AT&T vs. Xfinity: Which Is Better for Your Home Internet Needs?

Is AT&T or Xfinity internet better?

AT&T Fiber has faster download and upload speeds, better service terms and higher customer satisfaction than Xfinity, but it also has slightly higher pricing for comparable speeds. That makes Xfinity the better option for cheap internet and discounted bundle packages, at least until the introductory pricing period (typically one to two years) ends and standard pricing goes into effect.

Xfinity’s pricing and available speeds vary by location, so the provider’s savings over AT&T Fiber will depend on where you live. Additionally, select Xfinity markets may also have contract requirements for some of its plans, a 1.25TB data cap (with potential overage fees) and a fee for opting to rent equipment. AT&T Fiber, on the other hand, has straightforward service terms: equipment is free, and there are no data caps or contracts.

Ultimately, both providers are among the best ISPs nationwide, so you really can’t go wrong with either. AT&T and Xfinity finished with above-average ratings among major internet providers in the most recent surveys from the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power and Associates.

Which of these two ISPs, AT&T or Xfinity, best fits your home networking needs? Let’s examine how they stack up so you can decide. 

Our take – AT&T fiber plans are tough to beat. There are five-speed tiers available: 300Mbps, 500Mbps, 1,000Mbps, 2,000Mbps, and 5,000Mbps, and prices range from $55 to $245 a month. Starting prices are a bit higher than Xfinity’s, but there are no set price increases after 12 months and no equipment fees to add to your bill.

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Our take – Xfinity may offer more plan options and a cheaper starting plan than AT&T. However, watch out for a price increase after your promotional period of one or two years: it could add as much as $20 to $50 to your bill, depending on where you live and the plan you choose. In addition, in most markets, Xfinity charges a $15 to $25 equipment fee if you rent a router.

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AT&T vs. Xfinity plans, pricing and speeds

You’ll find an overview of AT&T Fiber and Xfinity internet plans below. Available Xfinity speeds, pricing and service terms can and do vary by region and the specific plan you choose. I included only plan details for AT&T Fiber because if your choice comes down to Xfinity and AT&T’s DSL or fixed wireless service, you should go with Xfinity.

AT&T Fiber plans

Source: CNET analysis of provider data

Xfinity Internet plans

Source: CNET analysis of provider data

Xfinity’s speed tiers are fairly consistent throughout all service areas, but pricing may vary slightly from one market to the next. For example, the standard speed for Xfinity Connect is 150Mbps, but the starting price can vary anywhere from $20 to $30 per month based on where you live.

Rates on all plans, excluding the $300-per-month 10 gigabit plan, are set to increase after the first year or two of service, depending on your location and the plan you choose. The exact increase will vary, but it’s possible your monthly bill could go up by $20 to $50 or more once the price guarantee expires. Service terms also vary by location and plan as a data cap, equipment fee (if you choose to rent) and contract may apply.

Meanwhile, AT&T Fiber plans, speeds and terms are consistent regardless of what part of the country you live in. The provider’s 300, 500 and 1,000Mbps plans are available in all service areas while many will also have the choice of 2,000 and 5,000Mbps plans as well. There is no set price increase after 12 months.

AT&T plans don’t come with service contracts, but your bill will go up after the promo period if you have DSL or fixed wireless. None of the plans will jump by more than $15, though, so the increase isn’t as steep as you might see with Xfinity.

Fees, data caps and other potential sticking points

Both providers may tack on taxes and monthly fees each month, and in some cases, you’ll also need to manage a data cap.

AT&T vs. Xfinity added fees

Like most providers, AT&T and Xfinity will charge you a bit extra each month if you don’t enroll in autopay or paperless billing, but those fees are easy enough to dodge. Just, you know, enroll in autopay and paperless billing. Problem solved.

The equipment fees are another story. With AT&T, you won’t need to pay extra to use AT&T’s Wi-Fi gateway. That’s included in the regular monthly fee. With Comcast Xfinity, the cost to rent the xFi Gateway is $15 per month (or $25 per month for some of the faster plans), but it may be included at no extra charge with your plan. You can also bypass the fee, if there is one, by using your own compatible equipment, so long as you’re OK with the fact that Comcast will no longer be able to offer device-specific technical support.

AT&T vs. Xfinity data caps

As for data caps, AT&T doesn’t enforce them with any of its fiber plans or its new 5G home internet service, AT&T Internet Air.

