5 Best Netgear Routers

Below are the best routers from the reputable Netgear brand.

For a long time now, Netgear has been a big brand associated with the best quality internet devices, and it boasts an impressive line up of the best WiFi routers to show off. What this means is that if you find yourself stuck with an unreliable home wireless network, Netgear might be one of the brands you want to look up or try.

The Netgear routers reviewed below are some of the best because they boast excellent functions that boost the performance of home and office internet connections, and they support all the internet-heavy activities like 4K or 8K streaming, as well as gaming. So, if you are looking to upgrade your home network, you might want to get your hands on one of these Netgear routers.

Best Netgear Routers – Comparison Table

Best Netgear Routers	Best For	WiFi Type and Speed	Get It Here
NetgearOrbi RBK50	Best Overall Netgear Router	802.11ac Tri-band 3000Gbps	Check Price
Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80)	Best High-Performance 8-Stream WiFi 6 Router	802.11ax Dual Band 6Gbps	Check Price
NETGEAR Nighthawk X6S Smart WiFi Router (R8000P)	Best Smart Netgear Router	Tri-band 802.11ax 4Gbps	Check Price
Netgear Nighthawk RAX200 AX11000 12-Stream Wi-Fi 6 Router	Best Gaming Router	802.11ax Tri-Band 10.8Gbps	Check Price
Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router	Best Budget-Friendly WiFi Adapter	802.11ax Tri-band 3.2Gbps	Check Price

Best Netgear Routers- Reviews

Here are 5 of the best routers by Netgear.

1. NetgearOrbi RBK50 – Best Overall Netgear Router

NetgearOrbi is not only the best Netgear router, but it’s also one of the best tri-band whole-home mesh WiFi systems on the market boasting a large coverage upwards of 5,000sq.ft.

Thanks to the mesh design of this router, you won’t have to deal with dead zones ever again, even as the mesh technology ensures that you are always connected as you move to different rooms around the house.

The tri-band design of this mesh router also stands out because it means that you get to enjoy the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz bands, as well as a tri-band backhaul. The tri-band backhaul represents a dedicated band that’s set up between the Router and the satellite routers in your home network. The backhaul will free up the two other bands, hence maximum speed internet connection across all your connected devices. You might also like NetgearOrbi because it works with all ISPs, and you won’t have to think about WiFi extenders again.

Regarding speed, NetgearOrbi boasts high internet speeds of up to 3Gbps, meaning that you can enjoy gaming, HD video streaming, and anything else you need to do on the internet. The router and the satellite node each come with one Ethernet port (would be better with more than one) for wired connection, and the router is based on the AC3000 (802.11ac) protocol.

It also boasts advanced technological features like MU-MIMO for simultaneous multi-device connectivity and Smart Connect for the use of one SSID across the network/ devices, as well as the Beamforming technology for focused WiFi signals.

Its security features are also reliable – it supports WPA2 security protocols, Guest WiFi access, VPN, DoS, Firewall, and Netgear Armor that are powered by BitDefender, all ensure a secure home network.

Pros

• Easy setup and network management
• Best whole-home mesh wireless network system
• Nicely designed
• Fast internet at 3Gbps
• Tri-band with backhaul
• ft maximum coverage
• Works with Alexa

Cons

• Expensive

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2. Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80) AX6000– Best High-Performance 8-Stream WiFi 6 Router

Next on our list is this high-performance, high-speed Netgear router that boasts some of the best high performance and advanced security features. Throw in the Gigabit internet speeds, and you have a wireless giant for your home network.

Its performance is as advanced as expected. Some of the features behind the top performance of this router include the WiFi 6 802.11ax protocol, which means that the router offers a very high maximum throughput, larger client capacity, and less congestion.

Then you have the 8 simultaneous streams that provide you with more capacity to connect more devices at the same time, all enjoying the best level of performance and the wired ports that improve the versatility of the router allowing you to plug in gaming consoles, stream players, and plug-in computers for the best performance. This router features 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports.

It’s also loaded with the most advanced technologies, as it’s powered by a 64-bit 1.8GHz Quad-Core processor. It features four amplified antennas, and it also supports advanced technologies like dynamic QoS for device prioritization, Beamforming+ for focused signals, MU-MIMO for multiple device connectivity, OFDMA for more channels, and Smart Connect that ensures easy network management.

It also features two USB 3.0 ports, smart parental controls, and Netgear Armor for advanced network and device safety/ protection.

Pros

• Excellent performance
• Multi-device connectivity
• WiFi 6
• 8-streams
• Excellent configuration, setup, and management
• MU-MIMO, Beamforming+, OFDMA
• Dynamic QoS for prioritization of connected devices
• Malware protection/ Guest WiFi/ Smart parental controls

Cons

• The maximum throughput/ speed falls fast when you move farther from the router
• Expensive

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3. NETGEAR Nighthawk X6S Smart WiFi Router (R8000P) – Best Smart Netgear Router

This Tri-band AC4000 router might be the router you want to try for your home network upgrade as it is designed to offer the best wireless performance at speeds of up to 4000Mbps for large areas up to 3500sq.ft.

