The Best Wi-Fi Routers

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The humble Wi-Fi router has become an essential fixture in every home, but the one your internet service provider sent is likely the reason your Wi-Fi sucks. There are various ways to improve your Wi-Fi, but few are as effective as upgrading your router. Benefits will extend to everything from streaming movies and online gaming to video calls. Most people can get by just fine with a single Wi-Fi router, and I’ve collected recommendations to suit different needs, spaces, and budgets. I tested all of these in a busy family home full of Netflix-addicted gamers.

There’s a mesh Wi-Fi option here, but check out our Best Mesh Wi-Fi Routers guide for larger homes. If you're confused about terminology, our How to Buy a Router guide can help. Whatever you choose, make sure you secure your router.

Updated April 2024: We added routers from Asus, honorable mentions for routers from Vodafone, Reyee, and Firewalla, updated tips, and added a section on how we test.

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This affordable Wi-Fi 6 router is what I think most people should buy. The slick black finish is attractive, and there are four antennas to direct Wi-Fi to every corner. (It's worth tweaking and testing different positions.) Performance was solid throughout my two-floor, 1,600-square-foot home but dropped off slightly in the back garden. Stability was excellent over weeks of testing, hitting the upper mid-end in my speed and range tests. This router also ticks off all the feature boxes you want (MU-MIMO, beamforming, WPA3—we explain many of these terms in our How to Buy a Router guide). It has four gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, a single gigabit WAN port, and a USB 3.0 port on the back, which is enough for most people.

I’m a fan of TP-Link’s Tether app (Android, iOS), where you can review traffic, split bands, create a guest network, schedule reboots, set automatic updates, and even tell the LED to turn off at night. TP-Link’s basic free HomeShield tier offers network scanning, QoS (Quality of Service) for device prioritization, and basic parental controls, so you can filter and blacklist websites. If you want more perks, like time limits for apps, downtime, and real-time security protection, you'll need to upgrade to HomeShield Pro ($6 per month or $55 for the year).

Simple setup, silky performance, and serious speed make this Asus router a good choice for anyone prepared to spend more for smoother Wi-Fi. It sports an eye-catching red and black design with three rotatable antennas. This router had no issues covering my entire home and garden and was one of the top performers in my tests. It delivered consistently fast speeds everywhere and was stable, even with four people streaming and gaming simultaneously. There are some handy customization options for gamers and optimizations that ensure low latency. It also has plenty of ports, including a 2.5-Gbps port configurable as WAN or LAN and two USB 3.2 ports.

The Asus app is packed with options, making it very easy to tweak router settings, should you need to. It covers everything, from comprehensive parental controls to traffic prioritization and network security. That includes AiProtection Pro (powered by Trend Micro), which monitors your network for malicious activity, no subscription required. This router supports AiMesh, which means you can add any other AiMesh Asus router to create a mesh network and expand connectivity in your home.

This impressive Wi-Fi 6 router delivers reliable performance at a relatively low price and succeeds our previous pick (the AX20). Despite the demands of four people video streaming and gaming, I rarely noticed a difference in everyday performance between this and my top pick, the AX55. My tests revealed some limitations on the range, however, and the download speed when installing a new game was noticeably slower than with the rest of our picks. But for most day-to-day tasks over a week of testing, this router delivered sterling service. It matches the AX55 with four gigabit Ethernet LAN ports and one WAN but only has a USB 2.0.

The Tether app is straightforward and packed with all the basic options you need, including traffic prioritization, parental controls, and a guest network. There’s no HomeShield or HomeCare support with this router, but most people don't need those extra services. If you don’t care about online gaming performance or have tons of smart home devices, and your home is 1,600 square feet or smaller, you likely don’t need to spend more than this.

While many people will be best served by skipping Wi-Fi 6E to wait for Wi-Fi 7, anyone suffering from congestion problems could benefit from jumping onto the 6-GHz band today. The tri-band Asus RT-AXE7800 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a reliable and relatively affordable way to do so. This hexagonal router has a 2.5 Gbps WAN/LAN port, a second 1-Gbps WAN/LAN, and a further three gigabit LANs, with link aggregation support. Close range performance was excellent on both the 5-GHz and 6-GHz bands, midrange results on the 5-GHz band were good, and long-range performance on the 2.4-GHz band was average.

There are options galore in the mobile app and browser interface, including band-splitting, prioritization for different activities, guest network, VPN support, and lots more. The RT-AXE7800 also comes with parental controls and network security without a subscription, so there are no hidden costs. It covered my 1,600-square-foot home comfortably, but folks with larger properties may prefer a mesh system, though the AiMesh support means the RT-AXE7800 can be combined with other Asus routers to form one.

