Internet Running Slow? The Best Wi-Fi 6 Routers May Help Speed Things Up
The best Wi-Fi 6 routers are the fastest wireless routers ever made, offering blazing speeds across a greater number of devices than ever before. That makes them fantastic in homes where there are many devices connected simultaneously, or if you perform regular, large local network file transfers.
This Eero mesh router with Wi-Fi 6 is an affordable way to upgrade a big home’s internet … [+]
That’s not all Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) offers, though. In supporting devices it can also mean reduced battery drain when in use, extending battery life, and some models even offer additional bands for even greater performance and coverage.
Not all routers are created equal, though, making some better suited for gaming, others for larger homes and networks, and others that cater more to tighter budgets, with a more refined feature set.
Whatever kind of cutting-edge router you’re after, though, these are the best Wi-Fi 6 routers you can buy today.
- Best Wi-Fi 6e Router: Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500
- Best Affordable Wi-Fi 6 Router: Asus RT-AX58U AX3000
- Best Wi-Fi 6 Router For Gaming: Asus ROG Rapture GX-AX11000
- Best Premium Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router: Netgear Orbi Whole Home RBK853
- Most Stylish Wi-Fi 6 Router: Asus AX82U AX5400
- Most Affordable Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router: Netgear Orbi Whole Home RBK752
- Best Budget Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router: TP-Link Deco X20
- Best Smart Home Wi-Fi 6 Router: Amazon Eero 6
Best Wi-Fi 6e Router
Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 Wi-Fi 6e router
If you want the absolute fastest wireless network possible, the Netgear Nighthawk is the best router for the job. It’s packed full of high-end features, offers three separate frequency bands for a wide range of concurrent devices, and it looks unique and arguably sculpture-like, giving you some options for where you put it in your home.
Hide it away if you want, but you’ll get better performance and a unique item within your home if you display it proudly.
The combination of 2.4Ghz, 5GHz and 6GHz bands gives it a versatile spectrum of connection options, making sure that no matter what band your devices are on, they should have plenty of bandwidth all to themselves. Those that support the newer 6GHz one will get the fastest speeds at close proximity, although performance does degrade with distance.
None of it takes much configuring, though, with the router able to seamlessly move devices around channels to give them the best performance and responsive networking experience possible.
Best Affordable Wi-Fi 6 Router
Asus RT-AX58U AX3000
The best Wi-Fi 6 routers aren’t cheap, but they don’t have to be crazy expensive either. If you eschew some of the most cutting edge features and coverage for huge homes, you can get a very affordable Wi-Fi 6 router, like the Asus AX58U. It offers solid Wi-Fi 6 performance, easily outstripping older Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) rivals, and maintains its performance well through walls and obstructions.
It doesn’t support the extreme range of some Wi-Fi mesh routers, nor does it have the tri-band support which helps handle 10s of devices at once, but it’s very fast for a conventional router and is easily one of the best Wi-Fi 6 routers if you’re on a bit of a budget.
Best Wi-Fi 6 Router For Gaming
Asus ROG Rapture GX-AX11000
Most gaming routers might come with a spiky array of antennas, but few can match the sheer crab-like-majesty of the Asus ROG Rapture. That gives it absolutely monstrous coverage for a non-mesh design, making it possible to play games with fantastic latency and bandwidth at well over 150 feet away if needed.
It’s tri-band, with a single 2.4GHz band, and two 5GHz bands offering excellent coverage for a large number of concurrent connected devices. It also has a robust backend of network support and analyzer tools to help you make the most of your super-speed gaming router.
This is a big and very expensive router, but for gaming, it’s one of the best Wi-Fi 6 routers you can buy.
