Dual Band Home Wireless Router 2018 Best Reviews
All-time Wi-Fi routers for 2022
Putting 1 of the best Wi-Fi routers in your house is an essential piece of today's online life, and information technology's the simplest way to upgrade your home network. A new, up-to-appointment router can make every laptop, smart TV, game console and doorbell photographic camera in your home seem to piece of work a lot faster.
Not just can a brand-new router give y'all go speedier Wi-Fi connections, merely many of the latest routers have built-in network security software, app-based settings interfaces and easy-to-apply parental controls.
With and so much of our lives spent online, from school and work to gaming and streaming, there's no substitute for the top-notch performance that the best Wi-Fi routers can offering.
That's why nosotros test every one of the dozens of routers nosotros've reviewed, to find the models that fit your home and needs with peachy performance, long range, and a price you can beget. Here are the best Wi-Fi routers y'all can buy today.
What are the best Wi-Fi routers?
Based on our in-depth testing, the best wireless router is the Asus RT-AX86U, a Wi-Fi half dozen powerhouse that has the chops to power a whole habitation's worth of connected gear, providing pure power for gaming and secure every gadget you own. Information technology's equal parts general-utilize router, serious gaming gear and cybersecurity safeguard. And with its reasonable toll, in that location should be no surprise that information technology's our Editor'due south Choice.
For a justifiably more expensive option, the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80) Wi-Fi 6 router blows the doors off of about competing routers. The newer wireless standard offers the best throughput we've always seen, and will hands handle a whole house full of connected devices.
For larger homes, you need coverage that reaches farther and extends to multiple floors every bit needed, and that means one of the all-time mesh Wi-Fi systems. In our testing and evaluation, the Nest WiFi is the best mesh Wi-Fi solution you can purchase. It offers excellent performance that blankets a whole house in point, and it features a born Google Dwelling house smart speaker for intuitive voice control.
Just if toll is no objection, then the Netgear Orbi WiFi 6e is the fastest mesh-router system we've always seen, and one of the fastest routers, period. Just be enlightened that its price is well into four figures.
Best Wi-Fi routers correct now
The Asus RT-AX86U is a Wi-Fi half-dozen powerhouse that delivers dandy speeds and killer gaming features, equally well equally awesome customization options. With loftier-end performance and lifetime protection confronting intrusions and malware, it's also a neat option for securing your entire home network, providing long term protection without a subscription fee, and carrying a ii-year warranty.
But the real describe of the Asus RT-AX86U is the performance, which approaches the the magical 1Gbps mark to provide speedy and effortless connectivity for all of your devices. With first-class range and peachy performance — fifty-fifty through walls and between floors — the RT-AX86U is equal parts full general-use router and elite gaming router, and the collection of features and ports it offers are a steal compared to some of the top-performing gaming gear. If you want the best Wi-Fi vi router for the whole household, the Asus RT-AX86U is it.
Read our full Asus RT-AX86U review .
With the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80) Wi-Fi vi router, top operation and enhanced security go hand in mitt, combining throughput that smashes through the gigabit per second barrier with malware protection and Disney's Circle app for blocking inappropriate content and managing family network utilize. And with excellent functioning through walls and floors, the Nighthawk AX8 volition piece of work merely every bit well in the real world as in the lab.
It may be expensive — well-nigh Wi-Fi vi routers are — but the RAX80 offers easy setup and lets you configure the router exactly the style you lot want it. It'due south also got a 90-foot range, but delivers better performance at distances of 50 anxiety, making it improve suited to medium-sized homes. By nearly any measure, the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80) is the Wi-Fi-half-dozen router to go if you don't want to compromise on speed and safety.
Read our full Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80) review .
The TP-Link Archer C2300 has a deceptively mild-mannered design, simply don't exist fooled — information technology's ane of the about powerful wireless routers yous can buy, and offers the best range of any single router on this list.
It's the reigning performance gnaw, pumping out most a gigabit per second of data in our standard performance tests, and diggings through walls and ceilings with ease. Not but is the Archer C2300 the fastest router we've seen, merely it's also small, unobtrusive and total of high-end features.
The Archer C2300 comes with built-in optimization tools, like antivirus, QoS and parental controls that are ordinarily constitute on more expensive competitors. At $120, it's less than half of what similarly performing competitors cost, and is backed by a 2 year warranty. The TP-Link Archer C2300 is merely the best affordable Wi-Fi router you can purchase today.
