceability is possible. Our Comcast sources also tell us that Xfinity is focusing on using existing cable connections to achieve the symmetrical speeds we commonly associate with fiber rather than chasing after additional fiber deployments.

Where can you get Xfinity Internet?

Xfinity home internet plans are available in 39 states and Washington, D.C. Here's the full lineup:

Do you live in one of these states and are trying to determine whether you're eligible for Xfinity service? You can check your address using the internet serviceability tool at the bottom or top of this page.

Additional monthly fees

It's always a good idea to take some time to read the fine print. If you're planning out your budget, you want to ensure you've allotted the proper amount for your internet service. After all, there's much more to your internet bill than the starting monthly fee. 

Regarding monthly fees, all the rates we show assume a $10-per-month discount for enrolling in automatic payments and paperless billing. If you choose not to go that route, you can expect an additional $10 monthly charge. Also, as mentioned above, your monthly rate will convert to a much higher regular rate after your promo rate ends -- which can happen 12 to 36 months after starting service, depending on your plan. 

If you opt out of purchasing your own equipment, you'll be charged $15 per month for the xFi Gateway, a sleek modem-router combo exclusive to Xfinity that features free security measures, parental controls over your home's Wi-Fi and full tech support.

Or you could go with Comcast's xFi Complete, which includes unlimited data and a complimentary gateway upgrade after three years. That'll run you $25 per month. Xfinity occasionally includes the cost of the xFi Gateway for 12 to 24 months with some plans, but you'll have to shell out an extra $25 monthly for the xFi Complete.

Finally, Xfinity allows you to use your own modem and router, but your equipment must be compatible with its service. Even if it is, you won't get the same technical support or device upgrades as the xFi. Also a major downside to using your own equipment with Xfinity: you'll have to pay an extra $30 a month to upgrade to unlimited data.

Xfinity's one-time installation fee

If you would like a technician to activate your service and verify all your home connections, then you'll incur a charge of $100. Xfinity does let you bypass this additional cost by selecting self-install, meaning it'll ship you a Getting Started kit, and you can activate the service on your own using the Xfinity app. Most markets will see no charge for self-installation, though some areas will have to pay $40 for the kit.

Xfinity Internet data-usage plan

Sadly, Xfinity enforces a monthly data cap set at 1.2TB (1,200GB) on most plans. Data limits don't apply to many customers in the Northeast market and certain plans across all three regions. It should be noted that several other ISPs -- including Frontier, Verizon and cable competitor Spectrum -- offer unlimited data with your monthly fee. So Xfinity falls behind some of its challengers regarding data caps.

What does 1.2TB of data get you? If you want to binge all four seasons of Stranger Things in glorious 4K, you can expect to use up to 7GB per hour of viewing time. The latest report from OpenVault notes that the average monthly household bandwidth usage is approximately 590GB, so most customers should be able to stay under Xfinity's monthly data limit.

If your household uses more than the given 1.2TB of data per month, you'll be charged an additional $10 for each increment of 50GB you exceed. The maximum monthly overage charge is $100. Xfinity does have an Unlimited Data Option, which will cost you an additional $30 a month, but it'll keep you well under that $100 monthly overage threshold. Still, it's only worth it on average if you incur at least three monthly overage charges.

Xfinity internet deals, bundles and perks

We've talked about the not-so-hidden additional fees you might expect to incur when signing up for internet service. You will also find freebies or enticing extras when you sign up for broadband with Xfinity. 

First, since Comcast Xfinity offers multiple services, you can potentially get another $10 to $30 a month off your internet bill for two years if you have an active, qualifying Xfinity Mobile line.

Next up, because Xfinity also offers TV, home security, voice and mobile services, several bundle deals can help you knock $10 or more a month off your regular bill. Like the tables above, the bundle deals vary by region. Still, all customers should have the option of nearly 10 types of bundles, ranging from Double Play options (internet plus another service) to premium bundle packages that include internet, TV and streaming, phone, and home security.

Speaking of bundles, Comcast also recently announced a new streaming bundle called Xfinity StreamSaver. It allows Xfinity Internet customers to sign up for a combo of Peacock Premium, Netflix Standard (with ads) and Apple TV Plus for $15 monthly. That's a savings of over 30% for the three streaming services.

Finally, you'll have access to over 20 million Xfinity hotspots nationwide. That means you'll have free Wi-Fi connectivity on the go.

Decent customer satisfaction scores for Xfinity Internet

Over the last few years, Comcast Xfinity has done relatively well in customer satisfaction metrics. When you look at the most recent American Customer Satisfaction Index numbers, Xfinity dropped just below the industry average, scoring 67 out of 100 points. That's a 1% drop from last year, putting it behind T-Mobile Home Internet, Verizon 5G Home Internet, AT&T, Cox and Spectrum.

Hopping over to the J.D. Power 2024 US Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study, Xfinity consistently ranked in the top third for overall customer satisfaction. The study uses a 1,000-point scale and breaks the country into four geographic regions: West, South, North Central and East. Xfinity did well overall, with an average score of 539 points across all regions. That was good enough for second place in the East (behind Verizon), second in the North Central (behind AT&T), second in the West (behind AT&T) and third in the South (behind Google Fiber and Frontier).

What's the bottom line on Xfinity Internet?

Comcast Xfinity is the largest cable internet provider in the country, with relatively strong customer service scores and gigabit service available across the entire coverage map. Addresses equipped with a fiber-to-the-home connection might even be able to sign up for speeds of 10,000Mbps, one of the faster residential internet plans you'll find. Unless a dedicated fiber provider offers service in your area, the odds are good that Xfinity is your fastest option.

Just watch out for the company's price hikes after your promo period. Although most providers will raise your bill after the first year, Xfinity's increases can be particularly steep, especially in the Northeast and Central divisions. You'll also need to contend with Xfinity's data cap, although at 1.2TB, most households should be able to manage just fine without going over. If all of that sounds workable, then Xfinity is well worth consideration.

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