Best Products Networking 26 26 people found this article helpful The 7 Best Netgear Routers of 2021 Connect to the Internet with this well-known networking company by Jesse Hollington Writer Jesse Hollington is a tech writer with 10+ years' experience. He has written for iLounge, Forbes, Yahoo, The Independent, and iDropNews, among others. our editorial process Twitter LinkedIn Jesse Hollington Updated on February 22, 2021 The Ultimate Router Buying Guide The Ultimate Router Buying Guide Introduction Router Basics What Is a Router and How Does It Work? How to Pick the Right Wireless Router Router Standards Explained Modem vs Router Can You Use Two Routers Same Network? Do I Need a Modem and a Router? Routers, Switches and Hubs Explained How to Find Your Router's IP Addresses What Is MIMO Technology? 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We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links. The Rundown Best Overall: Netgear Orbi at Amazon "Plugging in the system and getting online takes minutes." Best Speed: Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 at Amazon "Wi-Fi 6 support will keep you ahead of the technology curve while still offering great support for current Wi-Fi standards." Best Value: Netgear Nighthawk X6 R8000 at Best Buy "Features six external high-performance antennas that combine with tri-band Wi-Fi for increased performance and signal strength." Best for Gaming: Netgear Nighthawk XR500 at Amazon "A gaming dashboard displays real-time bandwidth use so users can minimize ping times." Best Budget: Netgear Nighthawk R6700 at Amazon "Offers an incredibly easy setup with the company’s smartphone application." Best Streaming: Netgear Nighthawk X4S at Walmart "The inclusion of MU-MIMO technology adds even more signal stability during 4K video streams." Best for Media: Netgear Nighthawk X10 AD7200 at B&H Photo Video "Driven by a quad-core, 1.7Ghz processor that handles 4K streaming, web browsing, and pretty much anything else." in this article Expand Our Picks FAQs What to Look for in a Netgear Router The best Netgear routers give you a stable Wi-Fi connection, good range, and can help you connect multiple devices. Netgear is a reputable manfacterer of routers and other networking device, with options ranging from the fairly standard dual-band routers, to gaming-oriented tri-band routers, and whole-home mesh networks. What you need will depend on your space, how many devices you plan to connect, and your day-to-day usage. 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. Best Overall: Netgear Orbi Whole Home Wi-Fi System 4.5 Buy on Amazon Buy on Best Buy Buy on Walmart What We Like Fast speeds Easy to set up Nice design What We Don't Like Expensive Netgear Orbi Review Netgear's Orbi Mesh Wi-Fi is the company's first specifically-made mesh router system, with a pair of units that act as a base station and a "satellite" unit to provide corner-to-corner coverage in up to a 5,000 square foot home. The system is really simple to set up via Netgear's Orbi smartphone app, so you can get online within minutes of plugging it in. The tri-band coverage offers lightning-fast performance, thanks to technologies like MU-MIMO and six internal antennas, reaching speeds of up to 1,733Mbps on the 5GHz band and 833Mbps on the 2.4GHz side. The Orbi also works with Amazon Alexa voice commands and the smartphone application allows for parental controls powered by Circle. There's even the ability to set up guest Wi-Fi networks, as well as connect new devices. Best Speed: Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 8-Stream AX6000 Wi-Fi 6 Router 4.5 Buy on Amazon Buy on B&H Photo Video Buy on Adorama.com What We Like Sleek design Wi-Fi 6 support Excellent performance What We Don't Like Pricey Ethernet ports are a little too close If you're looking to invest in a router that will keep you ahead of the technology curve, then you'll want a router that supports Wi-Fi 6, the newest 802.11ax standard that not only offers better performance, but also manages large device networks much more efficiently. Even if your PCs and gaming consoles aren't ready for Wi-Fi 6 yet, the RAX80 still provides up to 2,500 square feet of coverage for your 5GHz 802.11ac and older 2.4GHz devices with throughput of up to 4.8Gbps and 1.2Gbps on each of its bands, respectively, thanks to the four antennas encased in its hawk-like wings. 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. Good to Know Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, is still a fairly new standard, so not all of your devices may support it yet, but it's worth upgrading your PCs or gaming consoles if you have a lot of devices on your network or simply want maximum performance for things like gaming. Best Value: Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router (R8000) 4.3 Buy on Best Buy Buy on Walmart Buy on Office Depot What We Like Solid Tri-Band Wi-Fi Simplified set up Easy guest access What We Don't Like Large footprint The Netgear Nighthawk X6 is integrated with Amazon Alexa for voice command prompts and features six external high-performance antennas that combine with tri-band Wi-Fi for increased performance and signal strength. A 1GHz dual-core processor works alongside three offload processors to maintain network performance, while Netgear's Smart Connect software works to allow each device to connect to the strongest signal. 