Netgear was one of the first router manufacturers to incorporate parental controls into their routers. Some of these attempts have been more successful than others, but I applaud their efforts and commitment to keep families safe. Their latest partnership with Circle (detailed SCP post on Circle ) is their most promising effort to date in my opinion. As of now the service is not available on all of their routers, but it is available on their high-end Orbi system and Nighthawk routers. The router should always be used as the first line of defense for protecting your home from undesirable content. We have been using the Netgear Orbi system for about four months in our home and it is an outstanding home wifi option. The stand alone Circle unit itself retails for around $99, so for families considering the purchase of a new router to get better wifi coverage and performance, there is now an additional benefit and value to choosing the Orbi sytem or Nighthawk routers.
Basic Circle protection is included free with the full-feature Circle option costing $4.99 per month for up to 10 devices. For families that want to use Circle on a Netgear router and Circle Go for mobile, the total monthly cost will be $9.98 per month. This is a very competitive price for covering that many devices at home and away with the robust features Circle offers.
