Nest Wifi Professional vs. Eero Professional 6E: Which Wi-Fi 6E Mesh Router Is Finest?
Upgrading to a mesh router that makes use of a number of units to relay a greater Wi-Fi sign all through your own home is fairly near a no brainer at this level, particularly for those who stay in a big, multistory house. You’ve got obtained a lot of choices, together with two notable new techniques from Google and Amazon: the Nest Wifi Professional and the Eero Professional 6E, respectively.
Every system guarantees top-of-the-line mesh efficiency because of the addition of Wi-Fi 6E, a brand new designation for current-gen, Wi-Fi 6 units which can be geared up to ship alerts within the not too long ago opened 6GHz band. Each promise to quarterback your good house, too, with full help for the business’s new common good house customary Matter and different options geared toward house automation lovers.
So which system is the higher of the 2? Certain sufficient, we have simply completed testing them out side-by-side, and we have got loads of knowledge to share. Let’s take a better have a look at how every system carried out, and what separates them. (For extra, try how one can arrange your mesh router for the perfect efficiency, and the perfect location on your Wi-Fi router.)
Google’s Nest Wifi Professional builds on the earlier model of Nest Wifi by including in considerably sooner speeds with full help for Wi-Fi 6E. That implies that it might probably join different Wi-Fi 6E units over the newly unlocked 6GHz band along with the prevailing 2.4 and 5GHz bands. That is a superb factor — the 6GHz band options greater than twice as a lot bandwidth because the 5GHz band, with room for a number of 160MHz channels of visitors, and with no previous-gen Wi-Fi units within the combine, that visitors will get pleasure from a major discount in interference.
The opposite large change with Nest Wifi Professional is that there are not Google Assistant good audio system constructed into the extenders. Actually, the Nest Wifi Professional does not function separate extender units in any respect. In contrast to the unique Nest Wifi, every Nest Wifi Professional system is similar and interchangeable, so any of them can function the primary router of the system. Available now in your selection of 4 colours, the Nest Wifi Professional prices $200 for a single system, $300 for a two-pack or $400 for a three-pack. Learn our Nest Wifi Professional evaluation.
Velocity score: AXE5400
Construct: Tri-band (2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz)
Wi-Fi customary: 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6E)
Vary: 2,200 sq. ft
Processor: Twin-core 64-bit ARM CPU
Reminiscence: 1GB RAM, 4GB flash
Encryption: WPA3
Ethernet jacks: Two
Ethernet/WAN pace: 1Gbps
Dimensions (WHD): 4.61 x 5.12 x 3.35 inches
Constructed-in Thread radio: Sure
Constructed-in Zigbee radio: No
Constructed-in good audio system: No
Backwards compatibility: No
Colours: Snow, fog, linen, lemongrass
Value: $200 (1-pack), $300 (2-pack), $400 (3-pack)
CNET evaluation rating: 7.7
Launched in 2022, the Eero Professional 6E is the quickest and most succesful mesh router the Amazon-owned model has ever launched, and it is the one one which provides Wi-Fi 6E help into the combo. Starting at $200 for a single system, $320 for a two-pack or $440 for a three-pack, the Eero Professional 6E definitely is not low-cost, however it nonetheless prices significantly lower than top-of-the-line Wi-Fi 6E mesh choices just like the Netgear Orbi AXE11000 or the Linksys Velop Atlas Max 6E. The Eero Professional 6E saved up with techniques like these in our at-home checks, and even outperformed them by some metrics.
With help for Amazon’s Alexa and built-in radios for Zigbee and Thread, the Eero Professional 6E is positioned properly to function a wise house centerpiece. That is notably true in Alexa households, however the Zigbee radio lets it join with all kinds of devices like good lights and good locks no matter which voice assistant you favor, and the Thread radio permits it to facilitate transmissions between Thread-based devices that help Matter. All of that, plus backwards compatibility with older Eero units and a multi-gig WAN port that permits for wi-fi speeds in extra of a single gigabit, make this technique an interesting and forward-looking house networking improve. Learn our Eero Professional 6E evaluation.
