Let's face it, routers are now a big part of our daily lives. Whether for your connected home or just at the office, jumping on a Wi-Fi connection is a necessity most days, especially if you want to keep the mobile data usage on your smartphone low. Most everyone has an internet plan of some sort, and while the router that comes from your internet provider will get you online, it's not necessarily the best option overall. But just what router is the best router? We've compared the top 5 Wi-Fi routers so you can decide which one is best for your needs.
Pretty much any old router will get you cruising on Wi-Fi, but there are some great devices that will get you the best speeds and better features without having to spend a ton of cash. From the $68 Edimax BR-6478AC to the $187 Nighthawk R7000 - we give an in-depth look at 5 of the best routers to see which one is the king of them all.
So swing by Connectedly to check out the pros and cons of each, and see which of our top router picks is the one for you. Be sure to hit up the comments and let us know!
Reader comments
The best Wi-Fi routers you can buy right now
Where is the "Fritz Box"?! AVM is still the best choice for a safe Home - Network!
Life is a serious video game with bombs look!
WRT54GL with DD-WRT
No one can convince me of a better router than that.
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I have Edimax at my office and it works better than Nec and Lynsky.
Posted via CB10
Since we speaking about mobile devices it's surprises me that no one mentioned portable wifi routers. If we speaking saving on the cellular data it's an another great option. For example in my workplace we have only wired connection (don't think any fancy superb secret government job) and nice to just plug in my router and tada! I've got wifi and the whole thing fits in my pocket, next to my phone :)
(sry for my English)
Q10 is my Qmpanion
Nothing to really add to this. Just wanted to brag. Best Buy had a circular a couple weeks ago offering a free Google Chromecast with purchase of the Nighthawk. Managed to get them to match Amazon's price of $187 AND toss in the Chromecast. Best tech value/purchase I made in months. Really love the Nighthawk. TimeMachine via WiFi to USB drive, which had always been problematic, has been flawless ever since.
Well, it WAS a great deal. If anyone is interested, New Egg is offering the same deal I swindled/received ... http://crackberry.com/e?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kqzyfj.com%2Fclick-3045577...
Bought the R7000 but returned it. It doesn't work properly with Rogers hi-speed router in bridge mode. I have a 250+mbps download speed when connecting my PC via rogers router directly (lan/wlan) but when in bridge mode,I only get 10 mbps which was weird. Upload speeds were correct at 20 mbps. If I connect my trusty netgear wndr3700 in bridge, I get the correct DL speeds.
Z30STA100-5/10.2.1.3253
I had a TP link it sucked, just got a Linksys EA6400 on sale at Future shop works great.
Posted via CB10
Draytek are very good routers and modems.
Q10 and Z30 user
+1
I've got a 2830n and it's been rock-solid from day one. Great support too.
You get what you pay for.
Posted via CB10
Love my R7000 with DD-WRT.
Posted via CB10
Cisco because they partner with BlackBerry.
Posted via CB10
I still think the Airport Extreme is worth a mention.
G's Z30
The sagecom router/modem combo bell canada (and other VDSL providers) provides is quite fast and feature rich. I have a D-Link DIR 615 also, I should put that to use and turn off the sagecom's. Then I can make use of the router on the other side of the wall, or better, keep it in the kitchen (middle of the place) for best reception.
Posted via CrackBerry 10 (CB10) application using my BlackBerry Q10.
I use an Ubiquiti AP over a wireless router.
Works better imho
Posted via CB10
awesome!!
Posted via CB10
Mikrotik ;)
Posted via CB10
Must be lonely over at Connectedly someone's fishing over here...
:o)
www.carm.org
Completely not these 5 at all!
Posted via BlackBerry Q10
Asus 87U, 68U, or 66U is what you should buy.
Posted via CB10
All are the AC models (RT-AC##U/R
Posted via CB10
Hope the Router hardware is NSA proofed! ;)
Posted via CB10
I've been using my trusty old Linksys WRT54G-L for 6yrs. Flashed it with Tomato, configured it and forgot about it really.
Been looking to upgrade. Saw a Linksys (Belkin) WRT1900AC a while back. Still pretty expensive at this point but it looks to be pretty awesome.
