Netgear Orbi RBK852 vs TP-Link Archer C5400 v2

The Netgear Orbi RBK852 is an exemplary product and one of the very best Wi-Fi Mesh Networking Kits at the $630 budget.

The TP-Link Archer C5400 v2, however, doesn't seem to have enough data available for us to be able to draw any meaningful conclusions.

The Netgear Orbi RBK852 has done great in a couple of roundups conducted by highly trusted sources that perform objective in-depth testing, like Tom's Guide, PCmag, and Laptop Mag - it earned the "Best mesh router for gamers" title from Tom's Guide, "Best Wi-Fi Mesh Network System for Voice Command" from PCmag, and "Best high-end mesh Wi-Fi router" from Laptop Mag. Any product that's held in high regard by such reliable sources should be considered by anyone that's looking for a Wi-Fi Mesh Networking Kit at this price point.

Returning to the TP-Link Archer C5400 v2, it managed to impress reviewers from two sources that are considered to be some of the most highly trusted on the internet, thanks to their in-depth hands-on testing - Tom's Guide and PCmag. It performed great in their respective Wi-Fi Mesh Networking Kit roundups - it was named "The best Wi-Fi 5 gaming router" by Tom's Guide and "Best Gaming Router for Alexa and IFTTT Users" by PCmag. That's quite an endorsement, especially coming from such high-quality sources.

We analyzed all of the review data that we could find on these two Wi-Fi Mesh Networking Kits. First, we examined sources that tested and scored both of these products - PCmag favored the TP-Link Archer C5400 v2 over the Netgear Orbi RBK852, whereas reviewers at Tom's Guide haven't shown a preference for either.

Then we took a look at which sources liked them the most - we found that the Netgear Orbi RBK852 was best received by macsources.com - it gave it a score of 9.8, whereas the TP-Link Archer C5400 v2 got its highest score of 9.2 from reviewers at PC Gamer.

Lastly, we averaged out all of the reviews scores that we could find on these two products and compared them to other Wi-Fi Mesh Networking Kits on the market. We learned that both of them performed far better than most of their competitors - the overall review average earned by Wi-Fi Mesh Networking Kits being 7.3 out of 10, whereas the Netgear Orbi RBK852 and TP-Link Archer C5400 v2 managed averages of 8.7 and 8.6 points, respectively.

Due to the difference in their prices, however, it's important to keep in mind that a direct Netgear Orbi RBK852 vs. TP-Link Archer C5400 v2 comparison might not be entirely fair - some sources don't take value for money into account when assigning their scores and therefore have a tendency to rate more premium products better.