Xfinity vs. Frontier: Which Internet Provider Is Best for You?
See how these two internet providers stack up so you can choose what’s best for you. HighSpeedteck.com uses our proprietary data and expert insights to compare these internet service titans.
Best for speed
- Customer rating: 3.5
- Price: $20.00–$299.95/mo.*
- Speed: 50–6,000 Mbps
- Internet type: Cable, fiber
- Data cap: 1.2 TB, none
- Contract: Contract-free and contract-based plans
Best for wide availability
- Customer rating: N/A
- Price: $49.99–$149.99/mo.
- Fiber speed: 500–2,000 Mbps
- Internet type: DSL, fiber
- Data cap: None
- Contract: 1-year fiber contract
Data as of 7/8/22. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Compare Xfinity and Frontier head to head
Xfinity is a great choice if you want cable internet, which is known for being fast and reliable. Xfinity’s cable plans offer speeds up to 1,200 Mbps, which is probably more than what the average home needs but still nice to have.
If you want even faster speeds than that, we suggest a fiber plan from Xfinity or Frontier. Fiber is really where these two providers battle, but if you don’t have access to fiber or cable, Frontier’s slower (but widely available) DSL service has your back.
Pros and cons: Xfinity vs. Frontier
Pros:
Pros:- Wide availability
- Fast speeds
- Reliable customer service
Cons:
Cons:- 1.2 TB monthly data cap
- Added fee for unlimited data
- Only one fiber plan
Pros:
- Unlimited data
- Cheaper fiber plans
Cons:
- Limited fiber availability
- High fees
- 1-year contracts with fiber
Plans and pricing: Xfinity vs. Frontier
Xfinity and Frontier mostly offer two very different internet connection types. Xfinity has various cable internet plans if you want speeds faster than Frontier’s DSL service. However, fiber internet is where these two really battle in terms of speed, but Xfinity is at a disadvantage due to a smaller footprint than Frontier.
Xfinity plans and pricing
| Package | Price | Speed | Type | Region | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance Starter | $29.99/mo.* | 50 Mbps | Cable | Northeast | View Plan |
| Performance Starter Plus | $20.00–$34.99/mo.* | 50 Mbps | Cable | Central West | View Plan |
| Performance Select | $44.99/mo.* | 100 Mbps | Cable | West | View Plan |
| Performance | $34.99–$40.00/mo.* | 100 Mbps | Cable | Northeast Central | View Plan |
| Performance Pro Plus | $39.99–$59.99/mo.* | 200 Mbps | Cable | Northeast West | View Plan |
| Blast | $50.00–$59.99/mo.* | 200 Mbps | Cable | Northeast Central | View Plan |
| Blast! Pro Plus | $74.99/mo.* | 200 Mbps | Cable | Northeast West | View Plan |
| Extreme | $50.00/mo.* | 400 Mbps | Cable | Central | View Plan |
| Extreme Pro Plus | $60.00–$84.99/mo.* | 800 Mbps | Cable | Northeast Central West | View Plan |
| Gigabit | $79.99–$94.99/mo.* | 1,200 Mbps | Cable | Northeast Central West | View Plan |
| Gigabit Pro | $299.95/mo.** | 6,000 Mbps | Fiber | Northeast Central West | View Plan |
* For the first 12 months with a 1-year agreement.
** With a 2-year agreement.
While the list of Xfinity plans appears rather long, Xfinity doesn’t offer every plan across its service areas. Xfinity pricing changes are based on three different regions: Northeast, Central, and West. Xfinity offers only three plans across the entire US, one of which are high-speed fiber. All the other plans are region-locked.
Frontier’s Fiber Gig plan approaches Xfinity’s Gigabit plan in terms of speed, but Xfinity can be the cheaper and faster option depending on where you live. For example, Xfinity’s slowest connection is cheaper than Frontier’s fastest DSL service if you can get cable internet in your area.
Frontier plans and pricing
| Package | Price | Speed | Type | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Internet | $49.99/mo. w/Auto Pay & Paperless Bill* | N/A | DSL | View Plan |
| Frontier Fiber Internet 500 | $49.99/mo. w/Auto Pay & Paperless Bill✝ | 500 Mbps | Fiber | View Plan |
| Frontier Fiber Gig | $74.99/mo. w/Auto Pay & Paperless Bill‡ | 940 Mbps | Fiber | View Plan |
| Frontier Fiber 2 Gig | $149.99/mo. w/Auto Pay & Paperless Bill§ | 2,000 Mbps | Fiber | View Plan |
* per month for 24 mos. One-time charges apply.
✝ per month for 12 mos. One-year agreement, early termination fee, and one-time charge apply. Max speeds are wired. Wi-Fi, actual & average speeds vary.
