5 Tech Brands That Are Owned By TP-Link

TP-Link holds a major share of the global market for internet routers, Wi-Fi equipment, and other networking accessories. The company began in 1996 in Shenzhen, China and expanded internationally in the decade that followed, first establishing TP-Link USA in 2008. Today, TP-Link makes everything from routers to switches, wireless adapters, IP cameras, range extenders, and smart-home devices.

And while the TP-Link name is popular enough, a large part of its reach has to do with the brand's portfolio of subsidiaries. The tech company also owns and operates a handful of other brands across networking, smart home, and business technology. Among those names are Tapo, Omada, Vigi, Kasa Smart, and Mercusys. And though they might look like five separate technology companies, the entire batch belongs under the same corporate umbrella.

From consumer smart plugs to security cameras to business-grade networking infrastructure, these brands give TP-Link an even bigger presence in the tech market.

Tapo is TP-Link's entry point into the everyday smart-home market. The brand was first established as an offshoot of TP-Link, meant to make intelligent household products more accessible to everyday consumers. In other words, smart home products even the most inexperienced DIYer could install. Its product range includes security equipment, entry solutions, lighting, cleaning products, and home automation devices.

Therein lies the distinction: A customer might shop TP-Link when looking for a router to set up their home internet, but they'd shop Tapo when looking for smart products to connect to that network. Tapo's focus on smaller intelligent appliances also places it more in the consumer market than TP-Link proper, which has a less trendy, more specialized feel than a smart home product brand naturally would. It helps to think of it like the difference that used to exist between Anker and its sub-brand Eufy (even though Anker's currently getting rid of its sub-brands and simply labeling them all Anker).

Whereas TP-Link designs Tapo products around the home, Omada focuses more on business networking. Its product line includes network switches, wireless access points, and gateways, all geared less toward consumer home networking and more toward the needs of office spaces and other business environments.

The Omada catalog also includes Layer 3 managed switches as well as unmanaged models, including ones for yellow Power over Ethernet (PoE) cables and non-PoE options. Depending on the equipment, available network speeds range from fast Ethernet to 1Gbps, 2.5Gbps, 10Gbps, and 25Gbps connections. Omada also makes gateways, including both wired and wireless models along with 4G Wi-Fi, outdoor, DSL, and integrated gateways.

This variety speaks to the way not all businesses have the same networking requirements. Unlike Tapo products meant for the home, Omada isn't for such straightforward installations. Different businesses of different sizes have different network demands, and that means Omada's lineup has to be structured to be accommodating.

Vigi is TP-Link's video surveillance brand. Similar to Omada, the company's products are meant for small and medium-sized businesses instead of the home. Its portfolio includes cameras, video recorders, solar power systems, software services, and various accessories and tools for system configuration and project design. Vigi says its security tech also works for "retail stores, hotels, schools, restaurants, and offices."

By and large, though, this is a security camera business. It has a line of video recorders to manage all the recorded footage, and its solar power systems are aimed at powering outdoor cameras. The brand also has software solutions to help businesses configure and manage their systems.

Those parts of the brand are what ultimately set Vigi apart from TP-Link's other consumer smart-home brands. The best home security cameras will work just fine for folks who want to keep an on eye on the front door or the backyard, but Vigi setups involve multiple linked cameras, recording hardware, power systems, and management tools.

Very closely linked to the Tapo brand is Kasa Smart. The brand's product history began with a smart plug in 2015, followed by smart bulbs, light switches, cameras, and its highly recommended smart plugs for both indoor and outdoor use. This is the other side of the coin that is TP-Link's consumer electronics line. Both it and Tapo are TP-Link brands, and both serve the smart-home market, but they nevertheless maintain two distinct product families. Kasa Smart just focuses more on the ecosystem aspect.

To that end, Kasa Smart products come with access to the brand's app. This app is the central point of control for a person's Kasa Smart ecosystem, bringing together switches, cameras, lighting, and plugs inside one virtual hub. Tapo has an app of its own, but it's much more about single-device setup and management. Kasa Smart, by comparison, leans more into the interconnectedness of its smart home products.

Another big part of the TP-Link portfolio, Mercusys is a household networking and security brand. Its flagship product is Halo mesh Wi-Fi, which trades a single router to cover an entire home for a mesh system that uses multiple "hubs" working together to create a unified network. The brand's Halo line spans several generations of wireless technology including Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 6, and Wi-Fi 7 mesh systems, though it also has more traditional routers using those same generations if mesh isn't your thing.

The Mercusys catalog also includes USB and PCIe adapters, range extenders, switches, powerline adapters, travel routers, and mobile Wi-Fi products. You'll also see 4G and 5G Wi-Fi routers, DSL modem routers, and xPON equipment under the Mercusys umbrella. In recent years, security has become another part of its lineup. Mercusys sells a line of indoor, outdoor, and battery-powered smart cameras as well as video doorbells, but those really seem to come second to the networking hardware.