I want to know who I subscribed to when subscribing to an internet service provider (ISP). I’m sure you do as well. To help you learn more about these companies, I’ve compiled a lot of information about both.
To understand the differences between these companies, I’ll cover the following:
- Is Xfinity Comcast?
- What Comcast Is
- What Xfinity Is
- Did Comcast Buy Xfinity?
- Did Rebranding Affect Comcast’s Image?
- What Services Does Xfinity Offer?
- Services Comcast Offers
- Whether Xfinity is worth it
Time to find the differences between both companies.
Is Xfinity Comcast?
Yes, Xfinity is Comcast. But with a slight difference. Comcast acts as the parent company. Meanwhile, Xfinity serves as the ‘doing business as’ name.
In short, Comcast changed its name for internet, TV, and phone services to Xfinity.
What Is Comcast?
Comcast provides business services and acts as the parent company for Xfinity.
In the early ’60s, Comcast was American Cable Systems [1]. As 1969 approached, they renamed themselves to Comcast holdings. Back then, they only provided cable TV services.
Once 1972 came, Comcast went public. They experienced enormous growth in the ’80s and ’90s. When approaching the 2000s, they launched high-speed internet and high-definition television (HDTV) services.
In 2009, Comcast began offering 50 Mbps internet. From there, they decided it was time for a change.
What Is Xfinity?
Now we’re in 2010. Comcast formed Xfinity and rebranded its services. In addition to adding more services.
Some of these include:
- Xfinity Mobile: cellular service
- Xfinity Stream: cloud recordings, video on demand, and live broadcast channels without a cable box
- Xfinity Home: a home security solution
- Xfinity X1: a box that makes it so you can watch TV without coaxial cables
- Xfinity xFi: a gateway (modem/router combination)
So why did Comcast form Xfinity?
Follow the link I presented in the ‘What Is Comcast?’ point. Xfinity states that Comcast formed Xfinity to have “a new brand for technology products.”
Some speculate they formed Xfinity to cover past mistakes and horrendous customer service. But there are no leaked documents or anything to prove this theory.
Did Comcast Buy Xfinity?
Comcast didn’t buy Xfinity. Nor did Xfinity buy Comcast. In the following several sections, I’ll cover the differences between these names.
Did Rebranding Affect Comcast’s Image?
I’d say the rebranding led to more confusion. In many scenarios, you’ll see or hear people mention ‘Xfinity Comcast.’
IF Comcast’s goal was to shed its negative image with the rebrand, that didn’t work.
The company seems to have not changed over the years. So now many say the same things about Xfinity as with Comcast. However, many claim that Xfinity has improved its customer service.
But if that was the reason Comcast changed their name, couldn’t they simply improve their customer service under their pre-2010 name?
What Services Does Xfinity Offer?
Xfinity offers broadband and fiber internet, cable TV, and phone services throughout 40 states. You can bundle these services to save money. Whether you bundle internet and TV, internet and phone, or all three.
Oh, and there’s Xfinity mobile.
Throughout this next section, I’ll cover most of Xfinity services in-depth.
Voice
Xfinity Voice offers VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) landline phone services. Instead of carrying signals through telephone lines, they’ll transmit them through the internet. Because of how this service works, you can have cleaner audio during calls.
It’s reliant on the internet, though. Thus, you’ll need to consider bandwidth.
When subscribing to this plan, you’ll get an Xfinity Wireless Gateway. But no landline phone. They’ll charge you a monthly fee to use their gateway.
You can also use their Xfinity Connect App to check call logs and voicemails. If you want to use it to make and receive calls, you can.
But:
Why not just use a cell phone?
Mobile
You can access 5G networks by subscribing to Unlimited data or By the Gig plans. The former obviously gives you unlimited data. Meanwhile, the latter gives you a data allowance.
Not much else to say about this plan. It’s a mobile network service.
Television and Streaming
They offer pretty good TV plans (if you watch cable). You can either go for a no-term or term agreement plan. But you’ll pay significantly less with the contract plans.
You’ll find an excellent lineup of channels. Popular cable TV networks, local TV, sports channels, and more. The smallest plans offer 10+ channels, while the more extensive plans offer over 260 channels.