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. Best for Gaming: Netgear Nighthawk XR500 Pro Gaming Router Buy on Amazon Buy on Best Buy Buy on B&H Photo Video What We Like Very configurable for gamers Good 2.4GHz performance Easy setup What We Don't Like Poor longer range performance Pricey One of the best-reviewed gaming routers on the market, Netgear's Nighthawk XR500 is built specifically with gamers in mind. The hardware includes gaming-specific features such as QoS for prioritizing gaming devices on the network for the best possible signal and allocating any extra bandwidth to eliminate lag. A gaming dashboard helps to show real-time bandwidth use, so users can help minimize ping times, while a gaming VPN allows instant connection to any VPN client to maintain security and privacy. 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. The 9 Best Gaming Routers of 2021 Best Budget: Netgear Nighthawk R6700 Smart Wi-Fi Router Buy on Amazon Buy on Best Buy Buy on Walmart What We Like Solid 802.11ac performance Advanced features like QoS Inexpensive What We Don't Like Weaker 2.4GHz speeds Compatible with 802.11ac, the Netgear Nighthawk R6700 provides speeds up to 450Mbps on the 2.4Ghz band and up to 1,300Mbps on the 5GHz band. Capable of simultaneously supporting up to 12 devices at a time, the Nighthawk offers an incredibly easy setup with the company’s smartphone application. There, parents can find a slew of parental controls and options to create guest networks, as well as updating the router with the latest firmware for up to date security and performance. Compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for voice command usage, the Nighthawk has a dual-core processor inside that powers the hardware to help maintain steady performance. The three external high-performance antennas can be directed toward device locations (i.e. a desktop or television) for improved signal strength and range. The 10 Best Budget Routers in 2021 Best Streaming: Netgear Nighthawk X4S Smart Wi-Fi Gaming Router Buy on Walmart What We Like Great range Good 5GHz performance Two USB 3.0 ports What We Don't Like Poor USB performance If you're a big streamer you'll want to take a closer look at the Netgear Nighthawk X4S. With speeds of up to 800Mbps on the 2.4Ghz band and up to 1,733Mbps on the 5Ghz band, the X4S adds Dynamic QoS for lag-free gaming, plus stable 4K video streaming. The inclusion of MU-MIMO technology adds even more signal stability during 4K video streams by directing performance at devices using increased bandwidth to maintain signal strength. Setting up the X4S is super straightforward using the downloadable smartphone app, so users can be up and running within minutes of first connecting the X4S to a home network. The four high-gain external antennas pair with Netgear's Beamforming+ technology for increasing signal range and strength, which comes in handy for any medium to large size home. The 9 Best Long-Range Routers of 2021 Best for Media: Netgear Nighthawk X10 AD7200 Router 4 Buy on B&H Photo Video Buy on Sears.com What We Like 10 Gbps SFP+ port for fibre and NAS connections Ultrafast 802.11ad support Integrated Plex Media Server What We Don't Like Client devices need to support 802.11ad for maximum speeds When it comes to performance for the price, the Netgear Nighthawk X10 is more than equal to the task. With eye-popping speeds, the X10 is among the fastest routers available, with 60GHz 802.11ad connectivity that allows it to reach speeds of 4.6Gbps on the 5Ghz band, while still also offering support for more common 802.11ac devices at speeds of up to 1,733Mbps. The internal hardware is driven by a quad-core 1.7Ghz processor that handles 4K streaming, VR gaming, web browsing, and pretty much anything else. 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. Good to Know "WiGig" 802.11ad routers offer some extremely fast Wi-Fi speeds, but they operate on the 60GHz frequency, limiting their range to around 30 feet. Further, unless you have 802.11ad network adapters in your PCs or gaming consoles, you won't really be able to take advantage of the extra performance. FAQs How long do Netgear routers last? Netgear is one of the biggest and most reputable manufacturers of networking products. All Netgear routers come with warranty support, and you should register your device online. The warranty support for default is one year and 90 days of complimentary technical support, extended warranty support is two years. Refurbished products come with 90 days of warranty and 90 days of complimentary technical support. Where are Netgear routers made? Netgear routers are manufactured primarily in mainland China and Vietnam, though some lower-volume products are also manufactured in Taiwan. Netgear has product quality organizations based in both Hong Kong and mainland China. Are Netgear routers compatible with Xfinity? Netgear routers are compatible with Xfinity modems in most cases, though you should check this list to confirm compatibility. If you can't find your modem on the list, you may want to call Xfinity customer support and have them verify support for your Netgear router. 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. The alternative is to invest in an additional Ethernet switch later on. 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. 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. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit