What’s the difference between the Netgear Orbi RBK753 and RBK853?

Netgear has two similar Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Systems with the RBK753 and RBK853 models. So, what are the main differences between these two products?

You can find out in this comparison guide.

Quick Summary

When compared to the RBK753 Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System, the RBK853 Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System provides faster wireless speeds, more simultaneous connected devices, more simultaneous streams, more LAN ports as well as a faster WAN port.

Aside from the speed differences, these two Tri-Band Mesh Systems are identical when it comes to coverage area, security features, smart home connectivity, system requirements in addition to support and warranty services.

If your internet service provider gives you enough speed for both of these devices, we recommend getting the RBK853 as you can take advantage of the extra bandwidth to get faster Wi-Fi speeds in addition to having more connected devices and simultaneous streams.

RBK753 vs. RBK853 Comparison Chart

You can find Seeking Tech’s comparison table for these two wireless mesh systems below.

What’s in the Box

In addition to the main router units, each product comes with two satellites, Ethernet cable, three power adapters as well as a quick starter guide.

You can find a breakdown of what’s included in each box below:

Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (RBK753):

• 1x Orbi Router (RBR750)
• 2x Orbi Satellites (RBS750)
• 1x 2-meter-long Ethernet cable
• 3x 12V/2.5A power adapters
• Quick start guide

Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (RBK853):

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

Weight

The router and satellites of the RBK853 are heavier than the router and satellites of the RBK753.

You can take a look at the weight specifications below:

• RBK753: 1.90 lb. each
• RBK853: 2.86 lbs. each

Dimensions

The router and satellite units of the RBK853 are also bigger in size when compared to the router and satellite units of the RBK753.

You can find the full measurements below:

• RBK753: 9.1 in. x 7.2 in. x 2.8 in. each
• RBK853: 10.0 in. 7.5. in. x 2.8 in. each

Wi-Fi Coverage

Both of the mesh Wi-Fi 6 systems in this versus guide provide a coverage area of up to 7,500 sq. ft.

Simultaneous Tri-band Wi-Fi Specifications

The two wireless devices also have the same simultaneous tri-band specifications:

• Radio 1: IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ax 2.4GHz—1024-QAM support
• Radio 2: IEEE 802.11a/n/ac/ax 5GHz—1024-QAM support
• Radio 3: IEEE 802.11a/n/ac/ax 5GHz—1024-QAM support

Wi-Fi Speeds

The RBK853 supports faster speeds when compared to the RBK753.

You can check out a breakdown of the speeds for each of the mesh systems below:

Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (RBK753):

• 2.4 GHz: 600 Mbps
• 5 GHz: 1200 Mbps
• 5 GHz (Dedicated Orbi Router and Satellite WiFi link): 2400 Mbps
• Total: AX4200 (4.2 Gbps)

Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (RBK853):

• 2.4 GHz: 1200 Mbps
• 5 GHz: 2400 Mbps
• 5 GHz (Dedicated Orbi Router and Satellite WiFi link): 1200 Mbps
• Total: AX6000 (6.0 Gbps)

Simultaneous Device Connections

With the RBK753, you can connect to more than 40 different devices simultaneously. You can connect to ever more, over 60 in fact, with the RBK853.

Simultaneous Streams

The RBK753 is capable of supporting 8 simultaneous streams while the RBK753 is capable of supporting 12 streams at the same time.

Router and Satellites Processor

The RBK853 router and satellites use a faster processor when compared to the RBK753 router and satellites.

You can find the process or speeds below:

• RBK753: 1.4 GHz processor
• RBK853: 2.2 GHz processor

Router and Satellites Antennas

Each router and satellite unit of the RBK753 mesh system comes with six internal antennas with amplifiers. The router and satellite unit of the RBK853 mesh system each comes with eight internal antennas with amplifiers.

Router Ports

The RBK753 and RBK853 are equipped with the same amount of LAN and WAN ports. With that said, the WAN port of the RBK853 supports faster speeds than the WAN port of the RBK753.

You can find the included router ports below:

Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (RBK753):

• 3x 10 Mbps/100 Mbps/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports
• 1x 1 Gbps Gigabit Ethernet WAN port

Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (RBK853):

• 3x 10 Mbps/100 Mbps/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports
• 1x 2.5 Gbps Multi-Gigabit Ethernet WAN port

Satellite Ports

The satellites of the RBK853 include twice as many LAN ports as the satellites of the RBK753.

You can check out the number of ports below:

RBK753:

• 2x 10 Mbps/100 Mbps/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports

RBK853:

• 4x 10 Mbps/100 Mbps/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports

General Features

The two Wi-Fi mesh systems in this comparison come with the following features:

• MU-MIMO
• Implicit & Explicit Beamforming
• WAN Link Aggregation

Security Features

The two WiFi 6 mesh systems offer the same security features, which includes the NETGEAR Armor powered by Bitdefender. With this service, you will get anti-malware, anti-virus and data protection.

You will also get standard security features such as 802.11i, 128-bit AES encryption with PSK in addition to a secured guest WiFi network.

Smart Home Connectivity

The RBK753 and RBK853 can be used with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

System Requirements

The two Netgear Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Systems have the same system requirements, which you can find below:

• High-speed Internet connection
• Connection to existing modem or gateway
• Orbi Mobile app

The Orbi Mobile a phone app is used to set up the Wi-Fi networking. You can also use this application to run speed tests, manage Netgear subscription services, see what devices are currently connected and more.

Support

Netgear offers 24/7 basic technical support for 90 days when you purchase either product from an authorized reseller.

Warranty

The NETGEAR Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (RBK753) and NETGEAR Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (RBK853) each comes with a 1-year Hardware Warranty.

Resources:

• https://www.netgear.com/home/wifi/mesh/rbk753
• https://www.netgear.com/home/wifi/mesh/rbk853