Best WiFi Routers, Mesh Systems, And Extenders: TP-Link vs Linksys vs Netgear Orbi vs Google WiFi vs Eero Pro & More
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There’s nothing worse than losing your WiFi connection. Whether you’re in the middle of a project or streaming your favorite TV show, when the WiFi stalls, the claws come out. (And by claws we mean a frustrated household.)
Time to upgrade your home network? Whole-home WiFi is a must for many families, and these solutions deliver fantastic performance and peace-of-mind to your entire home.
Article Overview
- Understanding Router Terminology
- Best Mesh WiFi Router Systems
- Best Standalone Routers
- Best Range Extenders
- Where Should I Put My Router? (Video)
- WiFi Routers In A Smart Home
Understanding “Router Speak”
Unless you’re a tech person, you’ll probably need a quick explanation of these terms so you can make the smartest decision when choosing a router.
- Dual or tri-band router. By default, most devices connect using the 2.4GHz band (including your neighbors), so you can run into signal congestion. Dual-band routers, however, can also transmit using the less common 5GHz band. Tri-band routers broadcast three signals, one 2.4GHz and two 5GHz frequencies.
- MU-MIMO technology allows a WiFi router to communicate with multiple devices simultaneously. MU-MIMO routers are either 2×2, 3×3, or 4×4, referring to the number of streams that they can create for each device in your household. MU-MIMO vastly improves speed and performance.
- Wireless-AC technology. Wireless-AC (802.11ac) is generally considered the gold standard for wireless networking and can transmit at rates more than 6x the best Wireless-N devices and 100x the best Wireless-G devices. It’s a must for gaming, streaming and other heavy-duty online activities. NOTE: Wireless-AD technology (another step up) has recently been released but is available in a very limited number of routers at this time.
Best Mesh WiFi Router Systems
For decades your only router option has been a standalone router. These would work great in smaller homes, but as soon as you get to larger areas, especially homes with higher floors, signal strength and speed would start to suffer significantly. Enter the mesh WiFi router – a technological advancement that is helping consumers reach the WiFi speeds they’re actually paying for.
How Does A Mesh Router Work?
Mesh routers broadcast the WiFi signal across multiple access points (satellites), helping maintain the strength of the WiFi signal across dead spots that standalone routers are unable to reach. Most mesh systems allow you to add as many satellites as you need to continue expanding your signal to a larger area (including outdoor areas). They also can be very simple to setup compared to traditional routers. The Eero, for example, comes with an app that was so easy to use we were able to get our entire system up and running in under 5 minutes.
Mesh systems share a single wireless network (SSID and password)
An important thing to note is that mesh systems share a single wireless network and the same SSID and password. This means on dual or tri-band routers the bands are automatically optimized for your devices’ location. A potential drawback to this in the short term is that some legacy devices (in particular older security cameras in our experience) that need to connect on a particular band (say 2.4 GHz) may not stay connected if your router automatically switches them to 5 GHz. Fortunately, by now most devices have either been updated, or is there is a newer version available that will not only perform better on the mesh system, it should be more secure as well.
Our Picks
Our editor’s picks for the best mesh WiFi router systems are:
Amazon Eero | NETGEAR Orbi | Google WiFi
Amazon Eero Review
The Eero line of routers was acquired by Amazon a while back. It is quickly becoming one of the more popular mesh options due to its easy seamless setup via its app, easy whitelist and blacklist filtering, and security options.
The Eero uses its proprietary TrueMesh technology to leverage multiple wireless access points. Various packages are available, you’ll need at least one router, and you can extend your signal with beacons (or multiple routers). The beacons can be plugged into any outlet, and then you use your app to optimize positioning and signal automatically. The beacons also have an adjustable nightlight which we find to be a nice feature.
Coverage for the Eero 3-pack we link above is 4,500 sq ft (one router plus two extenders), although we’ve found that it’s best to assume less coverage, especially with multiple floors. The more routers or extenders you add, the more coverage you’ll get. The eero Pro system is tri-band concurrent 2:2:4 (802.11ax).
Personal Experience
One of our staff installed the Eero Pro recently for testing purposes and here was their experience:
Installation was seamless and took our speed from 30mbps in the upstairs office (two floors above our old Airport Extreme router from Apple) to 230mbps in speed tests (we are on a 200mbps plan with our ISP). I was initially concerned for Eero’s privacy policy following the Amazon acquisition, but reviewing it convinced me that the important sections had remained intact. And let’s face it, I would feel less comfortable with a data mining company like Google behind my router. – Alex S., We Rock Your Web
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Price & Tech Specs
- $199.99 for Eero 6 or Eero 6 Pro 3-pack
- Check Amazon for availability for Aumox 5 Port Gigabit Ethernet Network Switch
- 2 Gigabit LAN ports per router (none on beacons)
- 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, 1 GB RAM, 4 GB flash storage (Pro model)
NETGEAR Orbi RBK50 Review
NETGEAR Orbi established itself early as a name in the mesh system world. It the first mesh system to offer tri-band technology, and optimizes the signal with your home ISP for top-notch performance. With excellent speeds and range, this router system can handle tons of devices simultaneously.
The base package comes with one base router and one satellite that covers up to 5,000 square feet, and you can add additional satellite units, each extending your signal another 2,000 feet. You can even purchase an outdoor extension.
