Modem vs. Router: What’s the Difference?

Your modem is a box that connects your home network to the wider Internet. A router is a box that lets all of your wired and wireless devices use that Internet connection at once and also allows them to talk to one another without having to do so over the Internet. Often, your Internet service provider will give you one box that serves as both modem and router, but they’re still different technologies; not all modems include routers and not all routers have modems. You need both, integrated or not, in order to provide an Internet connection for all the devices in your home.