Best Wireless Routers (2020)- Buyers Guide & Tested Reviews

Internet is widely used and has become a day to day need, it is now important to select the best suited wireless router model for your needs and on your pockets.

Best Wireless Routers-2017

In today’s world it is quite hard to imagine life without a wireless router. If you are newbie with routers things then you might have hard time finding the good wireless router. So I have come with best top 10 wireless routers list. I have spended tens of hours in researching online and their testing wireless routers.

1. Asus RT-AC88U on Amazon Dual-Band wireless Routers 

The Asus RT-AC88U is a dual-band 802.11ac wireless router with huge feature sets and an equally huge price tag. It uses the MU-MIMO technology which is to serve multiple Wi-Fi users at the same time without sacrificing the bandwidth. However, each client must have a MU-MIMO-compatible network adapter in order to take the best advantage of this technology. This wireless router is fitted with multiple Gigabit LAN and USB ports. With different type of management options available with the RT-AC88U offers the perfect designed user interface and delivers blazing speeds on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.

Design and Features

The RT-AC88U is a nice-looking wireless router with a matte-black finish, with beveled top and sides are angular. This router has LED indicators for power, Internet (WAN) connectivity, LAN connectivity, wireless activity for both bands, Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), and the USB port activity. The RT-AC88U utilizes Broadcom 1.4GHz dual-core processor and Nitro-QAM technology to provide the speed up to 3,167Mbps.

The RT-AC88U hosts 4 removable external antennas, including an 8 Gigabit Ethernet ports, a USB 2.0 port, a WAN port and the Power jack. In the rear of this wireless router, you’ll also find a Power button, a reset button, and a WPS button and behind a small panel a USB 3.0 port is conveniently located on the router.

The Advanced settings of RT-AC88U let you create wireless SSID names, enable the WPS settings, selecting the security protocol and the authentication method, and to configure VPN, RADIUS and wireless bridge settings. Inside the Wireless Professional Settings page, you can also adjust such settings as the beacon intervals, multi-cast rates, wireless scheduling, and beam-forming. The Firewall settings page offers URL filtering, Service protection and keyword filtering.

2. D-Link AC3200 Ultra Wi-Fi Router (DIR-890L/R on Amazon

The AC3200 Ultra Wi-Fi Router DIR-890L/R ($309.99) has raised the bar for D-Link in more ways than one. This tri-band router not only turned in record-breaking times on the system performance, but happens to be the coolest looking best wireless router I have ever seen.

The DIR-890L/R could easily serve as the center piece of any extreme gaming setup with its 6 adjustable antennas and it comes in shiny-red finish, but it is the performance what really sets it apart from the rivals. It will cost you more on your pocket than the competition, but if you really desire the fastest tri-band model in the market, the DIR-890L/R is the right choice.

Design and Features

The DIR-890L/R is not like any other typical wifi router. With its monumental structure, and shiny candy-apple red finish, and 6 external antennas, it gives a look similar to a cybernetic spider of a sci-fi film than a high-end networking device. With dimensions of 4.7 by 15.2 by 9.7 inches -HWD, it is considered as one of the biggest wireless router model present in the market.

The top of the model holds 6 LED indicators that display activity of the USB ports and of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, the Internet-connection status as well as the power status. At the back there are 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, an Internet port, and two USB ports, one of which is 2.0 and other one is 3.0. There are also reset, Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), and power buttons. Under the hood 1GHz dual-core processor and circuit that support 802.11b/g/n/ac wireless networking are present.

The DIR-890L/R can reach the conceptual speed of up to 3,200Mbps (600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 1,300Mbps on both of the 5 GHz bands). With Its Beam-forming technology to target wireless clients for stronger signal reception, and Smart-Connect technology, it acts as a traffic cop to manage wireless clients to a band with the most bandwidth.

Once you are logged in to the Web user interface (UI), you’re greeted with a simple, classic home page displaying the connected clients, the Internet status, and the IP Address of the router, Subnet Mask, and the default gateway information. The Settings page contains a Setup Wizard that will help you throughout the installation procedure, configure the network and Wi-Fi settings, and setting the router password. It also contains distinguished Settings page, where you can manually set the wireless router. The Network page also offers DHCP server settings, IPv6 and IPv4 multicast stream settings, and UPnP settings. You can also configure USB drive settings on the Share-Port page, which has the sections for Windows File Sharing (SAMBA), DLNA Media Server, and Web File Access disk-sharing options.

Why You should buy it?

