The Orbi wireless mesh devices together with the Nighthawk WiFi routers constitute the two main pillars of Netgear’s WiFi networking products.
We have reviewed and compared the various Orbi models and Nighthawk routers in previous articles (here and here), but many people want to see a comparison between Orbi Vs Nighthawk and which one of the two product lines is best for their wireless connectivity needs.
Actually, the two product lines are slightly different technologies: The Orbi is a wireless mesh system whereby you have multiple WiFi devices (one router unit and one or more satellite units) forming an umbrella mesh network with a single SSID.
The Nighthawk routers on the other hand fall into the traditional network setup whereby a single WiFi router serves all wireless and wired communication needs in the house or office.
In this article we will compare the best Orbi and Nighthawk models which in our opinion include the Orbi RBK50 and Nighthawk X10, X6 and X4S.
Another option for building a mesh wireless network is by using a regular WiFi router and a mesh extender device like the Netgear Mesh X6S (EX8000), so we will compare this option with Orbi as well.
Comparison Table
(AC3000)
(802.11AD+
802.11AC)
(AC3200)
(AC2600)
+ Dual Band
(2x5Ghz & 1x2.4Ghz)
(1x5Ghz & 1x2.4Ghz)
USB Hard Disk
USB Hard Disk
USB Hard Disk
(AC3000)
(802.11AD+
802.11AC)
+ Dual Band
USB Hard Disk
(AC3200)
(2x5Ghz & 1x2.4Ghz)
USB Hard Disk
(AC2600)
(1x5Ghz & 1x2.4Ghz)
USB Hard Disk
Last update on 2023-03-22 at 19:50 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Advantages of Orbi Vs single Nighthawk routers
- Ultra-performance Mesh WiFi network blankets every inch of your home in super fast and seamless WiFi connectivity - room to room, wall to wall, floor to floor
- Eliminates WiFi dead zones and buffering - 5,000 square feet of consistent coverage - with speeds up to 3Gbps
- The most award-winning Mesh WiFi system on the planet: PC Mag, CNET, Wirecutter, Forbes, SmallNetBuilder
Last update on 2023-03-22 at 19:50 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The most important advantage of an Orbi system (such as the RBK50) is that it covers bigger area compared to a single wifi router. This is true for any WiFi mesh system compared to a traditional single router.
Mesh networking is all about coverage and availability. Having more stable WiFi in larger areas of your home gives an immediate and noticeable benefit compared to a single WiFi router.
Of course, you should have in mind that WiFi coverage depends a lot on the structure of the house, materials and thickness of the walls, number of floors etc.
In general, I would suggest that if your house is more than 2000-3000 sq ft or has multiple floors with thick walls then you should select an Orbi system instead of a single Nighthawk wifi.
You will have the advantage of moving the router and satellite(s) unit to wherever you want in the house in order to cover any blind-spots. Also, if you move in a new bigger house you can just extend the network with additional satellites easily.
Advantages of Nighthawk Routers over Orbi
- Fast WIFI Performance: Get up to 2500 sq ft wireless coverage with AD7200 speed (Tri-band up to 800 + 1733 + 4600 Mbps - for 60Ghz band devices)
- Recommended Up to 45 Devised: Reliably stream videos, play games, surf the internet, and connect smart home devices
- WIRED ETHERNET PORTS: Plug in computers, game consoles, streaming players, and other nearby wired devices with 6 x 1 Gigabit Ethernet ports, and 1 x 10G SFP+ port.
- Recommended for up to 50 devices: Reliably stream videos, play games, surf the internet, and connect smart home devices.
- Wired Ethernet ports: plug in computers, game consoles, streaming players, and other nearby wired devices with 4 x 1 gigabit Ethernet ports.
- Loaded with advanced technology: Designed with a 1GHz dual core processor, 6 amplified antennas, Beamforming+, Dynamic QoS, Smart Connect, Amazon Alexa Voice Controls, and more.
