Choosing between Xfinity Mobile vs T-Mobile? Our guide can help. No matter what cell phone plan you’re considering, we’ve broken down pricing, perks, coverage, and more for you to make the most informed choice possible.
To compare even more wireless, you can use our Plan Finder.
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Xfinity Mobile vs T-Mobile: Similarities
- With both wireless providers, you can rely on nationwide coverage for 4G LTE. Both carriers offer an expanding 5G network, too.
- T-Mobile and Xfinity Mobile offer some hotspot data with their unlimited plans.
Xfinity Mobile vs T-Mobile: Differences
- Xfinity Mobile does not own cell tower infrastructure. Instead, it leases Verizon’s network, making it a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). T-Mobile owns all its infrastructure.
- Only Xfinity Internet customers are eligible for Xfinity Mobile plans at the advertised prices, as non-customers will have to pay an additional (and hefty) surcharge to get these plans. T-Mobile plans are open to all at the same price.
- T-Mobile offers multi-line discount pricing, so every additional line is cheaper to add. Each Xfinity Mobile line is added at a flat rate.
- Xfinity Mobile doesn’t bundle in extra perks, while T-Mobile’s mid-level and premium plans bundle in some streaming services.
- T-Mobile's mid-level and premium plans includes travel perks, like unlimited texting, calling, and (slow) data in Canada and Mexico; some travel perks are available for an additional fee with Xfinity Mobile.
- T-Mobile includes taxes and fees in its mid-level and premium plan pricing. Xfinity Mobile plans do not include taxes and fees.
What Is an Unlimited Plan?
Now that you know what T-Mobile and Xfinity Mobile have in common, we can define exactly what an unlimited data plan gets you with each carrier. In short, entry-level unlimited data plans get you primarily deprioritized data, which means it slows down when the network is busy. As you increase tiers, each cell phone plan gives you more premium, or high-speed, data. Just remember that all Xfinity Mobile plans will slow down your speeds once you reach a certain level of data usage, while T-Mobile's mid-level and premium plans will not.
Entry-level unlimited plans provide unlimited deprioritized data, and some plans include some premium data on top of that.
Mid-level unlimited plans give customers a mix of premium, high-speed data and slower, but unlimited deprioritized data.
Premium unlimited plans offer the fastest available speeds on the network at all times, with no caps.
What Is a Capped Plan?
In contrast to an unlimited plan, many carriers still offer capped mobile data plans, which give you a set amount of data to use per month. These are also sometimes called a By the Gig plan. The draw of these cell phone plans is that they are typically more budget-friendly, but the downside is that you can run out of data. Plus, all capped plan data is deprioritized, so you might find your data slows down when the network is busy, such as in public transport hubs.
A word to the wise: with capped data plans, keep a close eye on your usage. If you go over your monthly allowance, you’ll be out of data until next month. Most carriers allow you to purchase additional data packs if that happens, but those costs can add up. In general, these plans are best for extremely light data users who mostly rely on home WiFi.
What About Hotspot Data?
If a cell phone plan offers unlimited data, does that mean unlimited hotspot data, too? Not typically. Different carriers have come up with different ways to regulate hotspot data usage.
Many plans offer a separate hotspot data cap. For example, on mid-level and premium plans, T-Mobile throws in a generous hotspot allowance every month that is completely separate from your premium data. Using your hotspot data doesn’t impact how much normal mobile data you get, or how fast it is. However, after you use your hotspot data allowance, your hotspot data will be slowed to 3G speeds only.
Another model is to include hotspot data in your overall data allowance. Certain plans, though they claim to be unlimited, actually only offer up to a certain amount of high-speed data before your speeds are restricted. These can count hotspot data against your overall data allowance. So if you get 20 GB of unlimited data before your speeds slow, and you use 5 GB of hotspot data, then you only have 15 GB left until your speeds are restricted.
If you’re not a big hotspot user, this might not be very important for you. But if you love being able to connect other devices to your phone’s mobile data, you should look more closely at any hotspot data budget in your unlimited data plan.
Comparing Plans
Xfinity Mobile vs T-Mobile Capped Plans
You can choose from a selection of unlimited plans from every major carrier, but only a few carriers offer capped data plan options as well. For example, T-Mobile does not offer any capped cell phone plans, making this comparison an easy one. Xfinity Mobile’s simple By the Gig model lets you choose your plan based on how much data you think you'll consume. If you have more than one line, you can share that data across all your lines.
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Xfinity Mobile vs T-Mobile Entry-Level Unlimited Plans
Now we can get into the entry-level unlimited cell phone plans from these two carriers. A step up from capped data plans, these cell phone plans fit light data users who don’t use their phones as WiFi hotspots more than once a week. If you find yourself only using data to catch up on news articles, maybe send and receive emails, and scroll a little on social media, this plan could be a good fit for you.
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Xfinity Mobile vs T-Mobile Mid-Level Unlimited Plans
These mid-level plans are a good compromise for cost-conscious customers who still want at least some premium data. If you’d describe yourself as an average data user – that is, you make a hotspot around three times a week, you stream a few shows, you post some photos and videos to social media, and maybe play some mobile games – these cell phone plans are most likely the right choice for your data needs.
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Xfinity Mobile vs T-Mobile Premium Unlimited Plans
This is the simplest comparison on this page, purely because Xfinity Mobile doesn’t offer comparable premium unlimited plans. For heavy data users who use their mobile phone to connect as a mobile hotspot more than three times per week, upload videos and photos to social media apps, stream unlimited amounts of YouTube videos and shows, and enjoy playing graphic-intensive games, you’ll want a plan that can keep up with your data use. T-Mobile’s premium unlimited plans come with all the unlimited premium data you could need, with no need to ever worry about data slowdowns.
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The Bottom Line
When you think about how many cell phone plan options T-Mobile and Xfinity Mobile have, not to mention all other major carriers, picking the right phone plan can feel overwhelming. That’s where our free, unbiased Plan Finder can help. In just a few seconds, we sort through thousands of plan features to find the best ones for you to consider. All you have to do is tell us what matters to you, like phone upgrade options, hotspot data, bundling in perks, and how many lines you need. With that info, we can pull out the best options for you to easily compare.
If you’re not sure where to start looking, our article about how to choose the best cell phone plan can help.
