Google Wifi vs. Nest Wifi: Which mesh router should you buy?

Google Wifi vs. Nest Wifi: Which mesh router should yous buy?

(Prototype credit: Google)

Comparing Google Wifi vs. Nest Wifi is a skillful place to starting time if you're looking for one of the best mesh Wi-Fi systems around.

Google isn't just a major force on the internet. It's also a large actor in how people get on the internet to brainstorm with. Google introduced 1 of the earliest mainstream mesh Wi-Fi systems in 2016, offering quick and convenient setup with app-based controls.

The original Google Wifi was one of our favorite mesh routers of 2016, but in 2019 Google released a new mesh Wi-Fi bundle under the Nest make name. The Google Nest Wifi mesh kit knocked it out of the park, improving upon the original in about every mode, such as by adding smart features we wish more companies would prefer.

Yet the original Google Wifi didn't disappear. In fact, Google updated it in 2020, giving it a lower price merely retaining the hardware and performance we loved in our original Google Wifi. Both the Google Wifi and Nest Wifi versions are still existence sold, but the similarity in hardware means that the merely substantial difference is price.

This leaves shoppers wondering which Google-powered mesh Wi-Fi system is ameliorate. Comparing the original Google Wifi to the newer Nest Wifi, nosotros've got the lowdown on which of these award-winning mesh networking kits might be all-time for y'all.

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Google Wifi vs. Nest Wifi: Specs

	Google Wifi	Nest Wifi
Toll	$99 (unmarried), $199 (3 units)	$169 (single), $269 (with i access point), $349 (2 access points)
Release date	2016	2019
Wi-Fi spec	802.11ac/Dual Band	802.11ac/Dual Band
802.11ac Type	AC1200 MU-MIMO	AC2200 (router)
Number of Antennas/Removable	4/No	4/No
Ports	2x 1Gbps LAN, USB-C for ability	(Router) 2x 1Gbps LAN, power; (Extension) None
Processor	Quad-core 710MHz	Quad-core one.4GHz
Memory/Storage	512MB/4GB	(Router) 1GB/4GB; (Extension) 768MB/512MB
Wi-Fi Chip	Qualcomm IPQ4019	Qualcomm QCS 400
Dimensions	four.i x 4.1 ten 2.7 inches	(Router) four.three x 4.iii x 3.6 inches ; (Extension) iv.0 x 4.0 ten iii.iv inches
Colour options	Snow	Mist, Sand, Snow

Google Wifi vs. Nest Wifi: Price and availability

On the Google Store, yous tin find Google Wifi listed for a very affordable $99 for single units and $199 for a trio of interchangeable units. If you need ii or four or five points for your Google Wifi arrangement, you'll demand to add together them individually.

The relaunch of Google Wifi in 2020 brought small-scale technical changes forth with the lower starting price. The hardware was largely identical, merely the power connector was changed from USB-C to a standard barrel connector, and the Google "M" logo was inverse from a simple sticker on the device to a alphabetic character molded into the plastic of the housing.

The older models tin can still be found on Amazon, selling for different prices than the 2020 version sold directly by Google.

	Google Wifi (2016 model)	Google Wifi (2020 model)	Nest Wifi
Single router	$84	$99	$169
2-pack	north/a	n/a	$269 (1 router + 1 bespeak)
three-pack	$184	$199	$349 (i router + ii points)
Addition units	$78	$99	$149 (ane indicate)

The Nest Wifi, on the other hand, is sold as either a single router, or in packs of two or three, bundling a single router with i or two points, respectively. A single router sells for $169 alone, or $269 when bundled with a single Wifi signal, or $349 for 2 points. Individual Wifi points can likewise be purchased for $149 each.

Google recommends adding no more than v points to a single network, for a total of six units (1 router + 5 points). According to Google: "Adding more may be detrimental to Wi-Fi performance."

Here'southward the best part. If y'all already own a Google Wifi unit and want to upgrade to the newer Nest Wifi, the older Google Wifi points volition work with the newer Nest hardware, giving you lot additional expansion units for fifty-fifty more coverage area. The performance may non be equally good on the older devices, but it'south a simple fashion to upgrade for less.

Google Wifi vs. Nest Wifi: Pattern

The biggest obvious change from 2016 to now is in the physical design. The original Google Wifi mesh arrangement has a collection of interchangeable units called points, all identical and capable of connecting with each other to create a seamless mesh network.

One Google Wifi point connects to your modem and serves as the central unit, while the rest act as your mesh extensions throughout the house — simply it doesn't affair which i you choose to be the key unit.

With a white plastic body, a cylindrical design and distinctive LED stripe effectually the center of each Wi-Fi point, the Google Wifi blueprint manages to feel a picayune dated, fifty-fifty though it was introduced only 6 years ago.

The newer Nest Wifi updates the design of the mesh kit, retaining the cylindrical wait but softening it with rounded corners, removing the stylized LED indicator stripe and adding color options beyond plain white.

The biggest design change Nest Wifi introduced is a shift abroad from interchangeable points to a system that uses a designated central router unit of measurement and designated mesh points throughout the house. The router and points differ slightly in both look and features and are not interchangeable the way the Google Wifi points are.

Google Wifi vs. Nest Wifi: Features

The original Google Wifi offered plenty of advanced features for its time, with simple mesh networking and 802.11ac connectivity that was summit-of-the-line when the organisation was introduced.

Each Google Wifi point is equipped with a pair of Ethernet ports, letting you connect your cable modem to the central unit or attach other devices to the extended mesh network through the diverse points around the house.