‡ per month for 36 mos. One-year agreement, early termination fee, and one-time charge apply. Max wired
speed 940/880 Mbps. Wi-Fi, actual & average speeds vary.
§ per month. One-year agreement, early termination fee, and one-time charge apply. Max speeds are wired. Wi-Fi, actual & average speeds vary.
Frontier has the advantage of offering DSL in areas where Xfinity’s fiber and cable internet can’t reach. But even if you live in an area where both providers overlap, Xfinity is the faster option than Frontier’s DSL plan.
Frontier recently introduced its Fiber 2 Gig plan to better compete with Google Fiber and AT&T. Xfinity’s Gigabit Pro also tops out at 6 Gbps but its availability is extremely limited. Frontier aims to offer up to 10 Gbps in the coming years—Xfinity is already working on 10 Gbps using existing cable connections.2
Deals and promotions: Xfinity vs. Frontier
Xfinity Deal: $30 Internet + Streaming
Get Xfinity internet and streaming for as low as $30/mo. when you add a regularly priced Xfinity Mobile plan (starting at $45/mo.). Plus, get extra perks like unlimited data and no-cost equipment for plans with speeds 300 Mbps and above.
Available through 2022
| Plan | Speed | Price | Bundle Discount | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connect | 50 Mbps | $30/mo. | $10 | Order Online |
| Connect More | 100 Mbps | $40/mo. | $10 | Order Online |
| Fast* | 300 Mbps | $50/mo. | $20 | Order Online |
| Superfast** | 600 Mbps | $65/mo. | $25 | Order Online |
| Ultrafast** | 900 Mbps | $70/mo. | $25 | Order Online |
| Gigabit Extra** | 1200 Mbps | $80/mo. | $30 | Order Online |
Get a discount on your internet service when you add an Xfinity Mobile phone line to go with it. Depending on the plan, you can get a discount ranging from $10 to $30 per month if you sign up for both services.
You’ll get $5 off your monthly bill when you set up online autopay.
Extra fees: Xfinity vs. Frontier
| Equipment fee | Installation fee | Other fees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | ● $14.00/mo. | ● $39.99 for pro install ● Free for self-install with standard shipping< | ● $10.00 late payment fee ● $10.00/50 GB overage fee ● $30.00/mo. for unlimited data |
| Frontier | ● No charge for DSL modem or wireless gateway | ● Free pro install* | ● $85.00 DSL activation fee ● $10.00 disconnect fee ● $9.99 equipment fee for extra devices ● $5.00/mo. no AutoPay fee ● $2.99/mo. paper bill fee ● $6.99/mo. internet infrastructure surcharge ● $1.50 pay in person fee ● Up to $10.00 pay by phone convenience fee |
Data as of 7/8/22. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*When you order service online.
Xfinity has a shorter list of fees, charging the standard installation and rental fees. The fee for unlimited data is optional and could be your cheaper route if you usually spend more than $30 in overage fees each month.
With Frontier, there’s no overage fee or an additional charge for unlimited data. But subscribers must pay a monthly surcharge that applies to network maintenance and other costs associated with Frontier’s infrastructure.3
Customer ratings: Xfinity vs. Frontier
| Overall | Speed | Price | Reliability | Customer service | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity (2021) | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
| Frontier (2020) | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.7 |
Xfinity didn’t score well in 2021. It landed in 11th place out of 12 in overall customer satisfaction, barely surpassing CenturyLink. It placed last in terms of price and customer service and ranked 10th for internet speed satisfaction.
A closer look at the data shows that 42% of the Xfinity respondents experienced unexpected fees or price hikes. Its fiber customers gave better scores than those with cable, scoring 3.8 in overall satisfaction (3.4 for cable) and 3.5 in price satisfaction (2.9 for cable).
That said, Xfinity’s fiber customers appear to be happier with Xfinity than those using cable internet.
Frontier didn’t have enough respondents in our annual customer satisfaction survey for 2021, so we inserted the results from 2020. What’s interesting is that Xfinity actually did better than Frontier in the 2020 survey in most categories, though Frontier scored higher than Xfinity in reliability and pricing satisfaction.
