Netgear Orbi Models Comparison: RBK30 vs RBK40 vs RBK50 vs RBK23

The Orbi WiFi system from Netgear has one of the best metrics in speed and coverage performance among the WiFi mesh products in the market right now. Together with Linksys Velop, Eero, Google WiFi, amplifi etc, these products are categorized as the new generation of WiFi network systems, also called Mesh WiFi.

Orbi also shines in other areas, in addition to pure speed and coverage, such as vast selection of product options, extensive software features, flexible connectivity options and much more.

People looking to buy an Orbi system often get confused about the various models available and have a hard time to decide which kit is the most suitable for their home or office.

In this article we’ll describe the different models and compare them so that you can get a better idea of what each one offers.

Models Notation

First lets start with the notation that Netgear uses to name the various models.

Orbi Kit Models

As you might know already, Orbi systems are usually purchased as kits which have a main Router unit and one or more Satellite units which are connected to the main Router either via WiFi Backhaul (dedicated 5 Ghz backhaul link with 1.7 Gbps data speed) or via wired Ethernet cable.

The main Router unit is connected to the ISP modem or router offered by your Internet Service Provider.

Therefore, people usually buy a kit when starting out and for implementing a whole-home WiFi mesh system.

Netgear names the “Kit” models as RBKxx with the letter K showing that this is a Kit system having one Router and one or more Satellites.

The following are the most popular and best selling models:

• RBK30: 1 router + 1 wall-plug satellite (AC2200 wireless max speed of 2200 Mbps)
• RBK40: 1 router + 1 satellite (AC2200 wireless max speed of 2200 Mbps)
• RBK50: 1 router + 1 satellite (AC3000 wireless max speed of 3000 Mbps) (MOST POPULAR MODEL)
• RBK23: 1 router + 2 satellites (AC2200 wireless max speed of 2200 Mbps) (smaller size units)
• CBK40: 1 router + 1 satellite (AC2200) with built-in Cable Modem

Note:

The CBK40 is a special kit system whereby the router unit includes an embedded Cable Modem (DOCSIS 3.0). This means that if your internet connection is via a cable provider, you can replace the ISP cable modem with CBK40.

Here are some more 3-unit kits which have 1 router and 2 satellites (for wider coverage).

• RBK33: 1 router + 2 wall-plug satellites (AC2200 wireless max speed of 2200 Mbps)
• RBK43: 1 router + 2 satellites (AC2200 wireless max speed of 2200 Mbps)
• RBK53: 1 router + 2 satellites (AC3000 wireless max speed of 3000 Mbps)

Orbi Individual Models

In addition to purchasing a kit of Orbi units (i.e Router + Satellites) you can also purchase the Router and Satellite units individually for expansion of an existing network.

The individual standalone Router units are named as RBRxx with the letter R showing that this is a Router unit.

The individual Satellite units are named as RBSxx with the letter S showing that this is a Satellite unit.

The individual wall plug-in Satellite units are named as RBWxx with the letter W showing that this is a wall-plug Satellite unit.

• RBR20: 1 standalone Router (AC2200) up to 2000 sq.ft coverage (1 LAN port)
• RBR50: 1 standalone Router (AC3000) up to 2500 sq.ft coverage (3 LAN ports)
• RBW30: 1 individual Add-on wall-plug Satellite unit (AC2200) for extra 1500 sq.ft coverage
• RBS40: 1 individual Add-on Satellite unit (AC2200) for extra 2000 sq.ft coverage
• RBS50: 1 individual Add-on Satellite unit (AC3000) for extra 2500 sq.ft coverage
• RBS50Y: 1 individual Add-on Satellite unit (AC3000) for Outdoor use for extra 2500 sq.ft coverage

Orbi Kits Comparison

Since most people are interested in purchasing a kit model for whole-home wireless coverage, we will compare the most popular kit models below in terms of area coverage, speed, connectivity options etc.

RBK30 Vs RBK40

Area Wireless Coverage

• The RBK30 covers homes up to 3500 sq.ft
• The RBK40 covers homes up to 4000 sq.ft

WiFi Speed

• Both models have max combined WiFi speed of 2200 Mbps (AC2200 wifi models)

Connectivity

• The Satellite of RBK30 is wall-plug and does not include LAN ports.
• The Satellite of RBK40 includes 4xLAN Ethernet ports for wire connections.
• The Router unit of both kit models includes 1xWAN and 3xLAN ports.

