How to Lower My Comcast Bill in 5 Quick Steps

If you’re here trying to find out “how to lower my Comcast bill,” good for you! Not every customer knows this, but it is definitely possible if you know how to do it.

This post details several methods existing Comcast customers have successfully lowered their monthly bills.

How to Lower my Comcast Bill or Xfinity Bill

FYI, it doesn’t matter if you still call your plan Comcast (like I do) even after the company has rebranded to the Xfinity name since 2010.

Note that I’ll be using both “Comcast” and “Xfinity” throughout this guide, so as long as you feel you’re paying too much for your cable and internet service, you have to read on and see which method would work best for you.

1. Check Errors on Your Bill

Comcast has admitted to making a mistake and erroneously charging some of its customers an unintended fee back in 2014 and in 2019.

The company was also charged (and ordered to pay over $9 million) when it was found to be violating a law 445,000 times by charging customers in Washington an extra fee for a service protection plan without their permission.

With Comcast’s history, it’s only natural for existing Comcast/Xfinity subscribers to be wary of unnecessary fees added to their bills. Check your bill every month and make sure you understand all details and charges you pay for.

The types of fees can be tricky. You can check this Xfinity hidden costs guide to learn about which fees you can avoid.

If something doesn’t look right with your bill, such as:

• Services you don’t recognize
• Double entry of service fees
• Services you didn’t use/receive

…call 1-800-Xfinity (1-800-934-6489) immediately, select prompt #2 for Billing and Payments and request the customer service representative to double-check your account and have the charges removed or get credited for the erroneous billing.

2. Buy Your Own Equipment

Most Comcast Xfinity plans come with a $14/month wifi and router fee, which totals to around $168 a year.

Only one or two plans (like the 25 Mbps Xfinity Internet Essentials) include WiFi equipment for free, so there is no need to pay wifi lease fees on a monthly basis.

Xfinity has also been pushing subscribers to opt into their in-home mesh xFi pods, which adds an extra $25/month.

If you’re unsure if you’re currently paying a continuous lease for Wifi modem and router, check your monthly bill.

Look under the “regular monthly charges” section, where you’ll likely to find information about modem rental. If there’s nothing like this on your bill, then there’s a good chance you subscribed to a plan with free equipment.

If you find the wifi rental fee on your bill, you can remove this monthly fee by buying and using your own modem and router combo from a list of approved devices on Xfinity’s website.

Most of these devices cost about $100, so if you stay with Comcast Xfinity, you’ll be saving a lot more than what you invested in the wifi equipment upfront.

3. Downsize or Modify Your Plans

This method will vary significantly based on your use and preference.

Do you still use your cable? If so, what channels do you watch the most? Have you compared new streaming offers since you first signed up?

Many people subscribe to cable and internet at Comcast years ago and just pay religiously for the services not knowing that there are better plans that are not only more affordable but could also fit better to your actual media consumption.

When it comes to downsizing or modifying your existing plans, here are several ways I discovered when searching for ways how to lower my Comcast bill:

• Cut your basic cable and upgrade to live streaming (compare Hulu Live TV, AT&T TV Now, YouTube TV, Philo, Sling TV, and others to learn what you’d most likely enjoy the most).
• Remove your TV plan completely and sign up for Xfinity Mobile (the company’s cell phone service).
• Subscribe to Xfinity TV for a special rate (Paying less to sign up for TV is actually surprising to many subscribers).

There are many more possible options that could cut your Comcast bill, but because every plan is different, you need to communicate your requirements.

Trust that when you call Comcast’s hotline, take all the time you can to talk about your plan, remove services you no longer use, upgrade to newer services, and modify the plan that would eventually lower your bill in the future.

But if you LOVE everything about your Comcast Xfinity plan, except for the increasing monthly fees, the next method would be your next possible solution.

4. Negotiate Your Existing Contract

Just like most telcos, the first point of contact is regular customer service.

Unfortunately, customer service reps are not responsible for negotiating with you. Because they’re not incentivized to keep you as a customer, they will just do the bare minimum in addressing your concern.

The bad news is that you can’t call the retention department directly.

You have to pass through the customer service department first. If you go through the automated menu, pick the “disconnect service” option, so you will be directed to the retention department.

If you get a real person on the line, tell them that you wish to cancel your plan – there’s a good chance the rep would transfer you to the retention department.

If the rep doesn’t direct you to retention, tell them the rep you wish to talk to “Customer Solutions.”

Here are some guidelines:

• Double-check your contract. See if you can actually get out of your contract before negotiating. You may just be paying additional fees (like cancellation fees) if you try to renegotiate now.
• Renegotiate your contract every year. Comcast usually rewards loyal customers, so if you stayed for a whole year, this is a good time to renegotiate your contract.
• Be friendly. You can’t be angry when communicating.
• Be prepared to negotiate. You should know the services and prices of competitors, so you can compare with Comcast Xfinity more accurately.
• Dig deeper. Don’t just check out competitor websites. Instead, call them and get an actual offer.

And if you do get an offer from Comcast that seems like a better deal, don’t just decide quickly.

Instead, study the deal first. For example, if your deal includes a free subscription to streaming services like Peacock TV, note that this could still count against your data cap. And if the plan has the usual 1.2 Terabyte data limit on home internet plans, this can easily eat up the data.

5. Switch to a Comcast Competition

Sometimes, we won’t be offered the deal we want. If you tried your best to renegotiate a better plan, but isn’t 100% happy with the offer, maybe it’s time to move on and find an alternative.

When comparing competitor’s plans, make sure to check the following considerations:

• internet speed and data cap
• number of channels
• equipment rental fee
• overall cost and freebies
• customer support (try to call each one and see how quickly you get answers to your inquiries)
• Frequency of discounts

Other Money-saving Tricks You Should Add to Your Budgeting

If you’re looking for more ways to cut back on expenses and save money on a monthly basis, here are several awesome techniques THAT WORK:

• 7 smart ways to save money on groceries,
• How to save money with extreme-couponing
• 30 smart money-saving tips to spend less
• How to save money and raise your bank balance
• Everyday things you can do that can earn you cash

Also, if you have no money but want to start a business, I wrote a guide about that here.