PLCs, or also known as Powerlines, are devices that allow us to connect to the Internet and to the home local network anywhere in our home. It is only necessary that we have an electrical outlet available to connect the additional PLC. There are some models that are faster and others slower, in addition, we also have equipment that incorporates Wi-Fi connectivity to connect wirelessly, and other models have only Ethernet ports to connect computers via cable. Today in this article we are going to explain what are the best PLC models that you can buy, and we will detail their most relevant technical specifications.
What to consider when buying a PLC
Today we have a large number of Powerline models with different characteristics, it is possible that so many specifications overwhelm you and you do not know very well what you should look for to know if the device is going to behave well or not. Next, we are going to explain the key functions that you need to pay attention to.
Speed through the electrical network
This is the most important feature that you should pay attention to, depending on the HomePlug or G.hn standard used by the device, we will get a higher speed or a lower speed. In addition, we must bear in mind that the speed is theoretical, the real effective speed is clearly lower, in fact, the real speed that we will achieve is approximately 50%.
Currently most PLC devices use the HomePlug AV2 standard, so we will be able to achieve theoretical speeds between 600Mbps and 2,000Mbps. We must remember that the real speed is half, so if we want to achieve real speeds of around 600Mbps, we will have to buy a high-end model that is capable of offering a high synchronization speed. Next, you have the Powerline classes that exist and the approximate real speed that we will achieve:
- AV600 : the real speed that we will achieve is around 200 or 300Mbps in the best of cases.
- AV1000 : in this case the real speed is around 400Mbps approximately.
- AV1300 : These devices will be able to provide us with a real speed of about 500 or 600Mbps, so they are ideal for making the most of the fiber at home.
- AV2000 : This is the fastest HomePlug AV2 standard, it allows us to achieve a real speed of about 800 or 900Mbps, so we are close to Gigabit speed.
There is also another standard that is the HomeGrid G.hn, this standard is used by the well-known manufacturer devolo to provide the best performance through the electrical network. This new standard offers us a higher speed, it allows us to achieve up to 2,400 theoretical Mbps, in addition, it also has lower latency and greater stability, something very important in devices of this type.
plug passthrough
We must connect these devices directly to the wall outlet, if we do not connect them to the wall outlet and use power strips, we may have cuts in the connection and also a fairly significant drop in speed. For this reason, it is essential that you always connect these devices to a plug directly, without intermediaries. Because we can lose a plug, there are models that have a passthrough plug on the front, this allows us not to lose this plug by connecting the Powerline device.
If you have to connect an electrical device to the current, and the Powerline has occupied said plug, then you can buy a model that has this passthrough plug and connect the electrical devices you need here, in this way, we will have the best possible connection without losing a socket in our home.
Available Ethernet ports
There are low-medium range models that have Fast-Ethernet ports for the LAN, these types of models are only recommended if you have a very slow Internet connection, because they will not be able to take advantage of more than a real 100Mbps connection. In addition, we must bear in mind that access to the home local network will also be really slow, so you should avoid models that have Fast-Ethernet ports.
The mid-high range models do have Gigabit Ethernet ports for the LAN, something very important to achieve the best possible performance, without the Ethernet interface acting as a bottleneck. With these ports, the bottleneck will be in the Powerline interconnection network itself, which is the electrical network of our house. In the best case, we can achieve a real 900Mbps if the synchronization speed is high. Therefore, you should pay close attention to the speed of the Ethernet ports that we have, both the main Powerline (the one that connects to the router) and the extension (the one that connects where we want to have a connection).
Wi-Fi connectivity and Mesh support
There are models that have a WiFi access point, that is, when they are connected, they will generate a WiFi wireless network to connect all the clients that we want. A very important detail is that the WiFi is simultaneous dual band, that it works both in the 2.4GHz band and in the 5GHz band, to provide us with the best possible wireless performance.
Another very important aspect that we must take into account is whether the WiFi connectivity is provided by the additional Powerline or also by the main one that connects to the router. Generally, WiFi connectivity is only available to the “supplementary” device, and not the main one that connects to the router, however, it would be interesting to make sure of this. What we do have to do is configure the same SSID, security and password as our main router, so that at home we only have a WiFi wireless network and we have a kind of “roaming”, to move from one node to another quickly, although we will have a cut in the wireless connection.
