Routers vs. Modems: What's The Difference?

People often confuse routers and modems because they're both components of getting online and are often physically housed in the same device. Big corporate providers often provide router/modem combo units, which blurs the distinction between the two. This can lead to users referring to the combined device simply as a "router" or a "modem," even though the two perform very different functions.

What is a router?

A router is like a traffic officer for your home network. When data comes into your home from the internet, the router decides where to send it. whether to your laptop, smart TV, or gaming console. It manages the traffic between multiple devices within your local area network (LAN) as well as traffic from your devices to the world wide web. More often than not, routers also broadcast WiFi signals. WiFi utilizes radio waves to transmit data between devices and a router, allowing local devices receiving the signal to connect to the internet, or each other, wirelessly.

What is a modem?

Modems convert data from your devices into signals that travel over wiring infrastructure such as telephone lines, fiber, and even the power grid of your home. While Monkeybrains prefers to deliver internet over Ethernet cabling, we’ve been known to use modems in buildings with telephone, coaxial, and fiber wiring infrastructure. The word "modem" is a mashup of the words modulator and demodulator.