Plans starting at: $25
Popular Package: Fiber 5 Gig
Download speeds up to: 5 Gbps
Connection Types: Fiber & Cable
Plans starting at: $40
Popular Package: 1 Gig
Download speeds up to: 1 Gbps
Connection Types: Cable
WOW Staff rating
WOW! delivers fast, reliable internet with attractive pricing
WOW! (WideOpenWest) serves customers in 6 states—Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida [1]—and is the smallest cable internet provider on our list [2]. WOW! serves over 2 million residential, business, and wholesale consumer subscribers, which is still a smaller base compared to industry cable internet giants like Xfinity and Spectrum [3]. Notably, it serves 470,400 high-speed data subscribers as of December 31, 2024 (down from 490,100 in 2023). But WOW! provides a model of good internet performance, operational success, and general customer satisfaction. In August 2025, WOW! (WideOpenWest) agreed to be acquired by DigitalBridge Group and Crestview Partners in a $1.5 billion transaction valued at $5.20 per share [4]. WOW! uses a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network, like the biggest national cable providers. That technology allows WOW! to provide up to 1,200 Mbps download speed and 50 Mbps upload speed. WOW! also features very low introductory plan prices, far lower than most cable internet providers. Though prices will rise after the first year, you’ll still pay about $20 less for most WOW! plan speeds than you would with Spectrum or Xfinity. And WOW! scores above average for customer satisfaction too.PROS
Cons
Cities with WOW availability
Xfinity Staff rating
Xfinity has great promotional prices, but higher long-term rates and fees
Xfinity is a giant cable internet service provider that offers coverage to tens of millions of households across the United States. Xfinity’s introductory plan prices are some of the best in the industry at around $40/month for 12-24 months for first-tier plans. After the promotional period, though, customers will need to be aware of significant price hikes, including equipment rental fees. Though Xfinity’s HFC (hybrid fiber-coaxial) technology can’t provide the full symmetrical speed of an all-fiber network, it can offer gigabit download speeds up to 1000 Mbps. That top speed will cost you $70 a month, but it will certainly support any residential internet need. In addition, in limited areas, Xfinity had a Gigabit Pro plan that is 100% fiber and up to 6 Gigs.PROS
Cons
Cities with Xfinity availability
WOW Pricing
WOW’s prices are so low they’ll WOW you
If there’s any way that WOW! can claim to have truly earned its name, it’s with low pricing. The first-tier plan will give you 300 Mbps download speed for only $25 a month. That's on the very low end of cable ISP pricing—less than $0.10 per Mbps. A lightning-fast, 1 gigabit speed from WOW! will run you $50. That’s considerably cheaper than several other major cable providers’ multi-gigabit speed plans. WOW!’s lower-speed plans do have a couple of drawbacks that may increase their otherwise excellent prices. Those drawbacks are data caps and a $14/month modem rental fee [5]. Fortunately, the equipment rental fee is optional, meaning that you can skip it if you provide your own modem/router instead. And the data caps are fairly high for the lowest-tier plans (1.5 TB/month) and very high for the 500 Mbps (2.5 TB) and 1 Gig (3 TB) plans [6]. The high caps for the faster plans make it very unlikely that you will exceed your data caps. So, just don’t go overboard and have 40 gamers playing at your house for a month. The vast majority of households will never get close the limits of a 2.5+ TB data cap.Xfinity Pricing
Xfinity stands above the pack for its low initial pricing, but pay attention to the later price hikes and fees
Xfinity is the largest internet service provider in the United States, with 32 million broadband subscribers [1]. Xfinity is a subsidiary of cable giant Comcast. Company size and strength gives Xfinity the ability to offer very low promotional prices to consumers for a year or even two years. Xfinity’s promotional plans begin around $40/month. Here's the kicker: after a year or two, your promotional rate will end. At that point, your rate can go up by anywhere from $25 to $50 per month. And Xfinity pricing varies all over the country and is pretty complex in how it changes from plan to plan. By our evaluation standards, this lack of simplicity in pricing hurts Xfinity’s rating despite its great initial promotional rates. In addition, Xfinity’s lower-tier plans have data caps that apply under certain conditions. The data cap is 1.2 TB (terabytes) per month, which is enough to cover many households’ monthly usage without any trouble. However, the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society analyzed data from OpenVault to show that 14.6% of homes used more than 1 terabyte per month, and 2.4% used over 2 terabytes per month [2]. This data suggests that 1 in every 7 homes would run a risk of exceeding the Xfinity data cap. Comcast/Xfinity claims that it does not throttle internet and slow it down, however, Xfinity will charge you overage fees if you exceed your data cap [3]. Those fees can go up to a maximum of $100/month [4]. Odds are that you won’t exceed your data cap. But if you have lots of real-time gaming or heavy streaming in your household, the extra cost for data overage could really add up. With Xfinity's top tier plans, though, you will get unlimited data.WOW Reliability and Performance
WOW! cable delivers gigabit downloads but asymmetrical upload speeds; fiber offers symmetrical multi-gigabit service
WOW's hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) cable network delivers download speeds up to 1,200 Mbps across approximately 99% of its service footprint [7], matching the technical capabilities of national cable providers such as Spectrum and Xfinity. Upload speeds on cable plans are capped at 50 Mbps regardless of download tier. This asymmetrical speed structure is standard for cable internet technology and sufficient for typical household activities including streaming multiple 4K devices and online gaming.