Best Premium Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router
Netgear Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router and 2 Satellites
If you have an absolutely enormous house, office or even warehouse that you want solid Wi-Fi 6 performance in, then you absolutely need to consider a mesh router system. The best Wi-Fi 6 mesh router system is the premium version of the Netgear Orbi Whole Home tri-band W-Fi 6 router and its satellites—RBK853. It offers coverage of up to 7,500 square feet, twin 5GHz bands and a single 2.4GHz band, with eight high-performance antennas in every single unit. They also come with plenty of Gigabit Ethernet ports, so you can hardwire your games consoles, TVs and desktop PCs.
All of that combines to give these units absolutely fantastic coverage throughout larger homes, especially if you have to deal with a lot of obstruction, where singular or less-capable mesh routers just wouldn’t measure up. They’re also really easy to install and set up, making them about as plug-and-play as you can get from a mesh router system.
The only downside is that they are eye-wateringly expensive. If you want the best Wi-Fi 6 mesh router right now, though, this is as good as it gets.
Most Stylish Wi-Fi 6 Router
Asus AX82U AX5400 Wi-Fi 6 Gaming Router
Most gaming routers look the same—a big block with a bunch of antennas sticking out of it. The Asus AX82U bucks that trend by incorporating a swooping, stealth-jet-inspired frame and some gorgeous RGB lighting in the front. It’s completely superfluous, but it does look cool, and it backs up the solid performance of this great mid-range Wi-Fi 6 router.
Alongside great Wi-Fi 6 performance and coverage, this router also includes four Gigabit Ethernet ports, as well as a dedicated “gaming port.” It doesn’t have a drastic effect on performance from an all-round stellar gaming router, but it prioritizes that traffic over all else, so can help out if your network gets a bit busy while you’re trying to play.
If you want to expand it later you can too, thanks to its support of the AiMesh framework, which lets you add in additional compatible routers to create a mesh network for better coverage.
More Affordable Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router
Netgear Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router and Satellite
If you don’t want to pay the sheer premium of the ultra high-end Orbi Whole Home Wi-Fi 6 router system, you can get most of the way there with the much more affordable RBK752 model. These models have six internal antennas, and this pack comes with just one satellite extender, rather than two, but that cuts the price by almost two thirds, making this a far more accessible home mesh router system.
It still covers as much as 5,000 square feet, although performance does degrade at distance from the units, so consider a third satellite if your home is particularly large or obstructed.
Setup with Orbi units is simple and intuitive, though, making it easy to get a strong mesh network throughout your home, and the units look good and unimposing—a far cry from some of the external antenna designs of their contemporaries.
Best Budget Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router
TP-Link Deco X20 Wi-Fi System — 3 Pack
You can slash your budget further and still get a great mesh network with full Wi-Fi 6 speed. The TP-Link Deco X20 is an attractive and understated mesh network solution that doesn’t dominate the room with a huge physical footprint. Despite that, the units still offer good Wi-Fi 6 performance with great coverage throughout larger homes.
You’ll get better performance with pricier Wi-Fi 6 routers and mesh routers, but the Deco X20 still offers much improved performance over older Wi-Fi 5 models, and it maintains its speed better than some at greater distances too. The Deco X20 also comes with great lifetime features like solid parental controls and improved malware protection, making it one of the best Wi-Fi 6 router systems you can buy today.
Best Smart Home Wi-Fi 6 Router
Amazon Eero 6 3-pack
The Amazon Eero 6 isn’t as fast as some Mesh Wi-Fi 6 routers out there, but it’s still pretty nippy and comes with some excellent smart home features which could make it ideal for your setup. It has built-in support for both Alexa and Zigbee, so if you have any smart devices that are compatible with that, the Eero 6 can link right in with them for more nuanced control of everything, including transferring those devices to your new mesh network.
The router and satellites are very small compared to some of their mesh router counterparts, making them great for slipping into unobtrusive places if you like your technology to operate in the background.
Coverage is excellent, even if performance isn’t quite as high as some mesh router systems. Still, if you have a heavily integrated smart home or want a more affordable mesh Wi-Fi 6 system, the Eero 6 is one of the best.