The 10 Best Wireless Routers

What is the best wireless router for you? Sorting through all of the buzzwords, hype, and tech terminology can leave you with a Wi-Fi headache. Throw into that confusion all of the talk about 802.11ac, the latest wireless networking technology, and selecting the right wireless router can make anyone crazy. Don't worry, we are here to help you out.
First, here's some basic information on routers that all prospective Wi-Fi shoppers ought to know: A wireless router is the hub of your home or business network. In a nutshell: A router delivers a single Internet connection to other devices on the network through either wired Ethernet or wireless connectivity. Routers also often provide additional capabilities such as USB ports for attaching an external drive or printer and then sharing those devices on a network, built-in firewalls to protect against Internet threats from invading a network, and services such as UPnP and DLNA to allow streaming multimedia content throughout the network.
Some Wi-Fi routers can also perform other tasks, such as allowing you to set up access for guests to connect to your wireless network and use your Internet service (without giving them access to resources like files and printers, or you can at least limit that access). You can also use a router's Quality of Service (QoS) feature to give priority to the type of network traffic most important to you, be it Voice over IP (VoIP), video, or even file sharing.
So although a Wi-Fi router's main function is delivering Internet (or WAN) access to your private network devices and gives those device wireless access, it can do much more; some can police what your children access on the Internet, (like the Cisco Linksys EA6400 $149.99 at Linksys Store) and just about all can restrict which devices can connect to your network via a feature called MAC filtering (such as the Netgear N900 $144.49 at Amazon).
Routers can vary from feature-heavy to simple. Some routers, targeted at novice users, are easy to set up, while others take a little more know-how. Routers also vary in the throughput they can crank out depending often on the antenna configuration and the hardware inside. You can get more information on the type of router you need in our How to Buy a Wireless Router guide. If you are pondering whether to go with the latest in router technology, the 802.11ac routers, check out Wireless Witch: Should You Buy an 802.11ac Router?
When testing routers we look at a couple of key features: throughput speeds, how well the device keeps decent throughput as you move a wireless client farther from it, how easy or difficult the router is to set up, its manageability, its feature set, and pricing. The ten routers that follow strike the best balance among all our criteria. Read the quick recaps below and then click through to the full reviews for more details on our favorite routers:

FEATURED IN THIS ROUNDUP

Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (A1521)

$199.99 MSRP
$194.00 at Amazon With the new AirPort design and the inclusion of 802.11ac, it's plain to see that Apple is taking steps forward with its networking devices. Cupertino's latest AirPort Extreme is not on the bleeding edge as far as speeds and feeds go, but it is beautiful and "just works" out of the box. Read the full review ››

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Asus RT-AC66U Dual Band 3x3 802.11AC Gigabit Router

$189.99 list
A$219.00 at eBay.com.au More technical and small business users including those wanting a true VPN server, robust IPv6, and granular control over the wireless signal will find the Asus RT-AC66U a delight. Read the full review ››

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Buffalo AirStation Extreme AC 1750 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Router

$136.00 street
With the AirStation Extreme AC1750 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Router, Buffalo steps up its game: The router offers great new management software and good performance. The device can operate as a router, access point, or a bridge Read the full review ››

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Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router AC1600 EA6400

$150 street
$149.99 at Linksys Store The EA6400 is a fine router. What it may lack in performance as compared with other 11ac routers in 11ac mode, it makes for in a sharp interface, easy setup and feature set. A good, affordable choice for those who need easy setup and some guidance with managing their Wi-Fi. Read the full review ››

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Linksys Smart Wi-Fi AC 1750HD Video Pro EA6500

$120 street
$119.99 at Linksys Store The cloud as management console with Cisco Connect Cloud raises the bar for router management and that capability coupled with fine performance makes the EA6500 a four star Editors' Choice for wireless routers. Read the full review ››

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Netgear N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router WNDR4500

$129.99 street
$144.49 at Amazon The N900 is especially suited for power gamers, frequent digital data streamers, home theatre media center enthusiasts or small business owners who do a lot of videoconferencing from a home network. Read the full review ››

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Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 Smart WiFi Router (R7000)

$199.99 MSRP
$199.99 at Amazon This device's excellent throughput and range at the 5GHz band, lots of features (including full VPN)—plus a cool name and design—makes the Nighthawk one of the best routers we've seen from Netgear in a while. Enhanced Quality-of-Service makes this an ideal device for gamers and digital media enthusiasts. Read the full review ››

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Trendnet AC1750 Dual Band Wireless Router (TEW-812DRU)

$144.99 street
£108.72 at Amazon Definitely one of, if not the best, pre-draft 11ac router on the market. Killer throughput, a good feature set and easy setup makes the Trendnet AC1750 Dual Band Wireless Router (TEW-812DRU) an excellent 11ac router. Read the full review ››

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Western Digital My Net N900

$159.99 street
$69.99 at Office Depot Not the most feature-packed router available on the market, but it has the features the average user needs to manage and set up a rich, secured networking environment that deftly handles multimedia content. Plus, the WD N900's software delivers a user experience the level of which is rare to find in home networking and features an unprecedented seven Gigabit LAN ports (most routers have four). Read the full review ››

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ZyXel MWR102 Travel Router

$29.99 street
$29.02 at Cost Central The tiny ZyXel MWR102 Travel Router is super convenient for business travelers who want to set up a WLAN on the fly from a wired Internet connection or to bridge to an existing wireless network. Read the full review ››