Xfinity is the tradename for the residential video, internet, and phone services offered by Comcast. Xfinity Internet is a very well-established player in the market, with the largest service territory of any cable provider. Xfinity (Comcast) is often accused of monopolistic practices, including buying out competitors or briefly pricing competitors out of the market until they fail, only to then raise prices. For these reasons, among others, many people are interested in an alternative to Xfinity Internet.
Breezeline is the doing business as name in the United States for Cogeco Communications. Breezeline is considered the 8th largest cable operator in the United States. Breezeline is a multi-service operator which currently offers TV, Internet, and phone services using a modern coax fiber hybrid network architecture.
Breezeline (formerly Atlantic Broadband) is estimated to have approximately 700,000 broadband customers located in twelve different states: Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, Florida, and South Carolina. Breezeline was formerly known as Atlantic Broadband (ABB). They changed their name in 2022 to better include their new service territories not located on the east coast.
Most areas likely have Xfinity or Breezeline available but not both at the same service address. However, some places, such as the Lakes Region and Rochester area of New Hampshire, do have access to both services.
Breezeline vs Xfinity Internet Speed
Generally, Xfinity internet is fast and reliable, with speeds of 1 Gbps or higher available in most areas. In some areas, Xfinity is offering 1200 Mbps download speeds. Cable internet utilizing DOCSIS 3.1 technology is generally the next best thing to fiber-based internet. Xfinity and Breezeline both utilize the latest DOCSIS 3.1 technology.
If you happen to live in a Verizon Fios coverage region or have access to fiber-based internet from your local telco operator, that can also be a great choice. Generally, fiber internet has the absolutely lowest latency and the highest upload speeds. Xfinity upload speeds are a fraction of your download speeds but are generally fast enough for most people. Upload speeds with Xfinity currently max out at 35 Mbps.
Breezeline (Atlantic Broadband) offers several internet plans in 2022 ranging from 100 Mbps up to 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps). I have personally used both their 200 Mbps plan and their gigabit plan. Both plans delivered the advertised bandwidth the vast majority of the time.
With the current gigabit plan, I consistently see speeds of between 920 and 945 Mbps. This includes during peak hours when many people are all online. Breezeline has done a decent job of limiting the number of connections per cable node, This is essential to getting the best performance out of any cable (DOCSIS) based internet connection.
Upload speeds are advertised as up to 50 Mbps on their gigabit plan. This is higher than what is currently offered by Xfinity, which maxes out at 35 Mbps.
Actual upload speeds (tested using speedtest.net) generally hover around 53 Mbps. This is actually slightly higher than what they are advertising.
Xfinity is planning to roll out 10-gigabit service in the coming years. This will allow for download speeds of up to 10 Gbps and upload speeds of 1 Gbps or higher. This is possible due to advancements made with the DOCSIS 4.0 standard. CableLabs has some interesting information on the technology.
Winner: Tie (Xfinity offers faster downloads (select areas only) Breezeline offers faster uploads)
Breezeline vs Xfinity Internet Latency (Ping)
Latency is not generally an issue with Breezeline or Xfinity Internet. Both services offer a stable ping of 10 – 20 ms measured to Google’s (8.8.8.8) or to Cloudflare’s public DNS servers (1.1.1.1). This is very similar to what you can expect with a fiber-based internet connection. The stability of the ping is also very impressive, especially with Breezeline.
If you are a gamer, the stable low latency offered by Breezeline or Xfinity Internet is ideal. Generally, connections to popular game servers are 20 ms – 40 ms or less in latency. This is ideal for lag-free gaming.
Breezeline and Xfinity (Comcast) are also ideal for gaming because they do not use carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT) and instead give every customer a proper, publicly routable IP address. This means no double NAT issues for gaming, and port forwarding is a breeze to set up.
Both Breezeline and Xfinity deliver low latency. Breezeline is slightly more stable in our testing and therefore wins this round.
Winner: Breezeline (slightly)
Breezeline vs Xfinity (Comcast) Pricing
Pricing with Breezeline during the promotional period, usually of 6 or 12 months, is excellent. Pricing ranges from about $19 per month on up to $60 per month during the promotional period. This is cheaper than what is currently offered by Xfinity during the promo period.
After the promo rate expires, you can expect to see a substantial increase in monthly costs. The pricing generally ranges from $59 – $109 per month after the promotions run out. This is slightly above-average pricing for each speed tier.
Xfinity offers a 24-month price guarantee without requiring any contracts. They do not use introductory pricing and instead charge from $39 per month up to $79 per month, depending on the chosen plan. Xfinity requires you to enroll in automatic payments and paperless billing in order to get this pricing.
Xfinity offers a Flex 4K streaming TV box available at no extra cost with your internet subscription. They also offer a discount on your internet service if you sign up for their Xfinity Mobile service.
