CenturyLink vs. Xfinity

Compare Xfinity and CenturyLink head to head

As far as internet providers go, Xfinity and CenturyLink both have ups and downs. Xfinity gives you a ton of internet packages to choose from, but it also tacks on more conditions and extra fees. CenturyLink doesn’t have data caps or annual contracts like Xfinity does, but its options are limited. While CenturyLink’s fiber plans are a slam dunk when it comes to price and features, it’s not nearly as widely available as the much slower DSL service.

Pros and cons: Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

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

Jump to:

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

Plans and pricing: Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

Xfinity plans and pricing

While CenturyLink keeps it simple with three packages to choose from, Xfinity has a dizzying array of options. Plans can change names and prices depending on the service area you’re in, but generally speaking Xfinity offers solid speeds at fair prices.

Since Xfinity has such a wide range of plans, we recommend considering how many people will be on your Wi-Fi and what kinds of stuff you do online when choosing which package is best for you.

An entry-level plan like Connect is great if you live alone or with one other person. But you’ll want an upgrade if you have more roommates and you’ll all be doing things like downloading very large files or streaming in 4K.

CenturyLink plans and pricing

If CenturyLink’s fiber plan is available in your area, we definitely recommend going for that. Fiber internet is incredibly fast and reliable, and CenturyLink offers its fiber plans at a very fair price. You can also get gigabit upload speeds on the top tier plan, which aren’t available on even the fastest Xfinity plans. So you’ll have excellent performance for a wide range of activities, including upload-heavy tasks like attending Zoom meetings, uploading files to cloud servers, and hosting livestreams. 

The catch is that fiber internet is available only to a minority of CenturyLink’s customers. If you can’t get fiber, you’ll have to stick with the Simply Unlimited Internet plan, which gives you unlimited data (yay!) but isn’t nearly as fast. It runs over DSL—basically the copper wiring of your landline phone. While 100 Mbps is the max advertised speed, your speeds could end up being much lower. In that case, Xfinity can get you faster speeds at a cheaper price.

Want to know if Xfinity or CenturyLink are in your area? Put in your zip code below to find out.

Extra fees: Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

Data as of 02/13/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Like pretty much all internet providers, Xfinity and CenturyLink sometimes tack a few extra charges onto the bill. You can rent a modem and router from either of these providers. The rental fees are pretty standard in both cases, but you can save some dough and get better features if you buy your own router. We’ve got more deets on the best routers farther down on this page.

One thing we like here is that there are no early termination fees on CenturyLink plans like there are with Xfinity plans. CenturyLink doesn’t have annual commitments on any of its plans, so you can cancel any time without facing financial penalties. With Xfinity, on the other hand, you pay $10 per month for every month you have remaining on your contract if you leave before your contract’s up.

Customer ratings: Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

Xfinity and CenturyLink both got below-average ratings in our annual customer satisfaction survey. Compared to 10 other major internet providers, they rank towards the bottom in all categories—but there are some bright spots if you look closer at the data from our survey.

While Xfinity got low ratings for speed, an impressive 87% of Xfinity’s customers reported that their internet speeds usually or always met their household’s needs. That’s actually above average compared to what customers said about other providers.

The discrepancy may have to do with frustrations surrounding the COVID-19 lockdown. With customers spending more time at home, they may have wanted more out of their cable internet (even when it still performs well).

CenturyLink’s fiber customers also reported much higher scores compared to its DSL customers. Although the internet provider rated just 3.4 for reliability, fiber customers specifically gave CenturyLink a much more solid 3.7 reliability rating.

And while CenturyLink gets low ratings on price, 56% of CenturyLink’s customers told us in our survey that they haven’t experienced unexpected price hikes or hidden fees. That’s probably a result of CenturyLink’s Price for Life offer on DSL plans (although that offer was sadly discontinued for new customers in 2021).

Best TV and internet bundles

*For the first 12 months

^†For the first 24 months with a 2-year agreement.

CenturyLink doesn’t have any bundle deals, but Xfinity has a bunch of bundle options—understandable, given that it’s a cable company.

Bundling your TV and internet together is a great way to lower your monthly fee and reap benefits from discounts and promotions. You can also often tailor your bundle package for a specific purpose—giving you extra channels for movies or sports, or a lower price for slower internet speeds.

We love Xfinity’s Ultimate TV and Popular TV bundle packages paired with the Gigabit or Superfast internet plan because they both come with powerful speeds and a ton of channels. The prices are fairly reasonable for what you get, and both also come with a Visa® prepaid card, a Netflix subscription, and DVR service.

