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This post will help you figure out which to get between these two top-tier Wi-Fi 6 mesh systems. It’s a story of the Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien vs. Netgear Orbi RBK852 matchup.
Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien vs. Netgear Orbi RBK852: Similarities
The Alien Kit and Netgear Orbi RBK852 are Wi-Fi 6 mesh solutions, including a router and a mesh satellite. As a result, if you need no more than two hardware pieces to blanket your home, they are mostly the same.
Both are tri-band solutions, and neither supports 160MHz channels. For this reason, they cap at 1200 Mbps (and not 2400 Mbps) when working with currently available 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 clients.
The two systems share similar hardware costs, with the suggested retail price of around $700. In real-world usage, both deliver excellent coverage and reliable signals.
Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien Mesh Kit vs. Netgear Orbi Wi-Fi 6 AX6000: Hardware specifications
| Name | Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien Kit | Netgear Orbi Wi-Fi 6 AX6000 (RBK852 ) |
| Hardware | Alien Router: AFi-ALN-R Alien MeshPoint: AFi-ALN-P | Router: RBR850 Satellite: RBS850 |
| Dedicated Backhaul Band | None | Yes (1 x 5GHz band) |
| User-Manageable Backhaul | Yes (2.4GHz/5GHz or Wired) | No |
| Wired Backhaul | Yes (1Gbps) | Yes (1Gbps) |
| Dimensions | 9.84-inch (250 mm) tall, 4.33-inch (110 mm) wide | 10 x 7.5 x 2.8 in (24.5 x 19.05 x 7.11 cm) |
| Weight | 2.65 lb (1.2 kg) | 2.86 lbs (1.3kg) |
| 5GHz-1 Wi-Fi Specs | 4 x 4 Wi-Fi 5 up to 1733 Mbps (low band) | 4×4 Wi-Fi 6: 2400Mbps |
| 5GHz-2 Wi-Fi Specs | 4 x 4 Wi-Fi 6 up to 4804 Mbps (high band) | 4×4 Wi-Fi 6: 2400Mbps |
| 2.4GHz Wi-Fi Specs | 4 x 4 Wi-Fi 6: 1148Mbps | 4 x 4 Wi-Fi 6: 1148Mbps |
| Channel Width Support | 20/40/80MHz | 20/40/80MHz |
| Backward Compatibility | 802.11ac/n/g/a/b | 802.11ac/n/g/a/b |
| Touchscreen Specs | On router only: 4.7-inch (110.38 mm), 274 x 1268, 279 PPI, G+F Touch, Full Color | None |
| Mobile App | AmpliFi | Orbi |
| Web User Interface | Router: Yes (simple) MeshPoint: None | Yes (Full) |
| AP (Bridge) Mode | Yes | Yes |
| USB Port | None | None |
| Gigabit Port | Router: 4 x LAN, 1 x WAN MeshPoint: 1x LAN | Router: 4x LAN Satellite: 4x LAN |
| Link Aggregation | No | Router: Yes (2Gbps WAN) Satellite: None |
| Multi-Gig Port | None | Router: 1×2 .5Gbps WAN port Satellite: None |
| CPU | 2.2 GHz 64-Bit Quad-Core CPU | 2.2 GHz 64-Bit Quad-Core CPU |
Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien Mesh Kit vs. Netgear Orbi RBK852: Differences
There are many differences between these two.
Hardware options
The Orbi includes a router and a mesh satellite. After that, you can extend the system by adding more satellites, up to 6 of them. The router unit, however, can not work as a satellite.
The Alien’s satellite unit, called MeshPoint, is not available by itself and permanently synced to the router of the same kit. As a result, you can’t extend an Alien mesh system by adding more MeshPoint units. Instead, you’ll need more Alien routers, which can also work as mesh points.
The Orbi Wi-Fi 6 router includes a 2.5Gbps WAN port and the ability to combine it with another LAN port to deliver a 2Gbps WAN connection when working with a supported modem. The Alien is a pure Gigabit wired solution.
Software options
The Orbi features a full web interface and includes all basic and advanced network settings for those who want to customize their system. There’s also an optional Orbi mobile app for mobile users.
The Alien uses the mobile app primarily and has a limited amount of network settings and features. It has a simple one-page web interface where you can turn a few settings on or off.
Features
Ultimately, the Orbi Wi-Fi 6 has all the elements present in previous Orbi systems, including a paid online protection feature called Armor and a robust parental control feature via Circle by Disney.
The Alien has just two notable features, including ad-blocking and Teleport VPN. It does have an internet restriction feature—or “Parental Controls,” as Ubiquiti calls it—which is a bit too simplistic to be useful.
On the other hand, Teleport is quite excellent, both in terms of ease of use and effectiveness. But it’s only available to mobile devices, not a regular computer. The ad-blocking feature is somewhat hit or miss. Some ads can still get through, and you can’t customize it to allow ads on specific sites.