AT&T Internet, the DSL side of the service, comes with a data cap of terabyte and a half of data (1.5TB) in a given month of service. You’ll get charged $10 for every additional 50GB of data your home uses, up to $100. If you think you need unlimited data, you can upgrade your plan for an extra $30 per month to sidestep the data cap altogether, and you can also ditch the data cap by bundling home internet with other AT&T services.

Another point of note: The data cap with AT&T Fixed Wireless is much lower, kicking in at 350GB. You’ll still get charged $10 for each additional 50GB of data you use, but AT&T caps the charge at $200 instead of $100. Be mindful of falling asleep during a Netflix binge, AT&T Fixed Wireless customers.

Xfinity, meanwhile, has a monthly data cap of 1.25TB with select plans, but some locations and may have no data cap at all. If you have a cap, going over may cost you $10 for every 50GB of excess data used, capped at $100.

To be fair, 1.25TB is a lot of data, but it’s not unreasonable to think that a busy household would occasionally need more. For example, on my network, where I work from home, stream plenty of movies in 4K and live with a roommate who’s online just as much as I am, we went through about 320GB of data here in the first nine days of the month. That put us on pace to use just over 1TB by the end of the month.

If you live with, say, two roommates — or with a whole family of internet users — then data caps like those might be something you’d want to steer clear of if you could.

AT&T vs. Xfinity contracts

AT&T internet service, from fiber to fixed wireless, does not require a contract. However, select markets for Xfinity may require customers to sign a one to two-year agreement for some plans. Canceling or changing your service before the term agreement is up may result in early termination fees and losing the lower introductory rate on service.

AT&T vs. Xfinity installation costs

AT&T charges $99 for professional, in-home installation, but self-installation kits are available in some cases too. Check with the company to see if that’s an option for you. If not, asking the salesperson if they’ll waive the installation fee is probably worth the attempt, as AT&T often waives it during seasonal promos.

With Xfinity, professional installation typically costs $100, but you don’t have to “qualify” for the self-installation option like you do with AT&T.

AT&T vs. Xfinity coverage compared

A product of the nation’s largest cable provider, Xfinity Internet, is available in select regions across 39 states and Washington, DC, covering about one-third of the entire population of the US. Most of that coverage is cable internet, but Xfinity has a small fiber network.

Areas where Xfinity’s fiber internet service is available primarily include parts Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, though parts of Florida, Georgia and Tennessee may be serviceable for fiber as well.

As for AT&T, the telecom company offers home internet plans in 22 states, covering much of the South, Midwest and West Coast. Both providers may be available at your address in some parts of the country, including Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Memphis, Miami and San Francisco.

AT&T pegs the number of households with access to fiber at approximately 21 million, spanning over 100 metro areas. The company plans to expand fiber access to millions more homes by the end of 2025, including the rollout of its multigigabit plans.

For the rest, there’s AT&T Internet Air and AT&T Fixed Wireless, which use a portable modem or satellite mounted at your home to receive a wireless signal, and AT&T Internet, which uses DSL copper cable connections in combination with the company’s fiber infrastructure to deliver service to people’s homes, albeit it at much slower speeds.

AT&T vs. Xfinity customer satisfaction scores

Everyone loves to hate their internet provider, so it’s no surprise that customer satisfaction scores for the ISP industry aren’t anything impressive. Still, AT&T and Comcast Xfinity are relatively strong performers here. AT&T remained at the top year-over-year with an 80 out of 100 from the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index. Xfinity’s non-fiber score dropped a bit from 68 to 67 (bringing it just below the industry average, 68), but it’s fiber rating improved from a 73 to 75. Not great, but not bad, either.

Meanwhile, AT&T grabbed the top spot in the North-Central and West regions, and second in the South (where Google Fiber scored highest) in the most recent J.D. Power US Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study for 2023. Xfinity customer satisfaction was below AT&T in each of those three regions but still comfortably above the regional averages.

AT&T vs. Xfinity recap

If your options are AT&T Internet (the copper-based, DSL-related service) or AT&T’s fixed wireless service and Xfinity, the latter will be the best choice for speed, value, reliability, etc., nearly every time. On the other hand, if your address is serviceable for AT&T Fiber and Xfinity, you’re likely to get a better value with more favorable service terms from AT&T Fiber than Xfinity. Given the choice of the two, Xfinity stands out for its broad availability and low introductory pricing, but AT&T Fiber has the advantage in virtually every other category.

AT&T vs. Xfinity FAQs