TP-link introduces new deco x75, deco xe5300 and deco x75 pro axe5400 in the middle tier of wifi 6e technology. Which one is best value between deco x75 pro, asus et8 and linksys atlas max?
In this article:
Deco wifi 6e
Netgear has released mesh wifi 6e product with orbi rbke963 which is a premium one and works on the axe11000 network segment, so have asus and linksys. Asus also released a similar product in the medium network segment with its asus et8 series.
Middle tier network segment
Unlike netgear, linksys and asus, tplink precisely released wifi 6e-based product by targeting the medium network segment and at a more economical price than premium class products. This is a good strategy considering that those folks who want to taste wifi 6e technology with its 6GHz radio band don’t have to spend more bucks with premium products such as Orbi rbk963 the first quad radio bands and Linksys atlas max 6e. For this reason, tplink released two deco x75 and x75 pro products in the ax5400 network segment class. In addition of those two series of xe5400, tplink added another model with its deco xe5300 series.
Deco xe75 vs Deco xe5300
What is the difference between Deco xe5300 and Deco xe75? They are exactly the same technically, only slightly difference on the top of the body.
If the specs are exactly the same why are they given different model names? Deco xe5300 is a series model for Costco wholesale, while deco xe75 is for other retail shops although Amazon sells both models of these two deco series.
What about deco xe75 and xe75 pro? Exactly the same except that the pro version comes with multi-gig 2.5Gbps wan/lan port.
Deco xe75 vs Deco x90
Previously TP-link introduced deco x90 series which is so far very popular with higher total bandwidth than this deco wifi 6e series. When should you select deco x90 instead of deco xe75 or deco xe5300? You can refer to the following spec comparison table below to get a better insight of these two products. And should you wonder with deco x75 pro to compare with deco c90, you can replace the 1.0Gbps for wan/lan port with multi-gig 2.5gbps port. Now, let’s take the deco x75 series and see comparison with deco x90.
Both series are products with three radio bands; however deco xe75 comes with three distinct radio bands with an additional 6GHz in addition to two radio bands 5GHz and 2.4GHz. Today you can find adapter devices with wifi 6e bases such as tp-link archer txe75e (pci-e based adapter) you can install on desktop computers.
If none of the devices in your home support wifi 6e (@6GHz) is it still worth buying a wifi6e-based router?
@6GHz radio band
Deco xe75, x75 pro and deco xe5300 are designed by default to use @6ghz as dedicated backhaul link between nodes. If so, how can wifi 6e-based devices connect to @6GHz radio band if this band is used as dedicated backhaul?
To take advantage of the 6 GHz radio band connection, you need to enable this radio band so that it can be accessed by compatible devices by changing the @6ghz radio band not as a dedicated backhaul. Change this radio band with an adequate SSID name as the @6GHz radio band so that your wifi6e devices can search and connect to this 6 GHz radio band.
In wifi settings select the 6GHz Dedicated backhaul => Main network => select Wi-fi network (you can see the default is Dedicated backhaul). Default SSID name is Deco_6GHz, you need to give the password for security reason.
If there is no wifi 6e client, you should leave the @6GHz radio band as dedicated backhaul (leave it by default), so that the communication link between nodes is clean from all signal interference.
On the other hand, with deco x90 comes with two 5GHz radio bands you can select which one is used as dedicated backhaul. If your system comes with three units of deco x90, you may select 5GHz band @4808Mbps as dedicated backhaul for wider bandwidth communication between nodes.
For future compatibility, choosing deco x75 is more advantage because your router is ready with wifi 6e-based connected devices. And when the requirement of multi-gig internet exists, deco x75 pro series is preference, however the price is costly compared with standard x75 series.
Have a look at the following spec comparison table 1 between Deco xe75 and Deco X90.