Internet types: Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

Xfinity offers cable internet. Cable runs over the same coaxial wiring as cable TV. It’s really fast, widely available, and very reliable. You can also technically get fiber through Xfinity with its Gigabit Pro plan, but that plan has extremely low availability and it’s about $300 per month.

CenturyLink offers both DSL and fiber internet. Fiber internet is the best kind of internet you can get—it’s even faster than cable, capable of delivering gigabit upload speeds as well as download speeds. But it’s also the rarest internet out there, so you’re much more likely to find cable or DSL internet in your area.

DSL runs over copper landline telephone wiring. It hits max speeds of 100 Mbps, although usually speeds are much slower. It works fine, but it’s not very fast, so avoid it if you share your Wi-Fi with lots of people, plan to attend lots of Zoom meetings, or want to stream movies in 4K.

Data caps: Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

Xfinity has a data cap of 1.2 TB on all of its plans, including its gigabit plans—which is a bummer, since most internet providers offer unlimited data on their gigabit packages. If you go over your cap, you’ll get one month with no charges. After that you’ll have 50 GB and a $10 charge automatically added to your account. Or you can pay $30 per month for unlimited data.

CenturyLink has no data caps at all on any of its plans. We really like that about CenturyLink—it means you can use as much internet as you want without worrying about extra charges.

Contracts: Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

Xfinity has annual contracts for many of its plans. So if you have to cancel your plan before your contract is up, you’ll need to pay $10 in early termination fees (ETFs) for every month left on your annual commitment. You can sign up for a plan with no annual requirement, but it costs $10 extra per month—so you’re forking over that $10 per month either way.

That’s not the case with CenturyLink, which doesn’t have annual commitments on any of its plans. You don’t need to worry about ETFs with CenturyLink, which adds a bit more incentive to sign up for a CenturyLink plan.

Installation: Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

Xfinity and CenturyLink both offer standard or self-installation. They’ll mail you a kit, and you just plug everything in. If you need more help, you can have a professional come to your house and install everything (Xfinity calls this Self Install Plus).

CenturyLink may require professional installation in some cases, like if you’re ordering a fiber plan and don’t have fiber wiring installed in your house already.

Availability: Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

Xfinity and CenturyLink both have huge footprints nationwide. The former is available in 41 states, while the latter is in 36—and there’s a lot of overlap between the two. Use our zip code search tool below to see if either of these providers are available in your area.

Final call: Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

We recommend getting CenturyLink fiber if it’s available—but if it’s not, go for Xfinity. CenturyLink’s fiber gigabit plan gives you top-caliber internet service at a great price. But that plan has limited availability, and CenturyLink’s DSL service simply can’t match Xfinity’s plans on speed and price.

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.

FAQ about Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

Does CenturyLink have a price lock on its plans?

CenturyLink used to offer a Price for Life guarantee on its DSL internet plans—customers would never see price hikes on their bill. That offer is no longer available, but it still stands for customers who previously signed up for Price for Life when it was available.

Is CenturyLink good for streaming?

CenturyLink is good for streaming if you have a fiber internet package through the provider. CenturyLink’s fiber plan provides gigabit speeds, giving you more than enough bandwidth to stream in 4K on multiple devices at once.

CenturyLink’s DSL plans will also give you enough speed to let you stream, but since the DSL speeds are much slower, you may experience buffering and slowdowns. Aim to get 25 Mbps per person in your household so you’ll have enough speed to stream properly, or reduce your video resolution to improve your connection.

What’s the best router to use with Xfinity and CenturyLink?

The best router for Xfinity and CenturyLink is the Google Nest Wi-Fi System. It supports fast speeds, is easy to set up, and provides mesh networking for a wide signal range—perfect for getting Wi-Fi in big homes and even in the backyard.

You may want to get a different router depending on your budget, how fast you need your internet, and whether you’d like any extra security features. Take a look at our list of router guides to see what catches your eye:

• Best Wi-Fi Routers
• Best Routers for Parental Controls
• Best Long-Range Routers
• Best Routers for Online Gaming

More about Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

• Xfinity Flex Review
• Best Cable Modems for Xfinity, Spectrum, Cox, and More
• Self-Install or Go Pro? Your Guide to Xfinity Installation
• Your Guide to CenturyLink Installation
• How Much Internet Speed Do You Need to Work from Home
• Which Internet Service Providers Have Data Caps?

Disclaimer

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