The Orbi has VPN, too, but it requires a bit of work to set that up. The Orbi has a dedicated backhaul band—one of its two 5GHz bands—and therefore has almost no signal loss. It’s fast.
The Alien, on the other hand, doesn’t have a dedicated backhaul band. But it’s the only mesh I’ve known that allows users to pick which band to work as backhaul.
Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien Mesh Kit vs. Netgear Orbi Wi-Fi 6 AX6000: Performance and ratings
While both systems delivered similar performance when working with 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 clients, the Netgear was generally faster with Wi-Fi 5 and legacy clients in my testing.
AmpliFi Alien Mesh Kit's Rating
Pros
Dead-easy to set up and manage
Excellent Wi-Fi coverage
Fast performance, wired backhaul supported
Users can manage the backhaul link and virtual Wi-Fi networks
Useful VPN and ad-blocking features
Cool hardware design
Cons
MeshPoint has only one LAN port and only works with one router of the same Alien Kit
No dedicated backhaul band
Expensive
Netgear Orbi RBK850 Series' Rating
Pros
Fast, reliable Wi-Fi with extensive coverage
Full web interface with all common settings and features
Useful, well-designed mobile app
2.5Gbps Multi-gig WAN ports
Support WAN 2Gbps Link Aggregation
Cons
High cost
No 160MHz channel support, limited Wi-Fi customization
Not compatible with Wi-Fi Orbi hardware
No multi-gig LAN port, intermittent lags
Bulky design
Which is the better choice
First of all, only consider these if you intend to use them in a wireless setup. If you have wired your home with network cables, it makes more sense to get a dual-band system.
With that in mind, I have to admit it’s hard to say which is better between these two.
If you want something fresh, fun, easy-to-use, the Alien kit is an excellent choice. That’d also be my pick, but mostly because I’m willing to take risks when it comes to tech toys. Also, I don’t have Gigabit Internet.
On the other hand, if you want simple network customization, a brand name you can trust, the Orbi Wi-Fi 6 is a better pick for those wanting the peace-of-mind. Most importantly, if you have Gigabit-class Internet, this set is a must out of the two.
Looking to compare other Wi-Fi solutions? Check them all out here.
Dong,
What do you consider to be the best alternative mesh WiFi 6 systems to the Asus XT8 that are not other Asus products?
My experience has been love hate with my XT8 but it is not reliable and behaves flakey much of the time. I want to replace it with a worthy non Asus alternative that meets or exceeds it.
Check out this post, Colin. There’s no “best” that works for everyone. It’s always about specificities. There are always quantifiers when I say “best”, it’s always within some certain senarios.
Dong, could you advise?
The Alien does look cool. I already have the quadband Orbi Mesh system in place, and wanted to extend my wifi signal (and create new LAN ports) to a certain part of the house in the room below the Orbi Satellite (my office).
I am unable to wire at present, so was looking for a type of Wireless bridge I suppose. Rather than buying another Orbi satellite (which would extend the pre-existing Mesh network), I realised it is slightly cheaper to buy two of the “cooler” Alien routers to potentially act as a new (separate) network mesh on this side of the house. Hope I explained that right. The Orbi Mesh network would be the “main home network” (currently using wireless backhaul).
Would this work? Maybe it’s the heart speaking instead of the head. Would having the first Alien in the same room as the existing Orbi satellite (with the Alien getting a wired ethernet link from the Orbi) and the second Alien in the room below (wirelessly connected to the first Alien) creating this new network, spoil my existing setup? Or can it work?
It’ll work, though not ideal, if you can run a cable from the Orbi to the Alien and then use the Alien in the router or AP (bridge) mode, Fiona. There’s no way you can use the Alien wirelessly. Check out this post for more.
Yes, I was going to run an ethernet cable from the Orbi satellite to the first Alien and set it up in AP mode. The second Alien would be placed in a room directly on the floor below and “meshed” wirelessly with the first Alien.
Does that make sense?
Would that allow the existing Orbi Mesh network and (separate) Alien Mesh to function as optimally as possible?
Yes, Fiona, that will work. You have two scenarios:
1. Use the Alien mesh in the AP mode, you now have a single network (even if you use different Wi-Fi names for each system). Or
2. Use the Alien mesh in the router (default) mode, you’ll have two networks one on top of the other. It’s a double NAT which might come in handy if you want to separate the two for some reason. More in this post on Single vs Double NAT.
Thank you very much Dong! Glad to know it will work. And I’ll check out that post, thanks!
Hi Dong, thank you for this helpful writeup. I currently have an older Orbi (might even be first generation) and need to add a satellite, and I’m discovering the used price of just one older satellite is expensive enough to make me figure out if it’s time to upgrade to Wifi6, rather than invest more in an older system.
I think I see a mistake in the pros/cons. For the Ubiquiti, one of the pros includes “wired backhaul supported” but this device does not have that feature. I believe this info is flipped with the Orbi (which supports wired backhaul).
