Google Fiber vs Xfinity
These two overlap in 14 metro areas and 118 towns and cities, so for a lot of people this is a real choice rather than a hypothetical one. The first question is not which is better. It is which of them can reach you.
Google Fiber vs Xfinity at a glance
| Measure | Google Fiber | Xfinity |
|---|---|---|
| Main technology | Fiber | Cable |
| Residential locations on that technology | 1,886,259 | 37,853,193 |
| Single technology or mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Full coverage detail | Where Google Fiber is available | Where Xfinity is available |
We do not publish speeds or prices here. Both providers change them constantly and by market, and a stale number is worse than no number. Coverage is the part that is federally reported and verifiable.
Where you can get both
Metro areas where both Google Fiber and Xfinity report service, ranked by how well covered the less available of the two is because that is what decides whether you genuinely get a choice.
| Metro area | Google Fiber | Xfinity |
|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake City, UT Metro Area | 44% | 96% |
| Huntsville, AL Metro Area | 32% | 63% |
| Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area | 56% | 22% |
| Logan, UT-ID Metro Area | 20% | 84% |
| Provo-Orem, UT Metro Area | 16% | 90% |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Metro Area | 12% | 80% |
| Ogden-Clearfield, UT Metro Area | 4% | 92% |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA Metro Area | 3% | 81% |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metro Area | 2% | 94% |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA Metro Area | 2% | 98% |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area | 1% | 94% |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL Metro Area | 1% | 94% |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Metro Area | 3% | 0% |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metro Area | 0% | 95% |
Where only one of them reaches
Google Fiber reports service in 18 states and Xfinity in 41, and they share 16 of them. Overlap is the exception, not the rule, so if you are outside the table above this is the part that answers your question.
12 metro areas have Google Fiber and not Xfinity
- Pocatello, ID Metro Area 34% covered
- Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area 33% covered
- Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metro Area 30% covered
- Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX Metro Area 22% covered
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metro Area 22% covered
- Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area 18% covered
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area 11% covered
- Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metro Area 8% covered
340 metro areas have Xfinity and not Google Fiber
- Barnstable Town, MA Metro Area 100% covered
- Key West, FL Micro Area 99% covered
- Ocean City, NJ Metro Area 99% covered
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area 98% covered
- Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ Metro Area 98% covered
- Vineyard Haven, MA Micro Area 98% covered
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area 97% covered
- Los Alamos, NM Micro Area 97% covered
States where only Google Fiber reports service: Iowa, Nebraska. States where only Xfinity reports service: Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota and 13 more.
Showing the eight best covered of each. Ranked by reported coverage within the metro, from the same FCC filing as the table above. Providers self report and overstate, so read these as a ceiling on where a company will sell to you, not a promise about your street.
Which should you pick?
Honestly, in most of the places above only one of them will actually reach your building, and that settles it. Where both do reach you, the useful question is the technology rather than the brand.
That is the case here: Google Fiber is mainly fiber and Xfinity is mainly cable. The practical difference is upload speed and consistency rather than headline download speed, we explain what that means here.
See which one reaches your address →
What we will not do is tell you one is better because it pays us more. See the affiliate disclosure for how that works.