Velocity score: AXE5400
Construct: Tri-band (2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz)
Wi-Fi customary: 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6E)
Vary: 2,000 sq. ft
Processor: 1GHz dual-core processor
Reminiscence: 1GB RAM, 4GB flash
Encryption: WPA3
Ethernet jacks: Two
Ethernet/WAN pace: 2.5Gbps
Dimensions (WHD): 5.5 x 1.9 x 5.5 inches
Constructed-in Thread radio: Sure
Constructed-in Zigbee radio: Sure
Constructed-in good audio system: No
Backwards compatibility: Sure
Colours: White
Value: $200 (1-pack), $320 (2-pack), $440 (3-pack)
CNET evaluation rating: 8.0
Them’s the specs. Now, let’s dive a bit of deeper into how these two techniques actually stack up.
The brand new Nest Wifi Professional mesh router is available in your selection of 4 colours.
Design aesthetics: Nest notches a colourful win
Mesh routers are supposed to be positioned out within the open all through your own home, as a result of wi-fi efficiency plummets for those who stuff the factor in a closet or the again of a junk drawer. In the event you’re utilizing them proper, you are going to be seeing these items, and that implies that the aesthetics matter.
Within the case of Nest and Eero, the aesthetics actually come all the way down to minimalist versus tremendous minimalist. Neither one bombards you with antennas or flashing lights. As a substitute, they each disguise the {hardware} on the within, which makes every of the designs quite a bit much less conspicuous. Nest provides your selection of 4 colours, although, whereas the all-white Eero Professional 6E sticks to the identical protected, considerably bland design playbook of each Eero technology that got here earlier than it. It is not an eyesore by any stretch, however it is not doing as a lot to justify a spot out within the open in your lounge or bed room as Nest is.
Winner: Nest Wifi Professional
Every Eero Professional 6E system comes with an Ethernet jack that is able to dealing with incoming wired speeds as excessive as 2.5Gbps. That makes it a greater choose than Nest Wifi Professional for multi-gig web plans.
{Hardware}: Eero’s backwards compatibility and multi-gig jack give it the sting
Splashy coloration selections apart, let’s speak in regards to the insides of those mesh techniques. With matching AXE5400 builds providing high speeds of two.3 gigabits per second (2,300Mbps) on the 5 and 6GHz bands, plus a 2.4GHz band with high speeds of 800Mbps, the Eero Professional 6E and Nest Wifi Professional appear comparably quick, however there are some finer factors price inspecting.
For starters, every Eero Professional 6E system comes with an Ethernet jack that is able to accepting incoming wired speeds as quick as 2.5Gbps. With Nest Wifi Professional, each of the Ethernet jacks on every system will cap your incoming wired speeds at 1Gbps, which is not best for those who’re paying up for a multi-gig web connection, or planning to improve to at least one anytime quickly. Thoughts you, Eero says that you just should not anticipate to see wi-fi speeds any sooner than 1.3Gbps, however nonetheless, if you wish to surf at faster-than-a-gigabit speeds, Eero is the clear selection right here.
One other key level of consideration on the {hardware} entrance: Backwards compatibility. The Eero Professional 6E provides it, the Nest Wifi Professional doesn’t. With backwards compatibility, current Eero customers might buy a single Eero Professional 6E system and add it into their current setup with older-gen Eero units. You’ll be able to’t try this with Nest Wifi Professional — the system will not work with current {hardware} from the unique Nest Wifi system, nor can it join with first-gen Google Wifi {hardware}.
“To do this with Google Wifi and Nest Wifi generations that do not help 6GHz was not going to be a superb expertise for customers,” stated Ben Brown, Google Nest’s director of product administration for power and connectivity.
The back and front of the Nest Wifi Professional mesh router. Every system comes with two Ethernet jacks, so in contrast to the unique Nest Wifi, you possibly can wire them collectively for sooner efficiency. Nonetheless, Nest Wifi Professional units will not be backwards suitable with the unique Nest Wifi or Google Wifi mesh units.
