Spectrum vs Xfinity
These two overlap in 168 metro areas and 664 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.
Spectrum vs Xfinity at a glance
| Measure | Spectrum | Xfinity |
|---|---|---|
| Main technology | Cable | Cable |
| Residential locations on that technology | 33,900,003 | 37,853,193 |
| Single technology or mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Full coverage detail | Where Spectrum 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We do not publish speeds or prices here.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 Spectrum 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 | Spectrum | Xfinity |
|---|---|---|
| The Villages, FL Metro Area | 54% | 70% |
| Dothan, AL Metro Area | 50% | 54% |
| Johnson City, TN Metro Area | 42% | 50% |
| North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL Metro Area | 42% | 55% |
| Houma-Thibodaux, LA Metro Area | 42% | 42% |
| Torrington, CT Micro Area | 41% | 48% |
| Fairmont, WV Micro Area | 46% | 38% |
| Sevierville, TN Micro Area | 60% | 34% |
| Modesto, CA Metro Area | 34% | 57% |
| Monroe, MI Metro Area | 46% | 33% |
| Visalia, CA Metro Area | 32% | 55% |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN Metro Area | 32% | 66% |
| Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI Metro Area | 31% | 57% |
| Worcester, MA-CT Metro Area | 62% | 31% |
| Manitowoc, WI Micro Area | 30% | 47% |
| Wauchula, FL Micro Area | 29% | 47% |
| Salem, OH Micro Area | 29% | 52% |
| Sturgis, MI Micro Area | 29% | 38% |
| Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY Metro Area | 28% | 50% |
| Tuscaloosa, AL Metro Area | 28% | 53% |
| Barre, VT Micro Area | 27% | 36% |
| Crawfordsville, IN Micro Area | 27% | 70% |
| Oil City, PA Micro Area | 26% | 32% |
| Crossville, TN Micro Area | 57% | 26% |
| Athens, TN Micro Area | 26% | 65% |
Showing 25 of 168 metro areas where both operate.
Where only one of them reaches
Spectrum reports service in 42 states and Xfinity in 41, and they share 37 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.
345 metro areas have Spectrum and not Xfinity
- Kill Devil Hills, NC Micro Area 96% covered
- Akron, OH Metro Area 96% covered
- Jacksonville, NC Metro Area 96% covered
- Morehead City, NC Micro Area 96% covered
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area 96% covered
- Kapaa, HI Micro Area 96% covered
- Urban Honolulu, HI Metro Area 95% covered
- Racine, WI Metro Area 95% covered
186 metro areas have Xfinity and not Spectrum
- Barnstable Town, MA Metro Area 100% covered
- Key West, FL Micro Area 99% covered
- Ocean City, NJ Metro Area 99% 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
- Los Alamos, NM Micro Area 97% covered
States where only Spectrum reports service: Hawaii, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Wyoming. States where only Xfinity reports service: Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Utah.
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.