Verizon Fios vs. WOW! vs. Xfinity Television plan comparison
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Staff rating
4.5
Customer rating
4.4
(32)- Plans starting at $49.99
- 425+ channels
Staff rating
3.1
Customer rating
4.0
(2)- Plans starting at $9.99
- n/a channels
Staff rating
3.8
Customer rating
4.2
(156)- Plans starting at $19.99
- 10+ channels
Check availability
See what providers service your area.
Staff rating
4.5
Excellent value and customizable options
Verizon Fios TV offers an excellent value TV service. The customizable Your Fios plan is particularly attractive, but all tiers offer a lot of TV for the money. Add in outstanding internet, and it’s hard to go wrong with Verizon.
What we like
- No contracts
- Personalized channel lineup
- Excellent fiber internet bundles
What we dislike
- Pricey DVR storage
- For TV-only customers, a Verizon router is still required
Savings tip: Verizon Fios often has
sign-up promotions
for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.Check deals
Staff rating
3.1
Easy cord-cutting, limited DVR
WOW! (short for Wide Open West) offers a compelling case for switching to internet-based TV. You get a solid channel lineup at a great rate, all using top-notch Wi-Fi gear from eero—provided you’re willing to have a chillier relationship with your DVR and you don’t mind beta-testing the WOW! tv+ app.
What we like
- Low prices
- Top-notch Wi-Fi gear
- Good sports lineup
What we dislike
- Meager DVR features
- Low-rated streaming apps
- Limited availability
Savings tip: WOW! often has
sign-up promotions
for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.Check deals
Staff rating
3.8
One of the top cable TV options on the market
Xfinity TV offers a lot of features and strong channel prices, as well as powerful internet to bundle up with. High fees hamper the experience, but Xfinity remains one of the cheapest cable TV options on the market—and it’s also one of the most widely available.
What we like
- Extensive availability
- Reasonable pricing
- Good bundle options
What we dislike
- Premium entertainment costs extra
- Lots of fees
- Low channel count on cheapest tier
Savings tip: Xfinity often has
sign-up promotions
for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.Check deals
Content
5.0
Hundreds of channels and easy customization
Great prices meet high channel counts and easy ways to pay for just what you want to watch with Verizon Fios TV. If you live in a coverage area, you’ll benefit from some of the best pay TV on the market.
Local: 5/5
Verizon has you covered when it comes to channels, with all the standard options in both English and Spanish. The exact selection and channel number varies based on where you live, but there’s a good chance you can get broadcast favorites in HD quality. You also get a variety of local public access stations and less-common but still-popular options like Comet, Bounce TV, Antenna TV, and StartTV. (1)
Sports: 5/5
Verizon TV’s premium package has a lot to offer for anyone who loves sports. In addition to your local channels, you can watch pro golf, baseball, football, and basketball, plus a variety of college games. The only downside is no Showtime (unless you buy an add-on).
More Resources:
Family and education: 4/5
When it comes to content for kids and families with Verizon Fios TV, there’s a lot to love. With The Most Fios TV package, you get Nick Toons, Disney XD, Disney Junior, and Boomerang plus Discovery, Nat Geo Wild, Science, Game Show Network, and much more. However, you’ll miss out on Family Entertainment TV (FETV), Me TV, UP, and Cartoon Network.
News and politics: 5/5
Whether you want political talk, international news and analysis, business news, or even sports and local news, Verizon Fios is a great option. It offers every single one of the top 100 channels in the US that offers news, including CNN, Fox News, Newsmax, CNBC, C-SPAN, and even the Weather Channel and Accuweather.
Entertainment and lifestyle: 4.5/5
You can watch all kinds of movies, reality TV favorites, and true crime documentaries with Verizon Fios TV’s premier package. To get HBO and Showtime, though, you’ll have to pay add-on prices. Unfortunately, you can’t get Grit, Ion Mystery, USA Network, Cartoon Network, or Laff with Verizon.