Table 1 Deco xe75 vs Deco x90
| Deco model | Deco xe75 | Deco x90 |
| Wifi technology | Simultaneous tri-band axe5400 wifi 6e with AI driven mesh | Simultaneous tri-band ax6600 0 wifi 6 with AI driven mesh |
| Signal rates | 574Mbps @ 2.4GHz; 2×2; 2402 Mbps @ 5GHz; 2×2; 2402 Mbps @ 6 GHz 2×2; | 574Mbps @ 2.4GHz; 2×2; 1201 Mbps @ 5GHz; 2×2; 4804 Mbps @ 5 GHz 4×4 |
| Ethernet Ports | 3x Gigabit Ethernet Ports WAN/LAN auto sensing | 1x 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN port; 1x 1.0Gbps LAN port |
| Backhaul | Default is dedicated backhaul @6GHz and optional wired Ethernet backhaul | Selectable dedicated backhaul @5GHz either @1200Mbps or @4804 Mbps Optional wired Ethernet backhaul |
| Processor | 1.7 GHz Quad core CPU | 1.5 GHz Quad core CPU |
| Dimension | 4.1 x 4.1 x 6.7 in (105 x 105 x 169 mm) | 5.1 x 4.8 x 8.3 in (130 x 123 x 210 mm) |
| Price (Sep 2022) | $299.99 (2-pack) | $379.99 (2-pack) |
However, if you need wide internet bandwidth more than 1Gbps, deco x75 doesn’t support multi-gig internet speed but x75 pro does. Deco x90 comes with 2.5Gbps WAN port you can enable to support multi-gig cable modem such as Surfboard S33 or Netgear CM2000 that comes with 2.5Gbps port.
Deco Xe75 vs Asus Et8
In the market there are several mesh wifi 6e products, most of which are premium products at a price that is more expensive than deco x75 or deco xe5300, one of which is the asus zenwifi et8. Asus released two models of mesh wifi6e products, Asus Zenwifi et8 and Asus Zenwifi et12 pro. We will compare the deco x75 pro with the asus et8.
The deco x75 pro series is tagged with more expensive than the standard x75, more than 40% more expensive than x75 series. On the other hand, when you compare the x75 pro series with asus et8, you can find that et8 is more costly.
What is the technical difference between these two products that causing the price difference is quite a lot?
The price difference between these two products is quite a lot, the deco is sold at a price of about 70% cheaper than asus et8. What is the technical difference between these two products that causing the price difference is quite a lot?
Different network segment
As a reference, table 2 below shows you spec comparison between these two products. Both products come with the same wifi 6e standards; however each comes with different network segment. See that technically asus et8 provides wider bandwidth than deco xe75, however distribution each radio band is different. Et8 is designed with twice as wide bandwidth as xe75.
Link communication between nodes
Unlike deco xe75 /xe5300 as discussed above, where the radio band @6GHz by default is set as dedicated backhaul, Asus et8’s default backhaul is auto selection. By default xe75 uses the 6ghz radio band as a dedicated backhaul, so clients with compatible wifi 6e cannot access dexo @6ghz unless you have to setup the 6ghz band as a network as discussed above.
Asus et8 by default gives wifi 6e compatible devices to connect to 6GHz band, unless you change the dedicated backhaul to use 6GHz band. See that Asus allows you to configure the dedicated backhaul either to use 5GHz or 6GHz band, or you may use the default setting is auto selection.
Wired backhaul
Both of these product models also provide a wired backhaul option in addition to wifi backhaul. The addition of the wired backhaul option is very useful considering that the wired connection is resistant to all interference signals. And both systems can provide auto signal path the best used for backhaul links with this wired backhaul configuration.
With deco xe75, you need to configure 6GHz band as accessible network, not as dedicated backhaul to allow all compatible wifi 6e devices to connect optimally using 6GHz radio band instead of 5GHz band.
Both models are equipped with more than two Ethernet ports so that for three nodes system is possible to use wired backhaul configuration either using star or daisy chain backhaul topology.
