Netgear Nighthawk RS100 Review (vs. TP-Link Archer BE230): A New Level of Bare Minimum Wi-Fi 7

If you find Netgear’s Nighthawk RS200‘s $200 price tag a bit too high, the Nighthawk RS100 is a worthy alternative that costs $50 less.

As the name suggests, this is the entry-level router. However, for those happy with dual-band Wi-Fi 7 who have modest bandwdith needs, it might be the just-right hardware, rivaling the TP-Link Archer BE230 as one of the most affordable Wi-Fi 7 routers on the market. Or is it?

Here’s the bottom line: The Netgear Nighthawk RS100 is as bare minimum as it gets for a Wi-Fi 7. It’s so modest that its performance is not better than that of many Wi-Fi 6 broadcasters, making its $150 price tag not exactly a deal. But its compact design, low power consumption, and reliable performance have their own merits. Consider it if, for some reason, you don’t want to get the TP-Link Archer BE230.

Note: The Nighthawk RS100 has two variants, the RS70 the RS90. Both are similar with slightly lesser hardware specs.

Dong’s note: I first published this piece as a preview on February 12, 2025, and updated it to an in-depth review after thorough hands-on experience on March 19, 2025.

Netgear Nighthawk RS100: First Wi-Fi 7 with a single Multi-Gig port

The RS100 shares the now-familiar design of Netgear’s Wi-Fi 7 standalone routers in the Nighthawk family. It’s a slender box with internal antennas designed for vertical operation.

However, it’s much more compact, about 30% the size of the RS200. The RS100 is also super light, feeling like a hollow box in the hand. Netgear says the design offers “360-degree Wi-Fi Coverage,” which is a bit redundant because that’s simply the case for all home Wi-Fi broadcasters, regardless of their shape.

As mentioned, this is an entry-level router. It has the bare minimum specs of Wi-Fi 7, similar to those of the TP-Link Archer BE230, with a total theoretical bandwidth on both bands of 3600Mbps. Unfortunately, the RS100 has a couple of things that further the “bare minimum” notion compared to its TP-Link rival.

First, the RS100 comes with only one 2.5Gbps port, the WAN port. Without a second 2.5Gbps port that acts as a LAN port, it’s simply a Gigabit router in most cases—more on this below. Second, it has no USB port, meaning it has no network storage features.

Overall, at $150, it offers much less than its rival, which costs $50 less. However, TP-Link has been notoriously aggressive about pricing. The table below shows the hardware specs between the two, with the higher-tier RS200 as a reference.

Netgear Nighthawk RS100 vs. TP-Link Archer BE230 vs. Nighthawk RS200: Hardware specifications

