The Top 9 Best-Selling Router Brands In Q4 2016

Cisco Tops Again In Routers

Netgear is nipping at Cisco's heels for market share leadership in the amount of routers sold through distributors, according to new fourth quarter of 2016 data from The NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y. The research firm compiles data in its DistributorTrack sales database from leading distributors in the U.S. Global Technology Distribution Council.

The total number of routing units sold during the quarter was 281,845, up 2.1 percent year over year, although only Netgear and TP-Link posted sales positive growth compared to the same quarter one year ago.

Here are the top nine leaders by brand who sold the most routing units from October to December in 2016.

9. Buffalo Technologies

Unit Share: 1 percent

Buffalo Americas rounded out the top nine brand list for the fourth quarter 2016, capturing 1 percent of total unit share. The Austin, Tex.-based networking company sold a total of 2,955 routers during the quarter, down 21 percent year over year.

8. D-Link

Unit Share: 2 percent

Taking the No. 8 spot on the list is Taiwanese networking equipment maker D-Link, owning 2 percent of total unit share for the quarter, down from 6.4 percent compared to a year ago. The company saw the largest router sales decline year over year out of any vendor on the list, with units sold dropping from 17,612 in Q4 2015 to 5,651, a 68 percent decline.

7. Apple

Unit Share: 4.1 percent

Although Apple had two of the most popular router products sold in the quarter, the company was only able to capture 4.1 percent unit share as sales dropped 16 percent year over year. The Cupertino, Calif.-based consumer giant sold 11,572 units during the quarter, down from the 13,775 it sold in Q4 2015.

Apple's AirPort Extreme Base Station router model ME918LL/A AC1750 and its Airport Express Base Station MC414LL/A product, was the sixth and seventh most sold router in the quarter.

6. ASUS

Unit Share: 4.3 percent

Taiwanese hardware company AsusTek Computer, known as Asus, captured 4.3 percent unit share, down from the 5.6 share it held a year ago. Asus sold a total of 12,011 routers during the quarter, down 22 percent year over year. The company sells various hardware solutions from motherboards and routers to tablets and wearables.

5. Linksys Group

Unit Share: 5.7 percent

The Irvine, Calif.-based networking hardware vendor saw a 26 percent drop in its router sales during the fourth quarter through distribution compared to one year ago, as well as a 2.1 point drop in unit share. Linksys sold a total of 16,094 units in Q4, down from 21,691 units year over year.

4. CradlePoint

Unit Share: 8.3 percent

Cradlepoint, who's new LTE routers made CRN's 12 Hot Networking Products Set To Shake Up Things Up In 2017, took 8.3 percent total unit share during the quarter by selling 23,522 units over the three month span. The Boise, Idaho-based company's Q4 router sales and unit share remained flat year over year.

3. TP-Link

Unit Share: 18.9 percent

TP-Link's 1-port 150 Mbps wireless router model TL-MR3020 was the best selling product of the quarter, beating routers sold by leaders Netgear and Cisco. The Chinese networking vendor also saw the largest sales growth out of any vendor on this list by selling a total of 53,167 units for the quarter up from 34,797 sold in the same quarter one year ago. The 53 percent increase enabled TP-Link to grab nearly 19 percent unit share, up from 12.6 percent year over year.

2. Netgear

Unit Share: 21.9 percent

Nipping at the heels of the networking giant Cisco, Netgear sold 61,408 router units in the quarter, up 16 percent year over year. The San Jose, Calif.-based company had four of the top 10 products sold during the quarter, including its 4-port, 1300Mbps Wireless Dual Band Router model R6400-100NAS which was the second highest product sold over the three-month span. Netgear's unit share increased nearly 3 points to 21.9 percent compared to Q4 2015.

1. Cisco

Unit Share: 22.1 percent

Although the network leader sold the most routers through distribution at 62,408 units for the quarter, the figure represents a 4.5 percent decline compared to the same quarter one year ago. The San Jose, Calif.-based networking giant's unit share slightly dropped 1.5 points year over year to 22.1 percent. Cisco's Meraki 4-port, 600Mbps wireless router model Z1-HW-US was the fifth highest-selling router of the quarter.