The Best Wi-Fi Routers of 2026

• Mbps: 700+
• Wi-Fi Type: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
• LAN Ports: Four
• USB Ports: Two USB 3.0 ports

The MR9600 is a fast, sophisticated router that has a lot to offer. It supports Wi-Fi 6, with 4x4 MIMO, on four separate antennas. This means it can send and receive four signals simultaneously, to ‘talk’ with up to four devices at one time. This is a big plus if multiple devices are connected to your home network, at any one time.

During testing, we found that the MR9600 managed over 700 Mbps, with a single device connected to it, in close proximity. It also handled multiple connections well, too: we were able to view a 4K YouTube video on one device while three others were swamping the router with various types of high-speed connections. This makes the MR9600 a good pick, for example, for anyone who enjoys streaming music while working at home, while their kids attend school using video conferencing software.

The app that controls the MR9600 is available for both iOS and Android and can be used to set up a guest network or turn off the Wi-Fi while you’re out of the house if the kids are binging YouTube.

It’s worth noting that this router can work with some mesh network setups. However, it doesn’t support the third Wi-Fi band that some mesh networks use to communicate between with each other, so it may not perform as quickly as the rest of the network.

• Mbps: 600
• Wi-Fi Type: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
• LAN Ports: Four
• USB Ports: One USB 3.0 port

The D-Link DIR-3040 was fast: close to the router, we measured speeds at just over 600 Mbps. That’s thanks to the six antennae and support for AC3000 networking, but there is no support for the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard. The lack of Wi-Fi 6 support is a pity, but it is still a router that can handle multiple users streaming video, making Zoom calls or watching YouTube videos. Additionally, it supports both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, allowing you to control the router from your smartphone with a voice command. Want to turn off the Wi-Fi while the kids should be asleep? Saying “Alexa, ask D-Link Wi-Fi to turn off Wi-Fi,” will do the trick.

The setup process for the D-Link DIR-3040 should be simple: download the D-Link app to your Android handset or iPhone and then, use the app to scan the QR code on the bottom of the router. Unfortunately, during testing, scanning the router’s QR code with the app failed, leaving us to manually select the network and enter a long key to connect.

• Mbps: 500
• Wi-Fi Type: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
• LAN Ports: Four four-gigabit ethernet ports
• USB Ports: One USB 2.0 port

The TP-Link AC1750 is the least expensive of the routers that we tested. It was also one of the slowest. However, it could be suitable for someone living in a small space who only plans to use it with a couple of devices at a time.

We set the AC1750 up at the same distance from our test devices as the rest of the routers in our test group. While other models were providing data speeds of 600 Mbps, the AC1750 maxed out at about 500 Mbps. This lower speed means that once more than a couple of users connect to your home network, enjoying YouTube or placing a Skype call will become a janky, buffering experience.

It’s worth noting that the AC1750 does not come with an app and must be set up manually. That said, it’s an annoying, but simple setup process.

• Mbps: 700+
• Wi-Fi Type: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
• LAN Ports: Five
• USB Ports: None

The Netgear WAX204 is a Wi-Fi 6 router that can support up to three independent Wi-Fi networks. This could be useful, for example, to a homeowner who wants one network for their family, one for the folks renting the basement suite in their home, and, a third network specifically for their property’s wireless security system.

There is no app to set this router up. Instead, the short, printed setup guide assumes you have access to a wired ethernet computer that you can plug into the router. Once your computer is connected to the WAX204, setup is completed using a web browser.

Once it was installed, we found the WAX204 offered speeds of over 700 Mbps, when our test devices were placed close to the router. While testing it with a laptop, 30 feet away from the router, we saw speeds of 300 Mbps. While these speeds are acceptable, they’re nothing to write home about. However, if you can find a use for the WAX204’s multi-network capabilities, it might be worth your attention.

• Mbps: 700+
• Wi-Fi Type: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
• LAN Ports: Five
• USB Ports: Two USB 3.1 ports

The Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is designed primarily with gamers in mind. That said, this powerful router can, potentially, support enough bandwidth to download all of the Rocky movies in a few seconds. It achieves these breakneck speeds thanks to a fast processor that keeps the data moving around quickly and an array of eight antennas.

Setting up the GT-AX11000 is completed using the Asus Router app, available for both iOS and Android. The app also allows you to view how much traffic the router is carrying and the amount of data each device on your network is using. That the app makes it possible to prioritize your data, is the icing on the cake. You can, for instance, prioritize data for online gaming over file downloads or normal web traffic, making for a smoother playing experience.

We certainly found that this Wi-Fi 6 router was fast: we measured the speed it sent and received data at over 700 Mbps with both a smartphone and a laptop when they were close to the router. The speeds at distance were a bit more limited, though: with the phone and laptop about 35 feet from the router, they dropped down to around 100 Mbps. That said, this is too much router, for most people.

• Wi-Fi Type: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11a)
• LAN Ports Four
• USB Ports: One USB 3.0 port, One USB 2.0 port

The Synology RT2600AC is a powerful, fast and full-featured router that has a lot to offer. However, with cheaper routers offering similar performance, most users would be better suited by another model. One feature that might be useful, however, is support for a second Internet connection.

The RT2600AC is one of the few consumer models to support a secondary Wide Area Network (WAN) connection. This means that it can use a second Internet connection, which can be used for failover (if the connection fails, the router will switch to a second one—from Verizon to Comcast, for example) or load balancing (where both connections are used at once, and the router balances the connection between them).

Other than that, the RT2600AC is pretty standard fare, with four gigabit wired ethernet connections and a single USB 3.0 port for networked file sharing.