- Fast wifi performance: Get up to 2500 square feet wireless coverage with AC2600 speed (Dual band up to 800 + 1733 Mbps). WiFi Band-Simultaneous Dual Band WiFi - Tx/Rx 4x4 (2.4GHz)+ 4x4 (5GHz)
- Recommended for up to 45 devices: Reliably stream videos, play games, surf the internet, and connect smart home devices.
- Wired Ethernet ports: plug in computers, game consoles, streaming players, and other nearby wired devices with 4 x 1 gigabit Ethernet ports.
Last update on 2023-03-22 at 21:10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The real advantage of a single high-end Nighthawk router over Orbi is supporting a lot of devices needing a lot of bandwidth simultaneously.
If you have sorted out the coverage issue of a single router by placing the device in a central spot which provides signal to the whole house, then by all means go ahead and use a single Nighthawk device instead of a mesh system like the Orbit.
Especially if you use a high-end Nighthawk like the X10, X6, X6S, X4S, you will be able to support a lot of WiFi devices simultaneously with high-speeds and better QoS (Quality of Service). All the Nighthawks support Advanced Dynamic QoS which is great for time-critical applications like Online Gaming, video streaming, voice traffic etc. Orbi supports only basic QoS.
The high-end models have 2 or 3 bands of WiFi frequencies (2.4GHz or 5GHz) with high performance antennas that can support a lot of bandwidth from clients. However, keep in mind that most of the times the difference in speed between Nighthawk and Orbi is not noticeable.
Another advantage of using a Nighthawk instead of Orbi is that their firmware and software can support USB storage devices (hard disks etc) for file sharing with no problems.
On the other hand, the Orbi can officially support only Printer sharing on the USB port although many people have successfully connected USB drives as well (some hard disk models work while some other models don’t).
Nergear Orbi RBK50 Vs X10, X6, X4S etc
The main differences between Orbi and single Nighthawk routers are:
- Being a mesh system, Orbi (e.g RBK50) covers better the area of your house in wireless with much less “blind-spots” compared to a single WiFi router like the Nighthawk. This gives an immediate and noticeable advantage since all of your devices will be working better in the whole house.
- A good Nighthawk device can support many clients simultaneously with better QoS (advanced Dynamic QoS).
Netgear Orbi Vs Nighthawk X6S (EX8000) Mesh Extender
The new X6S (EX8000) mesh extender is using the same wireless technology as the Orbi RBK50. It has Tri-band WiFi with maximum speed of AC3000 (3Gbps) with one of the bands dedicated to backhaul (5Ghz band at 1.7Gbps). This backhaul link is for communication with the main WiFi router (which can be any brand).
- Extended wireless coverage: Adds Wi-Fi range coverage up to 2500 square feet, and connects up to 50 devices such as laptops, smartphones, speakers, IP cameras, tablets, Iot devices, and more
- Seamless smart roaming: Uses your existing network SSID name so you never get disconnected as you move around your home or office
- Ac3000 Wi-Fi speed: Provides up to 3000 mbps performance using Tri band and patented fastlane3 (TM) technology for heavy duty 4k HD streaming and multi-player gaming
Last update on 2023-03-22 at 19:40 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The unique aspect of the EX8000 mesh compared to Orbi is that it can work with any other WiFi router and create an umbrella network with the same SSID as your existing router. Also, you can use any one of its 3 radio bands as backhaul (although it has a high-speed 1.7Gbps band for this task).
On the other hand, with the Orbi system all units must be Orbi devices. An Orbi satellite for example can’t work with any other WiFi router. It can link only to an Orbi router.
The target market in my opinion of the EX8000 extender is for people who already have an existing high-end wireless router and want to extend its coverage to more areas of the house. By using an EX8000 X6S extender you can create a mesh network just like the Orbi with a single SSID and seamless roaming between the main router and the extender.
