Though the Wi-Fi 7 routers at the moment are out and being built-in into trendy tech, Wi-Fi 6 remains to be a wonderfully well-functioning web supply. It is what’s used for Wi-Fi-supported units just like the PlayStation 5, Amazon Hearth TV 4K Max and Apple TV 4K. Although they may work with older routers, they will work greatest with the correct router. Fortunately, lots of the greatest choices for a Wi-Fi 6 router are underneath $100 and suitable with nice mesh programs, gaming routers, and vary extenders.
Some do the job higher than others, and that is the place we are available in, with complete, hands-on assessments to assist determine the very best improve picks for the cash. Anticipate common updates to this publish as we proceed to place Wi-Fi 6 to the check in 2024. Every time we discover a new router that deserves consideration, we’ll add it to the record.
Finest Wi-Fi 6 routers of 2024
When a router helps Wi-Fi 6, that implies that it is able to utilizing options like OFDMA and 1024-QAM to ship sooner speeds and decrease latency to busy networks with a lot of related units. That is true even with the budget-priced worth picks — and amongst these, the one which performs the very best is the TP-Hyperlink Archer AX21.
The Archer AX21 did an impressive job in my at-home velocity assessments. On the finish of a number of days of assessments throughout 5 spots in my home, the Archer AX21’s common obtain velocity on a 300Mbps fiber community was a near-perfect 299Mbps. That features triple-digit obtain speeds within the very again of my home, a typical lifeless zone the place numerous the routers I check battle to remain related in any respect. In 2022, I retested the AX21 after upgrading my house community to gigabit speeds — it is not highly effective sufficient to prime out a connection like that, but it surely nonetheless delivered quick, constant speeds, with my downloads averaging in at 441Mbps.
That degree of efficiency was robust sufficient for the Archer AX21 to beat out related fashions from Netgear, Asus and D-Hyperlink, and it even saved the tempo with fancier routers that value considerably extra. It is also a cinch to arrange, due to TP-Hyperlink’s Tether app for Android and iOS, which additionally provides fast entry to fundamental community settings with out bombarding you with advertisements like another router apps will.
All of that makes the Archer AX21 an especially worthy decide for small- to medium-size properties, and top-of-the-line worth picks you may discover that helps Wi-Fi 6.
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This was an excellent yr for TP-Hyperlink, and it wasn’t simply due to the Archer AX21. There’s additionally the TP-Hyperlink Deco W7200, which cruised by my velocity assessments to earn a spot as my top-rated mesh router of the yr. With a number of units working like a crew of routers to unfold a sooner, extra dependable sign throughout a bigger space than a single router can, it is a implausible decide for giant properties — and one that will not set you again very a lot.
What’s nice concerning the Deco W7200, together with its full help for Wi-Fi 6, is that it is a tri-band mannequin with the standard 2.4 and 5GHz bands plus a further 5GHz band that the system makes use of as a devoted wi-fi backhaul connection between the principle router and its satellites. That devoted backhaul is the important thing to unlocking the very best mesh efficiency as a result of it retains these system transmissions separate out of your common community visitors. Tri-band mesh routers like these will usually value you $300 or extra, however the Deco W7200 will get you there for $100 much less.
Positive sufficient, the efficiency was excellent after I examined the system out. In reality, of the entire mesh routers that I’ve examined at house, solely two averaged sooner obtain speeds — the primary prices greater than $200 greater than the Deco W7200, and the opposite prices greater than thrice as a lot. That makes the Deco W7200 a flat-out unbeatable worth and a greater, extra noticeable improve for many properties than splurging on a high-powered normal router.
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Asus is likely one of the prime names within the gaming router class, boasting the very best number of quick, flashy routers that promise elite efficiency, low latency, and superior controls on your connection. The Asus RT-AX86U is definitely one of many extra understated routers in that blend — it does not embrace color-changing lights or an outsized, ostentatious design — but it surely’s nonetheless top-of-the-line gaming routers you should purchase. Gaming apart, it is top-of-the-line Wi-Fi 6 routers you should purchase, interval.
Together with providing quick, constant speeds, the RT-AX86U did a greater job at managing latency than every other router I examined it in opposition to, and it comes with a full suite of instruments for optimizing your connection whereas gaming, together with an adaptive quality-of-service engine and an Open NAT database of game- and platform-specific port forwarding guidelines. There’s even a Cellular Sport Mode designed to immediately prioritize visitors to your cellphone.
In different phrases, the RT-AX86U checks the entire containers you’d need from a gaming router (besides the color-changing lights, I assume — although you may get it Zaku-styled in case you’re keen to spend somewhat extra). Most significantly, it makes robust sufficient use of Wi-Fi 6 to make sure that even the non-gamers in your family will recognize having it round.