If you’re an early adopter itching to try Wi-Fi 7, then the Asus RT-BE96U is calling out to you. This enormous, tri-band router is bristling with eight large antennas and is not easy to mount, so you will need a suitable space for it. Seriously, this router is massive, but performance-wise, this is as good as it gets right now. Testing on the 2.4-GHz, 5-GHz, and 6-GHz bands, only one other router has performed better, and it was the GT-BE98 Pro below, also from Asus. The RT-BE96U offers expansive coverage, easily blanketing my home and garden with stable, speedy Wi-Fi. Whether downloading or moving large files, gaming, or streaming, the RT-BE96U is fast and reliable. It also has two 10-Gbps ports (one WAN/LAN and a LAN), four gigabit LANs, one USB 3.2, and a USB 2.0 port. Being super picky, it might have been nice if those gigabit ports were 2.5 Gbps, as TP-Link offers in the BE800.

I love that Asus continues to avoid the subscription model, offering AiProtection security, VPN functionality, and robust parental controls as part of the purchase price (free for the lifetime of the router). You also get an in-depth set of networking features you can dig into, and there is support for AiMesh, enabling you to link this with other Asus routers to create a mesh. You don’t even have to create an account to use this router (which is a rarity nowadays). The firmware on Asus routers can sometimes be ropey at release, but I’ve been using the RT-BE96U for a couple of weeks without so much as a hiccup. The caveat? You do need devices that support Wi-Fi 7 and a multi-gig connection to put this router through its paces. Most folks do not have to spend this much to get great Wi-Fi, but if you want a router to last you the next few years, this is an excellent choice.

My time with the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 was refreshingly free of issues. It’s a big, loud design with four antennas and RGB lighting that screams gamer. Still, it served up speedy, unbroken Wi-Fi throughout my home and garden and didn’t flinch at four simultaneous online gaming sessions. It’s easy to prioritize gaming devices or activity, and there’s a mobile game mode, simple port forwarding, and a dedicated gaming port. Speaking of which, you get two 2.5-Gbps ports (one WAN/LAN and a LAN), four gigabit LANs, one USB 3.2 Gen 1, and a USB 2.0.

Like the rest of the Asus range, the mobile app is excellent and boasts all the features you need, including guest network support, band splitting, parental controls, and anti-malware. The AiProtection Pro and parental controls are free for the device's lifetime so you don't have to make monthly payments. Asus offers Instant Guard free with this router, enabling it to secure your public Wi-Fi connections when you are out by running a VPN (virtual private network) server on your router at home (which also means you don’t have to share data with a VPN provider).

If you’re ready to turn things up to 11, this is one of the fastest routers I've tested. The curvy spaceship design in matte black is a little more stealthy than your average gaming gear, but those wings contain several antennas for a strong signal throughout your home. The Nighthawk RAXE300 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a tri-band router with Wi-Fi 6E support, covering the 2.4-GHz, 5-GHz, and 6-GHz bands. It served seamless speedy Wi-Fi during two weeks of testing, with zero issues while handling a revolving mix of four simultaneous gaming and video streaming streams. I downloaded a 30-GB game in less than 10 minutes. A single 2.5-Gbps WAN/LAN port, five gigabit LAN ports, and a USB-C 3.0 port will be enough for most folks.

The Nighthawk app is excellent and offers band splitting, guest network options, and a host of analytical tools. While both the Premium Smart Parental Controls ($8/month or $70/year) and Netgear Armor ($100/year) are comprehensive and slick, the extra expense is hard to swallow when many competitors offer cheaper or free alternatives with similar features. That said, Netgear Armor does include Bitdefender Security for your devices and Bitdefender VPN for use outside the home. Don’t even think about spending more than this unless your internet connection exceeds 1 Gbps, and even then you can expect diminishing returns.

Topping my testing charts, the Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro is a supremely capable, quad-band, Wi-Fi 7 gaming router. For speed, this is the best router I have tested to date. It is very similar to the RT-BE96U above, but Asus has added a second 6-GHz band on top of the existing 2.4-GHz, 5-GHz, and 6-GHz bands, and an extra 10 Gbps LAN port. This is also easily the biggest router I have ever tested, with eight huge antennas. It is far from subtle, won’t blend in, and could prove tricky to place. Because it is a gaming router, Asus has included Aura RGB lighting, so you can pick the colored lighting you want and make it a feature.

AiProtection Pro security software and parental controls powered by Trend Micro are bundled into the cost. This comprehensive security combo includes a firewall, intrusion prevention, malicious site blocking, automatic updates, and more. Parental controls include scheduling, website filtering by age, and usage stats. You also get VPN support with the option to connect remotely when you are out and about. Naturally, there are some gaming-focused features, with game acceleration enabling you to prioritize gaming-related traffic through ports and packet analysis. If you have Asus' ROG gear, it can be prioritized with a click, and Asus includes server acceleration to minimize latency through the third-party WTFast service.