Asuswrt Merlin vs Netgear Nighthawk
Asus’s web UI is superior to the Android app
© ASUS, SAMSUNG
ROUTERS HAVE COME a long way in the past 20 years, each year brings better features, new designs, and bigger wireless ranges. But for the enthusiast, a good router stretches beyond just “how quick is it?” And quickly moves on to “how easy is it to configure?” Today, we’re pitting two behemoths against each other. Netgear vs Asus, US vs Taiwan, in a battle of the networking giants. Which router’s onboard UI comes out on top? What features do you get? And which is easier to set up?
But there’s a twist. Instead of running on the stock Asus firmware, we’ll be comparing the third-party Asuswrt-Merlin variant instead. Identical in almost every way to the stock config, the Merlin features an expanded feature list, while retaining the look, feel, and features of the default UI. With support for third-party software, performance optimizations, to VPN solutions, bug fixes, DNS-based filtering, and a host more additions. In fact, Asuswrt- Merlin’s firmware has been so impressive over the years, Asus has included features from it in its own stock configuration.