Most households now have Wi-Fi because it is already considered a necessity. This is because more and more services are now transitioning online and for you to continue reaping the benefits of these services, you need to have a reliable internet connection at home. Thus, if you don’t have Wi-Fi in your home yet, perhaps this is the best time for you to check out how much Wi-Fi currently costs and consider the plan that best suits your budget.

After scrutinising the cost of having Wi-Fi installed in your home, make sure that you go for the best provider who will be able to suit your internet needs. In parallel to this, you also need to familiarise yourself with the equipment that you need to use. For instance, two of the most essential gears that you need to have is a modem and a router. The former is the one responsible for bringing the internet into your home, while the latter will direct this connection to the devices that you use to access the internet.

If you are in the process of choosing the best router, below is a comprehensive review of Netgear’s Nighthawk series.

Best Value: Netgear Nighthawk X6 R8000

Overall, the Netgear Nighthawk X6 R8000 is considered to be the best in value because of its solid tri-band Wi-Fi and simplified setup. The tri-band Wi-Fi paves the way for increased performance, as well as reliable signal strength. Setting up this router also proves to be a breeze because of a downloadable Netgear Up smartphone app that is available for both iOS and Android devices. Though it has a large footprint, it poses easy guest access. It can also be integrated with Amazon Alexa for voice command prompts.

Best Splurge: Netgear Nighthawk RAX200

If you want to invest in a state-of-the-art router, then you should go for a Netgear Nighthawk RAX200. This is because it promises a performance that is worth investing in, including a Wi-Fi 6 protocol support that can provide a speed of up to 16Gbps, as well as a tri-band Wi-Fi with 12 streams. It also has advanced wireless features but be prepared to spend on this router because it is quite expensive. Just keep in mind that one downside of this router is that there are only a few devices with the capability to take advantage of the full benefits of this router. 

Best Budget: Netgear Nighthawk R6700

For a minimal amount, you will be able to enjoy a solid 802.11ac performance from Netgear’s Nighthawk R6700 router. It even has advanced features like QoS, but it is comparably weaker at 2.4GHz speeds. Alongside this, it can also support up to a dozen devices simultaneously and you will find it quite a breeze to set up this router because of a downloadable app that can walk you through the process. This router also offers parental controls, as well as options to create a guest network or update the router with the latest firmware.

Best Speed: Netgear Nighthawk RAX80

If you need amazingly fast internet speeds, then the excellent performance of Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 will suit your needs. It can also manage a large device network efficiently such that even if your computers and mobile devices aren’t Wi-Fi 6 ready, this router can still provide up to 2,500 square feet of coverage because of the quadruple antennas encased in it. With its sleek design, it is capable of Wi-Fi 6 support but you need to shell out a hefty sum for this router. Perhaps because of its sleek design, the Ethernet ports are a little too close too.

Best for Gaming: Netgear Nighthawk XR500

If you intend to have an internet connection to support your gaming entertainment, then Netgear Nighthawk XR500 can perfectly suit your needs. This is because this router is very configurable for gamers and it also boasts of an excellent 2.4GHz performance. It can also be easily set up but the drawback is that this router doesn’t come cheap. There are also instances wherein it exhibits poor long-range performance. For this reason, just keep this router close to the computer that you are using to access the games that you love to play. 

Best for Streaming: Netgear Nighthawk X4S

If you and your household members love to binge-watch movies and TV series by streaming these on your devices, then the Netgear Nighthawk X4S router is best for you. This is because of the great range that this router offers as well as its excellent 5GHz performance. The range of this router can even be further expanded when the four high-gain external antennas are paired with Netgear's Beamforming + technology. From there, you will be able to experience stable 4K video streaming because of this router’s Dynamic QoS, as well as its MU-MIMO technology. It also has dual USB 3.0 ports, although the USB performance is not considered optimal.

Best for Media: Netgear Nighthawk X10

For people who constantly upload or download various forms of media, then the Netgear Nighthawk X10 proves to be the perfect router as this is one of the fastest routers available in the market today. This router includes a 10Gbps SFP+ port for fibre and NAS connections, as well as ultrafast 802.11ad support. In parallel to this, it also has an integrated Plex Media Server but your devices need to support 802.11ad for maximum speeds.

The Bottom Line

Make sure to understand what you will use the internet for because, in this way, you will be able to get the perfect internet plan that suits your needs. Alongside this, you will also be able to pick the right equipment that will ensure that you can access the internet regardless of the device that you are using. In doing so, you are guaranteed that you are maximising every penny that you have spent to get a Wi-Fi set up in your home.