In the world of high speed internet in the US, Xfinity and Spectrum are two major titans. Both companies have broad coverage all across the nation, in almost every state, with fiber available in some areas. Their packages, too are similar with a few notable differences between Comcast’s Xfinity and Charter/Spectrum that we’ll dive into here. But for the fastest internet available with all of the perks and features you’d expect from a broadband giant, this bout, ‘Xfinity vs. Spectrum’ is a clash you’ll want to watch if you get to choose between them for high speed internet in your home.
Best Pricing, Contracts and Bundles: XFINITY (slightly lower prices, more options)
Fastest Internet Speeds & Reliability: XFINITY (higher, 2000mbps top tier plan for power users)
Local Availability & Coverage: TIE (both cover more than 1/3 of the US Population)
Bonus Features & Add-Ons: Spectrum (True unlimited included in every plan)
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Spectrum vs Xfinity: Pricing, Contracts and Bundles
Something you’ll get from both Xfinity and Spectrum is access to a number of bundles and plans. Xfinity is more of an entertainment company than Spectrum (Comcast owns NBC and several movie studios, for example) so you’ll be nudged towards adding cable TV with Comcast more often (though sometimes there are great deals!). We like that Comcast has a super fast top tier internet plan available, along with all of their various TV bundles. It gives you the choice and opportunity to find a deal that perfectly suits your household.
Spectrum has decent pricing for the solid, fast internet plans they offer too. But we’re giving the win to Comcast/Xfinity on this one for the diversity of options available. Spectrum’s internet is overall, a bit more expensive than Xfinity too, in part at least because of the bigger bundles you’ll possibly sign up for with Comcast.
Spectrum vs Xfinity: Internet Speed & Reliability
Spectrum and Xfinity are both essentially cable companies. Unless you have fiber available in your area, they’ll both be relying on a coax cable running into your home (sometimes the same one!). So speeds and reliability will be similar for both depending on where you live. We’re giving the edge to Xfinity here because they technically have that higher tier plan available for cable users that don’t have access to fiber just yet.
We want to be clear that Spectrum’s internet isn’t slow or unreliable at all. In fact, in your area it may be identical to Comcast’s network or possibly faster. But overall Xfinity has those higher speed plans on cable that Spectrum isn’t offering unless you get fiber with them.
Spectrum vs Xfinity: Local Availability
These days you’ll need to enter your address to figure out what internet services are available in your area between Xfinity and Spectrum. Coverage maps don’t tell the whole story for these two mega companies. Sometimes the next town over will have a different provider and sometimes entire states like New York for Spectrum or Illinois for Xfinity, will be dominated by one or the other. Here’s Xfinity’s tool for finding service in your area:
https://www.xfinity.com/locations/in-my-area
Here’s Spectrum’s tool for finding internet service in your area:
https://www.spectrum.com/services
Spectrum vs Xfinity: Unlimited Data & Other Features
While we gave Xfinity the win on the first two categories, those wins were slight. In a world of data caps and new limits on internet usage, Spectrum seems to be taking a stand on “unlimited internet” by offering truly unlimited internet. If you’re a power user then you might want to consider trying Spectrum instead of Xfinity, if you have the choice.
Other features are similar with both Xfinity and Spectrum and we wonder how long a company like Spectrum can keep offering truly unlimited internet to everyone indefinitely. But for now, we’re so happy they’ve decided to forgo data caps for now that we’re giving Spectrum the overall win in this category.
Xfinity vs Spectrum: Which is Better Overall?
To be honest, if you’re just grabbing an internet plan from Xfinity or Spectrum, you probably wouldn’t notice a difference in speeds if the cable running into your house changed hands. That being said, if you’re moving and wondering what the differences will be, expect a bit higher prices with spectrum but also unlimited internet. You should also expect similar reliability and speeds unless you go for the BIG DOGE 2000mps Xfinity plan.
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