Best WiFi Routers of 2026, Tested by Our Experts

Mesh routers are generally more expensive than single-unit routers, but they do a better job of spreading WiFi throughout a home, helping to reduce dead zones and connection drops.

You can usually find a single-unit router on sale for less than a mesh router setup, and that may be all you need for reliable WiFi, especially if you live in a modest home.

Upgrading your home network doesn’t have to drain your savings. These routers offer the best bang for your buck, delivering strong performance and essential features at a surprisingly low price.

Every model in our ratings is tested by the expert technicians in our labs just north of New York City, where we simulate a typical home environment, measuring the throughput (which can be thought of as the router’s “speed”) at three distances: 8 feet, 20 feet, and 55 feet.

We take into account how easy the router is to set up and manage (which nowadays is often done with a smartphone app); whether it has useful features like built-in Ethernet and USB ports, and parental controls; and the quality of service, a technology that helps prevent your video calls for work from being interrupted by other traffic on the network.

We also evaluate the router’s data privacy policies and whether the model automatically updates with the latest firmware, which can help keep you and your data safe.

As laptops, phones, and other internet-connected devices proliferate in our homes, the WiFi standards used by routers are routinely upgraded to ensure devices keep pace with traffic. Here’s a look at what the current options offer.

WiFi 6: Introduced in 2019, this standard improved transfer speeds and reduced latency, or the time it takes data to travel from one place to another.

WiFi 6E: Introduced in 2020, this standard greatly improved speeds in dense environments, like apartment buildings, by opening up the 6GHz band, a new part of the wireless spectrum, to WiFi devices.

WiFi 7: Introduced in 2024, this standard further improved data transfer speeds and latency by enabling devices to send data across multiple bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz) simultaneously.

You may sometimes see these standards referred to by their more technical names: WiFi 7 as 802.11be, for example. We use both naming conventions in our ratings.

Keep in mind that to take full advantage of a WiFi 7 router, you need to own devices that support WiFi 7. A growing number of newer smartphones and laptops support the standard, including recent flagship models from Apple and Samsung. If your devices are designed for WiFi 6, you probably won’t see a major performance boost from upgrading your router alone.

That said, if you’re planning to replace your tech in the near future—or you want to future-proof your home network—a WiFi 7 router could be a smart investment. Just be prepared to pay a premium for the cutting-edge features.