January 2025

Routers: MetaRanking

This page highlights the aggregate summary of routers rankings posted by key online experts, as of January 2025.

Summary

On 3 Jan 2025, ReviewFinder team examined a total of 70 router endorsements from 10 reputable publishers.

59 routers were endorsed in total, only 10 made it into this month's ranking. (ReviewFinder requires a minimum of 2 endorsements to be included)

As of 3 Jan 2025, Netgear Orbi 970 takes the cake as the most critically-acclaimed router with 2 expert endorsements. 1 expert out of 2 recommended it as the '#1 router' this month.

Brand breakdown
Show all brands

Price breakdown
As can be seen in the chart below, lowest high-ranking routers start at $38.50 (Google Nest WiFi) and go up to $1444.99 (Netgear Orbi 970). Median router costs $219.99 (TP-Link Archer BE550).
$38.50
$1444.99

At a glance - January Ranking

Scroll horizontally to browse this ranking table
Rank Change Price Router
Laptop Mag
Tom's Guide
Wirecutter
How To Geek
T3
PCMag
Digital Trends
TechRadar
Business Insider
Lifewire
1
- $1445
Netgear Orbi 970
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
2
- $260
Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8
The Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 router is a high-performance Wi-Fi 6 mesh system with excellent speed and range, advanced features such as parental controls and QoS settings, and easy setup and management through a mobile app.
-
-
-
4
-
-
-
1
-
-
3
- $388
Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500
The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 router is a high-performance router that supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 and 6E standards, offering top speeds of up to 11,000 Mbps, and is ideal for users who require high-speed internet for activities such as streaming and gaming.
-
6
-
-
8
-
-
-
3
-
4
- $83
TP-Link Archer AX50
The TP-Link Archer AX50 router is a highly recommended Wi-Fi 6 router that offers fast and reliable speeds, supports over 40 connected devices, and has advanced features such as parental controls and antivirus protection.
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
-
5
- $38
Google Nest WiFi
The Google Nest WiFi router is a reliable and efficient solution for families of four who frequently use multiple devices simultaneously and want fast and reliable internet speeds, with parental controls, QoS capabilities, and easy setup and management using the Google Home app.
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5
-
6
- $160
Netgear Nighthawk Pro XR1000
The Netgear Nighthawk Pro XR1000 router is a high-performance Wi-Fi 6 router with a maximum speed of 5.4Gbps, suitable for large households or small offices with multiple devices, and comes with Netgear Armor for all-encompassing anti-virus, anti-malware, and data protection.
-
-
-
-
2
-
5
-
-
-
7
- Check price
TP-Link Archer AX6600 AX90
The TP-Link Archer AX6600 AX90 router is a high-speed, Wi-Fi 6 router with Tri-Band Wi-Fi, Ultra Connectivity, Maximized Coverage, and TP-Link HomeShield security features, making it a reliable and versatile choice for any home or office.
-
-
-
-
5
-
2
-
-
-
8
- Check price
Google Nest WiFi Pro
The Google Nest WiFi Pro router is highly praised for its speed, performance, range, features, security, ease of use, and compatibility with smart home devices, making it a top choice for streaming, gaming, and providing reliable Wi-Fi coverage in both homes and office spaces.
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
4
-
-
17
- $63
TP-Link Archer AX10
The TP-Link Archer AX10 router is a dual-band AX1500 router that offers good speed and performance for streaming and gaming, with improved wireless connection and increased transfer speeds for reduced lag and latency, making it suitable for large homes or office spaces with many users and devices.
-
-
-
-
-
4
4
-
-
-
18
- $110
TP-Link Deco X20
-
4
-
5
-
-
-
-
-
-

Router
#5 $38.50 Google Nest WiFi
#17 $62.99 TP-Link Archer AX10
#4 $82.99 TP-Link Archer AX50
#18 $109.99 TP-Link Deco X20
#8 $157.58 Google Nest WiFi Pro
#6 $159.77 Netgear Nighthawk Pro XR1000
#7 $189.98 TP-Link Archer AX6600 AX90
#2 $259.99 Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8
#3 $387.99 Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500
#1 $1444.99 Netgear Orbi 970

We ranked Netgear Orbi 970 #1 in January 2025 because:

  • 2 independent experts mentioned it in their “best routers” rankings.
  • Out of those, 1 expert ranked Netgear Orbi 970 as #1.
Critic endorsements:
Tom's Guide