Do you want STARZ® or HBO®? Add those too.
Prefer streaming? You can get Xfinity Stream. As I mentioned above, it’s like a Roku or NVIDIA SHIELD. But not as good.
NVIDIA SHIELD comes with 4K upscaling, and Roku comes with Dolby Vision HDR. While Xfinity Stream just gives you basic streaming features and cloud recording.
Then they have X1 TV. But you’re required to have an internet plan to use it. Instead of using coaxial cables to watch cable TV, you’ll watch it using the internet.
High-speed and Fiber Internet
Xfinity provides different internet services throughout the 40 states it supports. Most of these plans vary by price (and name) by region. Here are some examples:
| Tier | Download Speed (Mbps) | Upload Speed (Mbps) | Price*: New Customer Promo. (Rounded) |
| *Internet Essentials | 50 | 1 | $30 |
| Connect (Performance Starter) | 50 | 5 | $25 |
| **Xfinity Prepaid | 50 | 10 | $45 per 30 days |
| *Internet Essentials Pro | 100 | 1.7 | $40 |
| Connect More (Performance) | 100 | 5 | $40 |
| Fast (Performance Pro) | 300 | 10 | $50 |
| Superfast (Blast!) | 600 | 15 | $50 |
| Ultrafast (Extreme Pro) | 900 | 20 | $60 |
| Gigabit Extra | 1,200 | 35 | $70 |
| Gigabit Pro | 3,000 | 3,000 | $300 |
* Internet Essentials and Internet Essentials Pro act as Xfinity’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) plans. These plans help provide internet to lower-income individuals.
*Data last updated as of post date. These offers can vary based on location and time.
** Prepaid internet plan.
Do you notice something? Xfinity doesn’t have any symmetrical internet speeds (except Gigabit Pro). Symmetrical internet plans mean you have equal upload and download speeds.
They’re asymmetrical. The opposite.
Symmetrical internet makes it so you’ll seldom worry about upload and download speed. Anyway, even though I didn’t list it on the table, all of these plans come with a 1.2 terabyte (TB) data cap.
That means Xfinity will charge you more when you use over 1.2 TB of data. They add 50 GB blocks to your account. And they’ll charge $10 per block they add.
Once again, the data cap doesn’t apply to the Gigabit Pro plan. I’d recommend going with this plan, but it’s $300 a month. Not a luxury many of us can throw money at.
You can subscribe to Xfinity’s Unlimited Data option. They’ll charge you an extra $35 per month.
What Services Does Comcast Offer?
Comcast doesn’t plaster Xfinity’s name over all of its internet services. Comcast also has Comcast Business. It offers these services to businesses [2]:
- Cloud solutions: I guess they help you find different business apps (like Norton)
- Mobile: 5G network mobile service for businesses
- Business TV: television services for bar and restaurant TVs, public viewing TV, in-room entertainment, and private viewing TV
- Phone: voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services
- Internet: Wi-Fi services for customers and employees along with fiber internet
They also list SmartOffice services on their website. But once I landed on the page, it was unavailable to buy.
Is Xfinity Worth It?
I used them for a while, and yeah. They’re worth it. But you’ll need to keep various factors in mind.
In my experience, it’s ONLY worth using Voice or Xfinity TV if you bundle them with internet plans. I don’t recommend Xfinity Streaming. You’re better off using other devices like Roku or NVIDIA Shield.
I didn’t go in-depth with Xfinity Home security. They’re not the best, but they’re a great home security system depending on your needs.
And internet. Unless you always stream 4K content, you won’t have to worry about reaching the data cap. But you will have to pay significantly more for your plan once your contract (introductory) price expires.
That’s when you’ll need to negotiate to see if Xfinity has any promotions.
Wrapping Up
Comcast and Xfinity are the same company. If you dissect this topic, then you’ll find the main difference comes from the services. Xfinity offers residential internet, television, mobile, and phone services.
While Comcast offers the business variation of those services.
If you’re considering using Xfinity as an internet provider, I recommend getting your own router. It’ll save you money, among other benefits. We put together this list to help you find the best Xfinity router.
