Buying a router can be overwhelming with a ton of marketing lingo, specs that are hard to compare across generations, and confusing coverage claims. If you’re reading from the box in a store or you’re scrolling past hundreds of identical-looking routers on Amazon, you’ll see big claims about routers offering multi-gig speeds, being optimized for gaming, or even offers of extra security.

When you’re choosing a router, there are a few things to know before you get started. You’ll want to know your internet speed, how many people are using your Wi-Fi, and how much space you’re trying to cover. Mesh Wi-Fi systems can cover your whole home with Wi-Fi by using multiple routers working together instead of a single router, but are more expensive than a single router.

Pick the right generation

Wi-Fi routers have improved with newer generations with Wi-Fi 7 being the newest and most performant by a decent margin. For most people, however, Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E routers have more than enough speed for internet connection up to 1Gbps, and maybe even faster depending on congestion. Wi-Fi 5 routers are still fine for many people, though they’ll struggle more with lots of devices, like a home with lots of smart home tech.

For most people, Wi-Fi 6 should be considered a minimum spec since even mid-range electronics are shipping with Wi-Fi 6 support these days. Wi-Fi 6 can keep speeds higher than Wi-Fi 5, especially when there are a lot of simultaneous connections or congestion. Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 add support for the 6GHz band which opens up a a lot of new spectrum to home Wi-Fi with many more channels than the 5GHz Wi-Fi band primarily used today.

Speaking of bands, routers will either be labeled as dual-band, tri-band, or quad-band. A dual-band router has both the 2.4GHz band and 5GHz band available. Tri-band Wi-Fi 6 routers have a 2.4GHz band and two 5GHz bands. Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 tri-band routers have 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands. A quad-band router will either double up on the 5GHz or 6GHz band from there. With more bands, the router gains capacity and allows the load to be spread across them.

For most people, a fast dual-band router is all they really need, but if your house has a lot of internet users, the extra capacity with a tri-band router could yield some significant improvements in speed and consistency.

When it comes to wired connections, most modern routers ship with gigabit Ethernet ports at least. Faster routers with 2.5Gbps and 10Gbps Ethernet ports are also becoming more common and will be needed for internet connections over 1Gbps. If you’re setting up network storage in your home, you may want an extra multi-gig Ethernet port that can be used for LAN.

Find a router’s actual speed

The speed of a router is often presented as the Wi-Fi prefix, like AX, followed by a number, such as AX5400. The prefix for Wi-Fi 5 is AC, Wi-Fi 6 is AX, and Wi-Fi 7 is BE. Wi-Fi 6E is written either as AX or AXE depending on the manufacturer. These are aggregate speeds that combine all of the top speeds across all bands together.

Some listings are happy to promote an AX5400 router as being capable of 5.4Gbps, but it’s not quite that simple. For example, most AX5400 routers offer 574Mbps to devices on the 2.4GHz band and 4804Mbps on the 5GHz band. Since most Wi-Fi 6 devices support connections up to 1201Mbps with some offering 2402Mbps, you’ll never actually see 5.4Gbps on any one device. Not to mention that a lot of these routers don’t even support wired connections that fast.

If you want the best speed out of a fast router, you’ll need a Wi-Fi card, like the Asus PBE -whatever it is, with support for 160MHz connections. That enables connection speeds up to 2402Mbps on Wi-Fi 6 and even higher with Wi-Fi 7. Wi-Fi 7 also supports up to 320MHz bands at 6GHz, though client support is still, and will likely remain, mostly 160MHz.

MU-MIMO stands for multiple user, multiple input, multiple output, and is used to connect multiple devices at once to Wi-Fi. This helps improve average speeds and keep connections responsive. MU-MIMO is supported by most mid-range and higher Wi-Fi 6 routers and is key to achieving their top speeds. If you’ve got more than a handful of Wi-Fi devices in your home, MU-MIMO is a worthwhile addition.

OFDMA and QAM are two technologies that help keep Wi-fi speeds high, even when there's a lot of congestion. Many Wi-Fi 6 routers offer 1024-QAM, but some go with smaller numbers for budget models. If you've got a lot of wireless congestion around you, such as in an apartment building, going for the full 1024-QAM, or 4K-QAM on Wi-Fi 7, could offer some speed benefits.

Security

When you enter a password to connect to Wi-Fi, that password needs to be sent to the router somehow to allow the connection. The trick is sending that password in a way that can’t be observed. Older security protocols like WEP weren’t very secure at all, and with the right software, the password could be obtained rather quickly. WPA2 is a significant improvement over that, and WAP3 is another improvement on top of that. A router with WPA3 support can be more secure than one with just WPA2, though your devices will also need to support it to fully switch over.

