The Best Wi-Fi Routers To Stay Connected While Gaming And Streaming

Range: 2- to 3- bedroom houses | Band: 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz | Speed: 5.4Gbps | LAN ports: 4 x 1 Gbps | Antennae: 6 | Standard: Wi-Fi 6E

Best for: A speedy, expandable standalone router.

Pros:

• Strong Wi-Fi 6E and Gigabit-wired performance
• Supports WPA3 for improved security
• Offers strong range and coverage in most homes

Cons:

• Lacks the latest Wi-Fi 7 support

There are higher-end and more expensive routers than the TP-Link AXE75, but unless you need to do super fast local network file transfers or live in a gigantic home, then the TP-Link AXE75 is more than enough for most buyers. It offers speedy Wi-Fi 6E wireless performance, along with Gigabit Ethernet networking. The six external antennas provide impressive coverage and you can angle them for more nuanced coverage depending on your home’s layout. Its total throughput across its tri-band configuration is an impressive 5.4Gbps, so no matter how many people you have on your network, you’re not going to saturate it.

There’s all the performance you need here for streaming 4K movies, gaming and browsing the web all at the same time from a range of different devices. The router itself is compact, so it doesn’t take up much space on a bookshelf or a table. At under $200, it’s relatively affordable, making it a great all-round package for the average home. It also has a built-in VPN, supports OneMesh for expandability and WPA3 for added security.

What the reviews say: One Amazon customer swapped and is happy with the TP-Link AXE75. “We live in a concrete block house; our Wi-Fi signal gets drained quickly. We bit the bullet and bought this hoping to help keep my wife connected to her school work and hoping she wouldn’t be mad about the price. We plugged it in and checked the Wi-Fi speeds, and we love it. There are no more issues with weak signals. Setup requires an app, but is easy to use. Thumbs up for this thing.”

Range: 2,000 square foot per router | Band: 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz | Speed: 5.4Gbps | LAN ports: 1 x 2.5Gbps, 1 x 1Gbps | Antennae: 6 | Standard: Wi-Fi 6E

Best for: A speedy, expandable router that you can augment with additional nodes.

Pros:

• Impressive Wi-Fi 6E speeds
• Great coverage with every additional node
• Tri-band support keeps congestion at bay

Cons:

• Only two Ethernet ports per router
• Reports that it runs very hot

The Wyze Wi-Fi 6E mesh router pro is an excellent mesh router with a lot going for it. It’s compact and easy to tuck away, but still offers fast, expansive coverage for your home, enabling high-speed wired and wireless connectivity for all your devices. It comes with only a pair of Ethernet ports, but they’re 1 Gigabit and 2.5 Gigabit speed, so your wired devices enjoy the same high-speed connection as your wireless ones. Those can leverage the tri-band configuration to get the best speed possible, wherever they are in your home, with the 5GHz and 6GHz bands helping to avoid congestion, no matter how many devices you connect.

It has six powerful internal antennas which makes this router a little more attractive than ones with overbearing external designs. Despite being hidden away, though, you still get up to 2,000 square feet of coverage with a single router. You can also expand that by a further 2,000 square feet with every additional router you add to the mix. Easy to set up with an intuitive app, the Wyze Mesh Router Pro is a great way to blanket large homes with strong Wi-Fi signal.

What the reviews say: One Amazon customer says, “I have two homes in which I installed this unit. In both, I have a Motorola cable modem with integrated wireless router. Both are rated for 1000Mbps, but I have experienced terrible speed delays, because I have a lot of wireless devices. So, the speed degradation is huge, due to the router being able to handle only about 8 devices. I added this mesh router, and the delays have gone away. I consistently get close to 300Mbps when I run a speed test. This Wyze unit is a good option if you have that problem.”

Range: 1,500 square foot per router | Band: 2.4GHz, 5GHz | Speed: .6Gbps | LAN ports: 2 x 1Gbps | Antennae: 3 | Standard: Wi-Fi 5

Best for: A cheap, easily expandable router with enough performance for most users.

Pros:

• Affordably priced
• Enough performance for the average household
• Compact and attractive design

Cons:

• Not as capable as newer versions of Eero
• Limited transfer speeds

If you want a cheap, easy way to get a huge Wi-Fi network for large spaces and homes, Amazon’s Eero Mesh Wi-Fi Router is really hard to beat. At less than $50 per node at its current pricing, you can cover your entire home for a fraction of the cost of other Wi-Fi mesh routers. It is limited to Wi-Fi 5 speeds, but that’s enough for most users who aren’t performing large file transfers or downloading huge files on multi-gigabit connections. You still get a dual-band configuration, which helps avoid congestion on busy networks, and there are a pair of gigabit Ethernet ports for demanding gaming and other important networking needs.

