Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 (R7000) vs Google WiFi

This AC1900 router tops out at a theoretical 1.9 Gbps of throughput. In real life testing at 5 feet the router’s throughput is 616.8Mbps over the 5 GHz band and 121.6Mbps over the 2.4GHz band. At 140 feet it maintains combined throughput of 252.4 Mbps.

To achieve this result, it uses beamforming technology, which means that the router determines where the device is located and focuses a better signal towards that specific device.

To make greater use of the powerful component hardware, owners can easily flash any of the popular third-party firmwares like TomatoUSB, DD-WRT, AsusWRT and more using the existing upgrade page in the stock web-based control panel.

The Nighthawk achieves file transfer rates of 231.2 Mbps over USB 3.0 and 224 Mbps over USB 2.0. This means that you can connect an external hard disk drive to this router and share a 2 GB file over a Wi-Fi network in just over a minute.

Nighthawk offers two different types of traffic prioritization tools. Traffic that is sent out by the user can be prioritized for gaming, while incoming traffic can be prioritized for improved video streaming.

Google WiFi uses built in software, called Network Assist technology, that works behind the scenes to deliver the best possible WiFi connection. When you're walking around the house, Network Assist seamlessly transitions your device to the closest WiFi point for faster connection. It also automatically connects your device to the fastest available band based on your location.

The Google WiFi app makes setup very simple. Once you've downloaded the app, you'll have to scan the QR code on the bottom of the WiFi point, which creates a secure connection between the device and your phone. After that all you have to do is to enter the name and password and the app will do everything else in the background.

Each hardware unit is called a WiFi point and you can have up to three units. One unit will cover 1,500 square feet, and three units will cover 4,500 square feet. So depending on the size of your home you can choose how many WiFi points you need and place them where they are needed the most.

The Google Wifi app for Android and iOS allows complete monitoring and control of your network in a user friendly app. You can see which devices are connected and how much bandwidth each is using. You can prioritize devices for faster speeds when it matters most, even pause your kids' internet for dinner time.