But the existent standout feature back in 2016 was the ease of setup. Using the Google Wifi App (since inverse to the the Google Domicile app), you could fix each Google Wifi device only by scanning a QR code on the base of the unit, with setup taking roughly five minutes per unit of measurement.

When it initially launched, the Google Wifi mesh kit was also notable for its early smart-dwelling house capabilities, which included IFTTT functionality.

When Google introduced Nest Wifi in 2020, it updated this feature ready with a number of new functions.

Smart-home features were a major focus, equally the Nest name might suggest. In addition to app-based network management, Nest Wifi works with the entire Nest family unit of products, plus major brands such as Philips Hue, Tile trackers, GE, TP-Link, and Kasa. From smart locks to smart lights and plugs, your whole firm full of continued devices should be compatible with the Nest Wifi organization.

Merely the biggest characteristic change to come with Nest Wifi was integrated smart-speaker technology, putting a Google Domicile smart speaker into every expansion point. It'southward a clever move on Google's part, offering a unproblematic path to putting smart-speaker engineering science into multiple rooms of a home without requiring an extra device alongside a satellite mesh unit. (Check out the best Google Dwelling house speakers to see our picks for standalone smart speakers.)

Like smart-speaker technology has been offered on other mesh products — the Netgear Orbi Voice came out a full yr earlier the Nest Wifi and TP-Link announced an Alexa-equipped mesh system during CES 2021 — but only Google has thought to do so in its flagship mesh-networking equipment.

In addition to letting you control sure router features with vocalization commands, Nest Wifi too gives you the option of asking virtually the weather, playing music or controlling the various connected devices in your dwelling house.

You can use the multiple Google Abode-equipped Wifi points as an intercom organisation between rooms and even play music that follows y'all from room to room.

The only area where we failed to see the expected advocacy was in Wi-Fi standards, with the Nest Wifi still using 802.11ac (retroactively renamed Wi-Fi 5) instead of the newer Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) protocol.

Google Wifi vs. Nest Wifi: Operation

The biggest differences between the Google and Nest versions of Google'due south mesh system are in performance and range, with the newer Nest Wifi offering faster throughput and larger coverage areas beyond the board.

The Google Wifi offered maximum throughput of 464.4 Mbps, still fairly impressive for an affordable mesh Wi-Fi system. But the Nest Wifi stepped that up substantially, with a elevation throughput of 653.2Mbps. That fifty-fifty tops some of the Wi-Fi 6 models on our best mesh routers page.

The Nest Wifi also offers better range, translating into larger coverage areas with the same number of units. Where a single Google Wifi unit of measurement covered 1,500 square feet, the Nest Wifi router covers 2,200 square feet. Adding a second or third unit only increases expanded range further, as indicated in the chart below.

	Google Wifi	Nest Wifi
Single router	Upwardly to 1500 sq ft	Up to 2200 sq ft
2-pack	Up to 3000 sq ft	Up to 3800 sq ft
3-pack	Upwards to 4500 sq ft	Upwards to 5400 sq ft

Google Wifi vs. Nest Wifi: Security

Since the first Google Wifi was released, Google has congenital security features into its mesh Wi-Fi products.

The 2016 Google Wifi boasts an Infineon Trusted Platform Module (TPM) that encrypts network traffic and verifies firmware installations to protect the entire network at the router level. You lot can also suspension the internet connection to i or all devices in the dwelling house.

Just the Google Wifi lacks any built-in malware protections and doesn't offering whatever substantial parental controls, such as content filtering or deeper access controls.

The Nest Wifi, on the other hand, adds precisely the sort of features that the Google Wifi was missing. It keeps the TPM-based encryption, and upgrades to the WPA 3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) security protocol, which afterwards was added to the 2020 version of Google Wifi.

The Nest Wifi also gets some better parental controls. The power to pause Wi-Fi access is enhanced with the ability to schedule internet time-outs or gear up routines to disconnect the child'due south devices for scheduled events like homework or bedtime. Parents can also filter content by site, applying Google SafeSearch to block millions of inappropriate developed websites.

The best part? These parental controls can be accessed right from your smartphone or through Google Assistant — including the Google Home app built into the Nest Wifi points throughout the house.

Google Wifi vs. Nest Wifi: Which is best for you lot?

When you get right down to it, both the Google Wifi and Nest Wifi are highly capable mesh systems, with decent features and reasonable prices. Only if yous want the all-time mesh Wi-Fi kit you tin can go right at present, the Nest Wifi is the articulate winner.

The Nest Wifi offers a much more comprehensive characteristic set, including broader smart-abode compatibility and powerful parental controls. The Nest offers meliorate range and faster performance. And the inclusion of Google Home in every Nest Wifi point is a no-brainer for anyone looking to add a great smart speaker to one or more than rooms in the house.

That said, the Google Wifi is still a smart selection for upkeep shoppers, and while the characteristic prepare isn't equally rich, the performance is still quite good, specially if range is less of a business concern.

If you don't care virtually Google Habitation, or if you're already an Alexa household, so the lack of smart speaker in the Google Wifi isn't fifty-fifty making it to your pros/cons list.

The Nest Wifi is the latest and greatest, to be sure, but there's still enough of reason to go Google Wifi.

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Brian Westover is an Editor at Tom'southward Guide, covering everything from TVs to the latest PCs. Prior to joining Tom'due south Guide, he wrote for TopTenReviews and PCMag.