AT&T vs. Xfinity

Data effective 5/22/20. Not all offers available in all areas.

Plans & pricing

Let’s jump straight into the nitty-gritty details of what each provider offers and see how they stack up to one another.

*for 12 mos plus taxes & equip fee. $10/mo equip fee applies. Incl unlimited internet data allowance ($30 value)

†for 12 mos, plus taxes & equip fee. $10/mo equip fee applies. Incl 1TB data/mo. $10 chrg for each add’l 50GB (up to $100/mo).

AT&T packages run the gamut from tortoise to hare. One thing they all have in common is affordability—they all represent a good price for the speed you get. The only possible exception is Internet 5, which offers a lot less bang for the buck than any of the others.

The only possible exception is if you can’t get suitable speeds on the Internet Up to 100 Mbps plan. The speeds on this plan depend on what’s available in your area. If you can’t get a plan of at least 25 Mbps—which the Federal Communications Commission defines as the minimum standard for high-speed internet—then it may not be worth the money.

The big spread of plans at the $49.99 price point is mainly the result of different infrastructure in different areas. You’re not likely to see all these at the same price in a given location, since everyone would take the fastest speed. Some areas have the lines to push 75 or 100 Mbps, while others can only support 10 or 25.

Another cool thing is that you can get a free subscription to HBO Max with your Internet 1000 plan. AT&T’s much-ballyhooed streaming service—carrying the HBO catalog along with movies and TV from Warner Entertainment—launches on May 27, 2020, and the promotion begins then.

Xfinity’s prices and plans vary slightly depending on the region you’re in. But wherever you are, you’ll be able to get fast speeds and a range of options.

Xfinity offers a large range of packages, from the affordable 25 Mbps Performance Starter to the ludicrously fast (and expensive) 2,000 Mbps Gigabit Pro. Did we mention that’s 2,000 Mbps download and upload? Yup.

When you’re comparing AT&T and Xfinity, you’ll see AT&T tends to be slightly cheaper for a given speed range. This is most noticeable at the Gigabit level, where AT&T Internet 1000 is $49.99 per month and Xfinity Gigabit starts at $79.99—that’s a $30 difference.

One thing to keep in mind with Xfinity plans is that they vary quite a bit from one place to another. Depending on where you live, you may see only a few of these, or you may see some options that aren’t on this list at all. These are the most common packages offered, though.

Important features

Speed

AT&T and Xfinity both offer a similar range of speeds in their plans—until you get to the high end. The Xfinity Gigabit Pro package, at 2,000 Mbps, is the fastest internet package available. AT&T just doesn’t offer anything comparable. That said, Gigabit Pro availability is still limited, and the price probably puts it out of reach for most.

Apart from that, these two providers are pretty evenly matched when it comes to speed.

Internet type

AT&T plans are either DSL or fiber, and the one you end up with depends on which plan you pick and where you’re located. Fiber availability is still somewhat limited, though it’s improving.

Xfinity is mostly cable, the one exception being the fiber-optic Gigabit Pro. In practical terms, this means Xfinity tends to have faster speeds available over a wider area—, though again, this can depend a lot on where you live.

Data caps

AT&T plans—with the important exception of Internet 1000—all come with 1 TB data caps. Once you’ve reached your limit for the month, you can pay $10.00 per 50 GB for additional data. The fastest plan, AT&T 1000, comes with unlimited data, so you can enjoy those 1 Gig speeds without worry.

Xfinity packages all come with 1 TB caps, as well. That includes the Gigabit and Gigabit Pro plans, which is unfortunate, since you could eat through that limit pretty quick at those speeds. Like AT&T, you pay $10.00 per 50GB over the cap to keep using your service at full speed.

Xfinity also allows you to purchase an unlimited option with any plan for an extra $50.00 per month, though, which is a great option for those who consistently go over the cap. While we’d prefer straight-up unlimited data be included with every plan, that’s just not the world we live in, so we’ll take what we can get!

Equipment

AT&T and Xfinity both provide modems and routers you can rent online. The equipment is decent—it can handle the speeds each provider offers, and it’ll let you to set up a home Wi-Fi network. For most users, we think the provided equipment is plenty, but if you feel your network is slower than it should be, or you have specific needs (like a very large home), you also have the option of using your own gear.

