Ubiquiti Vs Netgear- Which brand provides faster routers?
Looking for a router? Well, the following article is a complete review of the biggest brands in the router manufacturing business and how some of their top devices compare in speed and performance.
Both Ubiquiti and Netgear are old pioneers in the networking industry. For a long time, their products have been competitors. While both companies are diverse in the products they produce, we are going to focus on their mesh routers and access points, together with regular router. Ubiquiti is known for its access point devices. In fact, Ubiquiti products are the most popular when it comes to large networks such as cafes, schools and companies. Ubiquiti is mainly known as an enterprising networking company. Netgear on the other hand is one of the largest brands and manufacturers of routers and other networking devices. However today, due to the increased use of home internet, Netgear mainly stands out for its superb routers. Their routers features some of the highest speeds and wide area coverage. They also cater for all users’ needs and have a router for any price tag. You can certainly not go wrong with a Netgear product. Some of their best products include: Netgear Nighthawk, Netgear Orbi (Wi-Fi mesh system), and the popular Netgear AC1600. A few of Ubiquiti’s standout routers include: Ubiquiti UniFI, Ubiquiti EdgeRouter and the UniFi Dream Machine among others.
Table of Contents
What are the differences between Ubiquiti and Netgear?
Brands |
Ubiquiti |
Netgear |
Specialty |
Routers, bridges and switches, gateways/firewalls |
Routers, mesh router systems, modems |
Operating system |
Ubiquiti OS |
NetgearOS or DD-WRT |
Internal Antennas |
7 |
2-10 |
LED Light Position |
Around the top |
Bottom front |
Guest Networking |
Yes |
Yes |
Default username |
admin |
admin |
Ubiquiti vs. Netgear – How do these router brands compare?
Since Ubiquiti and Netgear are such huge brands, we have a lot of their products on same level to compare. The following section compares their key features and highlights their key differences.
Performance
The Ubiquiti and Netgear Companies have released some solid products over the years. In addition, due to their specialization on certain types of products, both brands excel in different products. For instance, Netgear are known for their top performance high speed reliable routers whereas ubiquiti are more tailored towards networking hardware such as bridges and physical gateways. But since we’re talking routers, Netgear is the better brand for routers. In fact, they have many more routers and mesh router systems under their name than Ubiquiti. This does not however mean that Ubiquiti routers are not great. On the contrary, the Ubiquiti Unifi is one of the best routers you can get for your house today. There is not much to separate the two brands in terms of performance, but we do prefer Netgear routers for their reliability, durability and compatibility with other devices and software systems.
Area of coverage
One of the most important factors we look at when buying routers is the area coverage of the router. Most routers come with a limit of distance they cover. Both Ubiquiti and Netgear have been doing an amazing job at providing versatile routers with superb coverage. Ubiquiti has the Unifi series which is known to provide a wide range of about 1500 square feet which is rather impressive. Mesh systems also known as Wi-Fi extenders are known to provide even more coverage and here is where the Ubiquiti shines. Their products such as the Netgear Orbi mesh system are provide a coverage of up to 5000 square feet making it the ideal choice for people with large homes and small to medium office setups. It is hard to compare both brands’ area of coverage as there are so many routers from each side. However, the pricier the router, the more range it usually provides.
Pricing
The price is an important consideration when looking for a router, or anything else. Both Ubiquiti and Netgear provide routers for all audiences and budgets. Ubiquiti however may have higher costs due to their specialization in other products other than router. However, some Netgear routers are quite expensive such as the premium priced Netgear Orbi.
Ubiquiti vs Netgear – A comparison review
Ubiquiti overview
Ubiquiti Company has been around for almost two decades now and has been providing some of the best networking products in the market today. They are known for making very durable and hardware based routers. If you look through other companies products, it is hard to find a company with as much diversity in design as the Ubiquiti brand. Other than routers they manufacture other network devices such as switches, hubs, servers and hardware gateways. For this article, we’ll focus more on their routers. Their routers are believed to be some of the best since they feature some top tier features such as hardware acceleration for consistently good performance. The routers are built upon their robust operating system known as Air OS. The operating system is outsourced to a company known as AirMax. The router also come with communication protocols also built by AirMax.
Ubiquiti recently branched into the mesh extender router systems with a wonderful release most customers loved: the Amplifi HD. The mesh system is powerful providing some of the best range among mesh routers. We’ll look at some of their products and see how they compare.
Ubiquiti UniFi AC
- Manage Your Networks from a Single Control Plane
- Intuitive and Robust Configuration, Control and Monitoring
One of the most popular and widely used product from Ubiquiti is the UniFi router. It is a powerful router that is built for serious networking rather than entry level networks. This versatile device is a router but also acts as a physical gateway for secure connections. In terms of price, the router is moderately priced but leans towards a premium level router. But even with this, the router is quite popular and this is because of a few reasons. First, the UniFi has a very simple yet elegant design that compliments your house’s interior décor. It rarely clashes with the interior with its white matte finished color. It is circular in shape resembling an alien ship and comes with an LED ring light at the center top for status indication. The matte finish ensures that fingerprints and oily prints do not stick on the router keeping it safe and clean.
