Xfinity has hidden fees everywhere. Whether in their services, equipment installation or rentals, or because you passed the data cap. Then there are regulatory fees you’ve likely never heard of. In this piece, I’ll cover all of these fees.
As a former Xfinity subscriber, I failed to avoid many of their hidden fees. To help you avoid the same fate, I’ve compiled all of Xfinity Comcast’s fees into this piece.
To help you understand the actual price of subscribing to Xfinity, I’ll cover fees like:
- Xfinity Internet fees
- Xfinity Mobile fees
- Comcast Xfinity TV fees
- Xfinity Voice fees
- Xfinity Flex fees
- Installation fees
- Early termination fees
- Equipment fees
- Price after the introductory period
- Data overage fee
- Other regulatory fees
We have a lot to cover. So let’s get started.
Comcast Xfinity Hidden Charges
I’ll cover hidden Comcast Xfinity charges you’ll find when using their various services and ways to reduce (or eliminate) these fees. If possible. In some scenarios, you can’t get out of paying.
None of the fees that I’ll mention include taxes. These will vary by city and state.
Comcast Xfinity Internet Hidden Fees
Here are some Xfinity Comcast hidden fees for their internet services:
| Fee | Amount |
| xFi Gateway | $14.00 per month |
| xFi Gateway Complete | $25 per month |
| Unlimited Data add-on | $30 |
| Flex Streaming TV Box | $5 per device |
| xFi Pod | $119: for one $199: for two |
| Data overage | $10 per 50 gigabytes (GB) |
| Service reactivation | $6.00 |
| Professional installation | $89.99 |
| Price After Contract | 25–99% bill increase |
This table shows Xfinity internet hidden fees.
I’ll repeat many of these fees throughout this piece. But I wanted to condense them into this table to make things easier for you. I’ll cover ways to avoid most of these fees throughout this post.
But I want to talk about one right now:
You can avoid the xFi Gateway fee by using your own modem and router. Though you’ll have to pay a bit extra up-front, you’ll save more money in the long run.
Price After Promotion: For Xfinity Internet
Once your Comcast internet contract expires, you’ll notice a 25–99% increase in your bill:
| Plan | Price (New Customer) | Price (After Promotion) | Percentage Increase |
| Connect/Performance Starter | $20–25 | $49–50 | 65–86% |
| Connect More/Performance | $40 | $60–69 | 40–53% |
| Fast/Performance Pro | $40–50 | $70–89 | 33–99% |
| Superfast/Blast! | $50–60 | $80–94 | 29–56% |
| Gigabit | $80 | $100–109 | 22–44% |
This table compares the prices for new Xfinity Comcast customers and the price once the term agreement expires.
Once your contract nears its expiration date, I recommend contacting Xfinity and negotiating with them. I wrote a piece on how to lower your Comcast Xfinity bill. You’ll want to navigate to point 6, ‘Once Your Plan Is About to End, Negotiate.’
Xfinity Mobile Hidden Fees
On Xfinity’s $15 plan, once you surpass 1 gigabyte (GB) of data use, you’ll need to pay an additional $15 per GB they add to your account.
They won’t refund you for data that you don’t use. For instance, if you use an extra 3.1 GB of data, you’ll need to pay for 4 GB of data ($60).
Unlimited data plans. If you want to stream videos over 480p over your phone, you’ll need to pay an extra $20 per month.
Xfinity TV Hidden Fees
Here’s a list of all the hidden fees you’ll find when using Comcast Xfinity TV services:
| Fee | Amount |
| Regional Sports Fee | Up to $14.45 per month |
| Broadcast TV Fee | Up to $19.45 per month |
| Reactivation Fee | $6.00 |
| DVR Cloud Storage | 150 hours for $10 per month |
| X1 TV Box | $7.50–$8.50 |
| Premium Channels | $5.99–14.99 per month (for each channel) |
Throughout the following section, I’ll dive further into what each of these fees are. And whether you can avoid them.
Xfinity TV Price After 12, 24, or 36 Months
Xfinity Comcast TV plans cost 40–47% less for new subscribers than ones who have used Comcast Xfinity TV for one, two, or three years:
| Plan | Price (New Customer) | Price (After Promotion) | Percentage Increase |
| Popular TV | $49.99 | $70 | 40% |
| Ultimate TV | $59.99 | $88.50 | 47.5% |
DVR Service Charge
If you want to add a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) to your Xfinity plan, you’ll first need to pay $8.50 per month for a DVR box.
To add DVR cloud storage to your plan, you’ll need to pay an additional $10 per month for 150 hours.
Xfinity Premium Channel Fees
To add specialty and premium channels to your Comcast Xfinity TV package, you’ll need to pay additional monthly fees. These premium channels include:
- EPIX: $5.99 per month
- SHOWTIME: $12.00 per month
- STARZ: $8.99 per month
- THE MOVIE CHANNEL: $12.00 per month
- HBO Max: $14.99 per month
- CINEMAX: $12 per month
You can avoid these fees by simply not subscribing to premium channels. Only subscribe to them (or their streaming service counterparts) if there’s a specific show you can’t miss.
Regional Sports Fee
Xfinity pays each broadcasting station to bring their channels onto your television service. Naturally, Comcast will carry this $14.75 per month broadcast fee to you.
Broadcast TV Fee
A broadcast surcharge (Broadcast TV fee) is what you’d pay to access local networks like CBS, FOX, NBC, and ABC. The service providers pay this fee to these networks, but they pass a portion of it to you.
The amount you’ll pay for Xfinity’s broadcast fee varies by region and package. But from what I could find, it’s up to $19.45 per month.
There’s no way to remove Xfinity Comcast’s broadcast TV fee unless you cancel their television services.
Xfinity Voice Fees
Here are some hidden fees you can expect to pay for Xfinity Voice services:
| Fee | Amount |
| Carefree Minutes | $9.95 per month |
| International Calling | $0.09–3.25 per minute |
| Reactivation Fee | $6.00 |
Xfinity Service Fees
If Xfinity Comcast has to send a technician to repair In-Home Wiring with your Xfinity services, you’ll have to pay a fee. Comcast Xfinity doesn’t specify the amount, but some have claimed it’s $100 [1].
You’ll also see this fee if you need Comcast to diagnose an issue with a connection with your services and rented equipment.
They did have a Service Protection Plan. It was a monthly fee to receive protection against these fees. But in May 2018, Comcast ended this plan for new subscribers [2].
Xfinity Home Security Fees
Here are some hidden fees you can expect to pay for Xfinity’s Home Security service:
| Fee | Amount |
| Professional Installation | $100 |
| Xfinity Base System | $360 (one–time) or $15 per month (for 2 years) |
| Xfinity Complete System | $480 (one-time) or $20 per month (for 2 years) |
| Xfinity Ultimate System | $600 (one-time) or $25 per month (for 2 years) |
| Wireless Keypad | $40 |
| Door and Window Sensor | $20 |
| Smoke Detector | $70 |
| Zen Thermostat | $120 |
| Outdoor/Indoor Cameras or Video Doorbell | *$120 or $5 per month (24 months) |
| Outlet Controller | $50 |
On top of the Home Security equipment fees, you’ll need to pay for monitoring. $10 per month for Self Protection. $30 per month for Home Security. $40 per month for Home Security Plus.
Xfinity Flex Hidden Fees
You’ll get the first Xfinity Flex TV streaming box for $5/month on certain internet-only Xfinity Comcast plans. If you want more than one box (for another bedroom), you’ll need to pay an additional $5 per month for each device.
If you want a Flex for your kitchen, family room, and guest bedroom, you’ll need to pay $10 per month ($120 per year).
The Flex 4K streaming box doesn’t support DVR, network channels, and other basic Comcast Xfinity features. To make up for this, Comcast wants you to upgrade to Choice TV. That’s an extra $30 per month.
Service Provider Fees
If you’ve subscribed to third-party services through Xfinity, you’ll see fees on your bill that appear as ‘Other Charges.’ For example, if you subscribe to a streaming service like Netflix, you’ll pay your monthly bill through your Comcast Xfinity account.
Comcast Xfinity Installation Fees
In most cases, you can install Xfinity products and services yourself. But a few scenarios will require you to schedule an appointment for a technician to visit your home:
- If your home hasn’t had Xfinity services before
- If you need to install more than four devices
- If your home hasn’t had Comcast Xfinity services in the last 12 months.
For a professional Comcast service installation, you’ll need to pay a $89.99 one-time fee. You can avoid this fee if you install Xfinity yourself.
Xfinity Cancellation Fee
Canceling your Xfinity Comcast service before your contract ends will lead to an early termination fee. You’ll pay $110 for a one-year contract and $230 for a two-year contract.
The further you’re into your contract before canceling, the less you’ll pay ($10 per month). Here’s an example. If you’re six months into a one-year contract, you’ll pay $50 for the Xfinity early cancellation fee.
You can avoid these fees, though. Kind of.
Cancel your Comcast Xfinity service within 30 days of signing up and you can waive this fee. With Xfinity Mobile, you’ll have to cancel within 14 days of signing up.
Otherwise, you can only receive Early Termination Fee (ETF) if you’re in one of these situations:
- Transferring to a new address
- Xfinity doesn’t support your new address
- The primary account holder passed away
- You have to move because you’re active duty military
If you’re in one of these situations, call a customer service representative and tell them.
