![]() Technology stores like Dell and Micro Center can also offer competitive rates. You also may find a good price at other popular retailers such as Walmart, Target and Staples. For this reason, it’s important to comparison shop. I looked at the prices on a few popular mesh Wi-Fi options on February 8, 2023, and here’s what I found:Ĭlearly, Amazon and Best Buy offer some of the most competitive prices on great starter mesh Wi-Fi systems, but they don’t always offer the lowest prices. You may be able to swing a great one-day-only deal online at Woot, but you’ll need to watch for those.īefore deciding where to shop, be sure to compare prices across the board. ![]() We’ve also seen a few great sales on mesh routers at Best Buy and Costco. Netgear sells a number of hybrid modem-routers, even some with mesh networking support.Most of the deals we’ve found were at Amazon. A hybrid modem-router from an ISP falls into that category, and thus Netgear bests both the ISP brands. We're not surprised to see Arris and Xfinity on the list-Comcast's Xfinity ISP supplies them to its customers, and Arris supplies them to ISPs (including Xfinity).īut as we've seen in other surveys, people don't tend to like hardware they didn't choose themselves. Netgear makes up for that by taking the lead in a new category for us: routers with integrated modems. While many people use their products, these brands earn weak scores from readers. The bottom mesh brands are Netgear and Linksys, vendors that have been in the networking business for a lot longer than the rest. Asus's only failing is the perceived value of its products, which falls behind TP-Link and Google. It lags behind Eero just slightly in setup, reliability, and ease of use. The next three brands on the list (Eero, Google, and TP-Link) tie for second place in overall satisfaction.Īsus scores exceptionally high for mesh coverage, Wi-Fi speed, and network management. Asus's ZenWiFi mesh brand has won several Editors' Choice awards, and it can now add the Readers' Choice to the list.Īsus takes a clear lead in this category, with scores of 9.0 for both overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend. The Readers' Choice award has been earned by Linksys, Google, and for the last two years, Amazon's Eero brand.īut this year, the award goes to the long-time winner for standalone routers. When it comes to mesh (a category we've been giving brands awards for since 2017), we haven't had one consistent winner. A whole-home network that only gets stronger and bigger as you add more nodes, a mesh system has few downsides, except cost. ![]() When you want to supply your entire home and beyond with Wi-Fi, you should go with a mesh router. The readers who do know it obviously don't care for products provided by the ISP-the most likely scenario with these particular brands-compared with standalone routers they purchase on their own. ![]() Many people may not even realize they have a hybrid router at home. All are likely to sell or freely provide end users with hybrid routers: products that feature an integrated modem. The brands at the bottom of the list are either ISPs that provide hardware to customers (Verizon, Xfinity, Spectrum) or, like Arris, a vendor that sells to ISPs. Netgear fills out the top four for standalone routers that are generally sold individually. (Note: Click the down, left, and right arrows in our interactive tables to view different elements of our survey results.)įew readers are ever disappointed when purchasing an Asus router.įew vendors match up to TP-Link or Asus, with only Linksys coming close, in third place. ![]() But TP-Link gains has a definite edge it scores higher for setup, value, and ease of use and thus swoops in for the win once again. They also tie for categories such as reliability and network management. TP-Link and Asus tie on some key measures, like overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend. As Apple slowly exited the router business, Asus has taken over as the favored brand with PCMag readers. These devices can look like a subtle speaker, a gray box with rabbit ears, or a spider on its back, accommodating a slew of Wi-Fi antennas. For years, Apple dominated our router category. We select winning brands for all these types of routers, based on your ratings. Also available are mesh networks, which can provide connectivity to an entire home and beyond by using multiple network nodes. And many ISPs provide a hybrid modem-router unit (a few people even buy them that way). Most well known are standalone Wi-Fi routers, which plug into your broadband modem. ![]()
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