What’s the difference between Netgear Nighthawk RAX70, RAX80 and RAX120?

Netgear recently released a new Wi-Fi 6 Router with the RAX70. So, how does this model stack up against the similar RAX80 and RAX120?

You can find out in this comparison guide between the three wireless routers.

Quick Summary

When compared to the RAX80 and RAX120, the new RAX70 is a tri-band router, which gives it a speed advantage over the other two when using multiple devices.

Out of this group, the RAX120 has the largest Wi-Fi coverage area as well as supporting the most simultaneous streams.

The RAX80 is the only router of the three to come with Circle Parental Controls.

All three wireless routers have the same general Wi-Fi features, system requirements, service support and warranty coverage.

RAX70 vs. RAX80 vs. RAX120

You can take a look at Seeking Tech’s comparison table for the three Wi-Fi 6 routers below.

What’s in the Box

You can check out what’s included in each box for all three products below:

Netgear RAX70 Nighthawk Wi-Fi 6 Router:

• RAX70 router
• Ethernet cable
• Quick start guide
• Power adapter

Netgear RAX80 Nighthawk Wi-Fi 6 Router:

• RAX80 router
• Ethernet cable
• Quick start guide
• Power adapter

Netgear RAX120 Nighthawk Wi-Fi 6 Router:

• RAX120 router
• Ethernet cable
• Quick start guide
• Power adapter

Weight

The RAX120 is the heaviest of the group while the new RAX70 is the lightest. The RAX80 is in the middle.

You can check out the weight specifications below:

• RAX70: 2.58 lbs. (or 1171 g)
• RAX80: 2.82 lbs. (or 1281 g)
• RAX120: 3.00 lbs. (or 1364 g)

Minimum Dimensions

When it comes to the minimum dimensions (which is when the router is completely folded), the new RAX70 is the widest and tallest while the RAX120 is the longest.

You can take a look at the measurements for all three below:

• RAX70: 11.85 in x 8.15 in x 3.31 in (or 301 mm x 207 mm x 84 mm)
• RAX80: 10.75 in x 7.95 in x 2.83 in (or 273 mm x 202 mm x 72 mm)
• RAX120: 12.20 in x 7.48 in x 1.77 in (or 310 mm x 190 mm x 45mm)

Processor

The RAX120 has a faster quad-core CPU when compared to the other two Wi-Fi routers in this versus guide.

You can find the processor for all three devices below:

• RAX70: 1.5 GHz quad-core processor
• RAX80: 1.8 GHz quad-core processor
• RAX120: 2.2 GHz quad-core processor

Wi-Fi Bands

The Netgear RAX70 is a Tri-Band router while the RAX80 and RAX120 are Dual-Band routers.

Wi-Fi 6 Speed

Thanks to the extra band, the RAX70 offers the most potential speed out of the three. The RAX80 and RAX120 have the same speeds.

You can check out the bandwidth specs below:

• RAX70: AX6600 – Up to 6.6 Gbps (1.2 Gbps + 4.8 Gbps + 600 Mbps)
• RAX80: AX6000 – Up to 6.0 Gbps (1.2 Gbps + 4.8 Gbps)
• RAX120: AX6000 – Up to 6.0 Gbps (1.2 Gbps + 4.8 Gbps)

WiFi Coverage

The RAX70 and RAX80 can cover up to 2,500 square feet while the RAX120 can cover 40% more space at 3,500 square feet.

Simultaneous Streams

You can stream with up to 8 devices at the same time with the RAX70 and RAX80. You can stream even more devices with the RAX120 at up to 12 at the same time.

Antennas

The RAX120 includes the most antennas while the RAX80 has the least. The new RAX70 falls in the middle ground.

You can check out the number of antennas included in each product below:

• RAX70: 6
• RAX80: 4
• RAX120: 8

Ethernet Ports

When it comes to Ethernet ports, the RAX80 has more than the RAX70 and RAX120. All three routers come with a WAN port in addition to Dual Gigabit Ethernet Port Aggregation and Multi-Gig Internet Port Aggregation.

You can find a breakdown of the included ports for each product below:

RAX70 Nighthawk Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router:

• 1x WAN 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet port
• 4x LAN 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet ports
• Dual Gigabit Ethernet Port Aggregation
• Multi-Gig Internet Port Aggregation

RAX80 Nighthawk Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router:

• 1x WAN 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet port
• 5x LAN 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet ports
• Dual Gigabit Ethernet Port Aggregation
• Multi-Gig Internet Port Aggregation

RAX120 Nighthawk Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router:

• 1x WAN 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet port
• 4x LAN 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet ports
• 1x 5G/2.5G/1G Multi-Gig Ethernet LAN port
• Dual Gigabit Ethernet Port Aggregation

USB Ports

The RAX70 includes one USB 3.0 port while the other two routers in this comparison use two USB 3.0 ports. The USB ports are used for storage only.

Operating System Requirements

The three WiFi 6 routers support the following operating systems:

• Linux
• Mac OS
• UNIX
• Windows 7
• Windows 8
• Windows 10
• Windows Vista
• Windows XP
• Windows 2000

Browser Requirements

The RAX70, RAX80 and RAX120 also requires the following internet browsers:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 or higher
• Microsoft Edge
• Google Chrome 55 or higher
• Firefox 45 or higher
• Safari 10 or higher

Wi-Fi Features

The routers support the same general Wi-Fi features, which include the following:

• 1024-QAM
• Beamforming+
• MU-MIMO
• OFDMA
• Smart Connect

Voice Control

You can also use voice control for all three Netgear wireless routers as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are supported.

Nighthawk App

Furthermore, the RAX70, RAX80 and RAX120 supports the Nighthawk App. With this smartphone application, you can setup the connection, test your connection, see the connected devices, manage Netgear subscription and more.

Security Features

When it comes to security, the RAX80 is the only router to feature Circle Parental Controls. The RAX80, along with the new RAX70, support 802.11i, 128-bit AES encryption with PSK while the RAX120 doesn’t.

You can find a list of security features for the three routers below:

RAX70 Nighthawk Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router:

• 802.11i, 128-bit AES encryption with PSK
• Automatic firmware updates
• Double Firewall
• NETGEAR Armor
• Secure guest access
• VPN client support
• VPN support with OpenVPN Connect app
• WPA3

RAX80 Nighthawk Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router:

• 802.11i, 128-bit AES encryption with PSK
• Automatic firmware updates
• Circle Parental Controls
• Double Firewall
• NETGEAR Armor
• Secure guest access
• VPN client support
• VPN support with OpenVPN Connect app
• WPA3

RAX120 Nighthawk Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router:

• Automatic firmware updates
• Double Firewall
• NETGEAR Armor
• Secure guest access
• VPN client support
• VPN support with OpenVPN Connect app
• WPA3

Support

The three routers each includes a 90-day complimentary technical support if the product was purchased from a Netgear authorized reseller.

Warranty

The Netgear RAX70 Nighthawk Tri-Band-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router, Netgear RAX80 Nighthawk Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router and Netgear RAX120 Nighthawk Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router each comes with a 1-year limited hardware warranty.

Resources:

• https://www.netgear.com/home/wifi/routers/rax70/
• https://www.netgear.com/home/wifi/routers/rax80/
• https://www.netgear.com/home/wifi/routers/rax120/