That is honest sufficient, however it implies that current Nest Wifi customers will not be capable to improve their setups one system at a time. It is also noteworthy as a result of the Nest Wifi Professional not options extenders with built-in good audio system such as you obtained with the unique Nest Wifi. In the event you wished to make use of these older, Google Assistant-equipped extenders with the brand new Nest Wifi Professional, you are out of luck.
One final word: Amazon not too long ago introduced that you can use choose Echo and Echo Dot good audio system as Wi-Fi extenders for Eero networks. We have not examined that out simply but (keep tuned), however as pitches go, it feels like an interesting and cost-effective technique to give your community a minor pace increase at vary — and the Nest Wifi Professional does not supply something prefer it.
Winner: Eero Professional 6E
Watch this: Google Nest Wired Doorbell and Nest Wifi Professional Palms-On
Speeds: Eero will get the sting, however Nest scores for stability
The Nest Wifi Professional is the latest mesh router in the marketplace, however we had been capable of take the system for a check experience at our lab in current weeks. We examined it in opposition to a handful of different techniques that help Wi-Fi 6E, together with the Eero Professional 6E, so let’s check out how the 2 in contrast. Chart time!
Up first, some scatter plots. Particularly, the 2 scatter plots under, every of which is displaying you all the completely different obtain speeds logged whereas we examined two-piece Eero Professional 6E and Nest Wifi Professional mesh techniques in our five-room, 1,350-square-foot check setting, the place we’ve a gigabit reference to obtain speeds that high out at 940Mbps. Throughout all checks in all rooms, the Eero Professional 6E got here again with a median obtain pace of 586Mbps, greater than 100Mbps sooner than the Nest Wifi Professional common of 482Mbps. In 4 out of 5 rooms, the Eero Professional 6E was capable of hit obtain speeds as excessive as 750Mbps throughout some check runs, which is an excellent outcome and, once more, higher than we noticed from the Nest Wifi Professional.
Every dot in these scatter plots represents the obtain pace throughout a single pace check to a Wi-Fi 6 laptop computer on a gigabit community with the Eero Professional 6E and the Nest Wifi Professional working the connection, respectively.
Nonetheless, whereas the Eero Professional 6E was capable of hit larger highs than the Nest Wifi Professional, it additionally noticed decrease lows. It is plain as day within the chart on the left, with pace leads to the lounge and kitchen dropping down as little as 150Mbps throughout some checks. The principle router sits in the lounge throughout these checks and the kitchen is the following room over, so these are close-range Wi-Fi speeds that must be quite a bit larger. What offers?
To reply that query, I would like to clarify my check process a bit. For every router I evaluation, I run a number of collection of pace checks throughout morning, afternoon and night hours. For every set of checks, I run three pace checks in every of the 5 rooms, beginning near the router in the lounge and ending removed from it within the storage. Then (and that is the vital bit), I run all of these checks once more, besides this time, I begin my Wi-Fi connection from afar within the storage and work my means again in direction of the router.
It was in these back-to-front checks that the Eero Professional 6E noticed slower speeds close to the router, and that is as a result of once I began my connection from far-off, the system acknowledged that and routed my connection by the satellite tv for pc extender (which we at all times place within the children’ room). That is the appropriate method at first, however as soon as I moved again into the lounge, the system continued to route my connection by the extender, so it was nearly as if I used to be sitting even farther away from the router than the storage. Within the checks the place speeds dropped under 200Mbps, it might need been that Eero was routing me to the slower 2.4GHz band as a result of it perceived me to be a number of rooms away from the extender, all with out realizing that I used to be, the truth is, sitting in the identical room as the primary router.