Xfinity Equipment Fees
Here’s a list of equipment Xfinity Comcast will charge you a monthly fee for:
| Comcast Equipment | Use Case | Equipment Rental Fee |
| xFi Gateway | Modem/router combination | xFi Gateway: $14 xFi Gateway Complete (plus one xFi Pod): $25 |
| Flex 4K Streaming TV Box | Media streaming box | $5 per month |
| Xfinity X1 | TV box | $7.50-$8.50 |
| xFi Pod | Wi-Fi Extender | $119 for one$199 for two |
| Wireless Keypad | Controller | $40 |
| Door and Window Sensor | Sensor | $20 |
| Smoke Detector | Smoke alarm | $70 |
| Zen Thermostat | Thermostat | $120 |
| Outdoor/Indoor Cameras or Video Doorbell | Camera | *$120 or $5 per month (24 months) |
| Outlet Controller | Automation | $50 |
If you order these devices to your home, you’ll likely need to pay for shipping and handling. I can’t provide an accurate estimate on this fee, though. It’ll vary by shipping method you use and where you’re located.
Xfinity Comcast will let you pay for expedited shipping in certain areas. While it’ll make your Getting Started Kit (or equipment) arrive sooner, you’ll have to pay more.
Here’s another scenario. You cancel your Comcast service and don’t return your equipment. Do you think Xfinity will let you keep it?
Nope.
There’s no fixed charge, but I’ve seen claims that Comcast Xfinity will charge you between $100-350 for unreturned equipment [3].
Price After Term Agreement
When signing up with Xfinity for a contract agreement, you’ll pay less for your bill. But once 12-, 24-, or 36 months pass, you’ll pay 22–99% more for your Xfinity bill with certain plans. I’ve covered the details in specific services earlier.
Late Payment Fee
If you didn’t pay your Xfinity bill on time, you’ll have a 2-week grace period. Once this time passes, Comcast will add an extra $10 to your bill.
Xfinity Data Overage Fee
Once you use 1.2 terabytes (TB) of data on most Xfinity internet plans, they’ll automatically add data blocks to your account. You’ll pay $10 per 50 gigabytes (GB) block they add. And you will have to pay a maximum overage fee of $100.
However:
They’ll enforce the data cap differently on some internet packages.
The Gigabit Plus (6-gigabit internet) plan doesn’t have a data cap.
Xfinity Prepaid has a 1.0 TB data cap and the same data overage fees.
Internet Essentials and Internet Essentials Pro have a $30 maximum data overage fee (instead of $100).
Don’t want to pay the bandwidth cap fee? You have a few options:
- Use less data: avoid watching 4K movies or using 4K resolution on cloud gaming services to save data
- Unlimited Data Add-on: pay an extra $30 per month to have unlimited data while using your own router and modem
- *xFi Complete gateway: pay an extra $25 per month for unlimited data (there’s a tradeoff)
* You can only use Xfinity’s modem/router combo. However, you’ll get one free xFi Pod (Wi-Fi extender).
The xFi Pod Wi-Fi extenders usually cost $119 each. So if you’ve wanted a Wi-Fi range extender, you’ll save a bit of money by getting the xFi Complete. Don’t know whether you need an extender?
Think of it this way. A single pod can HELP Wi-Fi connectivity issues in 3–4 room 1–2 story homes.
Taxes Regulatory Fees
All of these fees will vary by region, plan, or whatever else Xfinity feels like charging. They don’t have any sources that specify set numbers.
There’s no way to avoid any of these fees or taxes.
They’re all inevitable.
Let’s start with random taxes that Xfinity will pass onto you. Here’s a list and brief description of each:
- Local utility user: local tax on video and communications services
- Federal excise: federal tax on certain voice services (unspecified)
- Gross receipts: tax on Xfinity’s gross revenue
- State and local communications services: tax on TV, audio, data, and voice services
- Sales tax
- State excise: tax for voice and video services
And here are other fees that Comcast will pass onto you:
- 911 fee: helps fund 911 and E911 systems
- Athletic fee: charge for live pay per view sports and other video content
- Franchise fee: paid to local governments so Xfinity can use public easements
- 988 fee: charge to help fund 988 hotlines
- Regulatory recovery fee: charge for certain local-, state-, and federal voice services
Then there’s one ‘fund’ that I feel deserves a separate section.
Federal Universal Service Fund (FUSF)
Comcast contributes to the Federal Universal Service Fund (FUSF). It’s a federal fund to help rural and low-income customers access affordable communications. To recover some of the money they’ve contributed, they’ll add more to your bill.
Wrapping Up
Xfinity Comcast has various hidden fees throughout all of their services. You can’t avoid most of these fees. But you can save some money (or get account credit) for some of them.
Since you have a better idea of what you’re paying for with Xfinity services, you can compare the overall costs to other service providers.
If you need help getting started with internet service providers to compare with Xfinity, explore our recommendations.