With default backhaul configuration, Asus et8 is more convenience to allow all connected devices to connect using 6GHz radio band.
Multi-Gig WAN port
Unlike deco xe75 / xe5300 that supports only up to 1Gbps internet, with Asus et8 you can connect to modem with multi-Gig internet up to 2Gbps. Et8 comes with 2.5Gbps WAN port you can connect to high speed cable modem such as Surfboard S33 or Netgear CM2000. However, deco x75 pro series comes with multi-gig 2.5Gbps port same as et8 for multi-gig internet plan.
Security protection
This time tplink equips its deco x75 series with tplink homeshield, a kind of network security protection. You can either subscribe the premium version or the free version. The free version of tplink homeshield provides your system with standard features including network assessment scan, parental control, QoS, and reporting. For more rich security features you need to subscribe homeshiled premium for $5.99 / month.
What about asus et8? Most asus premium products come with free lifetime asus aiprotection pro powered by trend micro.
Table 2 below shows you more details spec difference between deco and asus with wifi 6e technology.
Table 2 tplink deco x75 vs asus et8
| Wifi 6e model | TPlink Deco X75 Pro | Asus Zenwifi ET8 |
| Wifi technology | Simultaneous tri-band axe5400 with AI driven mesh technology | Simultaneous tri-band axe6600 with 8 streams with AiMesh technology |
| Signal rates | 2402 Mbps @6 GHz; 2×2 2402 Mbps @5 GHz; 2×2 574 Mbps @2.4 GHz 2×2 | 574Mbps @2.4GHz 2×2 1201Mbps @5GHz 2×2 4804Mbps @6GHz 4×4 |
| Antennas | 4x High gain internal antennas | 6x internal antennas |
| Ethernet Ports | 1x 2.5Gbps (Pro version) 2x 1.0 Gbps | 1x 2.5Gbps WAN port; 3x 1.0Gbps LAN ports; |
| USB Port | N/A | 1x USB 3.1 Gen 1 |
| Coverage | 5,500 sq ft / 2-pack up to 200 devices | 5,500 sq ft |
| Backhaul Link | Dedicated backhaul @6GHz and optional wired backhaul | Auto backhaul selection or you may select which band to use either @5GHz or 6GHz |
| Operation Mode | Router / AP Mode | AiMesh Primary AiMesh router AiMesh node |
| Security feature | Free Tplink homeshield / TPlink homeshield Pro paid services $5.99 / month | Free life Asus AiProtection Pro; Instant Guard free VPN |
| QoS | HomeShield QoS QoS by Device | Adaptive QoS |
| Processor | 1.7 GHz Quad-Core CPU | 1.5GHz quad core processor with 256MB Flash and 512 MB RAM |
| Dimension | 4.1 in x 4.1 in x 6.7 in (105 mm x 105 mm x 169 mm) | 6,3 in x 2,9 in x 6.4 in (160 mm x 75 mm x 161.5 mm) |
| Price (Sep 2022 in Amazon) | $399.99 | $529.99 |
With price different more than $100, with asus et8 you have wider total bandwidth, and free lifetime asus aiprotection pro network protection. On the other hand, tplink deco x75 pro gives you cheaper price, and even when you don’t require multi-gig internet plan, you can opt to deco x75 standard with much cheaper price than the pro series. Click the product’s link below to shop the product in Amazon (#ads).
- Click here to shop tplink deco x75 pro Or Click here to see the product in Best Buy
- Or you may like asus et8 with free lifetime aiprotection pro Or Click here to see in Best Buy
Related products
For premium wifi 6e routers, you may consider Netgear raxe500 or Asus axe11000 wifi 6e router, see which one is suitable with your business need.
You may also like mesh wifi with powerline backhaul, see Asus XP4 vs Deco P9 powerline mesh wifi with hybrid powerline backhaul. For low end products, see Tenda Nova MX6 vs Deco x25.