That is not an uncommon outcome — I see back-to-front routing points like that with mesh routers on a regular basis — so it is not a serious ding on the Eero Professional 6E. As a substitute, I have a look at that outcome as a extremely good one for the Nest Wifi Professional, which did not see any inconsistencies in speeds from check to check. Consequently, the dots within the Nest Wifi Professional scatter plot are all fairly shut collectively, which tells you that it is about as steady and dependable as mesh routers get. That is a superb consequence right here, even when it is not the quickest mesh system we have examined.
These graphs chart the latency outcomes throughout all the pace checks we ran, at all times to the identical check server. Each techniques held to a baseline of about 20ms, which is what we anticipate to see with this server, however the Nest Wifi Professional additionally noticed a number of extreme spikes, one as excessive as 150ms. That is the kind of factor that would trigger an annoying delay throughout a video name.
One final level of word on efficiency: Along with speeds, we at all times control every system’s latency, as properly. Every pace check that we run goes to the identical check server positioned a number of hundred miles away in St. Louis, and with a lot of the routers we have examined right here, the latency per check sometimes comes again at proper round 20ms — the time it takes our sign to succeed in that St. Louis server and make it again to us. The Eero Professional 6E held tight to that 20ms baseline throughout all of our checks, with only some tiny latency spikes up round 25ms. However the Nest Wifi Professional? It routinely noticed spikes as excessive as 150ms once we examined it. You’ll be able to see for your self in these radar graphs above — and word that I really wanted to zoom the size out on the Nest Wifi Professional graph so as to present the total extent of the difficulty.
These latency spikes might trigger delays throughout a video name or a web based gaming match, so they don’t seem to be best. I am doing a bit of extra digging on this quirk to see what the precise subject was, so I am going to replace this publish if I’ve extra to share, however Eero was the clear latency winner between the 2. Between that and the upper (if much less constant) common speeds, Eero will get the sting, general, as properly.
Winner: Eero Professional 6E
The Eero app makes it straightforward to arrange and handle your own home community, however it does not supply the identical stage of good house management because the Nest Wifi Professional’s Google Residence app.
Ease of use: Eero and Nest each make Wi-Fi lifeless easy
From Google Wifi to Nest Wifi to Nest Wifi Professional, Google has a superb observe file within the mesh class, as does Eero, which has a number of generations of mesh {hardware} on its resume over the previous decade or so. Every firm locations a robust emphasis on the software program working their respective mesh techniques, and every has a robust historical past of dependable efficiency in CNET checks.
You may management the Nest Wifi Professional alongside all types of different good house devices within the newly revamped Google Residence app.
That software-heavy method to mesh networking extends to the apps that you will use to manage every system, as properly. No matter whether or not you are organising a mesh router from Eero or from Nest, you possibly can anticipate the expertise to be fast and straightforward because of simplified app controls that stroll you thru every step of the method, together with placement tips that can assist you place every extender in an optimum location. From there, every system’s app does a superb job of providing fast entry to widespread house networking options. That implies that neither system has an actual edge over the opposite so far as simplicity is anxious.
The one factor I would word is that Google moved its fundamental house networking controls into the newly revamped Google Residence app, the place they sit alongside different controls for including and controlling devices like cameras, audio system and good lights. In the event you’re already a wise house fanatic — notably a Google-minded good house fanatic — then that all-in-one method may be precisely what you need. If not, and also you simply need a router app that sticks to routers, then maybe the Eero app is a greater match.
Winner: Tie
Good house: Each help Matter, however Eero’s Zigbee radio places it excessive
Talking of the good house, it is a central a part of the pitch with each Eero and Nest. For starters, every system contains built-in radios for Thread, a low-power protocol that transmits as an additional layer to your current Wi-Fi sign. That is vital, as a result of Thread is an enormous a part of the pitch for Matter, a brand new common good house customary backed by Amazon, Apple, Google and many others. A lot of Matter units will use Thread to relay their alerts forwards and backwards, and each the Nest Wifi Professional and Eero Professional 6E mesh routers are absolutely geared up to quarterback these alerts and preserve Matter good properties working easily.
