What’s the difference between Netgear Orbi RBK50, RBK852 and RBK853?

If you are looking for a fast speed wireless setup in your home, then the Netgear Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi System series is considered to be one of the best options available. Three of the most popular models in the series is the RBK50, RBK852 and RBK853.

S,o which of these will provide the best fit for you and your home? You can check out with this comparison guide.

Quick Summary

If you have fast internet, the RBK852/RBK853 offer a significant speed boost when compared to the RBK50 with a 200% increase over 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi internet and 177.136%  increase over 5 GHz Wi-Fi internet.

There is also an 38.4882% increase to the speed of data transfer between the Orbi Router and Orbi Satellite.

The only difference between the RBK852 and RBK853 is that the RBK853 comes with two Orbi Satellites as opposed to just one. As a result, you get 50% more wireless coverage (7,500 sq. ft. vs. 5,000 sq. ft.) and 4 additional LAN Gigabit Ethernet ports.

RBK50 vs. RBK852 vs. RBK853 Comparison Chart

You can check out Seeking Tech’s comparison table between the three mesh Wi-Fi systems below.

What’s in the Box?

You can take a look at what’s included in the box of each Netgear Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi System below:

RBK50:

• 1 Orbi Router (RBR50v2)
• 1 Orbi Satellite (RBS50v2)
• 1 2m Ethernet cable
• 2 12V/3.5A power adapters
• Quick start guide

RBK852:

• 1 Orbi Router (RBR850)
• 1 Orbi Satellite (RBS850)
• 1 2m Ethernet cable
• 2 12V/3.5A power adapters
• Quick start guide

RBK853:

• 1 Orbi Router (RBR850)
• 2 Orbi Satellites (RBS850)
• 1 2m Ethernet cable
• 3 12V/3.5A power adapters
• Quick start guide

Wi-Fi Coverage

Both the Netgear Orbi RBK50 and RBK852 can provide up to 5,000 square feet of wireless coverage.

The Netgear Orbi RBK853 provides 50% more coverage over the other two products in this versus guide as it can cover 7,500 square feet.

Router CPU

The Orbi Router of the RBK50 comes equipped with a  Quad-Core 710MHz processor as a central processing unit. Both Orbi Routers of the RBK852 and RBK853 utilize the Quad-Core 2.2 GHz processor as a CPU.

Memory

In terms of memory, the Netgear Orbi RBK50 Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi System uses a combination of 512MB NAND Flash and 512MB RAM.

Both the Netgear Orbi RBK852 and RBK853 Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi Systems have same amount of NAND but double the amount of RAM.

Router Ports

All three Wi-Fi setups come with 1 WAN port on their respective routers.

The RBK50 includes 3 LAN Gigabit Ethernet ports while the RBK852 and RBK853 include 4 LAN Gigabit Ethernet ports each.

You can check out what’s included in each router below:

RBK50 Router:

• 1 WAN port
• 3 LAN Gigabit Ethernet ports

RBK852 Router:

• 1 WAN port
• 4 LAN Gigabit Ethernet ports

RBK853 Router:

• 1 WAN port
• 4 LAN Gigabit Ethernet ports

Orbi Satellite Ports

The Orbi Satellites of the RBK50 and RBK852 comes with 4 LAN Gigabit Ethernet ports.

The Orbi Satellite of the RBK853 also comes with 4 LAN Gigabit Ethernet ports; since you get two satellites, you get 8 additional LAN Gigabit Ethernet ports in total.

Orbi Router Features

The major difference, in terms of Orbi Router features, is that the RBK50 has 6 high-performance internal antennas with high-powered amplifiers.

The RBK852 and RBK853 come with 8 high-performance internal antennas with high-powered amplifiers.

All three use implicit and explicit Beamforming for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless bands.

The RBK50, RBK852 and RBK853 are also MU-MIMO capable as they will able to provide simultaneous data streaming across multiple devices.

Tri-Band Wi-Fi Speeds

The newer RBK852 and RBK853 Netgear Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi Systems are much faster when compared to the RBK50.

When it comes to a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connection to the internet, there is a 200% increase for the newer models: 400 Mbps for the RBK50 vs. 1200 Mbps for the RBK852 and RBK853.

If you want to use a 5 GHz Wi-Fi connection to the internet, there is a 177.136%  increase for the newer models: 866 Mbps for the RBK50 vs. 2400 Mbps for the RBK852 and RBK853.

For connections between the Orbi Router and Orbi Satellite, there is an 38.4882% increase for the newer models: 1733 Mbps for the RBK50 vs. 2400 Mbps for the RBK852 and RBK853.

Keep in mind that the actual performance will vary based on your internet provider in addition to how your home is set up.

Orbi Satellite Features

When it comes to the features of the Orbi Satellite, both the RBK852 and RBK853 have twice the amount of high-performance internal antennas with high-powered amplifiers when compared to the RBK50 (8 versus 4).

Otherwise all three share the same features with implicit and explicit Beamforming for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands in addition to being MU-MIMO capable.

Warranty

All three products come with a 1-year limited Netgear Hardware Warranty.

If you buy from an authorized reseller, you will also bet 24/7 basic technical support for 90 days based on the date of purchase.

Resources:

• https://www.netgear.com/orbi/rbk50.aspx
• https://www.netgear.com/orbi/rbk852.aspx
• https://www.netgear.com/orbi/rbk853.aspx