	TP-Link Archer BE230 BE3600 Wi-Fi 7 Router	Netgear Nighthawk RS100 Wi-Fi 7 BE3600 Router	Netgear Nighthawk RS200 Wi-Fi 7 BE6500 Router
Model	Archer BE230	RS100	RS200
Wi-Fi Bandwidth	Dual-band BE3600		Dual-band BE6500
2.4GHz Band (channel width)	2×2 BE: Up to 688 Mbps (20/40MHz)
5GHz Band (channel width)	2×2 BE Up to 2882Mbps (20/40/80/160MHz)		4×4 BE: up to 5762Mbps (20/40/80/160MHz)
6GHz Band	None
Stream per Band	2×2		2×4
Network Standards	IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11ax, IEEE 802.11be, IPv4, IPv6
Network Features	Web user interface TP-Link Tether mobile app Generous free features and settings	Web user interface Nighthawk mobile app Limited free features and settings
Web-Based Remote Management	Yes (via Dynamic DNS)	No
Vendor Login Account	Optional (for Tether mobile app)	Optional (for the Nighthawk mobile app)
Premium Add-on	HomeShield Pro	Netgear Armor or Armor Plus
Mesh-Ready	Yes (EasyMesh)	No
Operating Mode	Router Access Point EasyMesh node	Router Access Point
Multi-Gig Port	1x 2.5Gbps WAN, 1x 2.5Gbps LAN	1x 2.5Gbps WAN	1x 2.5Gbps WAN 1x 2.5Gbps LAN
Gigabit Port	3x LAN	4x LAN	3x LAN
Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC)	N/a
Multi-Link Operation (MLO)	Yes	No
Link Aggregation	No		Yes (WAN and LAN)
Dual-WAN	No		No
USB Port	1x USB 3.0	None	1 x USB 3.0
Dimensions	13.52 x 9.25 x 3.90 in (34.34 x 23.4 x 9.9 cm)	7.2 x 4.8 x 2.6 in (18.28 x 12.2 x 6.6 cm)	9.8 x 5.9 x 4 in (24.9 x 15 x 10.2 cm)
Weight	1.32 lbs (.6 kg)	0.4 lb (380 g)	2.09 lbs (.95 kg)
Processing Power	undisclosed	2.0GHz quad-core CPU, 512MB Flash, 1GB DDR4 RAM	2.0GHz quad-core CPU, 512MB Flash, 2GB DDR4 RAM
Power Intake	110-240V
Firmware (at review)	1.0.3 Build 20240612 rel.13057(5553)	V1.0.1.78	V1.0.1.60
Power Consumption (per 24 hours)	≈ 195 Wh	≈ 105 Wh	≈ 160 Wh
US Release Date	July 23, 2024	February 2025	July 23, 2024
US Launch Price (compare current cost)	$99.99	$149.99	$229.99

The single 2.5Gbps port blue

As noted above, the Nighthawk RS100 has a single 2.5Gbps port, barely enough to qualify as a Multi-Gig router.

About this port, Netgear, in its classic marketing, says that the port helps users “get the fastest speeds available today”, which is shamelessly false—I speak from the perspective of somebody who’s lived with 10Gbps broadband for over three years. Seriously, Netgear, if that’s the case, what’s the point in making the RS200, RS300 to the RS700?

The truth is that, due to the lack of a second 2.5Gbps port, the RS100 cannot provide a multi-Gigabit connection, whether you use a wired or wireless device with it.

On the wired front, you can only connect your devices via Gigabit ports. On the Wi-Fi front, the fastest connection you’ll get from the router is via its 5GHz band, which has a theoretical speed of 2882Mbps when used with DFS channels (160MHz). In real-world usage, depending on the environment, you can expect low Gig+ at best, which is only available when you have faster-than-Gigabit broadband to test it with.

The issue is this: folks with broadband speed ranging from Gigabit to entry-level multi-Gigabit shouldn’t consider a router with a single Multi-Gig port. Instead, one of the best entry-level multi-gigabit routers on the list below is more suitable.

The point is that the single 2.5Gbps port automatically causes the Nighthawk RS100 to trail behind any Wi-Fi router with two or more Multi-Gig ports, rendering its support for Wi-Fi 7 a moot point.

No matter how fast a router’s Wi-Fi is, its real-world performance is limited by its network ports, and the Nighthawk RS100 is one of the most limited Wi-Fi 7 routers to date. I generally experienced this during the testing.

Netgear RS100: A typical Nighthawk router in features and settings

The hardware specs aside, the RS100 shares a similar feature set as the rest of the Wi-Fi 7 Nighthawk family.

Like the RS200, Netgear’s first dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router, the RS100 didn’t have MLO during my trial, and it’s unclear if this feature will be added. That’s not a huge deal, considering this feature doesn’t significantly affect clients’ connections.

After that, below is what you’ll find in this RS100, which is generally familiar with Nighthawk routers.

Nighthawk RS100: Standard web interface, mobile app coercion, thin feature set, and few Wi-Fi options

The Nighthawk RS100 has a full web user interface accessible via the default IP address, 192.168.1.1, which allows you to set it up like any standard router.

The first time you access this web interface, though, you must overcome Netgear’s Nighthawk mobile app coercion by clicking on the link at the bottom of the web page.