Equipment price

The nice thing about renting ISP equipment is that it’s usually either very affordable or simply rolled into the price of your internet plan, so you never feel like you’re shelling out big bucks. That’s true for both AT&T and Xfinity: AT&T’s gear is $10 per month, while Xfinity charges a reasonable $13 per month for basic equipment.

Using your own equipment

As we mentioned above, ISP-provided equipment tends to be pretty basic, especially in the router department. It gets the job done, but it often lacks some of the advanced features of dedicated third-party wireless routers.

If you need a little more juice from your networking equipment, we recommend picking up your own wireless router. This also has the advantage of saving you the monthly equipment fee if you have Xfinity.

Here are a few great routers we recommend for various needs:

• For power-users: NETGEAR Nighthawk X10
• For big houses: NETGEAR Orbi AC2200
• For gamers: ASUS RT-AC5300
• For the budget-conscious: TP-Link Archer AC1750

Customer experience

Stats and advertised services are one thing—what’s it like to actually live with AT&T or Xfinity for a year or two?

Installation

Both providers charge an installation fee. Xfinity starts at $60 and goes up from there based on what equipment or additional work is needed. AT&T starts at a whopping $99—one of the highest in the industry. However, you can have it waived if you order a Triple Play bundle, which is a nice bonus.

Customer service

How do these providers stack up in terms of customer service? Both providers get middle rankings in our latest customer satisfaction survey. Xfinity has made great strides to improve its reputation following a few rocky years and gets fifth place in our survey. AT&T comes in sixth place out of 15 providers surveyed.

No company is perfect, but we think you’ll be happy with the service from either provider. Each has plenty of ways to contact them should you need help, including online chat, DIY support guides, and good old telephone.

Mobile apps

Both providers offer mobile apps to allow account management from your iPhone, iPad, and Android device. Typically, these provider apps have low ratings and tons of user complaints about performance. Both AT&T and Xfinity manage to avoid that with solid user experiences that make the apps actually useful.

Availability and coverage

When it comes to availability, Xfinity is in more states (40, compared to 21 for AT&T), but AT&T has service where it counts, and as a result actually covers more customers. Still, these are some of the most widespread internet service providers in the US—we doubt you’ll have a hard time getting service with either.

Pros and cons of AT&T and Xfinity

Let’s sum up the pros and cons of each provider.

Get more value with a bundled package

If you’re going to have both internet and TV service, it almost always makes sense to bundle with the same provider. You can save quite a bit of money this way, and it’s just more convenient.

Xfinity and AT&T both offer great TV services. For AT&T customers, we recommend DIRECTV. Since they’re owned by the same company, you can get bundles easily, and DIRECTV is one of the best TV services on the market. Xfinity has Triple plays with 140+ channels starting at just $89.99 per month.

FAQ about AT&T vs. Xfinity

Here are answers to some of the most common questions we see.

What is gigabit internet?

Gigabit internet is internet service with speeds of around 1,000 Mbps (or more). And it is fast. To put that in perspective, you can download a whole HD-quality movie onto your hard drive in under two minutes. Look out, Usain Bolt.

Why does fiber still have such limited availability?

Basically, it’s expensive. Many cities have fiber lines already installed, but they’re not run directly to homes, which is what would allow you to get fiber access for your home network. Instead, these lines have to be installed separately for each customer, and it adds up. Coverage is expanding gradually, though.

Is cable or fiber internet better?

Fiber has the potential to be a lot faster than traditional cable lines, simply due to the technology involved. The first widely available Gigabit plans were fiber-based for this reason. However, there are some cable providers that manage to get Gigabit speeds on the older coaxial cable lines, like Xfinity.

Is HBO Max free with AT&T?

You can sign up for a free subscription to HBO Max if you have AT&T’s Internet 1000 plan. You can also get it at no extra cost if you have AT&T TV NOW Max, AT&T TV Max, or an AT&T Unlimited Elite wireless plan.

HBO Max launches on May 27, 2020, and features all the content from HBO plus originals, movies, and TV from Warner Entertainment. Sign up and get your Friends fix, post haste.