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Asus RT-AC86U vs TP-Link Archer C3150

8.66 in
3.28 in
Asus RT-AC86U Router
Asus RT-AC86U
10.39 in
1.47 in
TP-Link Archer C3150 Router
TP-Link Archer C3150
Available colors
Editiorial reviews
14
4.2 out of 5
6 user ratings
5 stars
33 %
4 stars
66 %
3 stars
0 %
2 stars
0 %
1 stars
0 %
Read editorial reviews
10
10 editorial reviews
If I ever become a parent, I think I will enjoy recalling the details of what it was like to live in the 2000s to my kids, telling them about all the primitive technology I had to endure while growing up. I would tell them about the 10GB hard drive I had in my computer, which mind you was big for its time, and the time before digital cameras. However, I think the hardest thing they will grasp to realize is the fact there was a time before the Internet. While the Internet itself was born much earlier than I was, I did not see its impact personally until I was around three or four. I remember my dad would bring home multiple 3.5" floppy disks with thirty day trials of dial-up internet. He would then set it up, plug a telephone cable into our newest Acer laptop and getting online. I also remember the days of accidentally picking up the telephone while someone was connected, hearing the beeps and boops, and then hearing someone yelling from the computer to hang up the phone. It was not until I was a bit older when we finally got Telus high speed Internet, reaching a blazing 15Mbps download. However, nowadays this is pretty slow, especially with Gigabit speeds becoming the norm. It is amazing to see how fast technology has progressed, and the routers too have become just as fast. Today, we have another wireless router in our labs, the TP-Link Archer C3150. While this router should be much more capable than my days of dial-up internet, we should still question how well this one performs in today's standards. As one of TP-Link's top tier routers, how fast is it? Hopefully today's review will answer these question and more!Read more
The TP-Link AC3150 Wireless MU-MIMO Gigabit Router, also called Archer C3150, is designed for modern homes filled with tens of devices that are streaming high-quality video or engaged in online games. Read more at straitstimes.com.Read more
Read editorial reviews
User rating
125
3.6 out of 5
125 user ratings
5 stars
31 %
4 stars
20 %
3 stars
29 %
2 stars
14 %
1 stars
4 %
43
4.0 out of 5
43 user ratings
5 stars
37 %
4 stars
32 %
3 stars
23 %
2 stars
2 %
1 stars
4 %

Full Comparison

Connectivity

Asus RT-AC86UAsus RT-AC86U
TP-Link Archer C3150TP-Link Archer C3150
Connectivity technology
  • Wireless
  • Wired
  • Wireless
  • Wired
Communication modeFull-Duplex
  • Full-Duplex
  • Half-Duplex
Number of LAN ports44
Number of WAN ports11
USByesyes
Total USB ports22
Number of USB 2.0 ports11
Number of USB 3.0/3.1 ports11
Number of USB 3.1 ports00

Design

Asus RT-AC86UAsus RT-AC86U
TP-Link Archer C3150TP-Link Archer C3150
Colour of productBlack
  • Black
  • Grey
Active cooling (fan)nono

Dimensions

Asus RT-AC86UAsus RT-AC86U
TP-Link Archer C3150TP-Link Archer C3150
Width8.66 in10.39 in
Height3.28 in1.47 in
Depth6.3 in7.79 in
Number of units11
Rack-mount designnono

Features

Asus RT-AC86UAsus RT-AC86U
TP-Link Archer C3150TP-Link Archer C3150
Built-in DSL modemnono
File serverVia USBVia USB
Built-in printer serveryesyes
Mobile app for controlling featuresyesyes

Communication

Asus RT-AC86UAsus RT-AC86U
TP-Link Archer C3150TP-Link Archer C3150
Frequency band
  • 2.4 GHz
  • 5 GHz
  • 2.4 GHz
  • 5 GHz
Management interfaceWeb/networkWeb/network
6to4yesyes
Communication protocol
  • IPv6
  • Quality of Service
  • Wireless Multimedia Extensions
  • IPv6
  • Quality of Service
  • Wireless Multimedia Extensions
Network / transport Protocol
  • PPTP
  • L2TP
  • NTP
  • IPSec
  • PPPoE
  • FTP
  • DHCP
  • DDNS
  • PPTP
  • L2TP
  • PPPoE
  • DHCP
  • DDNS
Data link layer
  • Ethernet
  • Fast Ethernet
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • IEEE 802.11a
  • IEEE 802.11ac
  • IEEE 802.11b
  • IEEE 802.11g
  • IEEE 802.11n
  • Ethernet
  • Fast Ethernet
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • IEEE 802.11a
  • IEEE 802.11ac
  • IEEE 802.11b
  • IEEE 802.11g
  • IEEE 802.11n
Wireless standards
  • IEEE 802.11a
  • IEEE 802.11ac
  • IEEE 802.11b
  • IEEE 802.11g
  • IEEE 802.11n
  • IEEE 802.11a
  • IEEE 802.11ac
  • IEEE 802.11b
  • IEEE 802.11g
  • IEEE 802.3ab
  • IEEE 802.3u
  • IEEE 802.11n
Jumbo frames supportyesno
Mobile broadband supportyesno
VoIP (SIP)nono
Wireless networkyesyes
2.4GHz wireless networkyesyes
2.4GHz data transfer rate1000.0 Mbps1000.0 Mbps
5GHz wireless networkyesyes
5GHz data transfer rate2167.0 Mbps2167.0 Mbps
External antennayesyes
Detachable antennayesyes
MIMOyesyes
Beamformingyesyes
MU-MIMOyesyes
Number of antennas44
Total wireless data transfer rate2917.0 Mbps3150.0 Mbps
Wireless security
  • WEP
  • WPA-Enterprise
  • WPA-PSK
  • WPA
  • WPA2-Enterprise
  • WPA2-PSK
  • WPA2
  • WPS
  • TKIP
  • WEP
  • WPA-Enterprise
  • WPA-PSK
  • WPA
  • WPA2-Enterprise
  • WPA2-PSK
  • WPA2
  • WPS

Compatibility

Asus RT-AC86UAsus RT-AC86U
TP-Link Archer C3150TP-Link Archer C3150
DynDNSyesyes
Target audience
  • Business
  • Home users
Home users

Memory

Asus RT-AC86UAsus RT-AC86U
TP-Link Archer C3150TP-Link Archer C3150
Included flash memory256.0 MB128.0 MB
Maximum flash memory256.0 MB128.0 MB
Included RAM512.0 MB256.0 MB
Maximum RAM512.0 MB256.0 MB

Power

Asus RT-AC86UAsus RT-AC86U
TP-Link Archer C3150TP-Link Archer C3150
Power over Ethernet (PoE)nono

Security

Asus RT-AC86UAsus RT-AC86U
TP-Link Archer C3150TP-Link Archer C3150
DMZyesyes
Number of DMZ ports11
VPN protocol
  • IPSec
  • L2TP
  • PPTP
  • OpenVPN
  • IPSec
  • L2TP
  • PPTP
VPN clientyesyes
Encryption Algorithm
  • MPPE
  • 128-bit WEP
  • 64-bit WEP
  • WPA-PSK
  • WPA2-PSK
  • WPA-Enterprise
  • WPA2-Enterprise
  • 128-bit WEP
  • 64-bit WEP
  • WPA
  • WPA2
  • WPA-PSK
  • WPA2-PSK

Pros & Cons

Pros
      Cons

          Often compared with Asus RT-AC86U