Best Cable Modems (for Comcast Xfinity): The Top 5

This post includes the five best Cable modems for Comcast’s Xfinity Internet service that you can confidently buy today.

I picked these modems after ongoing long-term experiences via my personal use and those of friends, family members, or business partners. All are excellent in their own right and are still working today.

Pick one for your Cable connection and a router or mesh system in one of the best lists in the box below, and you’re game. I can almost promise that.

Top five best cable modems for Xfinity: The list

I list these modems in the speed-grade order, starting with the slowest. Each will work well for the designated plans‘ speed.

It’s worth noting that Comcast Xfinity tends to provision cable connection’s download speed some 20% higher than the plan. As a result, it’s best to get a modem that can handle more than your plan. And that’s also my idea behind building this list.

For more on each modem, check out the in-depth review.

1. Netgear CM600: An valuable modem for Xfinit’s Fast (400Mbps and lower)

The CM600 has been around for a long time and is the only DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem on this list. It’s affordable and never failed me during a 5-year-and counting of service.

Technically, it can handle up to 960Mbps of download speed, but it’s best to use it with any plan that delivers 600Mbps or slower.

2. Netgear CM1000: An excellent Cable modem for Xfinity’s Superfast (800Mbps and slower)

The Netgear CM1000 is a DOCSIS 3.1 and can handle faster-than-Gigabit cable connection. However, it has a Gigabit port which is the bottleneck.

Technically, you can use it for a Gigabit cable plan. However, because a Gigabit port has overhead, the modem can only sustain at a slower-than-Gigabit speed, though only by a small margin.

We’ve used this modem for over two years with no issues.

3. Motorola MB8600: Another excellent option for Xfinity’s Superfast with an option for 2Gbps link aggregation

The Motorola MB8600 is an interesting cable modem.

On the one hand, it’s an excellent option for a sub-Gigabit plan, like the Netgear CM1000 above; on the other, it has additional LAN ports that can be combined into a 2Gbps Link Aggregation WAN connection for a supported ISP.

We’ve used this one — in the former role — for almost two years with no issues at all.

4. ARRIS SURFboard S33: The compact option for Xfinity’s Gigabit Extra (1200Mbps) and faster

Supporting DOCSIS 3.1 and having a 2.5Gbps LAN port, the ARRIS SURFboard S33 is an excellent Cable modem for those with a super-fast Internet plan.

I’ve used it for over a year — since my review — with no issues.

5. Netgear CM2000 Nighthawk: The full-size option for Xfinity’s Gigabit Extra (1200Mbps) and faster

Similar to the ARRIS SURFboard S33, the Netgear CM2000 can deliver up to 2.5Gbps of download speed, making it an excellent Cable modem for Xnitity’s fastest plan, the Gigabit Extra, which, in my experience, can deliver 1.5Gbps of download speed.

I’ve used it for almost two years as my personal modem. Initially, it was the only Internet source for my home. Since March this year, when I upgraded to a 10Gbps Fiber-optic plan, I’ve kept it as a secondary connection in a Dual-WAN setup.

It’s been an excellent modem with no issues at all.

The final thoughts

When using Cable Internet, I recommend getting a retail modem and a separate router or mesh system.

I detailed all the reasons in this post on how to activate a new cable modem. But among other things, you’ll get faster connection speed, avoid the monthly hardware rental fees, enjoy better privacy, and have much better flexibility in picking which equipment to use in case you want to change or upgrade.

After that, it never hurts to get the fastest Cable modem available — so it’s always safe to pick the Netgear CM2000 or ARRIS SURFboard S33 above.

However, unless you intend to upgrade your broadband speed later, getting a modem faster than your Internet plan is always a waste of investment.