Netgear Orbi AX4200 vs Linksys MX4200: Is Your Home Wired?

This Netgear Orbi AX4200 (model RBK752) vs Linksys MX4200 matchup boils down to one important factor, which is whether or not you have gotten your home wired. Sure, both will work in a fully wireless setup but at a different performance level. Feeling so indecisive? Read on!

(Note: Technically, the 2-pack Linksys has the model MX8400 number. But to avoid confusion, I’ll call it that of a single unit instead, which is MX4200.)

Netgear Orbi AX4200 vs Linksys MX4200: Similarities

These two share the same hardware grade, which is tri-band with two different 5GHz bands — 2400Mbps (5GHz) + 1200Mbps (5GHz) + 576Mbps (2.4GHz). So neither supports the venerable 160MHz channel width. In other words, they are of relatively modest Wi-Fi 6 specs.

Other than that, in a mesh setup, both come in identical-looking upstanding hardware units. Neither has a multi-gig port. And that’s about it. Their similarities end there.

Netgear Orbi AX4200 vs Linksys MX4200: Hardware specifications

As a mesh system, the Orbi comes in two distinctive hardware units, router and satellite. The Linksys, however, uses identical routers. In a mesh, one works as the main router, and the rest function as satellite units.

Full Name	Orbi AX4200 Whole Home Tri-band Mesh WiFi 6 System  (model RBK752)	Linksys Velop Tri-Band  AX4200 Whole-Home Mesh Router
Hardware	Router / Satellite  RBR750 / RBS750	MX4200
Mesh Availability	Router + Satellite(s)	Multiple identical routers
Dimensions (each unit)	9.1 x 7.2 x 2.8 in  (23.11 x 18.28 x 7.11 cm)	4.5 x 4.5 x 9.6 inches  (11.43 x 11.43 x 24.38 cm)
Weight (each unit)	1.9 lbs (862 g)	2.5 lbs (1.33 kg)
Wi-Fi Specs	AX4200	AX4200
5GHz-1 Band	2×2: Up to 1200Mbp	2×2: Up to 1200Mbp
5GHz-2 Band	4×4: Up to 2400Mbps	4×4: Up to 2400Mbps
2.4GHz Band	2×2: Up to 574Mbps	2×2: Up to 574Mbps
Dedicated Backhaul Band	5GHz-2 (Permanent)	Dynamic
Wired Backhaul Support	Yes (5GHz-2 still not available to clients)	Yes
Processors	Quad-core 1.4 GHz CPU	Quad-core 1.4 GHz CPU
Memory	512 MB NAND flash, 1 GB RAM	512MB of flash, 512MB of RAM
AP (bridge mode) Support	Yes  (Single router or a system)	Yes  (Single router or a system)
Channel Width Support	20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz	20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz
Backward Compatibility	802.11b/g/n/ac	802.11b/g/n/ac
Mobile App	Netgear Orbi (optional)	Linksys (forced)
Web Interface	Yes	Yes
Gigabit Port	RBR750: 1x WAN, 3x LAN RBS750: 2x LAN	1x WAN, 3x LAN
Link Aggregation	WAN only (WAN+LAN1)	WAN only (WAN+LAN1)
Price (at launch)	$450 (2-pack),  $515 (3-pack)	$250 (1-pack),  $499.99 (3-pack)

Netgear Orbi AX4200 vs Linksys MX4200: Differences

There are a lot of differences between these two.

Hardware availability and ports

The first thing is its availability. You can buy the Linksys as a single router (model MX4200), a 2-pack (MX8400), or a 3-pack (MX12600). And of course, you can also add more individual units to form a mesh of your choice.

In any case, the hardware units are the same — it’s a tri-band Gigabit router that comes with one WAN port and three LAN ports, plus a USB 3.0 port. As a result, each Linksys unit can host an external hard drive for its NAS feature.

The Linksys setup process can take a long time, however, partly because each hardware piece is an individual router out of the box. To form a mesh, you must link them together one by one.

The Orbi, on the other hand, is available in two types of hardware units. There’s the RBR750, which is a tri-band Gigabit router that also has one WAN port and three LAN ports. And then there’s the RBS750 satellite unit.

In a mesh setup, you need one router and another (or more) satellite unit. For now, you must start with a 2-pack (or a 3-pack) and add additional individual satellites to scale up your mesh. The two hardware units are pre-synced in a 2- or 3-pack, making the initial setup job a walk in the park.

By the way, the Orbi router can never work as a satellite. Also, the satellite unit has just two Gigabit LAN ports, and neither the router nor the satellite has a USB port. So, there’s no built-in network-attached storage at all.

In return, the RBR750 can combine its WAN and LAN1 port into a 2Gbps WAN connection, which Linksys doesn’t have.

Backhaul: Dedicated vs dynamic vs wired

While both solutions are tri-band — they can use one band as the dedicated backhaul to link the hardware units — they handle this quite differently.

The Orbi dedicates one of its 5GHz bands, the 2.4Gbps 5GHz-2, as the backhaul band at all times. This band is never available to clients. This is partly why the RBR75 is not available as a standalone router. Instead, you can only find it in a multi-unit pack.

If you use it as a single router, though, it’ll work like a dual-band broadcaster. And in a mesh with wired backhauls, the 5GHz-2 band is still unavailable to clients to connect.

For this reason, the Orbi is generally more suitable for a fully wireless setup, where you don’t have the option of wired backhaul.

The Linksys, on the other hand, uses dynamic backhaul — it uses any of its three bands as backhaul at any given time. As a result, all of these bands are also generally available to clients. That’s a good thing.

The catch is that the backhaul link can get pretty slow, especially when you place the hardware units far enough to pick the 2.4GHz band as backhaul. So, in a fully wireless setup, the Linksys can be quite slow.

However, if you choose to use network cables to link the hardware, the Linksys will have much higher bandwidth than the Orbi, thanks to the fact all of its bands are now available for clients to connect.

Mobile app and management

Both of these Wi-Fi solutions come with an optional mobile app and a full web interface. I prefer those of the Netgear, however, because there are more things to do. The Netgear also supports Armor protection if you’re willing to opt for a $70/year subscription.

Netgear Orbi AX4200 vs Linksys MX4200: Performance

I tested both of these solutions (as well as all others) in a wireless setup, and you’ll note the Orbi Satellite unit edged out the Linksys’s quite significantly thanks to its strong, dedicated backhaul.

As a single router, the Linksys generally did better, likely because its fast 2.4Gbps 5GHz band was available to clients. This band of the Orbi worked permanently as the dedicated backhaul.

If you choose to use either in a wired setup, expect the satellite units’ performance to be the same as their respective routers’. In this case, the Linksys would be a clear winner.

By the way, the Velop did well in my testing when host external storage devices — each of its hardware units can handle one, as you can find here. Again, you won’t find this feature in the Orbi since it has no USB port.

Netgear Orbi AX4200 vs Linksys MX4200: Ratings

Which is a better choice?

From the performance’s point of view, both the Linksys MX4200 and Orbi RBK752 will make excellent mesh systems for a large home.

If you only need to share a sub-Gigabit broadband connection, either will do, and you probably experience no difference between the two.

However, if you want a fast full wireless mesh system, the Orbi is definitely a better choice. Its dedicated backhaul will make it worth every penny.

On the other hand, if you have wired your home with network cables, Linksys will make a much better choice since you’ll be able to use all of its three bands for clients.

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