It also boasts a large device coverage of at least 55 devices, meaning that it might be exactly what you need if you are looking for a router to service all the devices in your busy home.

The tri-band system of this NETGEAR Nighthawk X6S is experienced as 750Mbps for the 2.4GHz band and 1625Mpbs for each of the 5GHz bands. Then you have the 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports for a wired, high-speed connection, and two USB ports, a USB 2.0 and a USB 3.0.

But that is not all; this router allows you to enjoy the best performance as it comes loaded with some of the most advanced technological features like Beamforming, Smart Connect, and MU-MIMO, as well as the 6 amplified antennas. The router is powered by a powerful dual-core 1.8GHz processor. It works with Alexa.

Pros

• Smart parental controls
• High speeds of 4Gbps
• USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, and 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports
• Tri-band
• Large device capacity
• WPA2 support, hence best security
• Guest WiFi
• 6 Amplified antennas for larger coverage

Cons

• Firmware installation issues

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4. Netgear Nighthawk RAX200 AX11000 12-Stream Wi-Fi 6 Router – Best Gaming Router

If budget isn’t an issue and you want to splurge on a robust piece of hardware, you will be happy to know that Netgear has pulled all the stops with this RAX200 router.

It is a WiFi 6 router that boasts a 12-stream capacity, and impressive speeds of up to 10800Mbps. The setup of this router allows you to enjoy ultra-high-speed WiFi across your connected devices.

It’s powered by a 1.8GHz 64-bit quad-core CPU, which means that you get to enjoy the best speeds across the tri-band setup. The performance of this router is further enhanced by technological features like MU-MIMO, OFDMA, Dynamic QoS, Beamforming, Smart Connect, and 1024-QAM.

It also boasts advanced security features to support a safe home network, and you might also like the two USB 3.0 ports that provide high-speed file sharing. It features 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports and one 2.5Gigabit Ethernet port. And it supports Alexa and WPA2/WPA3 security protocols.

Pros

• Excellent WiFi 6 setup
• Powerful processor
• 12-stream simultaneous support
• Ultra-high-speed performance – max of 10.8Gbps
• 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports plus a 2.5G Ethernet port
• Great multi-player gaming router
• Tri-band design
• Advanced wireless features like MU-MIMO, Smart Connect, OFDMA, QoS, and Beamforming

Cons

• Few devices are WiFi 6-ready
• Expensive

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5. Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router – Best Value for Money

Last on our list is this X6 Netgear router that features the best command prompts for Amazon Alexa, as well as 6 high-performance antennas that give this router its high level of performance.

Powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor that works with three other offload processors, you wouldn’t have to worry about the performance of this speaker. And with Smart Connect incorporated, the router allows your device to connect to the strongest signal available.

It also makes use of the Beamforming+ technology, which will improve the strength and focus of the unused bandwidth for the connected devices. The Netgear Up app makes for easy setup and configuration.

Finally, it boasts high speeds of 3.2GBps on the tri-band system for uninterrupted streaming and gaming.

Pros

• Solid Tri-band, high-performance speed
• Impressive maximum throughput of 3200Mpbs
• Powerful processor
• Easy setup and configuration
• Guest access
• Large coverage of 3500sq.ft., for 50 devices
• 4 Ethernet Gigabit ports
• Armor security
• Advanced WiFi features
• USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports
• Reliable security protocols

Cons

• It has a large footprint
• Netgear Armor isn’t free after the 30-day trial period.

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Buying Guide for the best Netgear routers

Netgear is a very well-known networking company that promises some of the best networking devices.

But like all other brands, their routers are not all created equal, which means that some of the routers are better than others for specific functions. Before you buy your Netgear router, it would be a prudent idea for you to evaluate the features offered by that router and whether it comes with all the features you need in a high-performance router or not.

Here are some of the crucial considerations that you need to keep in mind as you look for a Netgear router.

Ports

The primary function of a wireless router is to offer a reliable wireless connection. But even with the best wireless routers, there are many cases where the performance of your devices and your experience of activity will be enhanced by a plugged-in computer. Take a gaming console or your streaming device; for example, their performance is improved with wired connections. Therefore, it would be a great idea for you to make sure that the wireless router you opt for comes with a good number of Ethernet ports, preferably, 4 or more. Essentially, you should account for all the devices that need to be connected via the Ethernet ports. Without a good number of Ethernet ports, you might have to invest in an Ethernet switch to connect more devices to the router.

Antennas

Unless you are looking for a router to service your small apartment, you will need to look for a Netgear router with multiple antennas. The best of these antennas will have three antennas, but if you need a router to service a multi-story house or even a large office, it might be a good option to buy a router with multiple antennas.

