Verizon vs. Xfinity: Which Internet Provider Is Best for You?

Pros and cons: Verizon vs. Xfinity

Jump to: Plans and pricing | Extra fees | Customer ratings | Bundles | Internet connection types | Data caps | Contracts | Installation | Availability

Jump to:

• Plans and pricing
• Extra fees
• Customer ratings
• Bundles
• Internet connection types
• Data caps
• Contracts
• Installation
• Availability

Plans and pricing: Verizon vs. Xfinity

Verizon plans and pricing

Fiber providers have been competing a lot to deliver fast and affordable plans, and Verizon Fios seems to be stepping up its game even more. All of its fiber plans get you excellent speeds at a solid price. Best of all, you’ll get upload speeds that match your download speeds with most plans, ensuring you have a robust connection even if multiple people use your Wi-Fi to attend video meetings and upload video content at the same time.

Verizon doesn’t have data caps on any of its internet plans, so you can spend as much time streaming or playing games as you want without worrying about going over. Also, you can cancel any time without having to pay early termination fees.

In some cities you can also get Verizon 5G Home Internet, a fixed wireless service that delivers solid speeds over the carrier’s Ultra Wideband 5G cellular network. The connection on 5G internet can be a little spotty for some users—we experienced regular disconnections when we tried out the service.

But the plan is still a worthy deal, giving you speeds of up to 300 Mbps or 1,000 Mbps (depending on the plan) and unlimited data with no extra fees or annual contracts.

Verizon’s DSL plan—called Verizon High-Speed Internet—is not as good of a deal. Its upload and download speeds won’t be nearly as fast as any of Verizon’s fiber plans and costs more than many rival DSL plans. But it’s worth considering if your other option is satellite internet.

Xfinity plans and pricing

Data effective as of 8/30/2022. Prices and availability vary by region and are subject to change.

*For the first 12 months with a 1-year agreement. Includes $10/mo automatic payments and paperless billing discount.

**For the first 12 months with a 1-year agreement.

†For the first 24 months with a 1-year agreement.

‡With a 2-year agreement.

Xfinity’s plans vary in name and price based on region, so you may find a different list of plans than what we have listed here. But you’re pretty much getting the same thing no matter what. Most of these plans have excellent speeds and fair prices.

Xfinity’s upload speeds are a lot slower and you have a 1.2 TB data cap, which isn’t the case with Verizon. That’s not ideal, but it’s also not necessarily a deal-breaker—most internet users don’t notice sluggish upload speeds anyway and 1.2 TB is still a lot of data.

We’d be remiss not to mention Xfinity’s Gigabit Pro plan, which maxes out at a ridiculously fast 3,000 Mbps. Honestly, that’s way more speed than the majority of internet users need. And it’s prohibitively expensive. And availability is extremely limited, so don’t get too distracted with that one.

Extra fees: Verizon vs. Xfinity

Data as of 8/30/22. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Verizon’s router is included on all fiber-optic plans as part of the monthly fee. That saves you a nice chunk of change because it means you don’t need to pay extra for a router rental and you don’t need to buy your own router either. Verizon 5G Home Internet plans also come with a router at no extra cost.

You can’t use your own router for the 5G home internet plans, but you can for a fiber-optic plan. And there are some advantages to buying a router—you get more flexibility as far as speeds, security settings, and other capabilities. We have great recommendations in our guides to the best Wi-Fi routers, the best long-range routers, and the best routers for streaming.

Xfinity also lets you rent a combined modem and router—known as the xFi Gateway. These crucial pieces of equipment support the internet signal in your home and provide Wi-Fi access for a range of devices, so you’ll need to rent a modem and router or buy your own Xfinity router, no matter what.

Should you rent a router? Or buy your own?

It’s easier just to rent a router since then there’s no need for shopping around. And if you get it at no extra cost anyway (as in the case with Verizon plans), then you have nothing to lose. But we recommend buying your own if you can. Having your own modem and router could save you some money and give you more flexibility when it comes to speed, security settings, and more.

Customer ratings: Verizon vs. Xfinity

Customers quite like Verizon, according to our annual customer satisfaction survey. The provider comes in second place out of 12 providers for speed, reliability, price, and overall satisfaction.

A full 89% of Verizon customers said in our survey that their internet speeds “usually” (51%) or “always” (38%) meet the needs of their household. And 35% said they’re “very satisfied” with the price of their internet service.

Xfinity didn’t rate as high, getting below-average scores in most categories. But we looked closer at the data and found customer responses were actually not too shabby: 87% of Xfinity’s customers said their speeds usually or always meet their household’s needs, while just 42% of customers reported being hit with unexpected fees or price hikes. That’s pretty much average in comparison to other providers.

Best TV and internet bundles

* w/ Auto Pay + taxes & equip charges

** w/ Auto Pay + taxes

Xfinity is a leading cable provider, so it can get you a solid bundle deal on both internet and TV service. We really like the Starter Pro Plus Double Play  package because it gives you excellent speeds and a lot of channels for just under $100 a month.

Verizon has Fios TV, a streaming TV service that runs over Verizon’s fiber-optic lines. It gives you excellent video quality and cool options—you’ll choose your five favorite channels and Verizon recommends the best TV plan for you based on your preferences. We recommend the 200 Mbps Internet + Your Fios TV package because it lets you build out your own channel lineup based on your favorite channels. It’s also affordable and comes with solid speeds.

Internet technology types: Verizon vs. Xfinity

Fiber internet is the fastest and most reliable internet you can get, capable of hitting multigigabit speeds and delivering the fastest upload speeds possible. Cable doesn’t have the same fast upload speeds, but it’s much more widely available and tops out at 1,000 Mbps download speeds (which is still really fast). DSL is the slowest of these three, topping out at around 100 Mbps. Most DSL plans are much slower—Verizon’s DSL speeds hit a max of 15 Mbps.