Recommended Wi-Fi PLCs
Currently, most home users need a PLC with a WiFi connection, in order to be able to expand their wireless network everywhere, without having to put many WiFi repeaters throughout the house, with the consequent loss in real speed. Thanks to this type of device, the interconnection trunk network will work through the electrical network, without the need to pull a network cable, making it a very useful solution for homes where wiring is very complicated.
Devolo Magic 2 Wi-Fi 6
This devolo brand KIT is the best and fastest option if you want to have the best performance regardless of its price. This model has G.hn technology that will allow us to transfer data at a speed of up to 2,400Mbps on the electrical network. Below, you can see the main features:
- Speed in the electrical network : G.hn up to 2,400Mbps of speed in the electrical network.
- Primary Ethernet Ports : 1 Gigabit Ethernet port for the LAN.
- Additional Ethernet ports: 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports for the LAN.
- Wi-Fi Connectivity : Simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi AX1800 (up to 574Mbps on 2.4Ghz, and up to 1201Mbps on the 5GHz band). It has OFDMA, MU-MIMO and Wi-Fi roaming between nodes to form a complete Mesh network.
- Passthrough electric socket : yes, in the main and supplementary.
The operation of this model is very simple, we will simply have to plug the devices into the sockets and they pair automatically because they are preconfigured for it.
The price of this model is around 230 euros, a somewhat high price but we are talking about the best ones with WiFi that you can buy.
You could also buy the Multiroom version which incorporates one more Wi-Fi enabled device, and you can even buy a couple of starter kits to have both wired and wireless connectivity as well, several can be used without a problem.
Devolo Magic 2 Wi-Fi Next
This devolo brand KIT is a cheaper option than the previous one, with exactly the same technical characteristics except WiFi, it is not AX1800 class WiFi 6 but it is AC1200 class WiFi 5, so we must take into account that the wireless network will be somewhat slower. Below, you can see the main features:
- Speed in the electrical network : G.hn up to 2,400Mbps of speed in the electrical network.
- Primary Ethernet Ports : 1 Gigabit Ethernet port for the LAN.
- Additional Ethernet ports: 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports for the LAN.
- Wi-Fi Connectivity : Simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi AC1200 (up to 300Mbps on 2.4Ghz, and up to 867Mbps on the 5GHz band). It has MU-MIMO at 5GHz and Wi-Fi roaming between nodes to form a complete Mesh network.
- Passthrough electric socket : yes, in the main and supplementary.
The operation of this model is very simple, we will simply have to plug the devices into the sockets and they pair automatically because they are preconfigured for it.
The price of this model is around 230 euros, a somewhat high price but we are talking about the best ones with WiFi that you can buy.
You could also buy the Multiroom version which incorporates one more Wi-Fi enabled device, and you can even buy a couple of starter kits to have both wired and wireless connectivity as well, several can be used without a problem.
AVM FRITZ!Powerline 1260E WLAN Set
If you have an AVM FRITZ!Box router, then these devices are the ones you absolutely must buy. The reason is that they have the FRITZ! OS operating system and will be perfectly integrated into the manufacturer’s Mesh network, having WiFi roaming and also band-steering, ideal for having the best possible user experience. Therefore, if you have a FRITZ!Box router or are planning to buy one, these models are the ones you should buy.
- Speed on the electrical network : HomePlug AV1000 up to 1000Mbps speed on the electrical network.
- Primary Ethernet Ports : 1 Gigabit Ethernet port for the LAN.
- Additional Ethernet ports: 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports for the LAN.
- Wi-Fi Connectivity : Simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi AC1200 (up to 300Mbps on 2.4Ghz, and up to 867Mbps on the 5GHz band). It has MU-MIMO at 5GHz and Wi-Fi roaming between nodes to form a complete Mesh network.
- Passthrough electric socket : yes, in the extension that has Wi-Fi.
Its operation is very simple, just plug in both devices, connect the main one to the FRITZ!Box router, press the “Connect” button on the router and it will automatically obtain all the information from the main router and add it to the manufacturer’s Mesh network.
In case you need more devices, you can buy two kits without problems because they will be added to the Powerline network easily.
NETGEAR PLW1000
This NETGEAR brand PLC Kit is a very good option, the operation through the electrical network is perfect, in addition, the WiFi access point that the additional device has is quite powerful, it will provide us with a very good coverage and real speed. Next, you have all the details of this device:
- Speed on the electrical network : HomePlug AV1200 up to 1,200Mbps speed on the electrical network.
- Primary Ethernet Ports : 1 Gigabit Ethernet port for the LAN.
