Netgear Orbi 970 Series RBE973S

The Orbi 970's defining feature is a permanently dedicated 5GHz band reserved for backhaul between units, which keeps client bands free of mesh traffic on wireless setups. That's a genuine advantage for homes without ethernet runs.

The drawback: that dedicated band stays locked out of client use even if you run wired 10Gbps backhaul instead, wasting a quarter of the radio hardware for anyone who has ethernet in the walls already. It's an architecture built for wireless-only installs specifically.

BE27000 across four bands is a genuinely strong spec, and independent testing confirms real throughput close to the rated numbers, unlike some competitors. The problem is what it costs to get there: $2,299.99 for a 3-pack is roughly $1,000 more than a comparable TP-Link Deco BE85 setup delivering similar measured performance.

Multiple independent reviewers reached the same conclusion: the performance doesn't scale with the price premium, and Netgear added no new features over the previous Orbi generation to justify it.

Winner on pure architecture for wireless-only large homes: the Orbi 970, since the dedicated backhaul band genuinely helps when you can't run ethernet.

For nearly everyone else, the TP-Link Deco BE85 or ASUS ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro deliver comparable or better real-world performance for hundreds to a thousand dollars less. We'd only recommend the Orbi 970 to buyers who've specifically ruled out wired backhaul and need the largest single-brand mesh footprint Netgear sells.