Xfinity vs. AT&T Internet Review 2020

Comparing Xfinity and AT&T is just as difficult as wrangling a pile of hyper puppies during dinnertime—without the adorable fluff and aroos.

But despite the lack of cuteness, we held it together and compared Xfinity’s and AT&T’s internet prices, plans, speeds, and bundle options to see which is better.

Ready to find out? Let’s get this show on the road.

Xfinity vs. AT&T: Prices

Xfinity internet prices are best, at least until AT&T steals the show with its low-priced gig plan.

If you just look at price, Xfinity nets you a better deal for internet—unless you need gig speeds. Then AT&T Fiber’s Internet 1,000 plan takes over as the best value. And, quite frankly, the Internet 1,000 plan comes in at the lowest price we’ve seen for gig-speed internet: just under $50 a month.

Xfinity’s Gigabit plan runs you about $85 a month. But if you can’t get AT&T Fiber or if you don’t need gig speeds, Xfinity is your best bet for best value.

That said, any time you’re comparing Xfinity prices, it’s worth taking a second look. Xfinity offers different speeds and prices depending on which region of the US you live in. This could make AT&T a better deal for you.

But while you’re glancing around at prices, don’t forget to check for Xfinity discounts. It offers up new discounts and promotions about every month, so it’s worth checking frequently if you’re still shopping.

Even with discounts, though, we doubt you’ll see a price as good as AT&T Fiber’s for its Internet 1,000 plan.

On the other hand, the price for its Up to 100 Mbps plan is hit or miss. This plan connects you to the fastest download speeds in your area—up to 100 Mbps. So if you can get that 100 Mbps download speed, the price you’ll pay isn’t that bad. But if the fastest speeds in your area are, say, 25 Mbps, you’ll find better deals elsewhere.

Xfinity vs. AT&T: Internet speed

Xfinity offers more speeds to choose from, plus its performance blows AT&T’s DSL internet out of the water.

When it comes to our internet, we like choices. And if that’s your thing too, Xfinity has a ton of choices for download speed. AT&T, on the other hand, has two.

Technically, Xfinity internet can go as fast as 2,000 Mbps—but don’t get stars in your eyes just yet. The Gigabit Pro 2,000 Mbps plan is extremely limited in availability, and at almost $300 a month, it’s extremely pricey too.

If you don’t need gig speeds, our vote is with Xfinity. But if you need 1,000 Mbps of pure internet download power, grab AT&T Fiber.

Look at internet speed performance and you’ll see that Xfinity is doing fly-bys while AT&T lags behind. Of course, we think part of the reason AT&T scored much lower than Xfinity is because of its DSL internet performance.

If you can land AT&T Fiber, you’ll probably see fast, reliable internet. That’s because fiber in general is more reliable than either cable or DSL.

Just a quick note: those weighted scores aren’t actual download speeds. Rather, they’re a combination of the average download speeds, upload speeds, and latency that more than 1 million Xfinity and AT&T customers saw when they took our speed test in 2019.

Xfinity vs. AT&T: Bundles

Bundling with AT&T gives you more choices and possibly DIRECTV, but Xfinity bundles may save you more money.

The sheer number of choices you have for AT&T internet plus DIRECTV bundles alone makes this no competition.

We wouldn’t call the AT&T TV NOW plans slim pickings either. It comes with eight different choices—including some with home phone if that’s how you roll.

But if you’re after savings, you’ll likely put a bigger chunk of change in your piggy bank if you bundle with Xfinity. Our TV expert, Chantel Buchi, took a look at DIRECTV vs. Xfinity bundles and found that you save about $25 to $35 a month with Xfinity bundles compared to saving $10 a month with AT&T + DIRECTV.

One thing we don’t like about AT&T bundles is that they come with just one download speed choice. That may not be ideal if you don’t need as much speed and would rather pay less than boost your internet downloads.

It’s likely, though, that if you ask a sales rep, you’ll find you’ve got more speeds to choose if you’re dead-set on an AT&T bundle.

Xfinity vs. AT&T: Customer service

Neither Xfinity nor AT&T amaze us with customer service, but AT&T is better when it comes down to it.

If you’ve used the internet any time since 1991, you know what a hot mess any ISP’s customer service can be.

So it is with both Xfinity and AT&T, but if you take a look at the 2019 report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), you’ll see AT&T is likely your best bet for a customer service call that doesn’t require two hunks of your hair to be pulled out as payment.¹

Xfinity just barely scores lower than the overall industry average of 62 out of 100. To be honest, we’ve had to deal with both AT&T and Xfinity customer service, and it can be hit or miss either way.

But we’d hedge our bets with AT&T.

Recap: Which is better, Xfinity or AT&T?

Go with Xfinity, unless you want gig speeds at a low price or DIRECTV. Then go with AT&T.

We’d be doing you a disservice if we named one of these two companies as best overall.

Seriously, choosing between Xfinity and AT&T is like choosing between an authentic sushi restaurant and a five-star steakhouse. It really does depend on your specific situation. So, here’s our take in a nutshell:

• Pricing: Tie. Xfinity is the better deal when it comes to the download speed you get for the price, at least until you start talking gig speeds. If you need 1,000 Mbps download speeds, AT&T Fiber is your best deal by far.
• Internet speed: Xfinity has more download speeds to choose from and its speed performance stacks up well. That said, we don’t think you could go wrong with AT&T Fiber either. (So avoid AT&T’s DSL internet? Got it.)
• TV + internet bundles: Tie. AT&T earns gold stars for its massive selection of DIRECTV and AT&T TV NOW bundle options. But Xfinity bundles will save you more on your monthly bill.
• Customer service: AT&T. Neither company is outstanding, but higher customer satisfaction scores have us leaning toward AT&T.

Sources

1. American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), “ACSI Telecommunications Report 2018–2019”
2. Catherine McNally, Reviews.org, “Fastest Internet Providers 2020,” August 2020. Accessed August 12, 2020.