Quantum Fiber vs Xfinity
These two overlap in 69 metro areas and 1,037 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.
Quantum Fiber is CenturyLink's consumer internet brand, so if you are comparing CenturyLink this is the same network.
Quantum Fiber vs Xfinity at a glance
| Measure | Quantum Fiber | Xfinity |
|---|---|---|
| Main technology | Fiber | Cable |
| Residential locations on that technology | 3,157,734 | 37,853,193 |
| Single technology or mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Full coverage detail | Where Quantum 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We do not publish speeds or prices here.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 Quantum 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.
These percentages count each operator's whole reported network. 24.2% of what Quantum Fiber files with the FCC is fiber. The FCC publishes that split nationally and never per metro, so a high number here means the operator reaches the metro, not that it reaches it on that technology.
| Metro area | Quantum Fiber | Xfinity |
|---|---|---|
| Los Alamos, NM Micro Area | 95% | 97% |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metro Area | 92% | 94% |
| Salt Lake City, UT Metro Area | 89% | 96% |
| Boulder, CO Metro Area | 88% | 92% |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Metro Area | 87% | 93% |
| Colorado Springs, CO Metro Area | 88% | 87% |
| Naples-Marco Island, FL Metro Area | 84% | 94% |
| Pueblo, CO Metro Area | 84% | 91% |
| Sebring-Avon Park, FL Metro Area | 84% | 86% |
| Edwards, CO Micro Area | 84% | 91% |
| Albuquerque, NM Metro Area | 82% | 89% |
| Ogden-Clearfield, UT Metro Area | 80% | 92% |
| Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA Metro Area | 79% | 79% |
| Punta Gorda, FL Metro Area | 78% | 93% |
| Okeechobee, FL Micro Area | 78% | 83% |
| Fort Collins, CO Metro Area | 78% | 81% |
| Glenwood Springs, CO Micro Area | 77% | 83% |
| Santa Fe, NM Metro Area | 84% | 75% |
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA Metro Area | 74% | 92% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area | 75% | 74% |
| Albany-Lebanon, OR Metro Area | 73% | 75% |
| Greeley, CO Metro Area | 73% | 80% |
| Tallahassee, FL Metro Area | 71% | 86% |
| Las Cruces, NM Metro Area | 83% | 71% |
| Arcadia, FL Micro Area | 71% | 84% |
Showing 25 of 69 metro areas where both operate.
Where only one of them reaches
Quantum Fiber reports service in 18 states and Xfinity in 41, and they share 11 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.
143 metro areas have Quantum Fiber and not Xfinity
- Rock Springs, WY Micro Area 87% covered
- St. George, UT Metro Area 85% covered
- Grand Junction, CO Metro Area 85% covered
- Kalispell, MT Micro Area 85% covered
- Boise City, ID Metro Area 84% covered
- Hood River, OR Micro Area 83% covered
- Medford, OR Metro Area 82% covered
- Cheyenne, WY Metro Area 82% covered
285 metro areas have Xfinity and not Quantum 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
- San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA Metro Area 98% covered
- Vineyard Haven, MA Micro Area 98% covered
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area 97% covered
States where only Quantum Fiber reports service: Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming. States where only Xfinity reports service: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine and 18 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: Quantum 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.