After that, you need to create a new admin password, set up the Wi-Fi SSIDs, and access the router’s standard network settings. Things are generally self-explanatory. You can expect the following from the RS100, which is less than in other Nighthawk routers:

• Standard LAN configuration: The customization of the DHCP server with its IP address pool. In most cases, you can just leave this in the default settings.
• Standard WAN settings: The router can connect to the Internet via a dynamic IP address (the default) or a static IP address.
• IP reservation and port forwarding: These settings allow you to give a local client a specific IP address and forward a particular port to it. They are helpful in setting up a server within the local network.
• Main Wi-Fi network: You can choose between Smart Connect or one SSID for each band. Each band includes some customization, with the option to pick the performance grade “up to” a certain speed grade—there’s no reason not to pick the highest number (default).
• Guest Wi-Fi network: One SSID for each band. You have the option to make the SSID not isolated from the primary network.

Additionally, the router comes with the following free features:

• Dynamic DNS: The support for DDNS using Netgear, NoIP, or Dyn as the domain provider.
• Traffic Meter: This is a useful bandwidth management tool that allows users to set download or upload limits and manage the monthly data cap.

It’s worth mentioning that, like the rest of Netgear routers, the RS100 doesn’t have web-based remote management. This feature was initially available in previous Nighthawk routers until it was quietly killed to encourage users to use the Nighthawk mobile app.

The underwhelming Nighthawk mobile app

Like all Nighthawk routers, the RS100’s web user interface will nag you to use the Nighthawk mobile app. This app is attached to a login account with Netgear and is required for an add-on premium feature, Netgear Armor, which includes online protection, parental controls, and VPN. Additionally, the app has the “Anywhere Access” feature that allows users to manage the router while on the go.

It’s worth noting that the app has very little access to the standard settings and features mentioned above. For example, you must use the web user interface to manage port forwarding or IP reservation.

Overall, the app feels stagnant and doesn’t always work as intended. It often doesn’t show the correct number of connected client or their actual status.

In any case, home users who just want to get their network up and running will find the Nighthawk app sufficient enough and will be happy with a Netgear router. On the other hand, advanced users will find those from Asus, TP-Link, Synology, or Ubiquiti much better alternatives in terms of features and usability. The fact that their web user interface can be configured to be accessible via the Internet alone is a considerable management advantage.

Nighthawk RS100: Slow but reliable performance

I tested the Nighthawk RS100 for over a week, and, as expected, it didn’t have anything to wow, though it passed my 3-day stress test without any disconnection. And thanks to my 10Gbps broadband, I was able to get Gig+ performance reform in certain situations.

In terms of throughput speeds, compared with other low-end Wi-Fi 7 routers, the RS100 is among the slowest. However, as shown in the charts, it wasn’t consistently slower than its rival, the TP-Link Archer BE230.

The Nighthawk RS100’s Wi-Fi coverage is modest, too, about the same as that of the TP-Link. So, if you have a home of around 1,600 ft² (135 m²) or slightly larger, it will likely deliver good signals to every corner when placed at the center. It’s always tricky to figure out the Wi-Fi range, and your experience will vary, but if you have a home of around 1,500 ft² (≈140 m²), maybe a little larger, and place it at the center, it likely will be able to blanket the entire place.

The only thing decidedly great about the Nighthawk RS100 is that it has no internal fan and is, therefore, completely silent during operation. Additionally, it produced no heat in my testing—it didn’t even feel warm to the touch—and used little energy, as shown in the specs table above.

Conclusion

The Netgear Nighthawk RS100 is an ultra-modest router in hardware specs with matching real-world performance. In real-world testing, it proved to be reliable, cool, quiet and consumed little energy. So, it’s not a bad router.

Unfortunately, it’s so modest on all counts that its seemingly low $150 price tag is still too high when compared to alternatives, such as the TP-Link Archer BE230. That said, for the best bang for your buck, wait for its price to be lowered by half or pick another option among other dual-band Wi-Fi 7 options. They all have more to offer in Multi-Gig ports alone.