When it comes to pure speed test, the D-Link AC3200 Ultra Wi-Fi Router (DIR-890L/R) beats all the new comers. In addition to its better performance and excellent design, it comes with all the features you would expect from a high-end tri-band 802.11ac router, including Smart Connect band steering and Beam-forming technologies, drag-and-drop QoS management, website filters, parental control and Firewall settings. An intuitive, user-friendly Web interface of the wireless router makes it very easy to customize the settings and the d-link lite mobile application lets you manage things from your smartphone also. If your pocket is tight, and you can live without a tri-band router, the Asus RT-AC68U is still a good choice, but the D-Link Ultra Wi-Fi Router (DIR-890L/R) out performs it across the records.

3. TP-Link Talon AD7200 On Amazon Multi-Band Wi-Fi Router

The TP-Link Talon AD7200 Multi-Band Wi-Fi Router costing around $349.99, the first 802.11ad router to hit the market delivering in an enormous way with sizzling data rates flirted with the 1Gbps mark on 60GHz close-proximity performance tests. The Talon AD7200 Multi-User Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) scores are the fastest till date. It’s big, and it’s expensive, and it’s our new Choice for high-end wireless routers. It will work equally good from every place in your house. So You don’t need to find any optimize place to boost your signal.

Design and Features

The Talon AD7200 is monumental. The all-black router measures 1.7 by 9 by 9 inches (HWD) and has 8 external foldable antennas surrounding its perimeter into the top when not in use. The front of the wireless router has 9 LED indicators for Power, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 60 GHz band activity, Internet and Ethernet connectivity, WPS activity, and connectivity to each of the USB 3.0 ports. Buttons are next to the indicators for WPS, Wi-Fi (Enable/Disable), and LEDs (On/Off). The rear panel contains 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, a WAN port, 2 USB 3.0 ports, Power and Reset buttons.

Under the hood there is a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor, one internal antenna, 802.11ac circuit for communicating over the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radio bands, and 802.11ad circuit for the 60 GHz radio band. The 2.4 GHz band has a theoretically maximum signal of 800 Mbps, the 5 GHz sail through 1,733 Mbps, and the 60 GHz band can reach the speed of 4,600Mbps.

The Talon AD7200 offers user-friendly Web interface and it opens to a Quick Setup screen that gets you up and running quickly with the basic Internet and wireless settings. The Basic settings tab routes to a network map and have settings for Internet where you can set Dynamic IP, Static IP, PPPoE, and PPTP. You can do wireless settings as in SSID and password, Guest Network SSID and password, you can also do USB Settings such as sharing access and print server and also Parental Controls (whitelist and blacklist).

The Status screen is offered in the advanced settings menu that displays Internet, Wireless, LAN, and Guest Network information. The status screen also has sub-menus with the settings that will allow you to adjust DHCP settings and configure NAT Forwarding, Quality of Service, Advanced Network, and Advanced Wireless settings. The Security menu that offers Access Control, Service Denial, and SPI Firewall settings and a VPN Server menu that lets you create an Open VPN server and to generate certificates. TP-Link had said that later this year only, they will release a Smart Connect feature in the console via a firmware update that will let the wireless router automatically choose which band to use, depending on network traffic load. Overall, it provides every feature which an ideal wifi router should have.

Why You should buy it?

The Talon AD7200 Wi-Fi Router, TP-Link guides is new generation of Wi-Fi networking which utilizes the latest 802.11ad wireless standards. You will need to have compatible 802.11ad devices to take the advantage of this high speed protocol, but if you move large chunks of data or videos between the wireless users that are in close proximity to with other, 802.11ad Wi-Fi is the profligate way to do it. In addition to providing blazing speed at 60 GHz, the Talon AD7200 delivered the fastest MU-MIMO results I have seen so far, outstanding all the competitors, including the Asus RT-AC88U, which is another top choice. It also overcomes the Asus RT-AC88U on my 2.4 GHz tests. Exemplary MU-MIMO and 2.4 GHz performance and support provided for the latest 802.11ad technology make the TP-Link Talon AD7200 one of my best choice for high-end wireless routers.

4. D-Link AC1200 on Amazon Wi-Fi Router (DIR-842)

The D-Link AC1200 Dual Band Gigabit wireless Router pools the latest high-speed 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi with Gigabit Ethernet ports to deliver a smooth networking experience. The DIR-842 has an advanced security feature that keeps the data safe from the undesired network intruders, at the same time as the increased range and the reliability of Wireless AC technology allows you to stay linked even under heavy network consumption or in the rooms that are having bad wireless signal.