If you don’t have any wifi system in place or if your main wireless router has shown its age and you want great coverage in a big house, then I suggest to install an Orbi mesh from scratch. All devices in the system will work seamlessly and provide you with high performance and great signal reception for all your clients.
Can you use the nighthawk mesh extender in an existing Orbi system in lieu of buying an additional Orbi satellite? Or will Orbi router only work with Orbi satellite?
Alex,
No, the nighthawk mesh extender can’t be used with the Orbi system. Only the Orbi satellites can work with an existing Orbi router.
Harris
Can you hook up more than 1 x6s extender if needed
Aly,
Yes sure you can hook up two x6s extenders if you want. If you already have a wifi router in the house, you can install [Extender][Router][Extender] which is the recommended connectivity scenario.
You can also have [Router][Extender][Extender] if you want but this will reduce the speed of the extenders.
Hey thanks for the this, great article. I am pretty sure that I know enough now to make the best choice on which system to run but just to make sure, thought I would ask your opinion.
I currently have an the same Orbi and 2 satellites mentioned in the article set up and experience no problems with wifi range. I do however believe that something is not….right when it comes to playing online games via xbox or ps4. I experienced quite a few problems during my pursuit of an above average online gaming experience (i.e. doublenat, moderate nat, etc.) but have managed to solve all of them. All though everything looks as it should I still feel like I notice performance issues when more than one xbox is gaming online. That being said I also have a nighthawk x10 that I want to replace the current orbi set up with. Before doing so I wanted to know if my reasoning for doing so is logical. I have up to 3 xbox’s (usually only 2) running online games all at the same time. Looking at connected devices setting it appears there is up to 13 connected at any time. Although all the xboxs are the only ones that I think would demand enough bandwidth to really matter.
Would switching to the nighthawk that I already own but do not use make sense considering my situation? Or should I listen to my wife when she insist that “everything works fine for me” and just leave it be.
Zachary,
One of the main differences between Orbi and X10 (and other Nighthawk models) is that Orbi covers more range but the X10 has better Quality of Service (Dynamic QoS). If the X10 is capable to cover your whole home, then it will be a better option compared to Orbi regarding online gaming. The X10 has better way to prioritize traffic so that your Xbox will get better treatment compared to other devices (you might need to configure a few things though in X10 dashboard).
I purchased the Orbi Mesh with the “Smart Connect.” feature., Everything works great except several of my devices wont pair because of the combining of the 2G and 5 G bands with the Smart Connect. My question is if I purchase the Netgear x65 ex8000 Mesh Extender will this have the Smart Connect feature or can it be disabled to have separate 2G and 5G bands.
Yes you can disable “smart connect” on the extender device and you will have separate SSID names for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands.
The smartconnect is enabled/disabled under Settings > Wireless
Hello,
Yes the Nighthawk x6s and x4s mesh do work with the orbi in the same manner just the management if different. Keep in mind that the x6s and x4s are Orbi satellites hardware. I have tested it and it pairs up.
So you have managed to pair a nighthawk extender (like the x6s and x4s) with an Orbi router and worked?
Netgear officially supports only Orbi satellites to work with an Orbi router so if the above is true then it opens up another possibility in a home network. However, if I wanted to extend an existing orbi mesh network, I would just buy an Orbi satellite instead of Nighthawk extender so that everything would be unified (management etc).
Hi,
My network should support my rather small brick house (occasional Netflix streaming) and my gaming teenage son’s wooden cabin situated about 10 m (= 10 yd) from the house, as well as a number of IP cameras in the house and outside on the property.
Would a Nighthawk X10 in the house or an Orbi system with the router in the house and the satelite in the cabin (and possibly one or two extra, outdoors satelite(s) for the cameras) be the better choice for us? My son lobbies for the Orbi, as that would allow him a wired connection in his cabin; if the Orbi is also the better choice for the cameras, I migth indulge him.
