eero 6 Pro vs Asus Zenwifi xt8 vs Surfboard Max
Under Amazon umbrella, eero is getting more popular with its integration with Amazon Alexa and other Amazon smart devices. With wifi 6 era, Amazon offers new eero 6 dual band and eero 6 Pro tri-band mesh wifi. How does eero 6 pro compete with Asus Zenwifi xt8 and Arris Surfboard Max tri-band mesh wifi?
Eero 6 Pro
Eero was originally a starter product which was later acquired by Amazon. Eero is claimed to be the first generation of whole home mesh wifi products on the market based on wireless ac (wifi 5) technology which are so popular up to date under Amazon. And today Amazon released two eero series based on wifi-6 technology.
Tri-band
Like its 1st Generation of eero pro model which is designed with tri-band wireless ac, this eero 6 Pro is also designed with simultaneous tri-band but based on latest wifi-6 technology. Aggregated bandwidth for this tri-band model is 4,200Mbps works at ax4200 network segment. Linksys and Netgear also released their mesh wifi products based on ax4200; see Velop ax4200 vs Orbi rbk750 series.
Zigbee
What makes this product is different than other tri-band mesh wifi in general is the built-in Zigbee smart home hub to allow all IoT (Internet of Things) devices that use Zigbee or Z-wave protocols and Bluetooth connect to the network seamlessly, not via wifi.
Eero 6 Pro vs Asus vs Surfboard
Previously we discussed the comparison between Eero 6 Pro with two products that work on the same ax4200 network segment, now we will compare it with two other products that work on different network segments, Asus Zenwifi xt8 and Arris Surfboard Max.
As references, two tables below show you spec comparison table between them. Table 1 shows you spec comparison between eero 6 Pro and Asus zenwifi xt8. While table 2 for eero 6 pro vs surfboard max.
Wifi
Note that all the three products are tri-band mesh wifi models and each radio band @ 2.4GHz has the same 600Mbps bandwidth, while the other two radio bands @ 5GHz come with varying bandwidths of 1.2Gbps, 2.4Gbps or 4.8Gbps.
Communication between mesh nodes are wifi based, and also optional wired Ethernet backhaul if you want all the three bands are used for connected devices. However you need to run UTP network cable for connecting mesh router nodes.
See on the backhaul row on the table that shows you variation of backhaul methods applied to each model.
Zigbee smart hub
We have discussed above briefly what makes eero 6 Pro is different with other most tri-band mesh wifi products in the market including these Zenwifi xt8 and Arris Surfboard max – the built-in Zigbee smart hub.
What else, you can see more detail on the following two spec comparison tables.
Table 1 eero 6 Pro vs Asus xt8
| Model | Eero Pro wifi 6 (2-pack) | Asus Zenwifi xt8 (2-pack) |
| Wifi technology | Simultaneous tri-band ax4200 mesh wifi-6 TrueMesh technology supports up to +75 devices | Simultaneous tri-band ax6600 Mbps wifi 6 with 8-steams |
| Wifi speeds | 600Mbps @2.4GHz + 1,200Mbps @5GHz-1 + 2,400Mbps @5GHz-2 | Up to 574 Mbps @2.4GHz up to 1201 Mbps @ 5GHZ-1 up to 4804 Mbps @ 5GHZ-2 |
| Antennas | Internal antennas | 6x internal antennas |
| Coverage | 7,000 sq ft / 2-pack | 7,000 sq ft / 2-pack |
| Backhaul link | Wifi backhaul via both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands | Selectable which @5GHz radio band is used as backhaul link or optional wired Ethernet backhaul |
| Ethernet Ports | 2x Gigabit Ethernet WAN/LAN port with auto sensing / unit | 1x RJ45 2.5G BaseT for WAN 3x RJ45 Gigabits BaseT for LAN |
| USB port | N/A | 1x USB 3.1 gen 1 |
| Security | Supports WPA2 / WPA3 and parental control | WPA2 supports Free AiProtection Commercial Grade Security & Advanced Parental Controls powered by Trend Micro |
| Processor | 1.6 GHz quad core processor with 1GB RAM and 4GB Flash storage | 1.5GHz quad core processor with 256MB Flash + 512 MB RAM |
| Smart features | Supports Amazon Alexa, built-in Zigbee smart home hub, Thread, Bluetooth 5.0, auto firmware update | Works with Amazon Alexa |
| Price | $399.00 (2-pack) / $599.00 (3-pack) | $599.99 |
See that Asus zenwifi xt8 comes with free lifetime Asus AiProtection, a network internet threat protection abd advanced parental control powered by Trend Micro.
Table 2 eero 6 Pro vs Surfboard Max
| Model | Eero Pro wifi 6 (2-pack) | Arris Surfboard Max |
| Wifi technology | Simultaneous tri-band ax4200 mesh wifi-6 TrueMesh technology supports up to +75 devices | Simultaneous tri-band ax6600 mesh wifi 6 with 8-streams |
| Wifi speeds | 600Mbps @2.4GHz + 1,200Mbps @5GHz-1 + 2,400Mbps @5GHz-2 | up to 4,800 @5GHz band 1 up to 1,200Mbps @5GHz band 2 up to 600Mbps @2.4GHz |
| Antennas | Internal antennas | One 4×4 and two 2×2 |
| Coverage | 7,000 sq ft / 2-pack | Up to 5,500 sq ft / 2-pack |
| Backhaul link | Wifi backhaul via both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands | Dedicated 4.800Mbps 4×4 @5GHz |
| Ethernet Ports | 2x Gigabit Ethernet WAN/LAN port with auto sensing / unit | 2x Gigabit WAN/LAN port with auto sensing |
| Security | Supports WPA2 / WPA3 and parental control | WPA2 and auto firmware update |
| Processor | 1.6 GHz quad core processor with 1GB RAM and 4GB Flash storage | Powerful quad core Cortex A7 |
| Smart features | Supports Amazon Alexa, built-in Zigbee smart home hub, Thread, Bluetooth 5.0, auto firmware update | Supports Amazon Alexa, |
| Price | $399.00 (2-pack) / $599.00 (3-pack) | $399.99 |
Now, which one is suitable to meet your need? With eero 6 pro you are ready with smart home environment with its built-in Zigbee smart hub. Click the link below to shop the products in Amazon (#ads).
- Click here to SHOP eero 6 Pro in Amazon
- Click here to SHOP Asus Zenwifi xt8 in Amazon
- Click here to SHOP Arris Surfboard max in Amazon
Related products
See also comparison between Asus ax6000 vs Netgear wifi6 routers, two series of either asus and netgear ax6000 models. And see also new series of Netgear rax70 ax6600 and Netgear rax78 ax6200 wifi6 router models.
For affordable mesh wifi products you may consider new series of Meshforce M7 tri-band ac2100.
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