Local news, sports, and entertainment channels vary based on your location. Check out
Verizon Fios channel offerings
in your area.View plans
Content
3.0
Mediocre channel lineups get the job done
WOW! doesn't have an incredible channel lineup, but it has a decent amount of content for just about everyone. That is, unless you want to watch in Spanish.
Local: 2.5/5
WOW! tv+ give you only about half the local channels you might expect. You get the big ones like NBC, ABC, FOX, CBA, and PBS, but you won’t get Ion, Cozi, or Comet. You won’t get a single Spanish-language local channel either. So if you want Telemundo, UniMas, Estrella, or Univision, you’re out of luck.
Sports: 3/5
When it comes to sports channels, you win some and lose some. You get the Tennis Channel in a Medium plan, whereas some providers only include it in their top-tier plans or as an add-on. NFL Network and NFL RedZone are both included in the Large plan, which is hit or miss among competitors. However, WOW! tv+ strikes out completely when it comes to the MLB channel, and there’s no way to get NFL SUNDAY TICKET.
More Resources:
Family and education: 3/5
With WOW!, you’ll get a decent amount of family-friendly content, but we’d like to see more channels for toddlers and young kids. You’ll get Cartoon Network, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and the History Channel. But you’ll get only one Disney, Nickelodeon, and National Geographic channel. Disney Junior, Nick Junior, and Nat Geo Wild are all missing, leaving less content aimed at the youngest kids.
News and politics: 3.5/5
WOW! has enough news and political coverage for most English-speaking viewers. You can keep up with Congress on C-SPAN and world events with BBC America. You’ll also get the biggest news channels like CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and MSNBC, along with Newsmax, HLN, and The Weather Channel. The biggest hole in coverage is Spanish-language news, but you’ll also miss CNN International, Bloomberg, CBS News, and Fox Business News.
Entertainment and lifestyle: 3/5
WOW! tv+ gives you a wide variety of entertainment and lifestyle, with at least one channel in some of our favorite categories: comedy, westerns, feel-good movies, food, and travel. But you might find only one channel that delivers your favorite genres. You’ll get Grit but not INSP (westerns) and Food Network but not the Cooking channel. But you’ll get all the best music channels—CMT, VH1, and MTV—and the top DIY channels HGTV and TLC. WOW! tv+ doesn’t include premium channels in any of its plans. You can add them to a Medium or Large plan, but they’ll cost more than other providers charge.
Local news, sports, and entertainment channels vary based on your location. Check out
WOW! channel offerings
in your area.View plans
Content
4.5
A lot to love, if you're willing to pay premium prices
Xfinity is one of the country’s biggest cable TV providers, and it offers a wide range of basic and premium channels. If you pay for the highest tier of service, you’ll have access to an excellent selection of shows and games. Even at lower tiers, you’ll still get a respectable selection of channels, but you’ll miss out on a few faves. We based our scores primarily on English and Spanish options, but Xfinity has some great international options you might want to check out as well.
Local: 4/5
Local channels are some of the oldest and most popular networks out there, featuring local and national news, national sports, and syndicated favorites. With Xfinity TV, you get access to almost all the top local channels. You’ll miss out on Comet, but most users won’t be too sad about missing its infomercials and reruns. You also get CBS All Access, the streaming service from CBS, but whether you can watch your local CBS affiliate depends on where you live.
More Resources:
Sports: 4.5/5
Xfinity is one of the best TV providers out there for sports. It offers channels for everything from pro basketball and football to golf. You can get ESPN, TNT, Fox Sports 1 (FS1), and more. Whether you can access regional sports networks depends on where you live, so check the channel guide in your area if there are specific games or teams you can’t miss. There’s no way to see all out-of-market games like you can with NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube TV, but there’s still enough games for almost any appetite.
Family and education: 4/5
Xfinity offers a lot for families to love, including a huge selection of educational channels and shows for kids, with everything from travel and history shows to Disney and Disney Jr., Nickelodeon, and Animal Planet. You’ll miss out on Heroes and Icons and may not have access to CBS, which brings the score down a bit, but it’s still a solid choice.
