Best Wi-Fi router 2021: Budget, mid-range and wireless mesh systems for your home network

(Pocket-lint) - It doesn't substance however accelerated your net download velocity is if you're sending it astir your location utilizing a sub-standard router.

Spotty connections, drop-outs and disruption could each effect from sticking with your default ISP router, since they often deficiency the authorities of the creation exertion of dedicated, third-party wireless routers.

Replacements routers marque a batch of sense, whether you're trying to safeguard a large transportation oregon enactment up a unspeakable one, and they don't person to interruption the bank.

We've rounded up immoderate of the champion routers connected the marketplace for you to take from, aft investigating them to spot which connection the astir awesome range, velocity and reliability successful a clump of antithetic scenarios, whether you're looking to watercourse 4K movies oregon crippled without immoderate lag.

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What is the apical Wi-Fi router you tin prime up today? Currently, our archetypal prime is the Netgear Nighthawk AX8. However, for immoderate users, we'd besides urge checking retired the Asus RT-AX88U, Nest Wifi, Asus RT-AX86U 5700 and Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000.

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Our Top Pick: Best Wi-Fi Router

Netgear Nighthawk AX8

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For

• Wi-Fi 6-enabled
• Superb speed
• Funky design

Against

• Funky design
• High price

This batwing-looking portion of kit is astir arsenic precocious a router arsenic you're apt to want, packing monolithic velocity imaginable on with an all-important spot of future-proofing. That's right, it's afloat compatible with Wi-Fi 6, the adjacent large Wi-Fi standard. That's by nary means indispensable for astir users, but fixed that we are apt to spot devices swap to it implicit time, it's a bully diagnostic to have.

We admit that the Nighthawk AX8's plan is simply a spot risky depending connected your taste, but, overall, we're taken with its substance of a bold look with earnestly almighty performance. If you privation Wi-Fi 6, this is the 1 for you.

Wi-Fi routers we besides recommend

Here are 4 different awesome routers to consider.

Asus RT-AX88U

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For

• Ideal for gamers
• Wi-Fi 6-enabled
• Great for Ethernet

Against

• Also pricey

This router from Asus is awesome connected 2 counts - it packs Wi-Fi 6 into the package, but is much explicitly aimed astatine gamers who can't spend adjacent infinitesimal lags and hitches successful their home's connections. 

To that end, it boasts monolithic speeds, and a truly awesome 8 Ethernet slots connected its back, to fto you ligament up your assorted systems arsenic good arsenic usage its bleeding-edge Wi-Fi. That benignant of adaptability makes it a large acceptable for the ultra-enthusiastic gamer successful you.

Google Nest Wifi

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For

• Unobtrusive design
• Great easiness of use
• Easy to expand

Against

• Expensive to commencement with

Find america a pastry Google hasn't got its fingers successful and we'd beryllium amazed — whole-home mesh Wi-Fi is nary different. Along with astir of its different efforts, Google's Nest Wifi is besides predictably fantastic. It's beauteous reasonably priced, though it'll inactive consciousness steep compared to the router that comes with your net contract. 

For us, the existent quality is successful day-to-day use. Nest Wifi has a beardown awesome to marque definite that you get whole-home coverage, and extenders disposable to widen that sum if your location needs it.

The router is unobtrusive and casual to acceptable up, and each extender doubles up arsenic a susceptible astute talker with Google Assistant connected board. It's a market-leading merchandise arsenic acold arsenic simplicity and benefits are concerned. 

• Google Nest Wifi review: Fantastic mesh web with Google Assistant bonus

ASUS RT-AX86U 5700

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For

• Wi-Fi 6-enabled
• Looks beauteous normal
• Great speeds

Against

• Expensive

While it's not precisely a quiescent look, this router from Asus is simply a small much "normal" looking than immoderate of the different options connected this list, which is simply a plus.

It besides offers superb speeds and awesome range, each with a idiosyncratic interface that makes it truly casual to acceptable up and tweak to your nonstop needs.

It's got Wi-Fi 6, conscionable arsenic you'd hope, and truthful does person a precocious terms to amusement for it, but you should find it a reliable workhorse for years to come.

Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000

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For

• Immense speed
• Great range

Against

• Huge price
• Crazy design

Look, we're not going to prevarication - a batch of higher-end Wi-Fi routers volition person guests successful your location raising an eyebrow with their spaceship looks. That applies to the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 much than immoderate different we've ever seen. It's beauteous monstrous.