FWIW, I currently have a gigabit fiber connection, and am using wired backhaul between the Orbi router and the satellite. My work computer is plugged in to the satellite via ethernet. I’m able to “isolate” myself from the wifi network and get my highest possible fiber speeds that way for work video calls, while retaining smooth wifi connections for everyone in the house for school and entertainment.
You should keep the current Orbi, Peter. Upgrading to the newer one won’t help much in your case. And the Alien does support wired backhaul, and the Orbi shouldn’t be used with wired backhaul. More in this post.
Dong, love your site and responses,
I am looking to upgrade to a WiFi 6 Mesh system for my 6000 sq foot house.
I will use wireless backhaul because I don’t want to run any cable at this point.
The most important feature to me is the reliability and stability of WiFi service as most often I am not home to fix or tweak things and my kids and wife need the internet to be reliable.
The next most important feature is speed. We have 3 kids who are online for school and games and my wife has her own web-based business.
I don’t need much in the way of customization as I am competent with network setup but I am not a tech guru by any stretch and would like the setup to be as easy as possible.
Which system would fit my needs the best in your opinion — Netgear Orbi, Amplifi Alien, ASUS Zen Wifi (although I heard it was buggy), Linksys Velop or maybe one I have not considered.
Thanks
For a house that big, and considering your needs, running cables is a must, Dave.
Ok If I run cables which mesh system would be the most stable/ least buggy?
And would my system be more stable if I got rid of the modem provided by the cable company and bought my own such as a netgear modem?
Thanks
Considering these two. My house is 3 stories, 3100 square feet. I have wifi cameras outside of the house that are connected. I do have 6 cable runs in the house so I would connect the satellite via wire. I like the fact that I can get ride of some of the switches I have using the rear ports on the units. I have 1gb internet. I currently have 1st gen google wifi and don’t get anywhere near the 1gb speeds. Which do you think is the best for me and where on the three floors would the satellites provide the best coverage including the outdoor cameras?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Hi Chris,
1. Check out this post on 1Gbps Internet.
2. Get a dual-band set, I’d recommend one of these dual-band sets. Don’t go with a tri-band system.
Dong,
Thank you for this site and reviews. Very helpful! I am in middle of new construction on 6,000 sq foot house with basement. 3 total stories. I plan on hardwiring all tv’s (9 total). i have gotten quotes from AV installers. One wants to use Ubiquiti Router with 8 port switch and long range access point and one Netgear Tri-Band Mesh Wifi 6 System. Would you recommend either of these? plan to use ATT&T fiber for internet service provider.
Why do you want to use an Ubiquiti router with Netgear mesh, Trey? That’s ridiculous. Get the UDM-SE and a few Ubiquiti UniFi access points.
maybe i posted that incorrectly. sorry. one contractor is suggesting ubiquiti and the other suggest just using orbi mesh. I was asking which is better in your opinion?
I’d go with Ubiquiti in a heart beat. Generally if your place is wired, go with one of these, among them Ubiquiti is my top choice.
Thank you! I appreciate you!
Sure, Trey. Good luck!
I have a 5,000 square foot home with gigabit internet. I was looking into either the Alien or Orbi model you discussed in this article and will be using a wired backhaul for the satellite. So far leaning toward the Orbi.
I am confused by your comment that we should go with a dual band setup if using a wired backhaul? Can you share more about why that is? I couldn’t see from your link why you recommend it. Thx
Most, if not all, tri-band systems use one of the 5GHz band as the dedicated backhaul band. More here. Even when you use wired backhaul, the dedicated backhaul band is NOT available for clients — it’s just not used, wasted. That’s definitely the case of the Orbi. You should consider an AiMesh system instead.
Thanks Dong. I have been reading a lot since I found your site, and have a few more questions.
While ideally I would like to wire the satellite, I am concerned the locations I have ethernet may not be the best to blanket the house with wifi.
If I wanted versatility in the system, would it make sense to just purchase a tri band system, so I have the advantage of 5ghz wifi backhaul if necessary?
If so, and I go a tri-band, do you still recommend the Asus systems (ZenWifi), or do you prefer Orbi or Ubiquitis Alien?
I may also need to add a third sattelite, so want to make sure whatever i choose is expandable.
Thanks
If you want expandability, go with the Asus, Lawrence. Otherwise, check out this post on Orbi vs. Alien.
NEVER BUY UBIQUITI.
They have ZERO phone support- if you have a problem with any of their gear you have to sit for HOURS with their chat people or deal with snotty people in their “community”.
Wow, that stinks. Sorry to hear, Adam.
Was “forced” to get two sets of ax4200 a month ago. I have a 9000 square ft home. Was able to set up one router with four satellites and set up the second router as a wired access point. So you can get some use out of the second router.
That’s a huge home you have there! 🙂