News and politics: 4.5/5
If you live for breaking updates and political commentary, Xfinity has you covered. You get access to all the biggest national networks on both sides of the aisle, including Fox News, Newsmax, and MSNBC. You even get BBC America, VICE, and almost all your local channels. You’ll miss out on the Weather Channel and the Castilian Spanish station Estrella, but Xfinity is still one of the best options out there for news junkies.
Lifestyle and entertainment: 3.5/5
If there’s one area where Xfinity’s lacking, it would have to be movies and entertainment. Don’t get us wrong—you’ll still get Hallmark, Lifetime, Comedy Central, HGTV, and more, but you’ll have to pay add-on prices for HBO, STARZ, SHOWTIME, Cinemax, and MGM+ (formerly Epix).
Local news, sports, and entertainment channels vary based on your location. Check out
Xfinity channel offerings
in your area.View plans
Value
5.0
Excellent value, especially with the customizable channel lineup
Verizon isn't the cheapest option for traditional TV—you can get TV service for less elsewhere. It’s also not the best in terms of channels per dollar—although it holds its own. However, the ability to personalize the Your Fios plan means you can get more of the channels you actually want without having to pony up for a more expensive plan. It's a fantastic feature, and relatively uncommon in the cable TV space.
Of course, if you do want all the channels, you can get that, too: the top-tier Most Fios plan comes with well over 400, which is one of the highest channel counts in the business.
Get the best value by speaking directly with a sales rep at 1-833-970-0848 or check your address at
Verizon Fios's website.
Check address
Value
4.0
Decent lineups at great prices
WOW! Has some great introductory prices, but we’ve seen longer channel lineups from other companies. Channel quality is decent, but nothing to write home about. The real bargain comes when you realize your plan price already includes regional sports and broadcast fees, which can add $20–$40 in monthly fees with other providers.
You’ll have to get a WOW! internet plan, since this TV service is internet-based, but that comes at an excellent price too. All things said, WOW! provides a ton of value, but if you want all the channels and premiums to boot, it’s probably not the company for you.
Get the best value by speaking directly with a sales rep at 1-844-898-8626 or check your address at
WOW!'s website.
Check address
Value
3.5
Affordable packages meet high fees
If you look at package rates alone, Xfinity is one of the cheapest TV providers out there—prices are low, and while the channel count isn’t the highest, it’s got all the most popular channels (1) covered. However, a slew of additional fees causes the monthly price to be quite a bit higher than advertised (it wouldn’t be a stretch to see $60 or more in fees on your TV bill, in addition to the package price). Ultimately, while the service itself is a solid value, it’s going to end up costing you.
Get the best value by speaking directly with a sales rep at 1-844-443-5171 or check your address at
Xfinity's website.
Check address
Equipment and features
4.0
A highly rated mobile app lets you save on set-top box rental
The day-to-day experience with Verizon Fios TV is better than with most cable TV competitors, but the company puts less focus on its DVR setup than its competitors in the satellite TV arena.
Ability to watch: Great
Verizon TV comes with your fist set-top box included, and it’s not bad. The signal is delivered over very fast internet, so picture quality is good and reliable. Almost all channels are available in HD. The service also offers a free mobile app for paying customers, so you only really need the one box. If you want more, however, you can lease them for $12 each per month.
Ability to record: Good
Verizon Fios TV comes with all the features you’d expect from a fiber company. On higher packages, it offers multi-room DVR with 100 hours of storage at the base price, and you can record 6 shows at once. For an additional $10 per month, you can double the storage and record up to 12 shows at once. You can record via the remote, the smartphone app, or using a streaming device you already own (like an Apple TV or Fios TV). If you opt for the lowest tier, you’ll have to pay $12 per month for DVR capability and will be limited to just 50 hours of recording space. However, you could also just skip DVR altogether and won’t incur charges.
Ability to find: Excellent
Verizon offers voice remote functionality, easy ways to get to your favorites, and simple parental controls. It also has a mobile app that enables on-the-go streaming of your favorite channels—and it is surprisingly well-rated. (2, 3)
Features and equipment may vary based on package. Visit
Verizon Fios's website
or call 1-833-970-0848 for more information.Equipment and features
2.5
Meager cloud storage and low-rated (beta) apps
Because WOW! is internet-based TV, its equipment is makes it feel more like a streaming service than traditional TV. However, its features fall short of many streaming services when it comes to catching your shows where and when you want.
