Speaker 1: Look, routers aren't the sexiest product in the world to talk about, but they are one of the most important devices in your house to help you get fast speeds and help your wireless devices connect to the internet. Before we dive into our recommendations, here's some general things to consider when buying a router. How big is your home? How many devices are on your home network? Just a few laptops and a phone or a bunch of smart tech like locks, lights, and gaming devices. Does your home get gig speeds? Wifi six is the standard in home [00:00:30] router speeds able to handle crowded networks at top speeds, but some routers offer wifi six E a special designation for devices that can broadcast in the new six gigahertz band. I know that's a lot to think about, but don't worry, I got you covered. In this video, I'm going to show you the best picks under $100 mesh routers for those of you who need more coverage and the best routers for those with blazing fast gigabit internet.
Speaker 1: [00:01:00] All right, let's start with the budget picks. Everything in this section is going to be $100 or less, even at a hundred dollars. You don't have to compromise and get an older model. There are so many affordable routers that support wifi six. That's the current generation of wifi available now. For instance, this one, the TP link, Archer AX 21 is a wifi six model that retails $100, [00:01:30] but you can often find it on sale for 70 or $80. You can tell it's a wifi six router by looking at the speed rating. AX 1800 AX is the shorthand code for wifi six. An 1800 tells you the combined top speeds of each of its two bands in our test. The Archer AX 21 outperformed other ax, 1800 routers on a 300 megabits per second fiber network offering fast speeds and plenty of range for small to medium single story homes. [00:02:00] Meanwhile, the net gear R six 700 AX is another affordable AX 1800 router that's on sale at Amazon for $89. Super similar to the Archer AX 21, but the net gear has noticeably faster upload and download speeds when we tested it on a gigabit fiber network with top speeds about 940 megabits per second. If you're paying for fast internet speeds like those at home, but you still want a good router on a budget, then Netgear R 6,700 pays [00:02:30] for itself.
Speaker 1: If you've had trouble getting consistent wifi from one end of your home to the other, then we recommend going for a wifi mesh system. A mesh system uses multiple routers placed strategically around your home. These mesh routers create one big wifi mesh, so your devices have a stronger signal across a wider area, and there are a few routers at the top of our list. First up is the Deco W 72, another [00:03:00] wifi six option from TP Link. It's available as a two piece system for about $189 at Walmart. The Deco W 7,200 is a try band mesh router, which means it has an extra five gigahertz band the system can use for passing data back and forth without interference from any of your other devices. That helps it offer fast, reliable speeds, and that's exactly what we saw when we tested it out. Plus, the second extender device automatically pairs with your network [00:03:30] as soon as you plug it in. The other mesh system we'd recommend is the Euro six plus, which you can find on Amazon in a two-pack for $240 or in a three pack for $300. Full support for wifi six and newly added support for extra wide 160 megahertz channels. Make it a powerful system that can handle lots of data at fast speeds. If you're living in a smart home with lots of connected lights, locks, and other gadgets, the built-in radios for zigby and thread make it an outstanding pick.
Speaker 1: [00:04:00] If you've upgraded to gigabit speeds at home recently, congratulations, that's about five times faster than the average internet connection in the us. So if you're looking for a high speed gigabit ready router to match, here's what we'd recommend. Your first upgrade option is the ACEs rt AX 86 U one of the company's top wifi six gaming routers. It comes with an app that can help control latency, which can be handy if you're a gamer. Over the [00:04:30] last few years of CNET test, it's consistently shown to be one of the fastest and most capable routers we've tested. You can get it with a port that supports internet plans as high as 2.5 gigabits per second for about $280. That's a good deal, but the ACEs model is missing one thing, support for wifi six E, which offers access to the newly open six gigahertz band. The extra wide band has tons of room for bandwidth heavy internet traffic, and the only devices that can use it [00:05:00] are other wifi six E devices.
Speaker 1: So you'll need a wifi six e phone or laptop in order to get any use out of it, but it also means that you won't need to worry about older devices interfering with your connection. Still, more and more devices are offering six E capability, so grabbing a wifi six E router is still a sensible pick for your home network, especially if you're living with gigabit or better speeds. So wifi six E, a good option is this mesh router. The EuroPro six E stands out [00:05:30] for its exceptional all around performance and a noticeable speed boost to wifi six E devices. You get the same radios for ZigBee and Thread as the Euro six plus plus a try band design. It's an expensive option at $320 for a two pack or $450 for a three pack. But in our test, it was able to match high-end mesh systems that cost over $1,000. We also like the links as Hydro Pro six E for its simplicity, consistent speeds, and strong performance. Do you [00:06:00] own one of these? Let us know how it worked out for you in the comments below. Check out all of our router recommendations@cnet.com. Happy Router hunting.
