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Neither Asus RT-AC86U nor Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 were recommended by experts this month
On 2 Apr 2024 (24 days ago) we went through 71 Router expert endorsements , however neither Asus RT-AC86U nor Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 were included in any of those recommendations. Since neither Router received a single endorsement, as far as expert recommendations go, it's technically a tie. We do, however, recommend taking a look at TP-Link Archer AX50 or other critically acclaimed Routers of this month.
For reference, TP-Link Archer AX50 received 3 endorsements this month, from Laptop Mag (12 Apr 2022), Business Insider (18 Apr 2022) and Lifewire (13 Mar 2024).
Curious to see this month's entire Routers ranking? It's here
Asus RT-AC86U 
Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 Customers like Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 and Asus RT-AC86U about the same
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 Nighthawk AC2100
CS of 10 is similar to a 4.8 star review, CS of 0 is similar to a 2 star review.
Both Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 and Asus RT-AC86U have very similar great customer reviews.
As can be seen in the chart above, median best-selling router receives a consumer score of 7.8 (good). Both Asus RT-AC86U and Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 receive customer reviews that average out above that median threshold.
| Asus RT-AC86U |
In comparison:
8.7 Great
|
| Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 |
In comparison:
Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 ranks #26 out of 157. Very high levels of customer satisfaction. Go to rankings 8.7 Great
|
| Median best-selling Router |
Asus RT-AC86U is more popular than Netgear Nighthawk AC2100
It's fairly safe to say that Asus RT-AC86U is a more popular router than Netgear Nighthawk AC2100, based on its 4,000+ 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 Asus RT-AC86U and Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 | $259 | 2 expert recommendations | ||
 | TP-Link Archer AX50 | $95 | 3 expert recommendations | Cheaper More Popular | |
 | Synology WRX560 | $220 |
We don't yet have enough review information for Synology WRX560 N/A
| 2 expert recommendations | |
 | TP-Link Deco X20 | $135 |
In comparison:
8.7 Great
| 2 expert recommendations | More Popular |
| Rank | Change | Price | Router |
Digital Trends  | Tom's Guide  | Laptop Mag  | TechRadar  | Business Insider  | T3  | How To Geek  | Wirecutter  | Lifewire  | PCMag  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | $95 |  TP-Link Archer AX50 | - | - | 3 | - | 2 | - | - | - | 2 | - |
| 2 | - | $321 |  Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300 | 1 | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | - | $48 |  Google Nest WiFi | - | - | 2 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | +1 | $259 |  Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 4 | - | - | - |
| Show all rows | |||||||||||||
Expert reviews [17]
- with a score: 9
- without a score: 8
| Highest score by TechRadar | 100 |
| Average score based on 17 reviews | 86 |
| Lowest score by Gadget Review | 73 |
Score distribution:
| 80-100 | |
| 60-80 | |
| 40-60 | |
| 20-40 | |
| 0-20 |
- Connector Type : USB.Antenna: External detachable antenna x 3. Internal antenna x 1..Memory : 256 MB Flash, 512 MB RAM
- Dual-band (2.4 plus 5 GHz) AC2900 wireless router with the latest 802. 11AC MU-MIMO technology for data transfer speeds up to 2900 Mbps
- Read more
- This refurbished product is tested and certified to look and work like new. The refurbishing process includes functionality testing, basic cleaning, inspection, and repackaging. The product ships with all relevant accessories, and may arrive in a generic box
- Read more
Asus RT-AC86U is a very popular and one of the more expensive options. It's in the top 3 bestselling routers and has dozens of popular alternatives in the same price range, such as Eero Pro 6E or Linksys AC1900 .
Asus RT-AC86U is $103.64 more expensive than an average router ($146.35).
Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 is a well-known option in the middle of the routers price range. It's in the top 3 bestselling routers and has dozens of popular alternatives in the same price range, such as Ubiquiti Edgerouter Pro or Bitdefender Box 2 .
Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 is $36.92 cheaper than the average router ($146.35).
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