Read our full TP-Link Archer C2300 review .
The kickoff gaming router we've tested that features Wi-Fi 6, the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is a gamer'southward please, with speed that improves over longer range, low latency and all the features that gamers look. Add it all up and most other gaming routers are now 2d best.
The GT-AX11000 is large, with a gargantuan base of operations, eight swiveling antennas, and massive ten.8Gbps maximum throughput. This wireless router has connectivity in droves, thank you to its tri-band design and four downstream Gigabit LAN ports, a single 2.5G Base T Ethernet connection, and two USB 3.0 ports.
Congenital-in customization and gaming-oriented optimizations provide plenty of command, and you lot tin can even pair it with other Asus routers for mesh networking to cover a larger domicile. At $450, it is expensive, but this is the best wireless router for gamers wanting an edge online.
Read our full Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 review .
Netgear's Orbi WiFi 6E (model number RBKE963) is the fastest mesh-router arrangement on the planet — and also the well-nigh expensive. Only if you lot have money to burn, a gigabit broadband connection from your Isp and an enormous house, then this is probably the mesh organization for you.
The Orbi WiFi 6E can embrace up to 9,000 square feet. Add a third satellite and you can get to 12,000 square anxiety. At a distance of fifteen feet, the router's vi-Ghz channel delivered throughput of more than than a gigabit per second, the first mesh router to practise so in our tests.
Each unit has 12 antennas and four Ethernet ports (i rated at 2.5 Gbps), and the system creates channels on the 2.five, 5 and 6-Ghz bands, plus a fourth five-Ghz one for backhaul betwixt units.
Netgear offers trial subscriptions to its Armor security software, which includes Bitdefender antivirus, and parental controls. Yous'll also have to pay for tech back up later on 90 days. Just if y'all can beget to pay for this mesh system, you lot won't listen.
Read our full Netgear Orbi WiFi 6E (RBKE963) review .
The get-go gaming router we've tested that features Wi-Fi 6, the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is a gamer's delight, with speed that improves over longer range, low latency and all the features that gamers expect. Add information technology all up and most other gaming routers are now second best. (For a complete list, be sure to check out the best gaming routers).
The GT-AX11000 is large, with a gargantuan base, eight swiveling antennas, and massive 10.8Gbps maximum throughput. This wireless router has connectivity in droves, thank you to its tri-band design and four downstream Gigabit LAN ports, a unmarried ii.5G Base T Ethernet connection, and two USB 3.0 ports.
Built-in customization and gaming-oriented optimizations provide enough of control, and you can even pair it with other Asus routers for mesh networking to cover a larger dwelling. At $450, information technology is expensive, but this is the best wireless router for gamers wanting an edge online.
Read our full Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 review .
Wi-Fi vi routers aren't cheap, but value is the proper name of the game for the TP-Link Archer AX6000 router, our favorite upkeep-friendly Wi-Fi 6 router. It may lag on functioning and range but information technology offers Wi-Fi 6 speeds, for $100 less than competing Wi-Fi vi models. Think of the Archer AX6000 equally the affordable router for the first generation of Wi-Fi 6 devices.
With eight wired networking ports and the ability to pair two together to create a 2Gbps stream of information, TP-Link's Archer AX6000 router leads the style for Wi-Fi 6 routers that are simply equally good with wired devices as they are at Wi-Fi. By adding in router-based security, the Archer AX6000 stands alone as one of the best routers you can get, at a price that'due south hard to crush.
Read our full TP-Link Archer AX6000 review .
The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 is the first Wi-Fi 6e router to hit the market, and the results are heed-blowing. By adding the new 6-GHz band to the already impressive capabilities of Wi-Fi half-dozen, the Nighthawk RAXE500 delivers category-leading performance.
With an AXE11000 rating, the tri-ring device more lives up to the hype by delivering well-nigh two.5Gbps of existent-earth data. Add together this to the slick blueprint and highly customizable configuration options, and the Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 becomes one of the all-time wireless routers we've ever reviewed.