Thread apart, every system has its personal distinctive method to courting good house lovers. On the Nest facet, you may not discover Google Assistant good audio system constructed into every extender such as you obtained with the unique Nest Wifi, however it is possible for you to to manage the Nest Wifi Professional alongside your entire different related house gizmos within the Google Residence app, which guarantees to function a one-stop-shop for good house administration. Eero does not have that — the Eero app is strictly a router app, and whilst you can sync your Eero up with Amazon’s voice assistant, the networking controls within the Alexa app aren’t sufficient to place it on the identical all-inclusive stage as Google Residence.
For its half, the Eero Professional 6E incorporates a devoted Zigbee radio along with the Thread radio, which is one thing you will not get with Nest. Zigbee is one other low-power wi-fi protocol, however in contrast to Thread, it is totally separate from Wi-Fi. Loads of related locks, lights and different good house devices use Zigbee to ship their alerts, and pairing units like these with your own home’s Wi-Fi community sometimes requires you to attach a Zigbee hub to your router to behave as translator. With the Eero Professional 6E, that hub comes in-built, which frees up certainly one of your valuable Ethernet jacks and makes it potential to pair Zigbee units immediately along with your router.
This one’s shut, however for me, the mix of that Zigbee radio with the function that permits you to use Echo audio system as Wi-Fi extenders offers Eero a barely extra compelling case as a wise house dream router. Benefit Amazon.
Winner: Eero Professional 6E
Worth: Nest is as budget-friendly as Wi-Fi 6E will get
This one’s mainly a draw. At $200 for a single system, $300 for a two-pack or $400 for a three-pack, the Nest Wifi Professional is barely cheaper than the Eero Professional 6E, which rings in at $200 for a single system, $320 for a two-pack or $440 for a three-pack. In the event you’re available in the market for a three-piece mesh system and you’ve got narrowed it all the way down to the Nest Wifi Professional or Eero Professional 6E, you may solely save $40 by going with Nest.
Each the Eero Professional 6E and Nest Wifi Professional are two of the perfect values within the Wi-Fi 6E class, interval. They’re a number of the solely Wi-Fi 6E routers to this point which you could get for lower than $200 with out a large sale. That’ll place each routers fairly properly as folks proceed upgrading to telephones, laptops and different major units that help Wi-Fi 6E. It may be sufficient for customers to forgive Nest’s lack of backwards compatibility or multi-gig help.
Winner: Nest Wifi Professional
The decision
It is a shut one, as each techniques are fairly interesting for anybody seeking to improve their house community. With two-piece setups accessible for $300, the Nest Wifi Professional’s worth edge is a slight benefit. Eero’s largest benefit is on the {hardware} facet — particularly, the truth that it features a multi-gig Ethernet jack, a built-in Zigbee radio, sooner common speeds and backwards compatibility with earlier-gen Eero units. You do not get any of that with Nest.
However, loads of good properties have already got a Zigbee hub of some type (the Philips Hue Bridge, the SmartThings Hub and the Amazon Echo Plus are only a few that’ll do the job). Others might not want one in any respect. In the meantime, Eero’s multi-gig help is good to have in a forward-looking sense, however it does not supply quick relevance to the overwhelming majority of us residing with sub-gigabit web speeds.
Ultimately, each techniques are recommendable at their costs. I just like the Nest Wifi Professional higher as kind of an entry-level Wi-Fi 6E choose, and one that would get higher with time as Google continues tweaking its mesh system. The Eero Professional 6E seems like extra of an improve to me, and a extra absolutely featured system given the additional {hardware} packed inside. Each are positioned to be succesful good house centerpieces — the Eero may be barely extra interesting on that entrance because of the built-in Zigbee radio, however the Nest Wifi Professional’s integration into the all-encompassing Google Residence app has some enchantment of its personal, particularly in good properties which can be already centered round Google {hardware} and Google Assistant voice instructions.
I give the Eero Professional 6E a small edge right here, general, however each techniques are attention-grabbing picks right here in 2023.