Ability to watch: Good
Since WOW! tv+ uses WOW! Internet, you need Wi-Fi gear. WOW!’s modem is free for your first year ($14/month after that), and its eero Wi-Fi system ($9.99 per month) is reasonably priced to rent. It’s also some of the best, most reliable Wi-Fi gear we’ve seen. WOW!’s TV boxes can get pricey if you want more than one ($10 per month), but since you can use WOW! tv+ with Amazon Firesticks, you shouldn’t need more than one box to get your shows on multiple TVs. You just need multiple Firesticks ($29.99 and up), but these will be one-time purchases instead of a monthly rental rate.
While you can use your phone to watch WOW! TV, its Android and iOS apps are in beta, which means they’re still working out some of the kinks. The apps have a pretty low rating on both Android and iOS (1, 2), which is a bummer. If you end up throwing your phone across the room in frustration, you can circumvent the app altogether by going to an individual channel’s website and logging in with your WOW! credentials. But you might still end up frustrated—and watching your shows through a cracked phone screen.
Ability to record: Fine
The WOW! tv+ box and remote are pretty standard, and you can find content and set up DVR recordings using voice commands or navigating through a guide. The downside is that all three of WOW!’s plans come with 50 hours of DVR cloud storage, which is pretty low. You can jump up to 100 (for about $20 per month) or 200 (for about $30 per month) hours, but that’s a steep charge when some competitors include 1,000 hours in their top-tier plans.
Ability to find: Good
WOW! doesn't have its own voice remote, but it's compatible with Google Voice. Without voice, it's still pretty easy to find channels in the guide, and parental controls make it easy to block the content you don't want your kids to see—or restrict TV time altogether. However, finding recorded shows can be challenging without sorting and filtering capabilities, even if you only get 50 hours of storage. That's still a lot of scrolling.
Features and equipment may vary based on package. Visit
WOW!'s website
or call 1-844-898-8626 for more information.Equipment and features
3.5
One of the best DVR systems available
Xfinity brings a lot to the table for its viewers, from a very nice DVR system to decent picture quality and a nice on-demand experience. We like its remote options, but are a little less excited about its fees and DVR costs.
Ability to watch: Great
You can watch Xfinity on a standard TV in your living room, and it’s a nice experience. The picture quality isn’t quite as good as satellite and the fees are a bummer, but the viewing experience is perfectly acceptable for most families.
Xfinity also offers the highly rated Xfinity Stream app, which gives you access to your entire channel lineup—plus on-demand content and your DVR recordings—on any device. Xfinity Stream works on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, and it’s a great way to stay up-to-date with your favorite shows while you’re traveling (or just waiting in line).
Ability to record: Good
Xfinity offers the X1 DVR system, which is one of the best all-around DVRs on the market. It’s easy to use and offers a substantial amount of storage—up to 300 hours of HD video. You’ll have to pay $9 a month for the first box and each subsequent box, and you’ll have to pay extra if you want to record any more than 20 hours of shows.
Ability to find: Great
The standard X1 system from Xfinity comes with a sleek charcoal-colored voice remote with small buttons, and it works really well to help you find the shows and channels you crave. The company also offers a large remote with optional wrist-strap for customers who need the extra accessibility.
Features and equipment may vary based on package. Visit
Xfinity's website
or call 1-844-443-5171 for more information.Customer experience
4.0
Installation is a little pricey (unless you order online)
The Verizon Fios TV professional installation fee is $99, and there’s no self-install option. However, online ordering and promotions often waive this fee, so you can save some money on your first TV bill. Apart from that, the other major setup costs are the router and the DVR. You'll need the $18-per-month router if you don't already have Verizon Fios internet, and the company recommends against using your own equipment.
Once installation is handled, most customers are happy with the service. Some wish they could pay less, but complaints about the mobile app and channel lineup are relatively rare.