At this worth level, it is positively an improve decide, however an affordable one which’s nonetheless cheaper than numerous gaming routers. And, in case you’re desirous about upgrading to a brand new multi-gig web plan from AT&T, Frontier, Xfinity, Verizon, Ziply Fiber or one other supplier providing plans like these, the RT-AX86U outfitted with a multi-gig Ethernet jack supporting incoming wired speeds of as much as 2.5Gbps.
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Netgear R6700AX
Finest funds router for gigabit networks
Gigabit web speeds are rising in availability from a large variety of main ISPs, they usually’re an excellent match with the sooner wi-fi switch charges of Wi-Fi 6. For those who’ve made the improve to gigabit web speeds at house, then you definately’ll positively need a Wi-Fi 6 router that may take full benefit of it.
Your greatest guess can be to go together with a real improve decide just like the Asus RT-AX86U, or a top-rated mesh system — however in case you’re on a funds otherwise you simply do not need to spend greater than $100 or so, it is best to transfer the Netgear R6700AX proper to the highest of your record. At the moment obtainable for $90, it is an AX1800 router with full help for Wi-Fi 6 and 5GHz speeds as excessive as 1.3 gigabits per second.
In our assessments on a gigabit community, the R6700AX outperformed comparable fashions, together with the TP-Hyperlink Archer AX21, delivering obtain speeds that averaged in at 591Mbps throughout a 1,350-square-foot check setting. At shut vary, these speeds rose as excessive as 800Mbps. For comparability, the Archer AX21 completed those self same assessments with an general common of 435Mbps, and it wasn’t capable of hit obtain speeds any greater than 598Mbps at shut vary.
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Netgear Orbi AX6000
Finest high-end mesh system
Keep in mind how I discussed that the TP-Hyperlink Deco W7200 outperformed each different mesh router I’ve ever examined aside from one? Nicely, here is the one which beat it — the AX6000 model of the Netgear Orbi mesh system.
With that all-important tri-band design and full help for Wi-Fi 6, the AX6000 Orbi blew us away with glorious sign energy and downright spectacular prime speeds after we first examined it out a yr or two in the past. These speeds have held up ever since — whether or not we’re clocking prime speeds in our lab or testing real-world speeds at house, actually nothing else I’ve examined performs as nicely. On prime of that, the AX6000 Orbi deserves credit score for being one of many first mesh routers to supply a multigig WAN port and breaking the bottleneck that capped incoming wired speeds at only a single gig.
Efficiency like that often comes at a premium, and certain sufficient, the AX6000 Orbi prices greater than $600 for a two-pack. Like a Mercedes Benz for the mesh class, it is extra machine than most individuals want, however there’s nothing incorrect with coveting one — or ready for the uncommon sale. If it had been my cash, I might fairly go together with that Deco W7200 system and spend the a whole bunch I might save on one thing else, however in case you simply need the very best mesh router efficiency that we have seen in our assessments, full cease, cash be damned, right here it’s.
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Going with a mesh router makes a ton of sense in case you dwell in a big, multi-story house with numerous area to cowl. In instances like that, it is price it to prioritize getting a system with greater than two units within the mesh — and Amazon’s Eero 6 Plus will get you there for $300, full with full help for Wi-Fi 6.
The Eero 6 Plus takes the Eero 6 that preceded it and beefs issues up with a sooner AX3000 construct and new help for full-width 160MHz channels, up from 80MHz. These wider channels permit the system to maneuver knowledge twice as effectively to suitable units, they usually made an enormous distinction in my efficiency assessments, the place the 6 Plus completed as a top-10 finisher among the many 30 or so mesh routers I’ve examined at house. Not one of the routers that beat its common obtain speeds can beat its worth, and that makes the Eero 6 Plus a superb decide.
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Asus ZenWifi XD6
Finest dual-band mesh system
It was a bit too dear for me to advocate when it launched at $380 for a two-piece setup, however the Asus ZenWifi XD6 is commonly on sale for nearer to $200, which makes it a greater worth.
For the cash, you are getting a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 mesh router that carried out extra like a fancier tri-band mannequin in our assessments, and one which was absolutely able to optimizing our speeds all through the whole thing of the 5,400-square-foot CNET Sensible Dwelling. In reality, I might go as far as to name it probably the most succesful dual-band mesh router I’ve ever examined.
This can be a strong mesh router with one of many extra complete management apps obtainable from a serious producer. That makes it a great decide for intermediate and superior customers who need to fine-tune their house community expertise.
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How we check Wi-Fi 6 routers
Every time I take a router into consideration, I put it by the identical set of complete, managed velocity assessments to get a great sense of the way it performs in comparison with different fashions. I have been working these assessments out of my 1,300 square-foot house in Louisville, Kentucky. Later, we had been capable of transfer these assessments into the CNET Dwelling check lab, the place we arrange a 1,350-square-foot check setting with a gigabit fiber connection.