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Price & Tech Specs
- $219.49 for NETGEAR Orbi RBK50 system
- for outdoor expansion
- Speeds up to 3.0Gbps
- 8 (4 + 4) Gigabit LAN ports
- 1 USB port
- 6 high-performance antennas in each device
- Wireless compatibility: 802.11bgn, 2.4 GHz Radio Frequency, 802.11 a/g/n/ac
Google Mesh WiFi System Review
Google WiFi makes whole-home WiFi coverage as easy as it gets. This system allows you to place WiFi satellite devices (called points) throughout your home to maximize your WiFi range. The 3-pack covers 4,500 square feet, and each individual pod covers 1,500 feet. You can purchase a single point for smaller spaces.
Google WiFi does have its limitations if you like control over your hardware. You can’t choose your band or customize your firmware, and this system doesn’t support VPN. For most people, however, Google WiFi works like a charm.
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Price & Tech Specs
- $53.06 for 1 or for 3-pack
- Speeds up to 1.2Gbps
- 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports per point
- 4 WiFi and 1 Bluetooth antenna in each point
- Wireless compatibility: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Best Standalone WiFi Routers
Are you looking for a single router that can handle your all of your home’s WiFi needs? Here are “best-of” picks for a variety of needs.
Best For: Home | Large Homes | Streaming | Gaming | A Limited Budget
Best Router For Home: Linksys AC1900 Review
The Linksys AC1900 is one of the best dual-band routers in its price range and is ideal for medium-sized homes. Armed with MU-MIMO, this router can handle multiple high-bandwidth activities, like gaming and streaming.
It also uses Beamforming technology, which strengthens the WiFi signal to specific devices, rather than simply sending out WiFi in a general direction.
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Price & Tech Specs
- Price: Check Amazon for availability
- Speeds up to 1.9Gbps (600Mbps at 2.4GHz and 1,300Mbps at 5GHz)
- 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports
- 1 USB 3.0 and 1 USB 2.0 ports
- 3 antennas
- Wireless compatibility: 802.11 ac
Best Router For A Large Home: NETGEAR Nighthawk X10 AD7200 Review
NETGEAR Nighthawk X10 is one of the fastest routers on the market with an excellent range, making it a perfect choice for large homes with multiple devices. This tri-band router can accommodate up to 20 devices at once. The Nighthawk 10K also has Adaptive QoS, which prioritizes for activities with higher bandwidth needs.
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Price & Tech Specs
- $349.99 on Amazon
- Combined speeds up to 7.2 Gbps
- 6 Gigabit LAN Ports
- 2 USB 3.0 ports
- 4 antennas
- Wireless compatibility: 802.11ac and 802.11ad
Best Router For Streaming: TP-Link Archer AC5400
Do you have several Netflix and Hulu junkies at home? This tri band router is ideal for streaming HD video and running multiple applications simultaneously. It also comes with parental controls, added security, and Quality of Service (QoS) controls that let you choose which devices and activities have priority when everyone is online at the same time.
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Price & Tech Specs
- Price: $199.99
- Combined speeds up to 5400Mbps (1,000Mbps at 2.4GHz + 2,167Mbps at 5GHz + 2,167Mbps at 5GHz)
- 4 Gigabit Ethernet Ports
- 1x 3.0 USB, 1x 2.0 USB
- 8 antennas
- Wireless compatibility: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Best Router For Gaming: Asus RT-AC86U Review
The Asus RT-AC86U router is a powerhouse for gaming at an attractive price point. This router has what it takes to handle all your high-bandwidth, low-latency needs for gaming and streaming and also includes Asus’ Aiprotection feature that provides built-in 24/7 protection from external attacks and threats.
As an added bonus, this router comes with WTFast built-in game acceleration, which automatically performs route optimization by choosing the most efficient route for game packets, resulting in consistently-lower ping time and minimal packet loss.
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Price & Tech Specs
- Combined WiFi speeds up to 2,900 Mbps
- 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports
- 1 USB 2.0 port and 1 USB 3.0 port
- 3 antennas
- Wireless compatibility: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Best Router Under $100: D-Link AC1750
The dual-band D-Link AC1750 is an excellent budget-friendly choice for small to medium-sized homes. Sure, you’re not going to get the speed and range you can with more expensive routers, but this model is as good as it gets in this price range and is suitable for streaming and gaming.
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Price & Tech Specs
- Price:
- Combined speeds up to 1750Mbps (450 Mbps in 2.4GHz + 1300 Mbps in 5GHz)
- 4 Gigabit Ethernet Ports
- Wireless compatibility: 802.11 a/g/n/ac
Best WiFi Range Extenders
If you’re on a limited budget and can’t afford a mesh system or multiple routers in your home, another option to extend your WiFi range is to use a WiFi extender. Here are our top picks.
NETGEAR N300 WiFi Range Extender, Essentials Edition (EX3700) Review
Do you get a poor internet connection in one part of your house? You’re probably too far from the router. That’s why a WiFi booster can be so helpful. This dual-band internet speed.
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Securifi Almond Touchscreen Wireless Range Extender/Router Review
This router does it all; it’s insane. You can use it as a router, WiFi signal booster or wireless bridge. It is compatible with other routers like Netgear, Linksys and Belkin.
The touchscreen allows for a quick and painless installation. We recommend this as one of the best wireless routers only if your needs are small, but it makes an excellent extender. The major drawback, however, is that it’s not compatible with AC technology.
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Where Should I Put My WiFi Router?
The location of your router can make or break your home WiFi network’s performance. Check out this video for some excellent tips.
WiFi Routers In A Smart Home
There’s a lot you can do with your home internet besides browsing the web, streaming tv and gaming. You can use your router to turn your house into a smart home. Using a smart home hub you can program everything from your lights to your locks, sprinklers and more!