Design and Features

The dimension of this DIR-842 D-link router is 190 x 133 x 38 mm. it comes in glossy black color with 4 external antennas. The circuit used in this wireless router is 802.11AC and Gigabit Ethernet ports. There are total 5 Ethernet ports, one of them is WAN port and other 4 are LAN ports. It has 8 LEDs at the top of the model indicating functions like power, internet, WAN, LAN and WPS.

The DIR-842 uses dual band of different frequency that is 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The speed on the 2.4 GHz band is 300 Mbps and for 5 GHz band is 867 Mbps. This is theoretical speed actual speed may vary depending on the scenario where it is being used.

Why You should buy it?

With the price of around $60 it can be used in a home where you have 4 to 8 devices and need to work on 2 to 4 devices at the same time. The dual bands are good to be used for working on different device but the speed on the 5 GHz band is slow, but at the same time speed on the 2.4 GHz band is 300 Mbps which is good enough to let you browse the internet and watch or download multimedia. Overall it is one of the best wireless router.

5. Linksys EA7500 on Amazon Max-Stream AC1900 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router

The Linksys EA7500 Max-Stream is one of the only two routers from Linksys that comes with distinctive attribute with latest development in Wi-Fi which features MU-MIMO (Multi User, Multiple Input Multiple Output). This feature allows the wireless router to simultaneously connect up to 12 devices at the same time, rather than having to talk to each device in quick follow through.

Although a general part of the now fairly widely adopted Wi-Fi AC specification, MU-MIMO is only just starting to be integrated into routers and is set to be the requisite feature for those buying a high-end wireless router this year.

Aside from the MU-MIMO capabilities, this is a fairly typical modern router, with multiple USB ports for sharing printers and USB storage devices and in addition with four gigabit Ethernet ports for connecting wired devices.

DESIGN AND FEATURES

Linksys EA7500 Max-stream is not a wireless router that shows off its high-end credentials. In comparison to the other routers in market, angular styling of the ASRock G10, Nighthawk X4 (Netgear R7500) or Linksys’ own WRT1900AC router, the EA7500 is a pleasingly modest. Built mostly from simple matt-black plastic and with a gently curved shape, it looks every bit the sort of device meant to contract into the background never to be heard from again.

The dimensions of the router are 257 by 184 by 56 mm. Although there are of course those three external aerial antennas which can be removed and directed in whichever way is the best for good reception and range. As well as sitting flat on a desk the EA7500 Max-stream can be wall mounted so it should be easy to find a spot where it can suitably be seen.

Instead, all connectivity is kept around the back of the wireless router where you will find the four gigabit Ethernet LAN ports as well as an extra Ethernet port for connecting to your modem. Along these ports there are two USB ports, one of them is USB 3.0-compatible, a WPS button, reset button and a power on switch, which are nice to have in those situations “have you tried turning it off and on again?†moments.

It is a bit disappointing to see only one USB 3.0 port, whereas the USB 2.0 port doesn’t double as an eSATA port like it does on the WRT1900ACS router. While it is not that much essential for most household users to have more than one shared drives and a printer won’t need the speed of USB 3.0, other than that it’s still nice to have.

The heart of the EA7500 is a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, which enables the router to power its way to AC1900 Wi-Fi speeds via its three aerial antennas.

MU-MIMO allows the router data transmission from up to 12 devices consecutively, which is a huge leap forward from the current widespread standards that that only allow multiple devices to be connected to the wireless router at once, but only exchange information one at a time. In these cases, the wireless router simply cycles between the devices very quickly, the boot off little bits of information each time, making it feel like it’s always connected.

MU-MIMO allows true synchronized information exchanges up to 12 devices are trying to communicate, at which point it reverts back to a round up system. Then the main benefit will be a more responsive feel and faster throughput when multiple devices are accessing it at the same time.

Why You should buy it?

It is an excellent wireless router which will be ideal for large homes with many users.

It has well, if not outstanding, maximum Wi-Fi speeds and excellent stability and range. If you will use this router then you will not need to boost your signals. Costing £150 it’s also one of the cheapest wireless routers available with MU-MIMO qualifications. I do have a couple of minor gripes. I am not a huge fan of the user interface and at this price I would expect the second USB port to be USB 3.0, but neither are deal breakers.