There are 5 rooms in that check area, so after setting the router up within the first of them, I run a battery of velocity assessments in all of them to get a way of the common speeds at numerous ranges. For every set of assessments, I begin in the identical room because the router with my check machine, a Lenovo ThinkPad Wi-Fi 6 laptop computer. I hook up with the router’s community, then I run three velocity assessments and document the outcomes for add velocity, obtain velocity and latency. Then I transfer to the subsequent room and repeat.
As soon as I’ve completed within the fifth room, which is farthest from the router, I restart my connection and repeat all of these assessments in reverse room order. This strategy provides me a great sense at how the router’s efficiency differs when the connection begins up shut versus when it begins at a distance, as this could usually influence your speeds. I repeat this whole course of thrice, throughout morning, afternoon, and night hours. I will sometimes additionally run devoted check runs to test the speeds on particular person bands, or if the router provides any distinctive efficiency settings. All informed, it provides as much as a whole bunch of velocity assessments and a number of days of labor for every router I evaluate.
Which Wi-Fi 6 router is true for me?
There are three foremost issues to contemplate first as you are dialing in on a brand new router: the velocity of your private home’s web plan, the dimensions of your private home, and the variety of Wi-Fi units underneath your roof that want a dependable connection. For those who’re residing in a small- to medium-sized house with web speeds of 500Mbps or much less, and also you simply want a dependable sign on your cellphone, laptop computer and streaming machine, then a easy decide just like the TP-Hyperlink Archer AX21 or the Netgear R6700AX ought to supply loads of bandwidth and vary to fit your wants. The 2 are largely indistinguishable except your private home has a high-speed connection, and the AX21 sometimes prices rather less, so I might advocate beginning there.
For those who’ve bought a home stuffed with sensible house units, or a number of members of the family who every make common use of your Wi-Fi with a wide range of devices, or in case you’ve simply upgraded your web plan so as to add in gigabit speeds, it is best to most likely contemplate a router with better bandwidth potential. The tried-and-true Asus RT-AX86U is the one I might most likely advocate first as a result of it has been an everyday standout by a number of rounds of CNET assessments, together with full rounds of assessments on three separate networks at three separate places.
Nevertheless, in case you’re residing in a bigger house, particularly a multistory house, then it is price contemplating stepping as much as a mesh router just like the Eero 6 Plus, the Asus ZenWifi XD6, or the TP-Hyperlink Deco W7200, as a result of these a number of mesh units will assist guarantee a greater, extra dependable sign all through the whole thing of your private home. You may additionally contemplate splurging on a mesh powerhouse just like the Netgear Orbi AX6000, however at a price of a number of hundred {dollars}, it is most likely overkill for many properties.
Wi-Fi 6 router FAQs
You probably have questions concerning the ins and outs of Wi-Fi 6, you should definitely take a look at my full explainer on the usual and what makes it higher than the Wi-Fi of yore. It’s also possible to attain me by trying me up on X (@rycrist).
What makes Wi-Fi 6 higher than earlier than?
Wi-Fi 6 consists of help for brand new Wi-Fi options that assist units go knowledge backwards and forwards sooner and extra effectively. One of many key upgrades is 1024-QAM, which stands for quadrature amplitude modulation, or the trick your router makes use of to ship radio waves that different units can learn as a sequence of ones and zeroes — the binary code that makes up all the things you see, learn and expertise on-line. 1024-QAM permits your router to ship out 10 digits of binary code with every transmission, in comparison with eight digits of binary from Wi-Fi 5 routers that use 256-QAM. That is one of many key the explanation why Wi-Fi 6 provides prime speeds which can be roughly 30% sooner than earlier than.
Different options of observe embrace OFDMA, or orthogonal frequency division a number of entry, which improves community effectivity by permitting your router to ship knowledge to a number of shoppers inside a single channel without delay. Consider that like a pizza supply driver dropping off a number of pizzas to a number of prospects in a single journey to avoid wasting gasoline. There’s additionally Goal Wake Time, which lets the router schedule units that must periodically test in in order that they do not trigger interference with each other. And, although it is not particularly tied to Wi-Fi 6, most next-gen routers will help WPA3, the newest normal for Wi-Fi safety.
Are Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E the identical factor?
Will older units nonetheless work with a Wi-Fi 6 router?
Sure — Wi-Fi 6 is absolutely backward-compatible, so earlier-gen Wi-Fi units will nonetheless be capable of hook up with them and get on-line. They simply will not be capable of make the most of the brand new Wi-Fi 6 options that velocity issues up for current-gen units.