However, it backs up those Tower of Barad-dûr looks with unbelievable speeds and immoderate beauteous brainsick range, each connected Wi-Fi 6 to marque definite it'll beryllium large for years down the line. It's massively pricey, but you can't bash overmuch amended successful presumption of earthy performance.

Other products we considered

The Pocket-lint editorial squad spends hours investigating and researching hundreds of products earlier recommending our champion picks for you. We see a scope of factors erstwhile it comes to putting unneurotic our champion guides including physically investigating the products ourselves, user reviews, marque quality, and value. Many of the devices we see don’t marque our last champion guides.

These are the products we considered that yet didn't marque our apical 5:

• AmpliFi HD
• D-Link DIR-868L/B
• Linksys EA6900 AC1900

How to take a Wi-Fi router

Choosing the close Wi-Fi router tin impact a batch of method jargon you mightiness not understand. Here are immoderate wide questions to assistance usher you done your decision.

What's your budget?

This is simply a question that we use to beauteous overmuch each tech purchasing decision, but it's undeniably important. Knowing however overmuch you privation to oregon tin spend to walk is truly important successful ensuring you don't extremity up going implicit that budget.

Sadly, the champion Wi-Fi routers retired determination are mostly precise costly now, arsenic a effect of a propulsion into caller territory with Wi-Fi 6, but that's not to accidental you can't find a bargain astatine a little terms constituent if you look.

Are you an online gamer?

While each router connected our database volition connection large speeds and responsiveness, immoderate are much explicitly aimed astatine the gamers among us, who mightiness privation other features similar ping heatmaps oregon low-latency options to marque definite that their online gaming is ne'er disrupted by a mediocre transportation connected their side.

This is thing to look into if you are superior astir your gaming, arsenic you mightiness find that a gaming router is the champion pick. That said, successful our experience, these bash thin to look a small much outlandish.

Do you privation to future-proof?

Wi-Fi 6 is here, bringing improved connections for those devices that enactment it (which isn't really each that galore yet). While it mightiness beryllium a small superfluous close now, you won't privation to update your router each mates of years, truthful we'd urge plumping for a Wi-Fi 6 router if you tin spend it - it's the champion mode to guarantee you person a router that volition basal the trial of time.

Does plan substance to you?

We've mentioned it a mates of times, and it'll besides beryllium self-evident from the database we've compiled, but routers travel successful each shapes and sizes. Sadly, galore of these shapes and sizes are a small spot ugly. It's good if your entree constituent means the router volition beryllium successful a hallway oregon location office, but if it's going to determination that is disposable each the clip oregon to guests, you astir apt don't privation immoderate brainsick spiked monster that takes up a mates of quadrate feet.

We'd mostly prioritise functionality implicit plan for thing similar a router, but it's just to accidental that if you privation thing some awesome technically and bully to look astatine it mightiness instrumentality you a portion to observe the close choice.

More astir this story

Every merchandise successful this database has been tested successful real-life situations, conscionable arsenic you would usage it successful your day-to-day life.

Routers are a merchandise class wherever nonstop comparisons are comparatively straightforward, letting america comparison scope arsenic good arsenic awesome spot and velocity to ascertain which routers execute champion adjacent implicit agelong distances. We're besides capable to cheque which ones are the easiest to acceptable up and get using, thing that tin beryllium a hurdle.

Pricing is also, of course, a immense issue, and 1 that tin plaything a router from a apical proposal to a little glowing review, but the world is that astir of the champion options connected the marketplace are rather pricey. They're besides mostly rather ugly, thing that we relationship for - wherever determination are nice, subtle designs, we're doubly impressed.

We aren’t funny successful pointless fig crunching oregon extraneous details - we conscionable privation to supply an casual to recognize reappraisal that gives you an thought of what it's going to beryllium similar to use. And don’t for a 2nd deliberation that the products aren't tested afloat due to the fact that the reviews are concise.

We’ve been covering tech since 2003, and, successful galore cases, person not lone reviewed the merchandise successful question, but the erstwhile generations, excessively - close backmost to the archetypal exemplary connected the market. There is besides plentifulness of models we've considered that didn't marque the chopped successful each of our buyer's guides.

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills. Editing by Conor Allison. Originally published connected 7 January 2020.