AT&T vs Xfinity Mobile: Plans Compared

Xfinity Mobile and AT&T both have a lot to offer. The question is which carrier and cell phone plan will best meet your needs? If you're considering AT&T vs Xfinity, our phone plan comparison is sure to help. In this guide, we call out the similarities and differences between these two carriers and examine how their phone plans stack up, focusing on price, data, coverage, perks, and more.

You can also compare cell phone plans at other top carriers with our free, unbiased Plan Finder.

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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.
• Neither Xfinity Mobile nor AT&T bundles perks with their plans, like streaming service subscriptions.

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 the advertised prices. Non-customers have to pay an additional fee to access Xfinity Mobile plans.
• Xfinity Mobile unlimited plans will slow down your data speeds after a certain amount of use, while AT&T's unlimited plans offer truly unlimited data at 4G/5G browsing speeds.
• Every AT&T unlimited plan comes with unlimited talk, text, and data in and between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. With Xfinity Mobile, you have to purchase an additional travel pass to be able to text, call, and use data abroad.
• 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 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 Entry-Level Unlimited Plans

Let’s talk about entry-level options. If you’re in the market for a cost-effective plan that still gives you unlimited data, both AT&T and Xfinity have strong contenders. These plans are best for folks who don’t use a lot of data, and when they do use data, it’s primarily for checking emails, browsing socials, and maybe watching a YouTube video or two. Mobile hotspot usage is infrequent. If that’s you, check out these plans.

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AT&T vs Xfinity Mobile Mid-Level Unlimited Plans

What if you want at least some high-speed internet when you’re out of WiFi range? If so, these mid-level unlimited plans could provide you with a possible option. These are a good compromise between the affordable prices of entry-level plans while still giving you a pretty good Mbps speed. If you consider yourself to be an average data user who switches on a WiFi hotspot no more than three times per week, plays some mobile phone games, perhaps streams some Netflix shows, and limits social scrolling to an hour per day, these plans could be a good fit for your lifestyle. 

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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 Unlimited PL 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 Unlimited plan below can keep up with your data needs.

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What Is an Unlimited Plan? As the name suggests, an unlimited data plan is a phone plan that includes unlimited data. However, the type of unlimited data included in these plans varies. Lower-priced unlimited plans tend to come with unlimited deprioritized data subject to slowdowns during busy times on a network. Some entry-level unlimited plans also offer some amount of premium data (aka high-speed data), but many do not. Mid-level unlimited plans typically include a mix of high-speed data, capped to a certain amount, plus unlimited deprioritized data. The highest-priced unlimited plans are where you'll find truly unlimited premium data.

AT&T vs Xfinity Mobile Capped Plans

Both carriers provide customers with capped data plan options. Xfinity Mobile’s “By the Gig” model charges customers a set amount depending on how many gigs they purchase. On the plus side, you have the option to share your data across all the lines on your account. For example, you could buy 10GB per month, and share that across your whole family. 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: 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 50 GB of premium data per month, with an additional 10 GB of premium hotspot data. Using that 10 GB of hotspot data doesn’t impact the amount or speed of the 50 GB of normal premium 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. 

The Bottom Line

For a quick, simple comparison of not just Xfinity Mobile and AT&T, but all major carrier plans, try our Plan Finder. Just answer a few questions like whether you want to bundle in extra perks, how much premium data you need, and whether you use your hotspot. We’ll sift through thousands of plans in seconds to make it easy for you to compare cell phone plans.

Still thinking about what factors to consider? Our article on how to choose the best cell phone plan can provide some clarity.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the differences between Xfinity Mobile and AT&T Mobile?

Xfinity Mobile and AT&T offer solid phone plans, but the right choice depends on what you value most. AT&T provides nationwide access with extras like international coverage and discounts for multiple lines. On the other hand, Xfinity Mobile is available only to Xfinity Internet customers, runs on Verizon's network, and offers flexible data-sharing options. 

Did AT&T Mobile buy Xfinity Mobile?

No, AT&T didn't buy Xfinity. Xfinity is Comcast's phone, internet, and TV services brand, and Comcast and AT&T are separate companies. In fact, Comcast acquired AT&T's TV division, AT&T Broadband, in 2002 as part of a $72 billion merger.

Does Xfinity have good mobile service?

Yes, Xfinity Mobile delivers reliable coverage by running on Verizon's network, giving you access to 4G LTE and 5G speeds. However, data speeds may slow after you hit certain usage limits, unlike AT&T's plans, which maintain consistent high-speed data.