I have att u verse. Does that mean I can still buy my own router?
Posted via CB10
If you want something for free signup for a free Cisco Meraki M12. I have one at home and it's far better than any other mickey mouse access point/router I have put up against it. In places were I was lucky to get 1 bar in my condo I get 3 to 4 bars with the Meraki.
How?
Posted via CB10
R7000 is current and future proof. 1GHz processor handles everything efficiently and at high levels. AC is there if you need it for tomorrow.
DePHault Signature
Thompson/ Technicolor FTW!
Through and through
Cheers.
STL100-1 (10.2.1.3247) STC
Thanks for the write up. I've been wanting to buy a cheap router but wasn't sure what to get.
Posted via CB10
My xFinity connection cannot connect to SWTOR without major lag issues. A friend told me I should invest in a new modem/router combo, but am not so sure its the problem. I used to be able to play without lag, but in this last year I can hardly keep a connection. The only thing I can rationalize is having more devices now connected to our home wifi network than before. Maybe I should give an upgrade from the Comcast modem/router a try...
Posted via CB10
People don't need AC routers right now, as most of the gadgets out there are still rocking N...
You may want to consider routers which supports both 2.4 and 5 band.
I've gone thru so many routers (cheaper ones), however, I've gotten myself a Asus N66 router during holiday season...and never looking back. For almost 8 months of usage, only time I had reboot was...never. And it cover my entire property (in and out), and when using 5 band, it cover the 4000+ sq foot indoor space, without any use of the extender.
Give my kids access to the 2.4 band...I get all 5 band all to myself.
Save money and get the N, rather than AC...as you upgrade all your gadgets at home with AC, then it might be the time to upgrade at that time.
I've been similarly happy with that router.
Need for the price to go down. Still relying on my DD WRT powered router.
I'm personally a fan of the Asus RT-AC66U with DD-WRT on it.
I just went through this and ended up with the Netgear N6250. Bestbuy had a sale so it was a bit cheaper than the amazon prize quoted in the Connectedly article. Before that I tried a Linksys and it's 2.4Ghz range was much shorter than my trusty old Linksys WRT54G v2.
Anyway, I have some older IP cams that only use 802.11g, so I ended setting up my old b/g router as a b/g wifi network only for those older devices. That way I know my new N6250 2.4Ghz channel is not getting bogged down by any old b/g connections (i.e. Operating at "n" speeds). If you do this, just make sure you set the old and new 2.4Ghz wifi routers with non-overlapping channels.
Posted via CB10
Since I've dealt with a couple of failing DGN-1000s, Netgear has lost its shine for me. I shy away from them now, if I can.
BlackBerry? I premdict the future's gonna be chenomenal!
That's a good article I like that
Swordsmanship & Western Martial Arts Channel C000C9AF6
should have reviewed the R6300 from netgear I had the V1 and now I bought the V2 of this model and works very well lots of options even the wifi range is unreal and works great into my cisco 5505 router.
I use tilgin routers.
Posted via CB10
Are any blackberry devices even using AC? Probably better off using a wireless N router and saving a few bucks. I have an Asus N56U router and an Asus N16 setup as an access point. Both are rock solid (and combined are cheaper than the AC routers). Also have a Cisco managed switch for QoS.
Posted via CB10
I think the Passport will be the first one according to the FCC documents that we saw the other day.
Posted via CB10
What is AC? I'm assuming it doesn't stand for alternating current in this context
Swordsmanship & Western Martial Arts Channel C000C9AF6
A newer standard than N.
Here's more info on it here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac
I use the Asus N56U and I love it, can't go wrong, and if you can find them now, they are under $100 new
I use the Asus too.
My Z10 - an extension of me
Asus is the best bar none. Smallnetbuilder says so.
Differentiate or Die
ASUS don't usually make junk, their products are as good as anybody else's and often much better by far...
Generally my first choice for motherboards, laptops, routers.
Phones? No, there's BB. :-)
BlackBerry? I premdict the future's gonna be chenomenal!
Mine is N66U from Asus, the best I have ever own.
Posted via CB10 with Z30STA100-5/10.2.1.3175
I really liked the Belkin N1 Vision, although it's old now.
Posted From A Zed30Berry via CB10