Number of radio bands

You need a dual-band or a tri-band router. While the single-band routers would work for basic internet browsing, a dual-band Netgear router would be a good option for a solid internet connection with many more devices. A dual-band router would also be a good option for you if you need high-speed internet connectivity for gaming or streaming, and also if you have many devices in your home network.

Note that the 2.4GHz band works at a significantly lower frequency than the 5GHz band, but it offers a larger range as it is set up to be much more adept at penetrating walls and other obstacles. But despite the large coverage and obstacles’ penetrating capabilities, the 2.4GHz band is often congested as this radio frequency competes with other devices like Bluetooth devices, wireless phones, and microwave ovens.

The 5GHz band, on the other hand, is the high-speed, fat pipe that’s ideal for use in smaller areas in need of high-speed connectivity. This means that any router worth its salt will feature at least two of these radio bands. Since it’s less crowded, the 5GHz band allows you to enjoy a higher maximum throughput, with minimal possible interference.

Therefore, opting for a dual-band router is a great idea for you if you wish to assign specific clients and applications to certain bands and when you don’t wish to load both bands.

For enhanced performance, you could opt for the tri-band routers that come with an extra 5GHz band for a higher level of load balancing. What this means is that you would be able to dedicate one of the 5GHz bands to torrenting and video streaming, the other 5GHz band for online gaming, and the 2.4GHz for use with applications that don’t need much in terms of bandwidth.

Finally, on radio bands, there is the new 6GHz spectrum availed by the FCC. It’s yet to hit the market, but it promises a significantly high level of boost in the overall performance of wireless networks.

Wireless Protocols and Wireless Technologies

The wireless Ethernet networks make use of the 802.11 protocols for sending and receiving data. Today, the most common and the best WiFi protocol is the 802.11ac protocol. This WiFi protocol allows for blazing high data transfer speeds, reaching as high as 5,400Mbps (theoretical), and these wireless networks run on the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz bands.

Routers on the 802.11ac wireless protocol utilize advanced technologies like MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technologies, which makes use of multiple antennas to send and receive data packets to a maximum of 8 spatial streams, hence a high level of device performance. Besides MIMO, routers run on the 802.11ac protocol also support the downstream Multi-User MIMO technology. Downstream MU-MIMO allows for the provision of bandwidth across devices in a simultaneous manner, and not sequentially. Note that for you to enjoy MU-MIMO, your router and the network clients must have MU-MIMO circuitry.

These routers also support the Beamforming technology, which is responsible for sending WiFi signals to devices/ clients directly, instead of broadcasting the signals in all directions.

Then you have the automatic band-steering technology that allows the router to choose only the most efficient radio band based on the band availability, the network traffic, and the range.

The next, most advanced wireless protocol offered by Netgear routers, is the 802.11ax protocol. It’s also called WiFi 6 or the High Efficiency (HE) protocol, and it boasts the highest level of efficiency. An evolution of 802.11ac, WiFi 6 promises blazing internet speeds/ throughput of up to 9.6Gbps, reduced network congestion, better range/ performance, a larger client capacity, and an overall greater level of performance.

WiFi 6 routers owe their high level of performance to technological functions like OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access) and TWT (Target Wake Time). OFDMA boosts the router’s maximum throughput by virtue of its ability to breakdown the main WiFi channels into sub-channels, hence a higher number of maximum users sharing one channel at the same time. TWT, on the other hand, enhances the performance of the router by reducing the device’s power consumption – it does this by automatically detecting the wake and sleep times of your devices, hence an extended battery life for all your connected devices.

Finally, WiFi 6 will take advantage of the unused radio frequencies, hence an improvement of the performance of the 2.4GHz radio band. There’s also the use of a more refined uplink and downlink system of bandwidth management, hence the enhancement of the router’s QoS (Quality of Service). The other features you’ll enjoy from WiFi 6 include downstream and upstream MU-MIMO and backward compatibility with previous WiFi protocols.

FAQs

Which features make the best Netgear Routers?

The best router will feature at least 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports (10/100/1000) for wired connection, a high maximum throughput to support larger file transfers, and a fail-safe LAN connection for load balancing traffic. You also need a minimum of one USB port, removable high-speed antennas, basic parental controls, QoS, guest-network support, and WPS or WPA/WPA2 for security.

Do I need to connect my Netgear router to a modem?

Yes. Your router must always be connected to your modem for local internet connection and for the creation of a local network. You need to connect the router to the modem using an Ethernet cable.

Can I Use my Netgear Router as a WiFi Extender?

While this is a possibility, setting up your Netgear router as your WiFi extender or a repeater will limit the functions of the router, and you won’t have access to crucial routing functions, for example, management of network traffic.

How long will my Netgear router last?

Generally, it’s recommended that you have a router upgrade after three or four years of using your Netgear router. Think of this as the same duration you’d normally keep your devices for before an upgrade.

Conclusion

The Netgear routers reviewed above are only some of the few excellent routers from the Netgear brands. While there are many other options, the 5 routers above really stand out for us, and depending on your needs, each of these routers might be a good option for you.