6. Tenda F3 N300 On Amazon

The F3 is a single-band 802.11n wireless router that is stress-free to set up and configure. It has 3 wired LAN ports as well as lots of management settings. Its throughout will almost not wow you, but if you maintain a unpretentious 1 or 2 client home network, and you don’t view a lot of videos over the internet, play a lot of games online, or transfer large amount of data amongst the clients, then the Tenda F3-N300 is an astounding bargain for you.

Features and Design     

The F3-N300 is fixed with a 300Hz Broadcom MIPS 74K System on a processor that enables 802.11n wireless networking over the 2.4GHz band. Theoretically it has a throughout maximum speed of 300Mbps. You do not get a second 5GHz band under this price, nor will you get the faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi equipment and MU-MIMO technologies.

Why You should buy it?

If you need to link lots of devices to the home network—Smart TVs, Blu-ray players, home automation devices, smartphones, and so on—you will require a wireless router fitted out with the latest technologies, but it will cost you around $200. If that’s not fitting in your budget, and you are satisfied with running a small Wi-Fi home network, that will be used mainly for browsing and small file transfers among few clients, then you just need to go with the Tenda F3-N300 Wireless Router. It confines you to older, single-band 802.11n Wi-Fi, that means you don’t get the highest output possible today, but I would say it’s very easy to set up, and its performance justify its price of $30.

7. Linksys EA950 AC5400 On Amzon

The Linksys EA9500 Max-Stream AC5400 Gigabit Router is all about “gigantic.” It’s designed for huge home networks, physically, it’s big, and it cost around $399.99. The price is undoubtedly isn’t small. Driven by a dual-core processor and containing 8 external antennas, this massive tri-band router packs with Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) streaming, 8 Gigabit LAN ports, and plentifully management settings. It is a very firm performer.

Design and Features

With a dimension of 2.6 by 10.4 by 12.5 inches-HWD, the EA9500 is in the midst of the largest wireless routers I have ever seen, comparing with TP-Link Talon’s dimension which is 1.7 by 9 by 9 inches this is over taking on size by quite a few inches. It has black enclosure. It grips 8 adjustable, non-removable antennas, which are positioned 3 on each side and 2 on the back and it has a LED panel with 8 LEDs. There is a treasure of I/O ports at the back, which also includes 8 Gigabit LAN ports, 1 WAN port, 1 USB 3.0 port, and 1 USB 2.0 port.

Why You should buy it?

The Linksys EA9500 Max-Stream AC5400 Gigabit Router may cost you high on pocket, but you will get a lot of features and performance for the money spent. Its 8 Gigabit LAN ports provide plenty of points for connecting multiple computer, NAS drives, printers, and other wired networking devices, and its user friendly interface offers a large options of settings to help you manage and adjust your network.

8. Netgear AC1200 on Amazon

The AC1200 is a dual-band 802.11ac wifi router that is easy to setup and configure. It has 4 wired LAN ports and 1 wan port as well as lots of management settings. Its performance will almost not wow you, but it delivers a speed of 300 Mbps at 2.4 GHz and 867 Mbps at 5 GHz

It can keep your many Wi-Fi devices streaming smoothly with an AC Wi-Fi technology which delivers the speed, good range, and the reliability that you need.

It avoids wireless interference with synchronized Dual Bands.

Play online games on your tablet, listen to melodies on your smartphone or view movies on your multi media player. Whatever you wish to do, you can do with this Wi-Fi router.

Design and features

AC1200 has the dimensions of 9.43 x 7.14 x 1.59 in. It is available in black color. It uses 802.11 AC Wi-Fi dual band Gigabit technology with 2.4 GHz band and 5 GHz band. AC1200 theoretically speeds up to 300 Mbps with 2.4GHz band and 867 Mbps with 5 GHz band. It comes with 5 Ethernet ports out of which 1 is WAN port for internet and 4 are LAN ports. This Ethernet port uses an auto-sensing technology. The processor used in AC1200 is 880MHz that helps in high speed connectivity. It has 1 USB 2.0 port, 2 moveable antennas and 4 switches one for power, second for Wi-Fi on/off and other one for WPS, last but not the least the reset button.

Why You should buy it?

With the budget below 100USD this will be the product you should invest on as the number of devices that it can handle is good within this budget. Speed of 300 Mbps with 2.4 GHz and 867 with 5 GHz band you will get uninterrupted speed. After performing various test on the AC1200 it works glowing within the range of 30 feet and one cannot deny that it is good for large homes. The USB port uses ReadySHARE to make use of USB drives in your home network.

