Sparklight vs Xfinity
These two overlap in 30 metro areas and 75 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.
Sparklight vs Xfinity at a glance
| Measure | Sparklight | Xfinity |
|---|---|---|
| Main technology | Cable | Cable |
| Residential locations on that technology | 2,092,486 | 37,853,193 |
| Single technology or mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Full coverage detail | Where Sparklight 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We do not publish speeds or prices here.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 Sparklight 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 | Sparklight | Xfinity |
|---|---|---|
| St. Marys, GA Micro Area | 41% | 61% |
| Danville, IL Metro Area | 29% | 52% |
| Hilton Head Island-Bluffton, SC Metro Area | 94% | 19% |
| Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Metro Area | 16% | 61% |
| Bedford, IN Micro Area | 14% | 54% |
| Monroe, LA Metro Area | 13% | 66% |
| Albuquerque, NM Metro Area | 10% | 89% |
| Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Metro Area | 8% | 66% |
| Meridian, MS Micro Area | 6% | 62% |
| Decatur, IL Metro Area | 5% | 86% |
| Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN Metro Area | 4% | 77% |
| Jackson, MS Metro Area | 4% | 71% |
| Terre Haute, IN Metro Area | 32% | 4% |
| Minden, LA Micro Area | 20% | 3% |
| Gadsden, AL Metro Area | 3% | 69% |
| Springfield, IL Metro Area | 2% | 77% |
| Hinesville, GA Metro Area | 2% | 77% |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN Metro Area | 1% | 66% |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metro Area | 1% | 93% |
| Longview, TX Metro Area | 52% | 1% |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area | 1% | 3% |
| Columbus, IN Metro Area | 1% | 92% |
| Peoria, IL Metro Area | 1% | 65% |
| Galesburg, IL Micro Area | 1% | 64% |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Metro Area | 1% | 3% |
Showing 25 of 30 metro areas where both operate.
Where only one of them reaches
Sparklight reports service in 23 states and Xfinity in 41, and they share 18 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.
89 metro areas have Sparklight and not Xfinity
- Boise City, ID Metro Area 89% covered
- Fargo, ND-MN Metro Area 85% covered
- Borger, TX Micro Area 85% covered
- Anniston-Oxford, AL Metro Area 85% covered
- Columbus, MS Micro Area 85% covered
- Lewiston, ID-WA Metro Area 84% covered
- Pocatello, ID Metro Area 83% covered
- Roswell, NM Micro Area 81% covered
324 metro areas have Xfinity and not Sparklight
- 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 Sparklight reports service: Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota. States where only Xfinity reports service: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire and 11 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.
Both are mainly cable networks, so the technology argument does not separate them. Compare on price, contract terms and local service reputation instead, none of which the FCC publishes, and none of which we will invent.
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.