Experts recommend Motorola MB8600 more than Netgear CM500
As of 2 Apr 2024, experts prefer Motorola MB8600 over Netgear CM500, but both Modems have solid expert endorsements.
As per this month's meta ranking, Motorola MB8600 received 2 recommendations: from HighSpeedInternet (20 Dec 2023) and Networks Hardware (2 Jul 2022). By contrast, Netgear CM500 received only 4 recommendations from Lifewire (26 Feb 2024), Networks Hardware (2 Jul 2022) Tom's Guide (26 Mar 2024) and 1 other.
| Rank | Change | Price | Modem | Popular Mechanics  | Wirecutter  | Lifewire  | approvedmodems.org  | HighSpeedInternet  | BestReviews  | Networks Hardware  | Tom's Guide  | PC Guide  | The Strategist  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | +1 | $150 |  Motorola MB8600 The Motorola MB8600 modem is a reliable and efficient device that supports high-speed internet up to 1 Gbps, but lacks built-in Wi-Fi and has poor customer support. | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | - |
| 6 | -3 | $50 |  Netgear CM500 The Netgear CM500 modem offers high-speed internet access, easy setup and management, parental controls, and compatibility with major cable internet service providers, but its reliability has received mixed reviews and users should consider purchasing an extended warranty. | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | 3 | 3 | - | 6 |
Curious to see this month's entire Modems ranking? It's here
Endorsement summary:
- On 2 Jul 2022 Networks Hardware ranked Motorola MB8600 as #1 and Netgear CM500 as #3
Rank Modem Comment #1 out of 9 Motorola MB8600 Best Overall... ... ... #3 out of 9 Netgear CM500 Best Budget-Friendly... ... ... Source: networkshardware.com - On 20 Dec 2023 HighSpeedInternet ranked Motorola MB8600 as #1
Rank Modem Comment #1 out of 5 Motorola MB8600 Best overall... ... ... Source: www.highspeedinternet.com - On 26 Feb 2024 Lifewire ranked Netgear CM500 as #6
Rank Modem Comment ... ... ... #6 out of 6 Netgear CM500 Basic OptionSource: www.lifewire.com - On 26 Mar 2024 Tom's Guide ranked Netgear CM500 as #3
Rank Modem Comment ... ... ... #3 out of 5 Netgear CM500 Best value cable modem... ... ... Source: www.tomsguide.com - On 18 Feb 2021 The Strategist ranked Netgear CM500 as #6
Rank Modem Comment ... ... ... #6 out of 9 Netgear CM500 Best cable modem for streaming video on multiple devices... ... ... Source: nymag.com
After counting and adding up the 60 expert endorsements of the April rankings, Motorola MB8600 outranks Netgear CM500. This is not to say that Netgear CM500 is a bad option. Like Motorola MB8600, it is recommended by experts, but less.
Motorola MB8600 
Netgear CM500 Customers like Motorola MB8600 somewhat more
At ReviewFinder we prefer to focus on professional product reviews, because customer reviews can be disproportionately affected by unrelated factors such as delivery, specific seller listing problems, and, of course, fake reviews. With that said, below is the summary of consumer sentiment.
Netgear CM500
CS of 10 is similar to a 4.8 star review, CS of 0 is similar to a 2 star review.
Motorola MB8600, the pricier option, tends to get more favorable reviews than Netgear CM500.
As can be seen in the chart above, median best-selling modem receives a consumer score of 7.4 (good). Both Motorola MB8600 and Netgear CM500 receive customer reviews that average out above that median threshold.
| Motorola MB8600 |
In comparison:
8.3 Great
|
| Netgear CM500 | |
| Median best-selling Modem |
Motorola MB8600 is more popular than Netgear CM500
It's fairly safe to say that Motorola MB8600 is a more popular modem than Netgear CM500, based on its 20,000+ reviews. Popularity is determined based on product sales. Note that older and cheaper products tend to sell more.