RBK30 Vs RBK50

Area Wireless Coverage

• The RBK30 covers homes up to 3500 sq.ft
• The RBK50 covers homes up to 5000 sq.ft

WiFi Speed

• The RBK30 has max combined WiFi speed of 2200 Mbps (AC2200)
• The RBK50 has max combined WiFi speed of 3000 Mbps (AC3000)

Connectivity

• The Satellite of RBK30 is wall-plug and does not include LAN ports.
• The Satellite of RBK50 includes 4xLAN Ethernet ports for wire connections.
• The Router unit of both kit models includes 1xWAN and 3xLAN ports.

RBK40 Vs RBK50

Last update on 2018-09-20 at 12:12 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Last update on 2018-09-20 at 21:29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Area Wireless Coverage

• The RBK40 covers homes up to 4000 sq.ft
• The RBK50 covers homes up to 5000 sq.ft

WiFi Speed

• The RBK40 has max combined WiFi speed of 2200 Mbps (AC2200) and the backhaul band is 866 Mbps (the link connecting satellites with main router).
• The RBK50 has max combined WiFi speed of 3000 Mbps (AC3000) and the backhaul band is 1733 Mbps (the link connecting satellites with main router).

Connectivity

• The Satellites of both RBK40 and RBK50 include 4xLAN Ethernet ports.
• The Router unit of both kit models includes 1xWAN and 3xLAN ports.

Our Recommendation

• If your Internet connection is lower than 150Mbps and also you don’t have much internal home network traffic (i.e sharing files within your home, streaming video within the home network etc) then go with RBK40 model.
• If your Internet connection is more than 150Mbps and you also have some heavy internal traffic requirements (sharing files, streaming etc) then we suggest you to go with RBK50 model.

RBK23 Vs RBK50

The RBK23 is a newer and more economical model launched by Netgear to cover the needs of modestly-sized houses and with some reductions in hardware to lower the price.

The main hardware differences of the RBK23 compared to RBK50 (which is the best selling kit) are the following:

• Smaller size: (5.6 x 2.4 x 6.6 in)  compared to (6.4 x 3.1 x 8.0 in).
• Fewer Internal Antennas: The RBK23 has 4 internal antennas compared to 6 antennas of RBK50.
• Fewer Wired Ethernet Ports: The RBK23 has 2 Ethernet Ports while the RBK50 has 4.

Other than the above hardware differences, the main features of the RBK50 are also supported by RBK23 as well (such as Tri-band WiFi, wireless backhaul, beamforming, excellent speed performance etc).

So if you want to save some money and you don’t care much about the reduced hardware specs, then the RBK23 is an excellent choice.

Last update on 2018-09-20 at 06:39 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Let’s see the rest of the main specs comparison below:

Area Wireless Coverage

• The RBK23 covers homes up to 4500 sq.ft
• The RBK50 covers homes up to 5000 sq.ft

WiFi Speed

• The RBK23 has max combined WiFi speed of 2200 Mbps (AC2200) and the backhaul band is 866 Mbps (the link connecting satellites with main router).
• The RBK50 has max combined WiFi speed of 3000 Mbps (AC3000) and the backhaul band is 1733 Mbps (the link connecting satellites with main router).

Connectivity

• The Router and Satellites of RBK23 include 2xLAN Ethernet ports (on Router there is 1WAN and 1LAN).
• The Router and Satellites of RBK50 include 4xLAN Ethernet ports (on Router there is 1WAN and 3LAN).

AC2200 and AC3000 Description

I have written an article in the past explaining the meaning of the “AC” specification in the new IEEE 802.11ac standard.

As explained in the article above, the number after the AC spec (AC2200 or AC3000) represents the combined maximum speed of all wireless frequency bands of the device.

In summary:

AC2200: This has 3 frequency bands (1 band at 2.4 Ghz and 2 bands at 5Ghz). The max wifi speed supported on the 2.4 Ghz band is 400Mbps and the max wifi speed supported on the 5 Ghz bands is 866Mbps (thus combined data speed is 400+866+866 = around 2200 Mbps).

AC3000: This also has 3 frequency bands (1 band at 2.4 Ghz and 2 bands at 5Ghz). The max wifi speed supported on the 2.4 Ghz band is 400Mbps and the max wifi speed supported on the 5 Ghz bands is 866Mbps and 1733Mbps (thus combined data speed is 400+866+1733 = 3000 Mbps).