Each node gives you an additional 1,500 square feet of room to roam, making it easy to expand your network in the future, and it’s even powered by a USB-C connection. You also get VPN passthrough support and WPA3 security, and it supports Alexa voice commands and smart-home integration. If you want greater performance, the newer Eero 6 Plus and Eero Pro 6E models are faster and more capable, but also more expensive.

What the reviews say: One Amazon customer loves that it connects with other Amazon devices. “It’s super easy to set up, especially if you use other Alexa devices. Everything connects easily. I have the three-pack spread through a 1,500 square foot space. Probably could have just used two, but the pack of three was a good deal and gives me more coverage.”

Band: 2.4GHz, 5GHz | Speed: 1.5Gbps | LAN ports: 4 x 1Gbps | Antennae: 4 | Standard: Wi-Fi 6

Best for: High-speed online gaming on a budget.

Pros:

• Affordably priced
• Wi-Fi 6 connectivity
• Has four gigabit Ethernet ports

Cons:

• Lacks newer, faster connection options

You don’t need to sacrifice modern features and high-speed connectivity just because you’re working with a tight budget. The TP-Link Archer AX10 offers excellent performance for gaming and anything else besides, despite costing well below $100. It supports Wi-Fi 6, has dual-band connectivity so you shouldn’t run into congestion issues in the average household and its 1.5Gbps connection speed is plenty for everyday use. Yes, you might want more if you have a multi-gigabit internet connection or move very large files around your local network, but if you’re just streaming and gaming, the AX10 is perfectly suitable.

You also get a handful of gigabit Ethernet ports for a stable connection for the devices you don’t roam with, and for those that do, you get strong range—and the ability to expand it with mesh connectivity down the line with additional nodes or range extenders. It also supports WPA3 security, TP-Link’s capable QoS to help maintain low latency during gaming and built-in parental controls for monitoring and restricting internet access.

What the reviews say: “This router is a good mid-grade router. The wireless signal has fairly good signal and seems to work well with 10 to 15 users attached to it. Updating went smoothly... It does have a more limited range than the most expensive, but I would call it very good for the price. The interface to set it up is also good. It is a very good router for the price.”

Band: 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz | Speed: 19Gbps | LAN ports: 2 x 10Gbps, 4 x 2.5Gbps | Antennae: 8 | Standard: Wi-Fi 7

Best for: Delivering powerful wired and wireless performance.

Pros:

• Unique look
• Strong wired and wireless performance
• Fun and useful LED display

Cons:

• Expensive

Need the fastest performance and a cool-looking router in one? The TP-Link Archer BE800 is hard to beat. It offers blazing-fast Wi-Fi 7 performance across three frequency bands and has a lot of very fast Ethernet ports for all your wired devices. The eight internal antennas offer excellent coverage of your home, and with beamforming technology, you can rest assured you have a strong connection no matter where you are. It works with EasyMesh routers too, so if you ever want to expand where it can reach, it’s as easy as adding another router to your network.

The router itself looks distinct and lacks the gaudy external antennas of some designs. You can customize the front-facing LED screen to display networking information, the time, weather or even a smiley face to brighten your day. This router also supports TP-Link’s security and parental controls, helping you to stay on top of your network security, whether you’re gaming or doing anything else.

What the reviews say: “The TP-Link BE800 is the best router I’ve ever used. I have two of them in two different homes. The features I like most are the 10Gbps WAN and LAN ports and the four 2.5Gbps LAN ports. All of my desktop PCs have 10Gbps Ethernet ports so they are now all connected to each other at that speed. All of my other devices are connected at 2.5Gbps (or whatever their maximum speed is). I’ve had one BE800 for about six months and the other for a month and they are both working perfectly. I have found TP-Link tech support to be very responsive when I’ve had questions,” says one Amazon customer.

Band: 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz | Speed: 7.8Gbps | LAN ports: 1 x 2.5Gbps, 4 x 1Gbps | Antennae: 6 | Standard: Wi-Fi 6E

Best for: Enjoying your gaming at a balance of price and features.