To consider
| Table: Top compared alternatives for Motorola MB8600 and Netgear CM500 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Netgear CM1000 | $167 |
In comparison:
8.6 Great
| 4 expert recommendations | Better Reviews |
 | Arris Surfboard S33 | $180 |
In comparison:
8.3 Great
| 6 expert recommendations | |
 | Arris SURFboard SB8200 | $129 |
In comparison:
Arris SURFboard SB8200 ranks #17 out of 97. Very high levels of customer satisfaction. Go to rankings 8.3 Great
| 6 expert recommendations | |
 | Arris Surfboard SVG2482AC | $151 |
In comparison:
Arris Surfboard SVG2482AC ranks #15 out of 97. Very high levels of customer satisfaction. Go to rankings 8.3 Great
| No expert recommendations | |
| Rank | Change | Price | Modem | Popular Mechanics | Wirecutter | Lifewire | approvedmodems.org | HighSpeedInternet | BestReviews | Networks Hardware | Tom's Guide | PC Guide | The Strategist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +1 | $180 |  Arris Surfboard S33 The Arris Surfboard S33 is a high-speed cable modem with combined download speeds up to 3.5 Gbps, 32 downstream x 8 upstream DOCSIS 3.0 bonded channels, and two Ethernet ports, making it ideal for users who require fast and reliable internet connectivity for gaming, streaming, and other data-intensive activities. | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | 4 | - |
| 2 | -1 | $300 |  Netgear Nighthawk CM2000 The Netgear Nighthawk CM2000 is a high-speed cable modem that is compatible with all major cable internet providers, featuring DOCSIS 3.1 technology, 32x8 channel bonding, a powerful 1.5GHz dual-core Broadcom BCM3390 processor, and a 2.5 Gbps ethernet port, making it ideal for online gaming, streaming, and other high-bandwidth activities. | 5 | - | 2 | - | 3 | - | 2 | - | 1 | - |
| 3 | +1 | $129 |  Arris SURFboard SB8200 The Arris SURFboard SB8200 is a high-performance cable modem that delivers fast and stable internet speeds of up to 2 Gbps, making it ideal for activities such as online gaming, streaming 4K video, or downloading large files, but requires a separate wireless router for Wi-Fi capability. | - | - | 5 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | 9 |
| 4 | +1 | $167 |  Netgear CM1000 The Netgear CM1000 modem is a high-performance device that supports fast and reliable internet connectivity for multiple users and is compatible with major cable internet providers. | - | - | - | 5 | - | 4 | - | - | 3 | 1 |
| Show all rows | |||||||||||||
Expert reviews [9]
- with a score: 4
- without a score: 5
| Highest score by Don't Waste Your Money | 88 |
| Average score based on 9 reviews | 84 |
| Lowest score by approvedmodems.org | 76 |
Score distribution:
| 80-100 | |
| 60-80 | |
| 40-60 | |
| 20-40 | |
| 0-20 |
Expert reviews [8]
- with a score: 4
- without a score: 4
| Highest score by Approved Modems | 90 |
| Average score based on 8 reviews | 80 |
| Lowest score by approvedmodems.org | 62 |
Score distribution:
| 80-100 | |
| 60-80 | |
| 40-60 | |
| 20-40 | |
| 0-20 |
- Top Internet Speeds for all Multi-gigabit Speed Tiers - Wirecutter recommends this model as the best cable modem for people using Gigabit Internet plans. Built-in DOCSIS 3.1 and DOCSIS 3.0 32x8 capabilities give top Internet speeds for all cable Internet services.
- Read more
- Save monthly rental fees: Model CM500 replaces your cable modem, saving you up to $168/yr in equipment rental fees.
- Speeds by carrier: Spectrum (up to 400Mbps), Xfinity (up to 200Mbps), Cox (up to 150Mbps).
- Read more
Motorola MB8600 is a top selling and one of the more expensive options. It's a #1 bestseller in modems category and has dozens of popular alternatives in the same price range, such as Hitron CGNM-2250 or ARRIS SURFboard SBG8300 .
Motorola MB8600 is $50 more expensive than an average modem ($99.99).
Netgear CM500 is a very popular option at the bottom of the price range. It's in the top 3 bestselling modems and has dozens of popular alternatives in the same price range, such as Motorola Surfboard SB5101U or Arris Touchstone DG1670A .
Netgear CM500 is $50 cheaper than the average modem ($99.99).
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