Best TV and internet bundles
| Internet speed | TV channels | Price | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity Starter Pro Plus Double Play | Up to 400 Mbps | 140+ | $94.99/mo. for 12 mos.* | View Plans |
| Xfinity Preferred Pro Plus Double Play | Up to 400 Mbps | 220+ | $104.99/mo. for 12 mos.* | View Plans |
| Frontier 500 Mbps + DISH America’s Top 120 | Up to 500 Mbps | 190 | $119.98/mo.† | View Plans |
| Fiber 500 Mbps + DISH America’s Top 120+ | Up to 500 Mbps | 190+ | $134.98/mo.‡ | View Plans |
* For the first 12 months
† Internet price per month for 12 mos. Taxes, surcharges, one-year agreement, early termination fee, and one-time charge apply. Max speeds are wired. Wi-Fi, actual & average speeds vary. TV price for new and qualifying former customers only. All offers require credit qualification, 2-year commitment with early termination fee and eAutoPay.
‡ Internet w/ Auto Pay & Paperless Bill. Per month for 24 mos. One-time charges apply. Max speeds are wired. Wi-Fi, actual & average speeds vary. TV price for new and qualifying former customers only. All offers require credit qualification, 2-year commitment with early termination fee and eAutoPay.
All TV and internet bundles provided by Frontier include DISH TV—Frontier discontinued its digital TV service for new customers. These bundles include local channels and a three-month free trial to the DISH Movie Pack Online TV service. You must pay $30 per month once the trial ends unless you call or go online to cancel the service.
Xfinity offers many Double Play bundles across its coverage areas. None of them include Xfinity’s Gigabit Pro connection, which in itself is expensive. Some bundles include Netflix or HBO Max, like the X1 Premier Pro+ Double Play package with 185+ channels and fiber-based 1,200 Mbps download speeds.
Internet types: Xfinity vs. Frontier
| Internet type | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Fiber, cable | View Plans |
| Frontier | Fiber, DSL | View Plans |
Xfinity is one of the largest cable companies in the US, delivering internet through the same coaxial cables used for cable TV. It relies on two unused TV channels to send and receive data: one for downloads and one for uploads. Its fiber internet works differently by sending LED or laser pulses across glass filaments. Fiber enables symmetrical internet speeds, whereas cable does not.
Frontier’s DSL service is the slowest of the three connection types. Frontier acquired its DSL and fiber lines from Verizon starting in 2009 and renamed the fiber service from Frontier FiOS to Frontier FiberOptic in 2020. Now it’s called Frontier Fiber Internet as of February 2022.
Data caps: Xfinity vs. Frontier
| Data cap | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | 1.2 TB* | View Plans |
| Frontier | None | View Plans |
*Cap removed when you pay $30 per month.
What separates these two providers is Xfinity’s 1.2 TB monthly data cap. To get unlimited data from Xfinity, you must pay a $30 fee each month. Otherwise, you’re charged $10 for every 50 GB used beyond the monthly data allowance. The only exception to Xfinity’s data cap is its 12-state Northeastern markets. Xfinity doesn’t plan to enforce a data cap in those areas until sometime in 2022.4
Frontier doesn’t enforce a data cap, nor does it charge an extra fee for unlimited data like Xfinity.
Contracts: Xfinity vs. Frontier
| Contract length | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | ● Month-to-month ● 1–2 yrs. | View Plans |
| Frontier | ● 1 yr. (fiber only) | View Plans |
Xfinity has both monthly and contracted plans, but you’ll save money if you opt for the one-year or two-year agreement. For example, the Performance Plus plan costs $34.99 per month for the first 12 months if you select the one-year agreement. Otherwise, the plan costs $55 per month. The Gigabit Pro plan requires a two-year agreement, however.
Frontier doesn’t appear to have contracts for DSL, but its three fiber plans do require a one-year agreement. Discounted pricing for the 500 Mbps plan ends after a year, while the Fiber Gig discount ends after three years—there’s no discount for the 2 Gbps plan. Frontier’s TV and internet bundles require a two-year agreement.
Installation: Xfinity vs. Frontier
| Installation options | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | ● $39.99 for pro install ● Free for self-install and standard shipping | View Plans |
| Frontier | ● $85.00 DSL activation ● Free fiber activation | View Plans |
Frontier charges $85 to activate DSL service but waives the fee for fiber. Frontier currently does not offer a self-install option for DSL or fiber.
Xfinity’s Getting Started Kit ships within three to five business days at no additional cost. If you can’t wait, priority shipping will see the kit arrive within one to two business days for $29.99. You can also choose the “Self Install Plus” option if you don’t want to bother with shipping, which has a technician deliver the kit and check all connections outside.
Availability: Xfinity vs. Frontier
Take a look at the Federal Communication Commission’s broadband map and you’ll see that Xfinity serves 36% of the American population as of June 2020—Frontier has a smaller footprint of 11%. Moreover, a closer look shows that they mostly overlap in certain parts of the Northeast, Florida, and around the Great Lakes.