Data caps: Verizon vs. Xfinity

Verizon doesn’t have data caps on any of its internet plans. You can use as much data as you like without having to worry about exceeding a monthly allowance.

Xfinity imposes a 1.2 TB data cap on all of its internet plans. That’s not ideal if you have the Gigabit or Gigabit Pro plan—most gigabit plans come with unlimited data. You can get unlimited data for an extra $25–$30 per month. Otherwise, you’ll be charged $10 for every 50 GB that exceeds your cap.

Contracts: Verizon vs. Xfinity

Verizon’s internet plans don’t come with any annual-contract obligations. You can quit any time and you won’t be charged an early termination fee—simple as that.

Xfinity offers plans with annual contracts. The Gigabit and Gigabit Pro plans require 2–year contracts, while most other plans come with 1–year contracts.

Canceling Xfinity internet service early means you have to pay $10 for every month left on your bill. You can choose a no-contract arrangement, which in most cases would be great. But with Xfinity it kind of makes no difference with price in the end since the no-contract option costs an extra $10 per month.

Installation: Verizon vs. Xfinity

Data as of 8/30/22. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Verizon charges $99.00 for professional installation, but you can have the price waived by ordering online. You don’t always have the option to do self-install with Verizon. Fiber internet isn’t always wired directly to the home, so you might need a technician to come over and set it up from a curbside network node.

Xfinity does let you pick a self-install option—it’ll mail you a kit for no extra fee. If you’re in a hurry, you can pay $29.99 so it arrives in one to two business days instead of three to five. Xfinity also has the $39.99 Self Install Plus option, where a technician comes over with your self-install kit and verifies that your connections are working as you set it all up.

Availability: Verizon vs. Xfinity

Xfinity has a large nationwide network, available to 130 million people in 41 states. Verizon has a smaller footprint, with a network that can reach 59 million people in 10 East Coast states.

Type in your zip code below to see whether Verizon and Xfinity are available in your area. Let’s see what you can choose from when it comes to packages, prices, and speeds.

Final call: Verizon vs. Xfinity

Verizon is the slam-dunk pick here—its Fios plans give you superb speeds, fast uploads, and no data caps. And you don’t even have to sign up for an annual contract. The only catch is that the best Verizon plans might not be available in your area. It’s far less widely available than Xfinity.

We’re not so keen on Xfinity’s contractual obligations or data caps, but those are fairly common things you see from other internet providers and not deal-breakers by any means. You can get excellent speeds at a fair price on an Xfinity plan. And Xfinity has some nice bundling options, too, if you’re looking for cable TV.

Methodology

Our HighSpeedInternet.com editorial team bases our analyses on customer input from our annual customer satisfaction survey, results from our speed test tool, and proprietary internet provider data on speeds and pricing. To strengthen our research, we look closely at provider contracts to get hard-to-find information on price hikes, data caps, and extra fees, and we keep tabs on the latest news reports and online reviews. When applicable, we also rely on our personal experiences testing these services.

More about Verizon and Xfinity

• Verizon 5G Home Internet
• Which Internet Service Providers Have Data Caps?
• Xfinity Flex Review
• Self-Install or Go Pro? Your Guide to Xfinity Installation
• The Best Routers and Modems for Xfinity

Disclaimer

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Xfinity Deal: $30 internet + streaming disclaimers

Disclaimer for Xfinity Fast internet deal w/ mobile

* Limited time offer. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. Limited to Fast Internet for new customers. Pricing requires enrollment in both automatic payments and paperless billing. Mobile discount limited to new Xfinity Mobile customers. Xfinity Mobile requires residential post-pay Xfinity Internet. xFi Gateway, Unlimited Data and Flex device included for 24 mos. Additional devices extra. After 24 mos. regular rates apply to all services and devices. Streaming subscriptions not included. All devices must be returned when service ends.
Disclaimer for Xfinity Superfast, Ultrafast, and Gigabit Extra internet plans w/ mobile deals

**Offer ends 06/26/2022. Limited time offer. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. New residential customers only. Paperless Billing and Automatic Payments with bank account required, otherwise monthly service charge automatically increases by $10 (or $5 if enrolling with credit or debit card information). Discount will appear on statement within 45 days of enrollment. Equipment, installation, taxes and fees, and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change during and after the promo. After promo, or if any service is canceled or downgraded, regular rates apply (subject to change). Service limited to a single outlet. May not be combined with other offers. Internet: Actual speeds vary and are not guaranteed. For factors affecting speed visit www.xfinity.com/networkmanagement. Flex: Not available in all areas or to current Xfinity Video customers. Requires post-paid subscription to Xfinity Internet, excluding Internet Essentials. Pricing subject to change. Limited to 3 devices. 1 device included, additional devices $5/mo. per device. All devices must be returned when service ends. Separate charges apply to On Demand and certain streaming services. Viewing will count against any Comcast data plan. Mobile discount: Must sign up for Xfinity Mobile and activate a new line within 90 days of order and maintain the line to receive mobile discount for 24 months. Discount applied to Internet bill and will appear on statement within 30 days of Xfinity Mobile line activation. If Xfinity Mobile or Xfinity Internet is canceled, or Internet service is changed to a tier lower than the Xfinity Internet tier in this order within the 24 months, the multi-product discount will be removed.

For Xfinity Mobile Broadband Disclosures visit: www.xfinity.com/mobile/policies/broadband-disclosures. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee applies to one month’s recurring service and standard installation charges up to $500. ©2022 Comcast. All rights reserved.