To get a comprehensive overview of your router options, take a look at our general roundup of the best routers. Otherwise, read on to see the best Netgear routers to get. Wireless Spec: 802.11ac | Security: NETGEAR Armor, WPA2 | Standard/Speed: AC3000 | Bands: Tri-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 4 With support for MU-MIMO and eight simultaneous 160MHz channels, plus a 64-bit 1.8GHz quad-core CPU, more devices can use maximum Wi-Fi speeds at the same time, so you don’t need to worry about your family members or roommates slowing down your connection. It’s also more than capable of handling even the more tricked-out smart homes, and thanks to WAN port aggregation, it can even handle Multi-Gig internet plans up to 2Gbps. Wireless Spec: 802.11ax | Security: Netgear Armor, WPA2, 802.1x | Standard/Speed: AX6000 | Bands: Tri-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 5 Beamforming+ technology helps to improve on existing signals by directing unused bandwidth directly at each connected device. And setting up the X6 is a snap, thanks to the downloadable Netgear Up smartphone app that’s available for both Android and iOS and can connect you to your home network with just a few taps. With a total speed of 3.2Gbps across the 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11ac bands, the X6 just smiles at online gaming or 4K streaming. Wireless Spec: 802.11ac | Security: WPA, WPA2, | Standard/Speed: AC3200 | Bands: Tri-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 5 Monitoring network strength is easy via the downloadable Netgear smartphone application and the dual-core 1.7Ghz processor helps to maintain the hardware performance and support the demands of online gaming traffic. With four external antennas for increased signal strength, the XR500 adds MU-MIMO and Quad-Stream technologies for even more of a gaming boost. Add in a total network speed of 2.6Gbps across the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands and you’ve found a gaming router worthy of its price tag. Wireless Spec: 802.11ac | Security: WPA2 | Standard/Speed: AC2600 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 4 Wireless Spec: 802.11ac | Security: WPA2 | Standard/Speed: AC1750| Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: No | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 5 The inclusion of Dynamic QoS provides an additional performance boost by prioritizing bandwidth availability by application and directing any unused signal strength at bandwidth-heavy tasks, offering increased speeds for gaming and 4K streaming. Additional extras include MU-MIMO for supporting simultaneous connections and helping to double Wi-Fi speeds for mobile devices. The X10 also features a built-in Plex Media Server which can share media content from external hard drives connected to either of the two USB 3.0 ports or even a high-speed NAS device connected to the 10Gbps SFP+ port. Wireless Spec: 802.11ad | Security: WPA2 | Standard/Speed: AD1750| Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: No | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 7 Bill Thomas is a Denver-based freelance writer with experience covering a wide range of tech, games, and networking devices. Yoona Wagener has been writing for Lifewire since 2019, covering wearables, laptops, networking devices, and more.
What to Look for in a Netgear Router
Ports
The point of a wireless router is to provide a wireless network connection, but there are a lot of cases where it’s better to plug a computer, game console, or another device into an Ethernet port. Count all of the devices that you want to connect via Ethernet, and look for a Netgear router that can accommodate your setup. Most routers have four LAN ports, but if you have lots of devices to connect the alternative is to invest in an additional Ethernet switch later on. These can expand your Ethernet port options to 16 or 20. The addition of a USB port on a router can also be handy for connecting a printer, external hard drive or other devices to create sharable storage.
Multiple antennas
Unless you live in a tiny studio apartment, you’re going to need a Netgear router that comes with multiple antennas. Three is enough for most houses and small businesses, but you’ll need four or more if you have a big, multi-story house or a large office. Higher-end routers can have as many as six or eight. Generally speaking, the more antennas, the better your range and connectivity is, though that also depends on the type of router. On this roundup, the Orbi with six antennas can cover 5,000 square feet. The more budget Nighthawk R6700 has three antennas, letting it cover up to 1,500 square feet.
Multiple bands
You can get by with a single-band router for most basic usage but look for a dual- or tri-band Netgear router if you want to connect a lot of devices at once. Some dual-band routers can provide a solid connection to up to 20 devices at once, and tri-band routers give you even more options. You’ll also want to look at Wi-Fi standard. An increasing number of options support Wi-Fi 6, though Wi-Fi 5 is still a daily common standard.