Xfinity’s biggest coverage area resides in the Northeast. It avoids North Carolina altogether and trickles down through Tennessee to reach customers in the south. Other large coverage areas surround Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Nashville, Memphis, Houston, San Francisco, Sacramento, Portland, and Seattle.
Frontier serves around 11.7 million copper (DSL) lines and approximately 3.6 million fiber lines across 27 states as of August 2021.1 Its Frontier Internet DSL service covers the Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest. Its Frontier Fiber Internet network resides in portions of California, Florida, Indiana, and Texas, although the California market is expected to grow to 350,000 locations by 2026.5
Final call: Xfinity vs. Frontier
Get fiber internet from Xfinity or Frontier if it’s available in your area. Xfinity’s single fiber plan reaches up to 6,000 Mbps (6 Gbps), which is crazy fast, but it’s far less available than Frontier’s Fiber Internet network—0.02% vs. 33.18%, respectively.
If you don’t have access to fiber, Xfinity’s cable internet plans are by far the next best choice over DSL from Frontier. Xfinity’s 400 Mbps cable connection is a solid plan if you have lots of devices accessing the internet simultaneously. If speed is what you need, Xfinity’s fastest cable internet plan tops out at 1,200 Mbps.
Methodology
Our HighSpeedTeck.com editorial team bases our analyses on customer input from our annual customer satisfaction survey, our speed test tool results, and proprietary internet provider data on speeds and pricing. To strengthen our research, we look closely at provider contracts to get hard-to-find information on price hikes, data caps, and extra fees, and we keep tabs on the latest news reports and online reviews. When applicable, we also rely on our personal experiences testing these services.
More about Xfinity and Frontier
- AT&T vs. Xfinity
- Verizon vs. Xfinity
- CenturyLink vs. Xfinity
- AT&T vs. Frontier
- CenturyLink vs. Frontier
- Spectrum vs. Frontier
Disclaimers
Disclaimer for Xfinity Fast internet deal w/ mobile
* Limited time offer. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. Limited to Fast Internet for new customers. Pricing requires enrollment in both automatic payments and paperless billing. Mobile discount limited to new Xfinity Mobile customers. Xfinity Mobile requires residential post-pay Xfinity Internet. xFi Gateway, Unlimited Data and Flex device included for 24 mos. Additional devices extra. After 24 mos. regular rates apply to all services and devices. Streaming subscriptions not included. All devices must be returned when service ends.
For Xfinity Superfast, Ultrafast, and Gigabit Extra internet plans w/ mobile deals
**Offer ends 06/26/2022. Limited time offer. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. New residential customers only. Paperless Billing and Automatic Payments with bank account required, otherwise monthly service charge automatically increases by $10 (or $5 if enrolling with credit or debit card information). Discount will appear on statement within 45 days of enrollment. Equipment, installation, taxes and fees, and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change during and after the promo. After promo, or if any service is canceled or downgraded, regular rates apply (subject to change). Service limited to a single outlet. May not be combined with other offers. Internet: Actual speeds vary and are not guaranteed. For factors affecting speed visit www.xfinity.com/networkmanagement. Flex: Not available in all areas or to current Xfinity Video customers. Requires post-paid subscription to Xfinity Internet, excluding Internet Essentials. Pricing subject to change. Limited to 3 devices. 1 device included, additional devices $5/mo. per device. All devices must be returned when service ends. Separate charges apply to On Demand and certain streaming services. Viewing will count against any Comcast data plan. Mobile discount: Must sign up for Xfinity Mobile and activate a new line within 90 days of order and maintain the line to receive mobile discount for 24 months. Discount applied to Internet bill and will appear on statement within 30 days of Xfinity Mobile line activation. If Xfinity Mobile or Xfinity Internet is canceled, or Internet service is changed to a tier lower than the Xfinity Internet tier in this order within the 24 months, the multi-product discount will be removed.
For Xfinity Mobile Broadband Disclosures visit: www.xfinity.com/mobile/policies/broadband-disclosures. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee applies to one month’s recurring service and standard installation charges up to $500. ©2022 Comcast. All rights reserved.
Sources
- Frontier Communications, ”Frontier (FYBR) Investor Day Presentation,” August 5, 2021. Accessed. September 15, 2021.
- Comcast, “Comcast Reaches 10G Technical Milestone Delivering 1.25 Gig Symmetrical Speeds in Trial Over a Live, All-Digital HFC Network,” October 8, 2020. Accessed September 15, 2021.
- Frontier Communications, “Answering Your Questions,” Accessed September 15, 2021.
- Comcast, ”We’re Giving Our Northeast Customers More Time,” February 18, 2021. Accessed September 22, 2021.
- Frontier Communications, “Before the Public Utilities Commission of the State of California,” December 24, 2020. Accessed May 4, 2021.