9. Netgear Nighthawk X4S on Amazon

If you are living in a connected house with multiple wireless users contending for bandwidth, it is the time to consider a Multiple User-Multiple Input Multiple Output, in short, MU-MIMO router, such as this Netgear Nighthawk X4S Smart Wi-Fi Router (R7800), which will cost you around $269.99 from your pocket. The R7800 is a 802.11ac integrated circuit with support for MU-MIMO data streaming, that means at the same time it can send and receive data from numerous users without sacrificing the bandwidth whereas most wireless routers can only serve one device at a time. However, each user must comprise of a MU-MIMO-compatible network adapter in order to take an advantage of the technology. It is the one of the fastest MU-MIMO that is there in the market at this price range and it also has solid 2.4GHz and 5GHz performance.

Design and Features

The Netgear Nighthawk X4 sports has the same design as the Netgear Nighthawk X4 AC2350 Smart WiFi Router (R7500). It is black in color, angular design which measures in dimension 1.97 by 11.22 by 7.26 inches – HWD and contains 4 removable external antennas. Apart from the MU-MIMO, the Netgear Nighthawk X4S also supports 4X4 data streaming, that means it can deliver 4 data streams to each band to maximize data transfer speeds. It is using a 1.7GHz dual-core processor which is theoretically capable of maximum data speeds of up to 2.53Gbps more specifically with 2.4GHz band it can go up to 800Mbps, and with the 5GHz band it can reach the speed of 1,733Mbps.

The front of the Netgear Nighthawk X4s contains 10 small LED indicators that will give you the status of the 4 LAN ports available and the WAN port.it will also indicate for 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio-band activity, and USB as well as eSATA activity. It also has a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button and a button with the function that disables one or both radio bands. At the back of wireless router there are 4 Gigabit LAN ports, 1 WAN port for internet connection, a button that will enable/disable the LED indicators, a Power button for switching on/off the router, and a reset button. On the one side of the router there are 2 USB 3.0 ports, and on the other side there is an eSATA port for making connection with eSATA drives.

The Web-based management console of the Netgear makes it stress-free to set basic and advanced network settings. The Home page will display Internet, Wireless, Guest Network, and Parental Control status at a glimpse. It also shows you how many peripheral devices are connected to the router, as well as the status of the ReadySHARE feature, this will let you share and back-up files using a connected USB drive. Basic settings will include Wireless, Internet, ReadySHARE, Quality of Service (QoS), Parental Controls, and the guest network settings. The Advanced Settings menu enables the URL blocking. You can create network-access schedules, even view status and access to the logs, also configure port forwarding, and you can enable remote management. Netgear Nighthawk X4s can also be configured as a wireless bridge or a wireless access point, and you can monitor Internet traffic statistics.

10. Synology RT1900AC on Amazon Router

Synology Router RT1900ac is a high speed Wi-Fi wireless router which is designed for home and office purpose. The latest wireless technologies built in it provide swift and reliable Wi-Fi connections. The groundbreaking software experience is extremely instinctive even for the non-techy person. And the advanced management console enables power users to manage the flow of information in the network.

Design and features

The dimensions of the router are 66 mm x 206 mm x 160 mm and it comes with 4 external moveable antennas. With matte black finish it looks elegant. At the back of the router there are 5 Ethernet ports 1 for the WAN and 4 for the LAN. Power plug in and the power switch are also located at the back side of the router. 1 USB 3.0 port and 1 SSD card slot is located at the right side of the wireless router and to eject the USB and SSD card, eject button is in the front of the router. On the left on/off switch and WPS switch are present.

It comes with 802.11AC Dual band circuit. The speed at 2.4 GHz is 600 Mbps and at 5 GHz 1300 Mbps. The router automatically decides the Band that is best suited for the device depending the distance of device from the router. It supports 70 devices with a ratio of 1:3 i.e. if 1 device is connected close to the router then 3 devices should be connected away from the router. Out of 70 connected devices it supports only 40 for data transmission at the same time.

I hope this list for best wireless routers will help you to decide the top notch router for you. Here I would like to mention that although i have tried my best to brought best wireless router from the industry then also it may be possible that there may be some glitch on them. As any product have its shortcomings apart from the quality it provide. Try to find the best wireless router to keep in mind your requirement. But I am sure that it will let you avoid the mistakes with wireless routers.  If you are having any difficulty in choosing best wireless router then kindly do contact us.

Thank you. 🙂