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

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 like data caps, equipment fees and contracts vary by region, but you can anticipate a decent speed selection and fair introductory pricing in every Xfinity market.

Early in 2023, Comcast began deploying DOCSIS 4.0 technology across its network, which allows over 40 markets to experience faster, multi-gigabit 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. Is there such a thing as too many options?

With Xfinity, some plans require you to sign a one or two-year contract and some require no contract at all. 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 which 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 feel the need for 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.

Best 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. Otherwise, you'll need to add $10 monthly if you choose to forgo the paperless billing discount.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Out of all those plans, our favorite option is Xfinity's Connect More plan. While not the provider's cheapest option, it comes with double the speed of the Connect plan (300 megabits per second to the cheapest plan's 150Mbps) for just $15 more per month. That means your cost per Mbps with the Connect More plan is just over 11 cents, while the cheapest plan has a cost per Mbps of 13 cents. The Connect More plan is a better deal: it doesn't require you to sign a term contract (in the West region, at least) and the price is good for two years, not just one.

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 your area. Some differences are negligible, but some interesting variances can be found in the midrange plan. In the Central division, the Superfast plan (800Mbps) costs $75 monthly, but in the Northeast and West regions, it's $60 per month with differing Mbps upload speeds. Further, the Connect More plan runs at $30 in the West region, but jumps to $45 monthly in the Central region and then $40 in the Northeast with no data cap. 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 consumer, 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 and Xfinity is no exception.

For example, if your household wanted 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 will jump to between $99 and $106. Even more dramatic is the jump for customers trying to keep their costs down with the Connect plan. It goes from a promo rate averaging $27 monthly to an average of $55 a month between the three regions. That's more than just a tiny blip; it's a hefty bounce of more than 103%.

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 cheaper than Cox's average 26 cents-per-Mbps for its non-promotional 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, although Xfinity currently has a deal (on some plans) where your equipment is included for one or two years.

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 $15 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 550GB, 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 and puts it behind T-Mobile Home Internet, Verizon 5G Home Internet, AT&T, Cox and Spectrum.

Hopping over to the J.D. Power 2023 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 713 points across all of them. That was good enough for third place in the East (behind Verizon and Cox), third in the North Central (behind AT&T and CenturyLink), fourth in the South (behind Google Fiber, AT&T and Frontier) and third in the West (behind AT&T 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.

Out of Xfinity's multitude of plans, our favorite pick is the Connect More tier at 300Mbps. Depending on your region, it usually runs between $30 and $40, only $10 more per month than the company's cheapest plan, but features double the speed. That's a sweet spot for consumers looking for a balance of value and speed.

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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