In your situation I would go with an Orbi system instead of a single wifi router like the X10. Not because you have a large area to cover but mainly because you have diverse clients which are spread out in various places of the house (IP cameras, outside cabin etc). With the orbi you will be able to arrange the satellites in such as way so that you will provide wireless coverage to everything.
Harris
I am using router R6300 , do you prefer me to buy a EX7700 or change the system is to orbi?
I mean , do u think r6300 is too old for today and better to change a higher spec router ?
Hon,
It depends with your specific situation. How large is your home, how many wifi devices you have, what is your internet speed etc?
Definitely the R6300 is old. If you get maybe the cheapest Orbi you will be more future proof and will take you to the next decade…
I live in a 500 square feet area on HOng Kong . My router is putting in the living room , as the wall is a structure wall, so we always can’t receive a good signal when using mobile in our bedroom!
We are using 1000mb broadband and can reach 4xx mb speed in living room, but it is only 10mb in our bedroom ….
Do u mean even I add a EX7700 , my Wi-Fi speed and signal cannot be improve much due to the R6300 is too old ?Better to change to orbi ?
And what’s the diff between the cheapest and the expensive one ?or only the ports ?cuz I think ac 2200 is enough for Wi-Fi ?
Yes the Orbi AC2200 will be a good choice for you. However, don’t expect to reach the full 1000mb on your broadband speed over WiFi (with any model). You can reach the full Internet line speed only if you are connected directly to the router with cable.
Hello. Is there a problem with this set up: use Nighthawk A6 as modem and router, then connect Orbi wifi router and a plug in satellite to extend the range. I have both. Current set up: Arris SURFboard as modem with the above Orbi.
Bryan,
There is not such a model as “Nighthawk A6”. Do you mean Nighthawk X6 ? If this is what you mean, then X6 is ONLY a wifi router and can’t work as modem. You will need to keep your existing Arris SURFboard which can work as cable modem.
Regarding using a Nighthawk router together with Orbi, I wouldn’t recommend to have them both working as WiFi devices with their own SSID etc. Instead, use the Orbi only to serve wifi in the house.
Keep in mind that the stated “3 Gbps” Orbi AC3000 throughput is in fact the combined backhaul 1733 Mbps (5 Ghz) + user available 866 Mbps (5 Ghz) + user available 400 Mbps (2.4 Ghz). So, you will never achieve more than ~800 Mbps wirelessly.
Also, people testing the LAN-WAN throughput are getting less than 500 Mbps.
I’m running the Orbi Pro AC3000. Even with the satellite turned of, it has a lot better coverage than my old AirPort Extreme (the tower edition), but it seems kinda flaky at times, dropping wifi connections to various devices…
I’m able to simultaneously drive 6 BeoPlay devices in multiroom configuration and cast movies from NAS through iPhone to AppleTV at the same time without hickup though, so I’m not really complaining 🙂
Thanks Rune for your feedback.
Yes you are right. The 3Gbps is the max theoretical combined speed. The same applies to all WiFi routers though. If a router advertises AC3000 this is the combined speed of all frequency bands as I have explained in this article: https://www.tech21century.com/wifi-ac1200-vs-ac1750-vs-ac1900-ac2200-vs-ac3000/
Harris
Hi BlogAdmin
I have used WiFi routers with extenders (Netgear EX7000) before and have experienced problems. If I have wifi appliances (example being Sonos speakers) and position them around the house, where some are on the routers wifi zone and some are on the extenders wifi zone, then they wont all operate together although the SSID’s and passwords are the same.
So at the moment I have scrapped the lot and replaced it all wit an X10 in the centre of the house, generally I get good performance, however there is an area of the house which could do with a WiFi boost.
So my question is if I added an EX8000 as it is called a “Mesh” extender will i get the same compatibility issues with my Sonos or would it be mesh seamless?
Thanks for your guidance.
That’s really strange to experience such problems with the Sonos.
To be honest, I haven’t tried the exact specific setup you ask for with a Sonos to give you a definite answer. In my opinion, I would be really surprised if it doesn’t work. If all devices are in the same Local Network range (IP address range etc) then they should work fine.
