Best for speed—NETGEAR Nighthawk RAX200
Best for speed
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The fastest Wi-Fi speeds we’ve tested | |
Score:out of 5 | The RAX200 is slightly cheaper than its Wi-Fi 6E sibling, but you still pay extra for some features that come free on other routers. |
| Pros | Cons |
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$428.15*
Read Our Full Review
* Amazon.com Price (as of 5/19/23 08:27 MST). Read full disclaimer.
Expand for product details and ratings
| Category | Score* | Summary |
| Performance | 5 | Outpaces all gaming and non-gaming routers we’ve tested to date. |
| Features | 3 | Requires subscriptions to use the parental controls and security fully. |
| Design | 4 | Includes a third band and multi-gig internet support. |
| Setup | 4 | Has one of the fastest setups we’ve endured. |
| Ease of use | 3 | Provides a better experience in the app than the web interface. |
* out of 5 points
What we like about it: The RAX200 is fast, no doubt about it—it’s the fastest Wi-Fi 6 router we’ve tested to date up close and at long range. Plus, we love the Wi-Fi configuration, which can help alleviate local network congestion. It has the best range on the list and supports multi-gig internet too.
What we wish it did better: You need four different accounts to get the most out of this wireless router: MyNETGEAR (remote login), Circle (parental controls), NETGEAR Armor (security), and NETGEAR ReadyCloud. That’s excessive.
Why do we recommend it? The RAX200 has the fastest Wi-Fi 6 speeds and the longest range we’ve tested to date. It’s primed for internet speeds up to 2.5Gbps, plus it’s now cheaper thanks to the arrival of its Wi-Fi 6E sibling.
Alternative: Technically, the RAX200 isn’t the fastest router we’ve tested to date—the NETGEAR Nighthawk RAXE500 takes the speed crown in our tests. The only difference between the two routers is the added 6 GHz band on the RAXE500. Honestly, you’ll have better luck achieving sub-2Gbps wireless speeds with the RAXE500, but it costs $200 more.
Tested speeds at a glance
| 5 GHz max speed | 2 feet | 40 feet | 120 feet |
| 1,200 | 880 | 681 | 285 |
* Speeds in megabits per second (Mbps) using a Wi-Fi 6 client and an 80 MHz channel.
| Wi-Fi specs | Wired specs |
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More about what to look for in a Wi-Fi router
We don’t recommend Wi-Fi 5 routers due to their age and availability. Instead, we list routers based on Wi-Fi 6 and newer. This specification has baked-in features you don’t need to look for specifically, such as:
- Beamforming
- MU-MIMO
- WP3 encryption
- OFDMA
- Target Wake Time
That said, here are other things to keep in mind outside the main Wi-Fi 6 ingredients when you shop for the best wireless router for your home or office.
Security
Wi-Fi 6 incorporates the latest security protocol, but we look for added security like malware prevention, IoT device isolation, and parental controls. Some router manufacturers provide these services for free on the router side (ASUS AiProtect, TP-Link HomeCare), while others use a subscription model that adds premium features and security software for all your devices (TP-Link HomeShield, NETGEAR Armor).
Two bands or more
All modern routers have at least two connections: one 2.4 GHz band and one 5 GHz band. Get a router with three bands if you can—it’ll help ease congestion and slowdowns on your local network. We go into more detail in our FAQ.
Streams
We harp on Wi-Fi streams a lot, and they’re an important feature to look for when you shop for the best router. More is better, especially if you have a house full of wireless devices pinging the router every second. Most modern wireless devices support two streams each way, so a router with 12 streams means six devices can connect at the maximum rate, or 12 devices can connect at half the rate.
Fast wired internet support
Nearly all routers use Gigabit Ethernet for internet (WAN) and wired (LAN) connections. It has a maximum real-world speed of around 940Mbps, making it ideal for internet plans of 940Mbps and less.
Newer models now include a Multi-Gig Ethernet port capable of real-world speeds up to 9,400Mbps, depending on the type. If you have an internet plan of 1,000Mbps or greater, you need this port for your router-to-modem connection.
Mesh Wi-Fi compatibility
This feature isn’t a must, but it’s definitely nice to have if you need to expand your Wi-Fi range later. In a nutshell, your devices seamlessly roam from one mesh device to another versus waiting until there’s no connection before it reconnects to another access point.
Some standalone routers support mesh networking—you can pair them with compatible extenders or another router. The overall expense is your only real drawback, so keep that in mind. For more information, we have a separate article explaining the difference between using mesh and a Wi-Fi extender.
Multiple antennas
Technically, each band needs only one antenna, but the more, the better to support more than one device simultaneously. Beamforming offsets the broadcast timing of each antenna to transmit signals in a specific direction—just imagine throwing rocks into the water so the ripples converge at a particular spot, and you kinda see how it works. Also, external antennas have a better range than internal ones, so keep that in mind when shopping for a new home or office router.
Author - Kevin Parrish
Kevin Parrish has more than a decade of experience working as a writer, editor, and product tester. He began writing about computer hardware and soon branched out to other devices and services such as networking equipment, phones and tablets, game consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom’s Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others. At HighSpeedInternet.com, he focuses on network equipment testing and review.
Editor - Aaron Gates