By calculation access to a slew of new information-delivering channels in the 6GHz spectrum, the tri-band Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 takes the lead every bit the first high-functioning Wi-Fi 6e router. Information technology's the sort of performance that earned information technology the Tom's Guide Award for best Wi-Fi router, even if information technology'south non a great fit for everyone. While it's best at close quarters and is 1 of the almost expensive routers you can buy, the RAXE500 is worth every penny if you have the demand for speed.
Read our full Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 review .
Information technology might be priced like a high-functioning or gaming router, just the Netgear Nighthawk AC2300 (RS400) delivers in a unlike (and maybe more important) expanse: cybersecurity. The RS400 may deliver solid performance and plenty range to cover most homes, simply the real value is protection, with a fistful of security features from Netgear and Bitdefender, including three years of protection from Bitdefender Total Security software.
The RS400 is built to safeguard your entire connected dwelling, from your laptops and phones to a whole range of smart devices, from TVs to ovens, thermostats and doorbell cameras. With so many devices on today's home network, you have to be more vigilant, every bit a single poorly secured gadget can open you lot up to hackers and malware. The RS400 keeps your whole dwelling house safe, and is like shooting fish in a barrel to gear up and manage, as well, making information technology our favorite cybersecurity router.
Read our full Netgear Nighthawk AC2300 (RS400) review .
The TP-Link Archer A7 is the best Wi-Fi router for those on a budget, delivering very proficient 802.11ac performance and a surprising number of features for less than most competing routers. The Archer A7 has smashing performance for the price — pushing through more information than nearly of the comparably priced routers we've tested — and features four Gigabit LAN ports and a USB two.0 port for connecting devices.
In addition to solid performance and features, the Archer A7 as well has a very easy setup procedure and useful parental controls, with an app that lets you monitor and control network use from anywhere. It may not be loaded with customization tools, but it offers parental command and Quality of Service (QoS) software that ensures better than average functioning. It'southward the best value Wi-Fi router nosotros've tested.
Read our full TP-Link Archer A7 review .
The TP-Link Archer C5400X is the gaming router to shell, with some of the all-time performance yous'll run into in whatsoever single home networking device. It offers best-in-course tri-band performance, delivering 1Gbps over its ii.4GHz band and 2.167Gbps over each of its 2 5GHz channels. It also has impressive coverage, with more than than 100-feet of superb coverage that will blanket well-nigh homes in potent, clear Wi-Fi point.
The spider-like 8-antenna design and carmine-on-black color scheme are sure to turn heads, only the real selling point is the collection of optimization and security features that will satisfy any power user. With excellent bandwidth-resource allotment controls to let y'all use the massive throughput every bit you wish, this router puts incredible functioning into the user's hands, for gaming or annihilation else.
Read our total TP-Link Archer C5400X review .
For a truly customizable router, we recommend the Linksys EA8300 Max-Stream, which is not only a great tri-band router, it'southward also loaded with tools to tweak and customize your router for optimal performance. The minor black EA8300 Max-Stream tin move lots of data, though it will exercise best in smaller homes. But even with shorter range, it offers impressive functioning for a router that sells for less than $200.
Whether you're allocating bandwidth to prioritize gaming or media streaming, or just setting up parental controls, yous can automate many features, make manual adjustments on the fly, and monitor it — all from your desktop or smartphone. With so many ways to customize your router'due south functioning, the Linksys EA8300 Max Stream is an easy choice for the power user.
Read our full Linksys EA8300 Max Stream review .
Is it time to update your Wi-Fi router?
Perchance you're finding your current Wi-Fi coverage to feel slower than it used to, have been dogged with spotty reception, or perchance you just need something that tin can better handle the demands of an increasingly wide range of smart devices in the boilerplate home. If you've got any of the above irritations, a new router should fix these common issues.
It's also worth upgrading if you're using older hardware. If you nonetheless have an onetime Wireless-N or Wireless-Air-conditioning (retroactively renamed Wi-Fi four and Wi-Fi 5, respectively) router in your home, you should definitely think virtually getting something current. Not simply will these newer standards offering faster connectivity, you lot'll meet other benefits, too. Your smartphone battery will terminal longer thanks to more efficient device management, and your connected dwelling house gadgets will all feel faster and snappier with the more capable standards.
The other large reason to upgrade your router is if you've been paying a monthly rental fee for a gateway device from your Isp. With boilerplate equipment rentals costing $x-fifteen every month, a new router tin pay for itself in a matter of months, and offer amend service and features, besides! Just don't forget to pair it with ane of the all-time cable modems to free yourself entirely from the extra costs that often come with broadband cyberspace packages.
