NOW by Xfinity vs. Mint Home MINTernet
The two best prepaid plans in the country, and they're built on opposite technology. One is wired cable at $30 a month. The other is 5G at $45 with a phone line thrown in — paid a year at a time.
If you only need internet, take NOW: $30 a month all-in, on a wired connection that holds its speed at 8pm, billed month to month. Take Mint if you also want a phone line — $45/mo effective for internet and unlimited wireless together is unbeatable, provided you can pay $540 at checkout.
Wired beats wireless at the same price
Mint's peak numbers look better on paper — up to about 415 Mbps against NOW's 234 — but that's the wrong way to read these two. NOW is a wired cable connection, so its speed is roughly the speed, all day. Mint's is a radio link shared with everyone else on the tower, which means the range from 133 to 415 Mbps is doing real work: you get the top of it at 3pm on a good signal and the bottom of it when the neighborhood comes home.
Latency tells the same story from the other direction. Mint's 16–28 ms is genuinely good for fixed wireless and slightly better than NOW's 21 ms at the low end, but it's more variable. For gaming and calls, consistency matters more than the average — which is why we'd take the cable line for a household that video-calls all day, even at the lower download ceiling. Both providers publish these figures on their FCC labels, which is how we can compare them at all. Here's how to read one.
Mint's advantage is the phone line
This is the whole reason Mint is in the conversation. $540 at checkout buys twelve months of home internet and twelve months of an unlimited phone plan. Bought separately from anyone else, that pair runs $70–90/mo. At an effective $45 for both, Mint is the cheapest way in the country to connect one person's home and phone — and the No Bill Creep Guarantee locks the wireless pricing for five years, which no cable operator will match.
NOW does sell prepaid mobile, but only to its own internet customers and only as a separate purchase, not folded into one price. So the honest comparison is: NOW at $30 for internet alone, or Mint at $45 for internet plus a line. If you already have a phone plan you're happy with, that $15 gap buys you nothing.
NOW's advantage is how you pay
NOW is prepaid but billed monthly: $30 leaves your account, and you can stop whenever you like. Mint wants the term at checkout. For anyone on a tight month-to-month budget — students, new renters, anyone between jobs — that difference matters more than the sticker price. It's also the safer bet if you're unsure about coverage, because you're risking one month rather than a year.
One asymmetry worth knowing: NOW sits outside Xfinity's 30-day money-back guarantee, while Mint offers a 14-day money-back window. So Mint risks more of your money but gives you a formal way out; NOW risks less but expects you to simply stop paying. Neither runs a credit check, and neither requires a contract.
Which should you buy?
Availability may settle it before price does. NOW only exists inside Comcast's cable footprint; Mint needs a solid T-Mobile 5G signal at your address. Check both before you plan around either number.
Sources (3)
- FCC Broadband Data Collection, availability as of Dec 31, 2025 (published Aug 2026)
- Plan pages and Broadband Facts labels from NOW Internet, Home MINTernet, Xfinity, checked Oct 2026
- Company press releases and regulatory filings on the ownership changes mentioned
Prices and offers change often; confirm at your address before you order. How we research
Jean founded ShopHighSpeed after trying to find one straight answer about business internet in his own town. He has been a Comcast and Verizon Fios customer, and ranks providers on what they actually deliver, not on what they advertise.