WOW's cable plans provide adequate performance for households with average internet usage patterns. The 1,200 Mbps top speed on cable supports simultaneous streaming, video conferencing, and gaming across multiple devices. However, the 50 Mbps upload limitation presents constraints for specific use cases. Users who regularly upload large files (such as video content creators), operate cloud-based backup systems, or require symmetrical bandwidth for enterprise-grade applications will experience performance bottlenecks with cable service.
In select Greenfield expansion markets, WOW offers all-fiber service with symmetrical speeds up to 5,000 Mbps for both downloads and uploads. Fiber service is currently available within 5.7% of WOW's total coverage footprint [8], concentrated in newer markets including Central Florida, Hernando County (Florida), Greenville County (South Carolina), and select areas in Michigan and Alabama [9]. The symmetrical nature of fiber service eliminates the upload speed constraints present in cable plans, making fiber suitable for bandwidth-intensive applications, heavy content creation, and households with 10+ simultaneous high-bandwidth users.
Xfinity Reliability and Performance
Xfinity’s hybrid fiber/coaxial cable supplies gigabit download speeds but slower upload speeds
Though Xfinity has advanced cable technology and good speeds, their network seems to be more prone to outages than users would like [5]. That’s the major reason Xfinity gets a lower rating for performance, in addition to the intrinsic differences between cable speed and all-fiber speed. Xfinity uses technology that is mostly fiber but uses coaxial cable for a short stretch of your internet connection. This type of connection is known as hybrid fiber/coaxial cable, or HFC. An HFC internet connection is better than older cable technologies because it can supply download speeds up to gigabit speeds. HFC will give you faster, more reliable internet service than DSL, satellite internet, or fixed wireless internet. And for streaming in HD, this hybrid fiber- cable internet will certainly be able to support multiple devices. The major difference between HFC and an all-fiber internet connection is upload speeds. Your upload speed will be no faster than 35-50 Mbps. An-all fiber connection, by contrast, will give you the same upload speed as your download speed. Your upload speed will affect activities such as gaming, videoconferencing and large file uploads. The good news is that if you have an upload speed of 35 Mbps, you’re still going to be able to upload pretty quickly. For most average households, 35 Mbps is enough. But if you have four or more people in your household streaming HD, playing games, working from home, and videoconferencing simultaneously, you’re going to want all-fiber internet, or what is often called “fiber to the home” (FTTH). Xfinity does have one all-fiber connectivity option that is full FTTH. If your household’s location is eligible, Xfinity will install an FTTH connection for their Gigabit Pro plan. Gigabit Pro is up there with the fastest fiber plans on the market.WOW Equipment, Installation and Bonus Features
Equipment rental fees are optional, self-installation is free for WOW!