How to choose the best Wi-Fi router for you lot
When it comes to choosing the all-time wireless router, it's piece of cake to get lost in the complexity of networking jargon and obscure engineering science standards. But all you really demand to know is how to respond two fundamental questions: What speed do you demand for your net connexion? And what sort of coverage practise y'all need in your domicile?
Speeds and standards: The cyberspace speed you need for your router volition more often than not be determined by the speed you get from your internet service provider and what speed is supported by your modem. For most people, a standard 802.11ac router will handle all only the most impressive plans bachelor, like Gigabit cyberspace plans that are only available in select cities. With boilerplate broadband speeds sitting right effectually 100 Mbps, almost wireless Ac routers will be able to handle the job with ease.
The latest technology for routers is called Wi-Fi 6 (aka 802.11ax), which is a faster standard that's better suited to the many devices found in homes today. Many Wi-Fi half-dozen routers are bachelor, but in that location's an even newer twist on this standard called Wi-Fi 6e that takes reward of a newly opened role of the radio spectrum.
Wi-Fi 6e-enabled devices, such as laptops and phones, are still few and far between. Unless you're using a dozen devices at one time, you likely won't meet much benefit from Wi-Fi 6e at this fourth dimension. See our commodity What is Wi-Fi 6E: Routers, devices and how it's meliorate than Wi-Fi 6 to learn more.
Coverage range: The other part of the wireless equation is coverage area. A bones standalone router will more often than not offer 50 to 100 feet of range, ably roofing the majority of apartments and pocket-size homes. If you lot have a house of 3,000 square feet or more than, nonetheless, you will want to consider a mesh router, which uses multiple devices to provide Wi-Fi indicate throughout a larger home. These are especially helpful in multistory houses, or in homes with dead spots where the Wi-Fi signal drops out.
Ports: Though wireless connectivity is the main thing you want from a Wi-Fi router, yous'll also want to call back about wired connections. Ethernet offers faster connectivity for devices similar game consoles and smart TVs that employ more bandwidth, and USB ports are handy for attaching a printer or storage to your network.
Input is some other issue, especially is you lot live in an area with Gigabit speed internet. With a Gig-speed connexion, an older router tin can be a bottle neck, slowing downwards your entire home. Some routers can even aggregate two inputs for even faster connectivity.
Price range: Current 802.11ac routers often sell for less than $100 for basic, dual-ring models. More than expensive models range up to $300, but will offer wide coverage and faster speeds, while gaming-oriented routers with congenital-in optimization features will often sell for more. New routers using the Wi-Fi vi standard (previously known every bit 802.11ax) oftentimes sell for $400 or more.
Keeping up on everything happening in the router world is difficult, so bank check out our helpful guides to the latest technology, like What is a mesh Wi-Fi router, and do y'all need one? Or get the latest advice on how to fix your router'due south security problems, from unproblematic steps to advanced protections. From router security to in-depth explanations of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6e, we're always providing the latest info about the newest products and innovations.
How nosotros exam Wi-Fi routers
We test every router nosotros review to measure operation and range, in improver to hands-on use to evaluate the ease-of-setup and quality of settings and features.
Throughput describes how much data the router can move back and forth over its wireless connection. We measure this at a five-human foot distance without obstructions, so that we can gauge the maximum amount of data that the router can move. Higher throughput volition serve y'all meliorate in data-heavy uses, like streaming video, gaming, or connecting multiple users at once.
Range measures the furthest usable distance for the router. Longer ranges are better for larger homes, where rooms are spread out at a distance. We measure out how much data a router can move at v, 50, 75 and 100 feet, so that you can too choose the best model for smaller homes and apartments, where short-range functioning may be the priority.
We also test performance through walls and ceilings, to determine how well a router can provide signal in the Wi-Fi-dampening conditions mutual to many buildings and homes.
For mesh routers, we perform additional testing to determine how well the mesh system does sending a signal through both the main router and through a satellite unit.
Bank check out all of our home networking coverage:
Best mesh routers | All-time Wi-Fi vi routers |Best gaming routers |Best Wi-Fi extenders | Best powerline extenders | All-time cable modems
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