Continuing with security, many people prefer to browse the web with a VPN adding an extra layer of security to their connection. A lot of modern routers support using a VPN for your devices. VPN Server allows you to access your home network from an outside connection, while VPN Client allows you to add one of the best VPN providers to your router. If you want to use a VPN with your router, check that it supports OpenVPN, and maybe even Wireguard for better speeds.

Also, keep in mind that you’ll want a faster CPU to handle that VPN connection. This all depends on how many devices you’re connecting, but if you plan on using a VPN for your whole home, getting a router with a fast CPU can go a long way.

App and account requirement

Some routers require you to use an app to set up, and some people don’t like that. Setup and management apps can be very convenient for getting up and running quickly, but often require you to create an online account, and may try to upsell you on security or parental control subscriptions. From a privacy perspective, some of these apps also try to get you to share some usage information, which not everyone is a fan of. Check the router’s requirements to see if you have to use the app and create an online account.

If there is an online account, there’s a good chance there are also subscription services available on the router. These can be security add-ons like TP-Link HomeShield, Netgear Armor, or Eero Secure. Parental controls may also be available, like Netgear’s Smart Parental Controls or Gryphon Premium Protection. They all offer different levels of free and paid features, so you’ll want to see which works best for you. Some brands offer this type of feature for free, like Asus and Acer, though your mileage may vary with each one. A lot of people just skip these add-ons entirely, so if you’re not feeling them, you’re not alone.

Mesh systems like Nest Wifi, Eero, and Deco only allow customers to change the most basic settings, so if you want to get into the advanced settings, make sure your router allows access.

Mesh compatibility

Mesh compatibility is great for adding coverage to your home without needing to replace your base router. Simply put, other routers are used as Wi-Fi repeaters to improve your coverage. Unlike a traditional repeater though, mesh Wi-Fi uses the same Wi-Fi name and your device can automatically roam between the different nodes in your mesh.

EasyMesh can be used by just about any router maker and is quickly gaining support across the industry, but there are still a lot of proprietary solutions to look out for. AiMesh from Asus works on just about any Asus router, for example. Others like Deco, Eero, and Nest Wifi work with other mesh routers from their family. If you think you’ll need a mesh in the future, make sure you’re buying into a platform with plenty of expansion options for your needs.

Gaming routers

If you’re a gamer looking for a good router that can keep up with your streaming and gaming needs, you mostly just need a fast one. Gaming routers can have more advanced QoS (quality of service) software to prioritize data, and may even have built-in NAT configurations for popular games. For gaming, a fast CPU can help keep your ping times consistent if you’ve got a lot of devices on your network. Furthermore, faster Wi-Fi can give you some headroom to keep speeds high for long periods.

Most gaming routers include a QoS to keep gaming traffic first in line so ping times remain as low as possible. On a shared connection, especially a slower connection, a QoS can allow high-priority traffic to cut in line to keep ping times low. To someone in your home streaming video or browsing the web, a few extra milliseconds likely won’t even be noticed, while they can have a major impact in games.

That being said, if at all possible, you should be using a wired connection for gaming. Running one of the best Ethernet cables from your router to your gaming PC is one of the most effective ways to improve your gaming connection.

Be cautious about coverage numbers

While router specs are essential to making sure you’re getting the right product, they can also create unrealistic expectations in consumers. One of the biggest problem specs is coverage. While many routers have removed this spec entirely, many mesh systems still boast about coverage in square feet.

Antenna design has continued to improve in routers over the past few years, but there’s no arguing with physics. If you’ve got a large home, a router or mesh kit will very likely not live up to the advertised coverage area. The problem is that all of our homes are different and everything from home appliances to the materials our walls are made of can greatly impact coverage.

Most people don’t need all that much speed

While it's easy to get caught up in all the tech specs on a product like a router, the fact of the matter is that most people will be perfectly happy with a mid to low-end Wi-Fi 6 router. While it's fun to have a top-of-the-line multi-gig router, most of our internet connections aren’t that fast and don’t need to be. While the speed test results weren’t all that impressive we found using a cheaper router like the AX3000 Asus RT-AX57 offered plenty of speed for streaming, browsing, working, and even gaming. Even the AX1800 EnGenius ECW220 performed well enough to earn a recommendation with everyday computing and streaming.

Before blowing a ton of money on a router, take a step back and think about how much speed you really need. While incredibly fast routers like the TP-Link Archer BE800 offer excellent user experiences, the fact of the matter is that most people don’t need that much speed. If you focus on the specs you need most, you can save a lot of money while still getting one of the best Wi-Fi routers.