Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net revenue	$ 1,255,202	$ 998,763	$ 1,058,816
Cost of revenue	883,050	704,535	717,118
Gross profit	372,152	294,228	341,698
Operating expenses:
Research and development	88,788	77,982	82,416
Sales and marketing	147,854	138,150	152,569
General and administrative	61,148	49,432	64,857
Other operating expenses (income), net	(1,182)	2,476	3,142
Total operating expenses	296,608	268,040	302,984
Income from operations	75,544	26,188	38,714
Interest income	436	2,539	3,980
Other income (expense), net	(5,177)	844	510
Income before income taxes	70,803	29,571	43,204
Provision for income taxes	12,510	3,780	25,878
Net income from continuing operations	58,293	25,791	17,326
Net loss from discontinued operations, net of tax	0	0	(35,655)
Net income (loss)	58,293	25,791	(18,329)
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest in discontinued operations	0	0	(9,167)
Net income (loss) attributable to NETGEAR, Inc.	$ 58,293	$ 25,791	$ (9,162)
Net income (loss) per share - basic:
Income from continuing operations	$ 1.95	$ 0.83	$ 0.55
Loss from discontinued operations attributable to NETGEAR, Inc.	0	0	(0.84)
Net income (loss) attributable to NETGEAR, Inc.	1.95	0.83	(0.29)
Net income (loss) per share - diluted:
Income from continuing operations	1.90	0.81	0.52
Loss from discontinued operations attributable to NETGEAR, Inc.	0	0	(0.80)
Net income (loss) attributable to NETGEAR, Inc.	$ 1.90	$ 0.81	$ (0.28)
Weighted average shares used to compute net income (loss) per share:
Basic	29,897	30,936	31,626
Diluted	30,640	31,965	33,137