Overall pricing with Xfinity is slightly cheaper than with Breezeline, not counting the promotional period of 6 – 12 months offered by Breezeline.
Winner: Xfinity (slightly)
Breezeline vs Xfinity Customer Support
Customer support is a common criticism of virtually all internet service providers. Breezeline and Xfinity are no exception. The support offered by both providers is about average within the industry. There is certainly better, but there is also much worse.
Generally, with Breezeline and Xfinity, the wait times for technical support are longest during the evening hours. If you are able to call off hours, you will generally get through to a support agent much faster. Breezeline and Xfinity both also have the option of using the live chat support feature on their website. Getting though to technical support is generally a waiting game with both services. Breezeline was slightly better on some occasions.
Xfinity has slightly better self-help resources online, including the ability to reset your own modem and router.
Billing and account support appear to usually have shorter wait times. The wait to get through to an account representative is usually minimal. Xfinity appears to be slightly faster on average, yet Breezeline appears to be slightly easier to work with.
Once again, the support is about average. Nothing to write home about, but good enough to get the job done. This is the case with both services.
The best thing about the support with both Breezeline and Xfinity not needing them very often at all. Generally, everything works as it is supposed to, bills can be paid online, and generally, there is no need to reach out to customer service. If you do, be prepared for a lengthy wait, especially for technical issues during peak hours.
Winner: Breezeline (Slightly)
Tips For Saving Money With Breezeline or Xfinity
- Ask Breezeline or Xfinity about any promotions for existing customers.
- Bundle any Breezeline or Xfinity services together.
- Consider your phone options, do you really need a landline?
Saving money on internet, phone, and TV service is defiantly something that interests most people. Rates seemingly go up every year and the level of customer support seemingly goes down every year. There are, however a few techniques that can save you a substantial amount on your Breezeline bill each month.
If you see your price suddenly increase, call customer support. Ask them about any available promotions for existing customers. In many cases, you will be able to lower your monthly bill by 20% or more this way. It really pays to give it a try.
This is especially a good idea at the end of your new customer promo period. At the end of the promo period, your rates will roughly double overnight. This can be a great time to ask for any discounts/promotions. You will likely still end up paying more than during the promo, but not nearly as much as if you did not call and ask.
If you currently have a combination of services such as TV, Internet, and Phone with Breezeline or Xfinity, you need to bundle them to get the best pricing. Do not expect that they will automatically do that for you. You need to call and ask them to bundle your services in order to get the best pricing. This is also a great time to ask about any current promotions available for new customers.
Another way to save money with Breezeline or Xfinity is to drop services you no longer really need. For example, if you have Breezeline or Xfinity home phone service, ask yourself the question. Do I really need a landline? You may just have one out of habit and find that you do not really use it very much at all.
Many people prefer to use their cell phones for everything. By canceling your landline service, you could easily save $20 per month or more, even with bundle pricing.
Still, want to keep your landline? You could also consider moving your landline over to an over-the-top VoIP service such as Ooma Telo. This could save you some money on your monthly bill.
Alternatives to Breezeline or Xfinity Internet
Depending on where you live, you may have several alternatives available to you for internet service in addition to Breezeline or Xfinity. Spectrum and Cox are also big players in the cable internet space. Generally, most Breezeline or Xfinity areas are not served by one of these other cable giants. However, that is not always the case.
Fiber internet may be available to you depending on your location. These are often services such as Verizon Fios or AT&T Fiber, additional local options may be available. If fiber internet is available to you, it is worth consideration, especially for the ultra-fast upload speeds and low latency.
5G home internet from companies such as T-Mobile and Verizon are also expanding in footprint. At this time, I would hesitate to recommend 5G home internet if you have access to anything better.
Breezeline and Xfinity are definitely superior options to 5G home internet at this time. Starlink, similar to 5G, is also an option in many places but lags behind cable and fiber internet both in terms of speed and stability. If you have access to either Xfinity or Breezeline, skip the 5g or Starlink, at least for the time being.
DSL is also an option in many areas. Personally, I would recommend avoiding DSL because, generally, performance is not as good, and reliability is also a common issue.
Check out some of our internet service comparisons to learn more about other options.
Spectrum vs T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
AT&T vs T-Mobile Home Internet
Verizon 5G Home Internet vs AT&T Internet
Conclusion
Breezeline vs Xfinity Internet, which is better?
Read Our Complete Honest Review of Breezeline Internet
Breezeline and Xfinity both offer very similar services. Xfinity offers better pricing in most cases, whereas Breezeline offers faster upload speeds. Most areas do not have access to both services. If you happen to have access to both. You will be well served by going with either.
Breezeline vs Xfinity (Comcast), which is better?
We really are unable to declare a clear winner. It comes down to what is most important to you. Xfinity wins on price, and Breezeline wins on most other categories.