Another reason the UniFi is such an amazing device is the amazing performance it offers. The router has high throughput speeds of up to 3000 Mbps. It also covers a very wide area for a single router with a range of up to 2600 square feet or 241 sq. meters. This is enough for a two or three bedroom house with little obstructions. It is also good for small offices and startup companies. The Unifi AC is one in a long line of UniFi series that includes: the AC Lite, AC LR and AC Pro. The AC is light and weighs just about 350 grams. It is powered by a tri band processor and is available at only 150 bucks.
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X
- Connectivity Technology: Ethernet
- Brand : Ubiquiti Networks
There EdgeRouter is a very different router compared to what we have in the market today. Released in early 2017, the router features a more traditional design and functionality. When it comes to design, the EdgeRouter is not a fancy futuristic looking device. On the contrary, it looks like a router out of the nineties era. It is black box with a metal casing. The router comes with five ports on the back: three gigabit Ethernet ports and two PoE ports (in and out). It is a device that can be easily mistaken for a switch or gateway. However, it does come with LED lights that are white in color for elegance. The small box measures 4.33 x 2.95 x 0.87 inches. With speeds of up to 1000 Mbps, this router is a great addition for any home owner or business owner.
Netgear – Overview
Netgear routers are some of the best in the market due to their reliability, durability and superb performance. Although they all differ in size, price, range and speeds, the routers share the same reliability and consistent performance we have grown to love. It would be difficult to pick the best Netgear router overall but it’s easy to find the best one based on your needs. On top of this, the company has also ventured into the increasingly popular mesh router systems otherwise known as Wi-Fi extenders. Some of their routers are actually extenders such as the Netgear Orbi. The Orbi features some of the best range among all routers and is very easy to install and setup.
Netgear routers are powered by a robust operating system known as NetgearOS. They may also use DD-WRT which is more prevalent in other devices other than routers. Other products they manufacture include: switches, bridges and hubs. If you’re looking for a router, there is Netgear product that is perfect for you and suits all your needs. The following are some of their best products
Netgear NightHawk X10 AD7200
- Fast WIFI Performance: Get up to 2500 sq ft wireless coverage with AD7200 speed (Tri-band up to 800 +...
- Recommended Up to 45 Devised: Reliably stream videos, play games, surf the internet, and connect smart...
The Netgear Nighthawk performs as good as the name sounds. It is a powerful router with a menace looing design straight out of a science fiction movie. The design features a black pyramid-looking design with four antennas sticking out from the back and sides. The black color features a matte finish that prevents fingerprints from getting stuck on the surface on the router. But this router is not all looks as it has some of the best performance of any home router released. It comes with a tri band processor that powers the dual band channels of the router:2.4GHz, 5GHz and 60GHz bands. Inside the router there is 1.7 Quad Core CPU processor that supports important router features such as MUMIMO. The antennas do a wonderful job in boosting the signal to far distances. But what’s most fascinating about the Nighthawk is the speeds it provides. It delivers a speed of up to 7200 Mbps which is more than enough for home and office use.
The Nighthawk comes with six gigabit Ethernet ports and fiber LAN port and a 10 GB SFP port.
Netgear’s Orbi
- Ultra-performance Mesh WiFi network blankets every inch of your home in super fast and seamless WiFi...
- Eliminates WiFi dead zones and buffering - 5,000 square feet of consistent coverage - with speeds up to...
The Orbi system is not a mesh network system but can do the same functions as a mesh system such as Google Wifi. It works similarly by extending and spreading your wifi network using satellite units. The satellites are only connected to the base and not each other. The Orbi supports Wi-Fi 6 and uses a second 5 GHz band that serves as a backhaul connection. When tested in a real world setting, the Orbi is a powerful beast that has a connection speed of 300 Mbps. The speed only drops to 95% at the farthest said distance. This is quite impressive and there has been no other mesh router that comes close.
The Orbi uses a three band system that allows for high fast speeds from anywhere in the house. There is no loss of speed from the mesh forwarding system used. The base and satellites work together smoothly. There is no need for an account when installing and setting up. The only issues are that it is huge and since it does not come in pairs, getting a second satellite is quite expensive
Model |
Ubiquiti UniFi AC Pro |
Netgear Nighthawk |
Ports |
5 (three LAN, one WAN, two PoE ports) |
8 (six LAN, one fiber LAN, one 10 GB SFB) |
Antennas |
4 internal |
4 external |
Special features |
PoE |
MUMIMO, adaptive QoS and Traffice Analyzer |
Size |
196.7 x 196.7 x 35mm |
11.8 x 2.4 x 7.4 inches |
Color |
White |
Black |
Throughput speed |
2400 Mbps |
7200 Mbps |
Availability |
Conclusion
The best router for you depends on what you need from the router. If you’re more price oriented, the best Ubiquiti router for you would be the UniFi AC and Netgear’s Orbi. If you want a powerful router, we recommend the Netgear Nighthawk as if features the highest speeds and versatility.