Visit Verizon Fios's website
or call 1-833-970-0848 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.Go to provider
Customer experience
3.0
No contracts and good customer service, but a lack of transparency
WOW! is a decent experience, and most customers feel good about this provider. We love that you don't have to sign a contract. And although you have to get WOW! internet to get WOW!'s TV service, we like WOW! internet even more.
Self-installation is free and fairly easy, but you can hire a pro to come by and get you set up for $75. The website has plenty of self-help content if you run into trouble, or you can use its chat service to talk with a specialist.
What we don't like is WOW!'s lack of transparency. Prices aren't listed on its website, and you can't order TV without talking to a sales representative on the phone. That's not a great start.
Visit WOW!'s website
or call 1-844-898-8626 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.Go to provider
Customer experience
4.0
Easy installs and improving customer service
Xfinity offers both professional and self-installation options. Having a pro come by costs less than $90, which is cheaper than many other providers. The self-install kit is free of charge, though you may pay for shipping and handling. We generally recommend self-installation whenever possible, both because it’s cheaper and because you can do it on your own time.
When it comes to billing, Xfinity has improved in recent years, and we hope the trend continues. It’s great that you can see the regional and broadcast fees right in your online cart, for example, but we wish Xfinity would just roll the fees into its regular pricing. Unfortunately, we’ve also experienced billing errors and had to call the company multiple times to get them resolved. The overall TV service is pretty great, but we recommend keeping an eye on monthly charges, especially if you pay automatically.
Visit Xfinity's website
or call 1-844-443-5171 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.Go to provider
Made up your mind?
Find out what providers are available near you.
Verizon Fios
4.4
(32)5 Star
50%
4 Star
41%
3 Star
9%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
J
Jacobfrom Marshall , IL
Verizon Fios Customer for 4+ years
Reviewed on: 8/16/2022
Love it great service
E
Enricofrom East Lansing, MI
Verizon Fios Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 7/17/2022
i love the deals that verizon has given me through promotion, i've had to switch from xfinity to verizon and they go hand in hand with my phone plan and i pay less than before
R
Richard from Fairfax , VA
Verizon Fios Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 6/25/2022
Selection is good. Prices are too high. Should have different packages to choose from.
E
Edwardfrom Joppa, MD
Verizon Fios Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 6/23/2022
I get NO extra channels just basics and my bill is still to high. $123.88
WOW!
4.0
(2)5 Star
0%
4 Star
100%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
J
Jimmyfrom Columbus, GA.
WOW! Customer for 4+ years
Reviewed on: 8/27/2022
They show ever thing that I want to see and they could lower the payment
R
Rexfrom Roseville, MI
WOW! Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 7/19/2022
They are ok but need to ofter more for the price
Xfinity
4.2
(156)5 Star
44%
4 Star
37%
3 Star
14%
2 Star
4%
1 Star
1%
D
Donfrom Windber, PA
Xfinity Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 6/30/2022
great price, great customer service
S
Stevenfrom York, PA
Xfinity Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 6/29/2022
They keep raising prices every few months and the service keeps getting worse. They still have a lot of work to do when it comes to customer service. Equipment and infrastructure needs to be maintained and improved. Features don't always perform as described.
M
Miguelfrom Coon Rapids, MN
Xfinity Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 6/18/2022
First, Xfinity has a high internet speed. Second, I didn't always use Xfinity. Lastly, watching live sports has no problem.
R
Richardfrom Eugene, OR
Xfinity Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 6/17/2022
they overcharge and try to conceal it by saying that they are including (free?) special contentuding free
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Endnotes and sources
(1) "Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2022’s Winners and Losers," Variety. Accessed 4 April 2023.(2) "Fios TV Mobile," App Store. Accessed 17 October 2022.(3) "Fios TV Mobile," Google Play. Accessed 17 October 2022.
Endnotes and sources
1. "Watch WOW!," Google Play. Accessed 7 December 2022.2. "Watch WOW!," App Store. Accessed 7 December 2022.As an Amazon Associate, Switchful.com may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.
Endnotes and sources
1. "Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2022’s Winners and Losers," Variety. Accessed 1 March 2023.
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