All WOW! plans come with a free self-installation kit. If for any reason you’re not comfortable with self-installation, you can get pro installation for $50. Though most plans will allow you to rent a modem/router from WOW! for about $14/month, you also have the option to supply your own equipment (which removes that fee). This choice may be better for your budget if you plan to have service for more than a year. Just make sure you check with WOW! to be sure your router has compatible specs.Xfinity Equipment, Installation and Bonus Features
Xfinity offers two different gateways and popular Flex 4K streaming TV box
For TV fans, Xfinity internet service brings the added bonus of its free Flex 4K streaming box [6]. This convenient gadget will work much like a Roku box to consolidate your streaming apps, plus give you over 10,000 free movies and shows, free channels, and a voice remote. Xfinity TV customers are not eligible for a free Flex 4K, however. For your modem and router, you will get the xFi Gateway with its multi-gig speed capability, Wi-Fi 6E, parental controls and security protection [7]. Or you can upgrade to the xFi Complete, which includes unlimited data. Both require a rental fee after the promotional period that could be $15-25, which is part of why your price goes up. If you use your own router and modem to avoid the equipment fee, you will have to live with the 1.2 TB data cap. Installation fees will be similar to other providers at around $100 for a technician install and $15 for a self-install ($15).WOW Experience & Support
WOW! maintains above-average customer satisfaction despite declining subscriber base
WOW scored 733 out of 1,000 in J.D. Power's North Central region study [10] and outperformed larger ISPs including Cox in the 2023 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study [11]. This positions WOW above the cable industry average of 68 out of 100 on the ACSI scale [12], though below top fiber providers like AT&T Fiber (80) and Verizon Fios (77) [13].
Despite these satisfaction ratings, WOW's subscriber base declined 5% year-over-year from 490,100 to 470,400 as of December 2024, with revenue decreasing 8.1% to $630.9 million. These declines reflect competitive pressure from expanding fiber networks and 5G wireless alternatives rather than service quality issues.
WOW provides 24/7 telephone support and online chat daily from 7:00 AM to 11:45 PM EST [14], plus an online account management portal, and has been named a "Best & Brightest Company to Work For in the Nation" 12 times, including 8 consecutive years as of 2025.
Ultimately, WOW's regional focus enables more personalized service than national cable giants.
Xfinity Experience & Support
Xfinity Customer Service shows improvement
Xfinity has not been known for strong customer service over the years. Online reviews continue to mention some problem areas. But Xfinity has been moving up in official rankings, and for that reason, we give them 4 stars for improving their customer experience. Xfinity has customer support on its website, with 24/7 chat for help and 24/7 tech support. An online status center allows you to check for outages and troubleshoot your service. The Xfinity app will make your online customer experience more streamlined. You can also find Xfinity help communities through Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. Customer service rankings have been improving for Xfinity in recent years. In 2022, Xfinity ranked third in three of four regions in the J.D. Power Residential Internet Service Provider Customer Satisfaction Study [8]. This ranking reflects Xfinity’s recent effort to improve their customer support. Though Xfinity’s customer support ratings from other sources are not always as high, overall, signs are getting better that you will be satisfied with your customer experience.WOW FAQ's
Xfinity FAQ's
WOW Sources
[2] Dgtlinfra.com. "Top 125 Internet Providers in the U.S."
[3] Wikipedia.org. "Wide Open West."
[4] PRNewswire.com "WideOpenWest (WOW!), Inc. to be Taken Private by DigitalBridge Group, Inc. and Crestview Partners in $1.5 Billion Transaction."[5] WOW!. "Equipment Rental Fees."
[6] Wow! "What are monthly data usage plans?" [7] SEC. "WideOpenWest 10-K Filing, December 31, 2024." [8] BestNeighborhood.org. "WOW coverage maps." [9] PRNewswire.com. "WOW! Reaches 100,000 Homes Passed Market Expansion Milestone; On Track to Reaching Goal of Adding 400,000 Additional Homes to its Footprint."[10] JDPower.com. "2023 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study."
[11] JDPower.com. "Can You Reach Me Now? Wireless Internet Providers Certainly Can and with High Levels of Satisfaction, J.D. Power Finds." [12] ACSI. "Press Release Telecommunications Study 2024, June 4, 2024." [13] Telecompetitor. "Customer Satisfaction Index: AT&T Repeats as Top Fiber Broadband Provider." [14] WowWay.com. "Contact Us."Xfinity Sources
[1] Dgtlinfra.com. "Top 125 Internet Providers in the U.S."
[2] Benton Institute. "Broadband Usage Still Robust for First Quarter 2022."
[3] ArsTechnica.com. "Comcast Says It Doesn't Throttle Heaviest Internet Users Anymore."
[4] Xfinity.com. "Data Usage."
[5]Wpst.com. "Xfinity Outage in Philadelphia."
[6] Xfinity.com. "Xfinity Outage in Philadelphia."
[7] Xfinity.com. "Modems and Routers."
[8] JDPower.com. "2023 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Customer Satisfaction Study."
WOW Accolades
WOW Internet Plans
| Plan | Service Type | Download Speed | Monthly Price | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Xfinity Internet Plans
| Plan | Service Type | Download Speed | Monthly Price | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
WOW Customers Review
Xfinity Customers Review