- Additional Ethernet ports: 1 Gigabit Ethernet ports for the LAN.
- Wi-Fi Connectivity : Simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi AC1200 (up to 300Mbps on 2.4Ghz, and up to 867Mbps on the 5GHz band). It has MU-MIMO in 5GHz.
- Passthrough electrical socket : no.
This model is ideal for spending what is fair and necessary on a Powerline with WiFi, without any WiFi or Mesh roaming. The price of this model is around 100 euros approximately, a pretty good price if we take into account its specifications.
As you can see, this NETGEAR model is ideal for connecting to the Internet wherever we don’t have coverage.
PLCs without Wi-Fi connectivity recommended
Many users do not need to have WiFi connectivity, they only need to take the Internet connection wherever they have their computers or smart TVs, if you are one of those who do not need WiFi connectivity in a PLC, then these are the models that you should look at.
D-Link DHP-P601AV
This model is one of the best sellers from the manufacturer D-Link, and one of the most recommended for its excellent value for money, and it is a model that you should take into account.
- Speed on the electrical network : HomePlug AV1200 up to 1,200Mbps speed on the electrical network.
- Primary Ethernet Ports : 1 Gigabit Ethernet port for the LAN.
- Additional Ethernet ports: 1 Gigabit Ethernet ports for the LAN.
- Wi-Fi connectivity : none.
- Passthrough electric socket : yes, the main and extra have.
This model has a great price, and we can buy it for only about 50 euros, a real bargain.
As you can see, this model is perfect for environments with up to 600Mbps fiber optics, since we will not be able to achieve a speed higher than this.
Devolo Magic 2 LAN Triple Starter Kit
This devolo model is ideal if you want to have maximum performance through the electrical network and do not need WiFi connectivity. This model has the G.hn standard with a maximum speed of up to 2,400Mbps, making it ideal for achieving high transfer rates.
- Speed in the electrical network : G.hn of up to 2,400Mbps of speed in the electrical network.
- Primary Ethernet Ports : 1 Gigabit Ethernet port for the LAN.
- Additional Ethernet ports: 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports for the LAN.
- Wi-Fi connectivity : none.
- Passthrough electric socket : yes, the main and extra have.
The operation of this model is as simple as the previous ones, we have to plug in the two models and they pair automatically without doing anything. In addition, the price is quite competitive, since we can buy it for approximately 160 euros.
If you don’t need WiFi connectivity, this model is ideal for you, although it is more expensive than the other models due to its G.hn technology, which is faster and has lower connection latency.
NETGEAR PLP1000
This NETGEAR brand PLC Kit is a very good option if we only need wired connectivity, without WiFi, in addition, thanks to its AV1200 class we will be able to achieve high transfer rates.
- Speed in the electrical network : HomePlug AV1200 of up to 1,200Mbps of speed in the electrical network.
- Primary Ethernet Ports : 1 Gigabit Ethernet port for the LAN.
- Additional Ethernet ports: 1 Gigabit Ethernet ports for the LAN.
- Wi-Fi connectivity : none.
- Passthrough electric socket : yes, the main and extra have.
The operation is as simple as the rest, we only have to connect them to the electrical current and pair them with the synchronization button. This model has excellent value for money, since it only costs about 80 euros.
As you can see, this model is ideal for connecting to the Internet, achieving real speeds of approximately 400Mbps.
AVM FRITZ!Powerline 1220E Set
AVM also has a model without WiFi connectivity that will provide us with very good performance, in this case, it does not matter if it is Mesh or not, because it does not have Wi-Fi wireless connectivity. If you have AVM products, we are sure that you will buy this model to have everything from the same brand, because its operation is very good, and it is compatible with the previous manufacturer’s PLC.
- Speed in the electrical network : HomePlug AV1200 of up to 1,200Mbps of speed in the electrical network.
- Primary Ethernet Ports : 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports for the LAN.
- Additional Ethernet ports: 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports for the LAN.
- Wi-Fi connectivity : none.
- Passthrough electric socket : yes, the main and extra have.
Its operation could not be simpler, plug the devices and pair them with the button. If you are looking for a highly recommended model, this equipment has a very competitive price.
For €120 we are going to enjoy a Powerline device that will give us very good wired performance.
As you have seen, today we have several PLC models, either with Wi-Fi or without Wi-Fi, the most important thing is to pay attention to the aspects that we have explained before, especially the speed and the standard that it uses, either HomePlug AV2 or HomeGrid as I return them.