Nowadays, our lives revolve around the internet. From searching for the meaning of certain words to holding business deals over the internet, this requires a huge internet WAN so that the internet connection is not hindered.
Wi-Fi mesh routers such as the Asus Zen Wi-Fi and Netgear Orbi help to cover wide areas and provide a stable network connection within an area. It should be noted that the internet is used by more than 60% of the world’s population.
Key Takeaways
- Asus Zen Wi-Fi is a mesh system that provides seamless wireless coverage throughout a home or office. At the same time, Netgear Orbi is another mesh Wi-Fi system offering similar functionality.
- Asus Zen Wi-Fi features AiProtection Pro for enhanced network security and parental controls, while Netgear Orbi offers Netgear Armor for cybersecurity and Circle Smart Parental Controls.
- Both systems support tri-band Wi-Fi and provide easy setup and management through their mobile apps. Still, their performance and features may vary depending on the specific models being compared.
Asus Zen Wi-Fi vs Netgear Orbi
The difference between Asus Zen Wi-Fi and Netgear Orbi is that Asus Zen Wi-Fi is easy to set up, while Netgear Orbi is quite critical to set up. One important difference between the two is that they both vary in cost. Asus Zen Wi-Fi is quite expensive, whereas Netgear Orbi is available for a low cost. Even though the Asus Zen Wi-fi routers are expensive, they have more protection levels in them than the Netgear Orbi, which is less costly.
The Asus Zen Wi-Fi is a mesh Wi-Fi router that comes in a pack of two units. One unit is the prime router, while the other is a secondary unit.
Asus Zen Wi-Fi mesh routers are costly but have some of the best speeds and parental control features, along with security.
Another mesh router that is highly popular and well known is the Netgear Orbi mesh router. They are known for their high-speed connectivity throughout an area.
Netgear orbi router comes in a pack of two that has LEDs coded in it, which shows the status of the internet connectivity in the devices.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Asus Zen Wi-Fi | Netgear Orbi |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Asus Zen Wi-Fi routers are not easy to set up. Users have to juggle through printed instructions to find what is required instead of the app. | It is quite easy to set up and install Netgear Orbi mesh routers. |
| Protection level | The Asus Zen Wi-Fi has great security features. | Netgear Orbi lacks the basic feature of good security due to its low price. |
| Parental control | Asus Zen Wi-Fi has a good parental control feature implying one can block sites that are deemed to be inappropriate. | Netgear orbi does not have parental control feature in it. |
| Band | Asus Zen Wi-Fi has a 2.4GHz band. | The Netgear Orbi has a 5GHz band. |
| Download speed | The Asus Zen Wi-Fi has a download speed of 271Mbps. | The Netgear Orbi has a download speed of 288Mbps. |
| Cost | Asus Zen Wi-Fi is very costly. | Netgear orbi is low in cost and cost-efficient. |
| Gaming | Asus Zen Wi-Fi has very strong internet strength, making it ideal for gaming. | Netgear orbi are not designed for gaming which is why they may not be the best for gaming. |
| Antivirus components | Asus Zen Wi-Fi has a good antivirus component. | Netgear orbi does not have a very strong antivirus component in it. Area |
| Coverage | The Asus Zen Wi-Fi covers an area of 5,500 square feet. | Netgear Orbi covers an area of 5000 square feet. |
What is Asus Zen Wi-Fi?
The Asus Zen Wi-Fi router is a mesh Wi-Fi router that comes in a two-pack. The primary router is one item, while the secondary router is another.
Asus Zen Wi-Fi mesh routers are inexpensive, but they offer some of the fastest speeds, parental controls, and security features.
The two-piece mesh router covers an area of up to 5,500 square feet and has one of the best parental control options that help you block websites that are inappropriate, according to the user. It has a memory of 512 MB and flash memory of 256 MB.
The Asus Zen Wi-Fi router provides very fast internet with a total speed of 6600Mbps, i.e., 6.6Gbps.
They come in two colors, i.e., black and white. They are small in size, with a dimension of 161 x 160 x 75mm, and can easily be hidden behind small objects. Asus Zen Wi-Fi routers are minimalistic in design.
However, their setup is not quite as easy.
What is Netgear Orbi?
The Netgear Orbi routers come in a pack of two and are known to be pocket-friendly. The routers have LEDs on the top of the oval-shaped devices that indicate the connectivity status of the devices. For example, when the LEDs glow,
- The white-The device is starting
- Blue-Everything is normal
- Amber-Connection is weak or shaky
- Magenta-Disconnected
Netgear orbi routers are less costly, which is why they lack some of the important features such as parental control and security. They have a memory of 512MB and a storage capacity of 4GB.
Although these routers are cheaply available, they cover a large area of 5000 square feet. These units are huge in size and cannot be easily hidden with a dimension of 8.9 x 6.7 x 3.1 inches.
In the year 2016, Netgear released the Orbi Wi-Fi mesh routers for homes as well as businesses.
Main Differences Between Asus Zen Wi-Fi and Netgear Orbi
- Asus Zen Wi-fi routers are quite expensive, whereas Netgear Orbi routers are less costly.
- Asus Zen Wi-Fi routers provide high-speed internet connectivity, which is why they are ideal for gaming. On the other hand, Netgear orbi is not designed for gaming, resulting in just satisfactory coverage.
- Asus Zen Wi-fi covers an area of up to 5500 square feet, while Netgear Orbi covers an area of 5000 square feet.
- Asus Zen Wi-Fi has good features in it, such as parental control, Safe Search, and various other security features, while due to the low-cost Netgear orbi lacks the above-mentioned features.
- The setup and installation of the Asus Zen Wi-Fi router are, however, not easy. The app is straightforward, and the user has to juggle through the printed documents to identify the right installation procedure. On the other hand, the setup and installation of Netgear orbi are easy.
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