Pros:

• Super fast Wi-Fi 6E speeds
• Lots of high-speed Ethernet ports
• Expansive coverage with great reception from powerful antennas

Cons:

• Lacks 10Gbps Ethernet
• Lacks Wi-Fi 7

Good gaming routers are a dime a dozen, but the truly great gaming routers only come along once in a while. The Acer Predator Connect W6 is one such router. Despite not offering quite the peak of modern connectivity, it’s still the best out there thanks to its combination of excellent performance, great coverage, focus on gaming latency and its relatively affordable price tag. You get a lot for your money with this router, and if you’re serious about your online gaming and want to make sure as soon as you click or hit a button it registers in game, this router gets the job done.

It supports Wi-Fi 6E for super fast connectivity—without the proprietary cost of the latest Wi-Fi 7 routers—and offers blazing fast wired gigabit and 2.5-gigabit connections if you want the most stable of Ethernet connectivity. There are three wireless bands to leverage too, ensuring that no matter how many friends you have over, their phones and laptops don’t congest your network. With Acer’s effective quality of service (QoS), your gaming traffic gets prioritized so the latency is always minimal.

What the reviews say: The majority of Amazon reviews have left 5-star ratings for the Acer Predator Connect W6. One user, who took advantage of Amazon Prime Day to upgrade, says, “It has exceeded our expectations. It's a dramatic improvement for our family's diverse internet needs, allowing simultaneous streaming, gaming and web browsing without a hitch.” Another left their review after using it for three months, saying, “Three months in, the advanced antenna calibration of this router still impresses me. My entire house gets strong signal coverage, and it seems to handle multiple devices like a champ. For gaming, this means I can play from anywhere in my home without worrying about signal drops or speed issues.”

Range: 2,500 square feet | Band: 2 x 2.4GHz, 4 x 5GHz, 2 x 6GHz | Speed: 7.8Gbps | LAN ports: 1 x 2.5Gbps, 5 x 1Gbps | Antennae: 8 | Standard: Wi-Fi 6E

Best for: Those with large homes and a busy household that needs up to eight streams simultaneously.

Pros:

• Eye-catching design
• Beefy bandwidth
• Supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant

Cons:

• Expensive
• Some security services cost extra

The distinctive Nighthawk RAXE300 is the successor to the previous pick in this category. Now with Wi-Fi 6E support, this model has 7.8Gbps of bandwidth. While Netgear’s more expensive tri-band routers, like the Nighthawk RAXE500, offer greater bandwidth, this router offers 7.6Gbps, which is plenty for most households. It easily supports up to eight simultaneous data streams—useful if you have a busy household where everyone’s fighting for bandwidth to stream video content or play games. Also, it has five wired Ethernet ports, one gigabit Ethernet port and one USB-C port for sharing a hard drive or flash drive on your home network. The Nighthawk RAXE300 has tons of features, including support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and parental controls. Netgear also bakes in its Netgear Armor (powered by Bitdefender) subscription service to protect against viruses, malware and data theft for all your home devices and computers.

What the reviews say: Amazon reviews overwhelmingly leave 5-star ratings for this router. One purchaser says, “Overall, the Netgear Nighthawk WiFi 6E Router (RAXE300) impresses on all fronts, from its easy setup and blazing-fast speeds to its advanced security features. It’s a must-have for anyone looking to upgrade their home network to the next level.” Another reviewer writes, “I love it... This router is incredibly fast, has a wide range of coverage, and is equipped with the latest technology. Despite being a little expensive, it comes with robust security features to safeguard your devices.”

Band: 2.4GHz, 5GHz | Speed: 4Gbps | LAN ports: 1 x 2.5Gbps, 4 x 1Gbps | Standard: Wi-Fi 6

Best for: Ditching your cable modem rental.

Pros:

• Space-saving modem-router combo
• 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port

Cons:

• Not as fast as dedicated modem and router devices

If you want a single device to handle your modem and router tasks, the Arris Surfboard G36 minimizes the sacrifices you make for that convenience. It has support for up to 4Gbps bandwidth across its dual-band network, with four gigabit Ethernet ports for wired connections. The bundled application makes set up quick and simple. The G36 runs Docsis 3.1—the current modem technology from most cable providers.

The Surfboard application also provides excellent customization options, giving you quick and easy access to all the settings. This modem router combo isn’t compatible with AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink or other DSL or fiber internet providers, but it works with Cox, Spectrum, Xfinity and many others. If in doubt, confirm with your cable provider before buying.

What the reviews say: One 5-star reviewer called the Surfboard “idiot-proof,” and wrote, “From the time I opened the box to being connected took about 20 to 25 mins. I have four older teenagers, and they all say the signal and speed are much stronger, faster and better than ever before. Couldn’t be happier and highly recommend!” Note that several reviewers mention that if Cox is your provider, you have to call them to activate service to the Surfboard.