I have a single story 2000 square ft home. My family runs about 15 WiFi devices. My main concern is Streaming Speed. Which router would you recommend?
Orbi rbk50 ac3000 or
Nighthawk X6 ac3200
Generally speaking, Orbi is best for wifi coverage while a single Nighthawk (like the X6) will be best for multiple devices and higher performance. If you can place the Nighthawk in an area which will cover most of the house, then get the X6. If you have many obstacles in the house, then get the RBK50.
Both the series are productive on their own, however nighthawk is series is slightly more efficient when it comes to 4K streaming and for other similar high end processes, majority of the nighthawk routers are dual ban and tri band and updating firmware and reconfiguration on these routers are bit convenient too, apart from nighthawk series reconfiguration issues are quite common on other netgear routers however I have fixed majority of the issues for my Netgear WNR614 N300 with the help of
I need to provide WiFi for a property with 2 homes and I will need 5-6 devices I think. I’ve been looking at the higher-end Nighthawk systems and at the Orbi. I want to be able to walk back and forth between the homes and throughout the homes without losing signal and on a single SSID. I can connect 3 WAPs by ethernet cable, but the rest would be relying on the dedicated wireless backhaul to communicate with the router. Can I have some WAPs wired up to ethernet and some setup as wireless mesh WAPS (no ethernet connection to router) with either of these systems? I guess I’m asking if I can have a hybrid of wired and wireless, or do all access points need to be wireless mesh or all wired up to ethernet? I’m trying to avoid running additional cables all over the outside of the house. Thanks!
Hi Mary,
The best option for coverage is to go with Orbi instead of regular Nighthawks. Yes, you can have a mixture of wired and wireless WAP although for best results and for seamless integration (one SSID etc) I’d recommend the RBK53 kit (1 router with 2 satellites) and if you need even more coverage you can get more satellites.
Check the link here (https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-Pro-WiFi-for-Small-Business/Maximum-Satellites-5-Working/td-p/1662231) where this guy connected 5 satellites (mixed of wired and wireless) and all is working fine.
Hope that helps.
Harris
Hi there,
Thanks for the post and the answers above – very helpful.
I live in a 2000 or so sq-ft house currently with aging 802.11ac Airport base stations (one currently set up as extender, as just the one is too weak to reach the borders of the upper floor).
I’m keen on making a long-term investment in wifi 6 and we have quite a lot of devices doing backups to a NAS over wifi, streaming 4k, etc – so I’m looking at higher end products hoping this serves me for a number of years.
I’m now in a position where buying a Nighhawk RAX200 and an EAX80 Wifi 6 extender is actually cheaper than buying an Orbi Wifi 6 RBK852… would I lose any functionality/simplicity from the Orbi by “simply” buying the Nighthawk and the EAX80, or would it actually be a better setup for my relatively heavy use (backups alone can sometimes be a number of GB over the network every hour)?
Thanks!
Julien,
If you buy the RAX200 and EAX80 extender you will have the same functionality as the Orbi regarding seamless roaming in the house, single SSID etc.
So yes, your suggestion is a valid replacement to an Orbi wifi 6 plus you will also have the ability to connect your NAS and also other USB storage devices if you want on the RAX200 or EAX80.
Keep in mind that you will get the full advantages of WiFi 6 only if you have the appropriate “wifi 6 ready” clients as well.
Harris
Thanks! Super helpful.
Hello! Give me an advise please what you think about Nighthawk R8500 for two appartments one above the other 170 square meters combined with sick stoney walls and 0.5 meters floor(cieling) between apartments will it be enough or Orbi RBK50 would be better?
Arman, no matter how good a single WiFi router is, the coverage will suffer if you have stone walls etc.
I recommend at least 2 router units if you want to have good coverage in the house. The RBK50 will be better.
One more question, I can’t find info about RBK50. MU-MIMO is 4X4?
