AT&T vs Xfinity Mobile: Plans Compared

Considering signing up for a plan from either Xfinity Mobile or AT&T? 

The two carriers offer very different experiences. For one, Xfinity Mobile service is limited to those already signed up for Xfinity Internet service, while AT&T is open to anyone. Beyond that, though, Xfinity Mobile is a far smaller brand that runs on Verizon’s national network. AT&T, meanwhile, operates its own system of 4G and 5G towers. Also, Xfinity Mobile’s plans are pared-back and very affordable, while AT&T’s are more feature-packed and comparatively expensive. 

We’ll dig into all of this and more in this article. By the end, you should have a good sense of whether Xfinity Mobile or AT&T makes more sense for you.

AT&T vs Xfinity Mobile Cheap Unlimited Plans

AT&T and Xfinity Mobile both offer cheap unlimited plans—but that means two very different things for the two carriers. 

Xfinity Mobile’s idea of cheap is $0/month for the first year, and $20/month thereafter—that’s how much the company’s lowest-tier Unlimited Plan costs. 

AT&T’s version of cheap is $50/month—which is the price of its entry-level Value 2.0 plan. 

The differences don’t end there. Xfinity Mobile’s Unlimited plan lacks a premium cellular data allotment—all of its data is of deprioritized variety, meaning it may slow during times of network congestion. In the case of AT&T’s Value 2.0, you get 5GB of premium cellular data a month, after which it's all subject to depriorization. 

Xfinity Mobile’s plan also lacks a high-speed mobile hotspot data allowance, and limits you to 3G speeds. If you’re used to normal internet speeds, 3G can feel glacial. AT&T’s Value 2.0 offers a small 3GB high-speed mobile hotspot data allowance. It’s not much, but it should keep you covered if you periodically need to send some quick emails from your laptop and you’re away from a WiFi signal.

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AT&T vs Xfinity Mobile Mid-Priced Unlimited Plans

Once again, mid-priced means two completely different things for these two carriers—it really is a case of comparing apples and oranges. After all, AT&T is a national major carrier that offers fairly pricy plans to anyone who wants to sign up for one, while Xfinity Mobile is a smaller niche offering that’s only available to those who are signed up for Xfinity Internet. Having said all that, let’s compare Xfinity Mobile’s Unlimited Plus ($10/month for the first 12 months, $40/month thereafter) and AT&T’s Extra 2.0 ($70/month).

Unlike the carrier’s cheaper offering, Xfinity Mobile’s Unlimited Plus plan gives you an allotment of premium, unrestricted high-speed cellular data—in this case 50GB. This is paired with a handy 15GB of mobile hotspot data, which is more than enough to keep you covered for occasional use when you’re on the go and lacking a WiFi signal for your other devices. 

AT&T’s Extra 2.0 also delivers premium cellular data—100GB worth—plus a generous 50GB mobile hotspot allowance. With more to offer than than the carrier’s Welcome 2.0, albeit at a higher price point, this plan will appeal to the most users who want to make the jump on to AT&T’s powerful network.

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AT&T vs Xfinity Mobile Premium Unlimited Plans

This section is the easiest one to compare, because only AT&T has a premium cell phone plan. AT&T’s Premium 2.0 plan truly fits heavy data users who never want to experience slowdowns. That’s you if you often connect your phone as a hotspot,  you love watching live sports or streaming videos, you post plenty of content on social media, and you’re a big mobile gamer. In other words, if you don’t ever want to be slowed down, then AT&T’s Premium 2.0 plan below can keep up with your data needs.

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AT&T vs Xfinity Mobile Coverage

AT&T’s national 4G LTE and 5G networks cover the majority of the United States with fast, reliable coverage. AT&T’s 4G network coverage is the second-best in the country, behind Verizon, and its 5G coverage is similarly impressive, trailing only T-Mobile in terms of nationwide reach. 

As noted above, Xfinity Mobile runs on Verizon’s national 4G and 5G networks. As a result, where there's Verizon coverage, there's Xfinity Mobile coverage. The only caveat is that during busy times on its network, Verizon gives priority to its own customers ahead of MVNOs like  Xfinity Mobile.

To compare AT&T and Xfinity coverage, enter your address into our AT&T coverage map, and use our Verizon coverage map as a proxy for Xfinity.

AT&T vs Xfinity Mobile Capped Plans

Unlike Xfinity Mobile, AT&T offers both prepaid and postpaid capped plans with a set amount of data. Those plans do not permit sharing data across multiple lines. 

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What Is a Capped Plan? Also commonly referred to as "By the Gig" plans, capped plans offer customers a set amount of data each month instead of unlimited data. Capped plan data is deprioritized, which means it's subject to slowdowns when the network is congested. Capped data plans can be a cost-effective alternative to unlimited plans, assuming you don’t mind deprioritized data and know how much data you use in a typical month. That's because exceeding your data cap can result in significant fees.

AT&T vs Xfinity Mobile: Similarities

• With both AT&T and Xfinity Mobile, you can rely on plans that give you both 4G LTE coverage and 5G coverage. 
• AT&T and Xfinity Mobile include hotspot data with their unlimited data plans - though with caveats, more below.
• Neither AT&T nor Xfinity include taxes and fees in their plans, so be ready to add 10-12 percent to plan prices. 
• Both Xfinity and AT&T offer home Internet plans and other services you can bundle with cell phone plans.
• Both Xfinity Mobile and Xfinity Mobile offer plans with fully unlimited premium data.

AT&T vs Xfinity Mobile: Differences

• Xfinity Mobile is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). Instead of owning cell tower infrastructure, as AT&T does, Xfinity rents infrastructure from Verizon’s network.
• AT&T plans are available to everyone, but only Xfinity Internet customers can get an Xfinity Mobile phone plan.
• AT&T offers multi-line pricing, which means that every subsequent line you add lowers your monthly cost per line. Xfinity Mobile adds new lines at a flat rate.

AT&T vs Xfinity Mobile: Hotspot Data

It’s easy to get confused about where exactly hotspot data falls into unlimited data budgets.

In short, it depends on the carrier. Some plans offer a separate hotspot allowance. For example, AT&T might give you 100GB of premium data per month, with an additional 50GB of premium hotspot data. Using that 50GB of hotspot data doesn’t impact the amount or speed of the 100GB of cellular data you have. Once those 10 GBs are gone, hotspot speeds will slow to a crawl until next month.

Other plans include hotspot data in your overall data allowance. Although data is theoretically unlimited, past a certain amount of use, the carrier can subject you to slowdowns. When you use hotspot data in these types of plans, it counts against your data allowance. For instance, on some unlimited data plans, you may have 30 GB of premium data before you enter the “slowdowns” zone. Of that allotment, you can use up to 5GB for hotspot usage. Once you’ve used up those 5 GB, you'll only have 25 GB of data remaining, and if you try to use your “unlimited” hotspot, you’ll find that data speeds are effectively unusable.

This isn’t a deal breaker if you don’t use hotspots very often. But if you are a frequent hotspot user, this is an area to compare closely.