The difference between the Netgear GS305 and the GS105 can either break or make your home internet connectivity. If you are only looking for the cheapest 5 ports router, then you know there is no better option than the Netgear GS305 and the Netgear GS105. But, which one is better when you compare the Netgear GS305 vs GS105?
As a general guide, the Netgear GS305 router is better than the Netgear GS105. The main difference between Netgear GS305 and GS105 is their specs and features. The Netgear GS305 is an updated version of the Netgear GS105.
The GS105 is an entry-level 5 ports gigabit Ethernet switch, whereas the GS305 comes with additional features. The Netgear GS305 router has more throughput speed than the latter. With 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 1 USB port, there’s no reason to buy the older version of this router. ( CLICK to SEE Amazon’s Daily Price Deals For Netgear GS105 & Netgear GS305 )
But to help you figure out which router best suits your needs, let me delve deep in this article and compare the difference between the GS105 and the GS305 by highlighting their specs side by side.
The Netgear (N300) GS305 is a 5 port router with fast Ethernet, which makes it best for audio/video streaming and gaming. It has a Gigabit WAN port and one Gigabit LAN port, which allows it to support Ethernet connections.
It is simple and compact enough that you can set it up with just an Ethernet cord or let your router be accesses by wireless connection.
It has a very powerful hardware that enables you to provide the best Internet at home no matter how many users will be using it. This device works as fast as a 1 Gigabit port router. This feature allows it to maintain a very high performance for a two-port router, making it great even with heavy use or multi-user connection.
It has an integrated USB 2.0 port that you can use to share storage and media files over the network with any device such as tablet, smartphone, laptop, or other USB enabled computer.
Another thing that makes this router great for use is the Ready Media feature that makes it easy to share data between computers and network-enabled storage devices. With this, you are allowed to easily view your files on any device in your home network without having to deal with complicated setups.
The Netgear (GS105) is a five-port router with fast Ethernet. It also has one Gigabit WAN port and four Gigabit LAN ports that can make it best for streaming media or online gaming. This device works as fast as the 1 Gigabit port routers because it is built with internal hardware of powerful speeds up to 2.5 Gbps.
This feature allows it to maintain good performance even with heavy use or multiple connections. It has an internal USB port that you can use to share storage and media files over the network via compatible devices such as tablet, smartphone, laptop, or other USB enabled computer.
With this router, you are allowed to easily view your files on any device in your home network without having to deal with complicated set up.
With the ReadyShare feature, this is one of the top choices when it comes to sharing multimedia files on any device. This also makes it easy for you to seamlessly print files using an external USB printer which can be connected over Wi-Fi or wired directly through the router .
Overall, the Netgear GS305 router is better than the Netgear GS105. The main difference between the two routers is their hardware performance. Another thing that differentiates them is their USB port.
What Makes These Routers Different?
The it main difference are simple:
Netgear GS305 has a Gigabit WAN port and 5G internal switch network while Netgear GS105 has Half-Gigabit WAN port and normal 100Mbps internal switch network.
In GS305’s case, the WAN port is a full 1-Gigabit port which makes it a better choice if you want a faster broadband service to connect to your router. In the case of the Netgear GS105, its WAN port has half Gigabit speeds – more than enough for home use, but you cannot get the full speeds that a broadband connection is capable of.
Netgear GS305 has 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports while Netgear GS105 has 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports.
The number of LAN (Ethernet) ports is not important in either case because if you want to connect wired devices, there’s no need for them to be on the same switch for them to communicate.
If you have a lot of devices that need fast network connections, GS305 is the better choice because it has 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports compared with just 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports in the case of the Netgear GS105.
The one main difference is that Netgear GS305 has a USB 2.0 port for sharing storage and multimedia files using compatible devices while Netgear GS105 has a USB 3.0 port for faster data transfer rates.
If you want to quickly transfer large digital media files between devices in your home, then GS305’s USB 2.0 is not good enough for this since it only has speeds up to 480 Mbps while the GS105’s USB port has speeds up to 5 Gbps.
However, if you do not want to transfer large files between devices and just need a way to access or share storage devices such as network-attached storage (NAS), then both routers will work fine. The important thing is that they both have an internal USB port for sharing storage.
The USB 3.0 port in GS105 is only good if you have devices that are compatible with the USB 3.0 standard because it can be used to connect high-speed external hard drives.
One way to look at the GS305 and GS105 is this: GS305 is an upgraded router version of the GS105 with five Gigabit ports and a USB 2.0 port for sharing multimedia files while the GS105 is like GS305’s little brother with 4 Gigabit ports and a USB 3.0 port for faster transfers of larger files, but it is more expensive than the GS105.
Another way to look at these two routers would be this: they are both marketed as home routers, not business routers.
For a small office or business with over 10 employees, you would be better off getting a more expensive router that has faster speeds and more capabilities such as the Netgear SRX5308 ProSafe Quad WAN Gigabit Firewall Router .
With that in mind, if all you need is to share storage devices and share multimedia files between the various computers and mobile devices in your home, then both routers will work fine.
However if you anticipate having multiple network-connected users who are big data consumers, then you should go with the Netgear GS305 because of its extra Gigabit Ethernet ports that can be used to daisy chain more switches or access points.
Netgear GS305 vs GS105: Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of each router based on their hardware specs, pricing, ease-of-use, and reviews:
NETGEAR GS305 (GS105) Pros and Cons
For those who want a router that can take advantage of their 1-Gigabit broadband plan, the Netgear GS305 is the better choice. The extra Gigabit port makes it more future-proof as broadband speeds continue to increase over time. For example, if you want to daisy chain switches or access points later on, the GS305 has an extra Gigabit port that can be used for this purpose.
The 5-port switch design is also more future-proof since it supports Gigabit speeds on all its ports compared with just 4 of its ports in the case of the Netgear GS105.
The GS305 is more expensive than the GS105, but not by much. This extra cost can be justified because it has a few additional features such as the Gigabit Ethernet ports and USB port.