Only the backhaul link (satellite to router) is 4×4.
The client-facing link is 2×2
Hi,
I need a large wifi range to cover my house, outside courtyard and pool area – probably 2500 sq metres. I have the Bouygues 4Gbox system, which is basically a Huwai E5180 giving a 2G (only) download speed of around 35 mb/sec, using the 4G satellite signal.
My question is what would be best to give me a large wifi range, without losing any of the moderate speed that I have access to?
I’m not clear whether I can change my router, as it picks up the 4G signal, so maybe the Orbi system would not be suitable? In which case would Nighthawk – less range than Orbi but would use the existing router – be the best bet?
Thanks
Tim, the Bouygues 4G box has both a 4G LTE interface (for connecting to the mobile 4G network) and also has a WiFi interface for feeding the local clients. The ideal solution is to turn-off the WiFi on the Bouygues box (I don’t know if this is possible though) and then connect an external WiFi router like the Orbi for providing the WiFi signal.
If you can’t turn-off the WiFi on the Bouygues, then you need to change its channel so that it won’t conflict with the Orbi.
Thanks that is helpful. Would the Orbi router then be connected to the Bouygues 4G box by a cat5 cable? Presumably both have the appropriate port?
Yes you must connect the Orbi router unit (the Internet/WAN port) with cat5 cable to the Bouygues device.
I need a large wifi coverage for my house, outside cameras, garage and pool area – around 4500 sq. A one-story brick house with lots of wood trimming inside. The router is in an electronic closet on one side of the house. A WiFi nightmare. I have a cable service with a fast internet speed. Using the nighthawk R8000 router and tp-link 1750 extender will give 2/3 of the house with a decent strength.
I’m looking to replacing the 1750 with the X6s mesh extender, hoping to get better coverage to the house. The location would make a difference. What is the ideal and the minimum, dbm strength should the X6s have? I’ve been reading that the X6s might be a little much for my older router. I could look into getting the X4s now to cover the middle right side of the house and driveway camera. And later get another one to cover the middle left side of the house and pool area. The way a one story 4500sqft is built, with all the wall, might be a little too much for one X6s. It might work, it’ll be better than what I have now. And is there a difference in the X4s and the X6? Thanks
Marc,
For such a big area, you will need at least 3 wifi devices for sure. A very good option is the Orbi RBK53 if you want to go at the mesh wifi direction. The other option is to keep your existing routers and add extra ones to cover the area.
The X4S is a very good option and supports MU-MIMO but because it is a router you will have separate SSID names with no seamless roaming.
Here is my suggestion. Use your existing R8000 (X6) and add two X6s (EX8000) extenders. Because the R8000 has 3 bands, it will dedicate one of the bands to connect with the extenders, thus you will also have 2 bands free on the R8000. Also, you will have a single SSID name with seamless roaming.
Which is best to buy if the price is same at Costco right now with Discount, MK63-100NAS(NETGEAR Nighthawk Whole Home Mesh WiFi 6 System, 3-pack) or RAX 78-100NAS(Nighthawk Tri-Band 8-Stream AX6200 WiFi 6 Router). have some new wif 6 laptops, not working well with old Cable Modem+Router. Actually I was also looking Wifi6 with circle parental control inbuilt within $200, but that is not available.
Satya, it depends on how large your area is. If you want to have great WiFi coverage over large area (e.g 2-3 floors), then go with the mesh system. Otherwise, if you can cover the whole house/building with a single router device (e.g single floor), then go with the AX6200 model.
Hi,
I have an RBR40 and my new home is 2,400 square ft single home. I have internet service for 1 gb.
At times my ring security system does not stay connected and is slow in activating.
Questions : Do I need a router? If not Should I upgrade my system and to what. My home is a smart home.
Lizzie, my guess is that your ring system does not have good wifi coverage. Do you have a satellite unit close to the security system? If not, you might need to get an Orbi satellite (to work with RBR40) and place it close to the ring system control panel.