Blazing fast Wi-Fi 7 performance at a premium

Extra layer of security
Top mesh LAN performance
320MHz ultra-wide data channels
Two 10Gbps and four 2.5Gbps networking ports

Extremely expensive
Performance falls off at long distances
One-year warranty and 90-days of support included

Go to ranking

Lifewire

Supports Wi-Fi 7
Massive 10,000 square foot coverage
Expandable with additional nodes
Attractive and understated design
Supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet wired connectivity

Very expensive
Limited number of Wi-Fi 7 devices

Go to ranking

We ranked Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 #2 in January 2025 because:

  • 2 independent experts mentioned it in their “best routers” rankings.
  • Out of those, 1 expert ranked Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 as #1.
Expert Consensus
(as of 14 May 2023)
The Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 router is a high-performance Wi-Fi 6 mesh system with excellent speed and range, advanced features such as parental controls and QoS settings, and easy setup and management through a mobile app.
Critic endorsements:
How To Geek

Best Mesh Router

Wi-Fi 6
5500 square feet of coverage
QoS for traffic prioritization

More expensive than mesh systems without Wi-Fi 6
Not as simple to configure as Google Nest Wifi

Go to ranking

TechRadar

The best Wi-Fi router overall

Great Wi-Fi performance
Good security features

Expensive
Limited to two routers

Go to ranking

Methodology: combine opinions of key experts

Identify Experts

We identify key publishers and experts that consistently review and recommend routers.

Capture Rankings

For each publisher we find a currently recommended "top 10" list of routers, it must be updated in the last 9 months.

Aggregate Rankings

We put all those lists together and aggregate them. The more frequently a product is recommended, the higher it is in our ranking

Experts chosen for January 2025 ranking

We ranked Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 #3 in January 2025 because:

  • 3 independent experts mentioned it in their “best routers” rankings.
Expert Consensus
(as of 15 May 2023)
The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 router is a high-performance router that supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 and 6E standards, offering top speeds of up to 11,000 Mbps, and is ideal for users who require high-speed internet for activities such as streaming and gaming.
Critic endorsements:
Tom's Guide

The best Wi-Fi 6E router

Top speeds with 6GHz band
Very customizable
Security software built-in

Throughput declines quickly with distance

Go to ranking

T3

The best Wi-Fi router if you have a big budget

Absolutely packed with features
High-end Wi-Fi 6E support
Lots of customisation options

It's going to cost you

Go to ranking

Business Insider

Best Wi-Fi 6E

Supports Wi-Fi 6E, excellent Wi-Fi performance, performance holds up at range, as a 2.5 Gigabit LAN port

Large, could use more Gigabit LAN ports for its size

Go to ranking

We ranked Google Nest WiFi #5 in January 2025 because:

  • 2 independent experts mentioned it in their “best routers” rankings.
Expert Consensus
(as of 14 May 2023)
The Google Nest WiFi router is a reliable and efficient solution for families of four who frequently use multiple devices simultaneously and want fast and reliable internet speeds, with parental controls, QoS capabilities, and easy setup and management using the Google Home app.
Critic endorsements:
Laptop Mag

Best mesh Wi-Fi router system for most people

Excellent, reliable coverage
Easy to set up
Built-in Google Home speaker
Smart home functionality

Limited ports
Lacks advanced configuration options

Go to ranking

Business Insider

Best budget mesh

Easy to set up and manage, router and points are small and attractive, access points double as smart speakers. reliable performance at range, attractive pricing

Wi-Fi 6 upgrade is sorely needed

Go to ranking

We ranked Netgear Nighthawk Pro XR1000 #6 in January 2025 because:

  • 2 independent experts mentioned it in their “best routers” rankings.
Expert Consensus
(as of 14 May 2023)
The Netgear Nighthawk Pro XR1000 router is a high-performance Wi-Fi 6 router with a maximum speed of 5.4Gbps, suitable for large households or small offices with multiple devices, and comes with Netgear Armor for all-encompassing anti-virus, anti-malware, and data protection.
Critic endorsements:
T3

The best premium wireless router

High speed, low ping
Handles congestion well
Automatic optimisation

On the expensive side

Go to ranking

Digital Trends

The best gaming router

Solid Wi-Fi 6 performance
Options catered towards gamers and streamers
Malware protection included
Excellent coverage

No multi-gig port or port aggregation
Relatively pricey

Go to ranking

We ranked Google Nest WiFi Pro #8 in January 2025 because:

  • 2 independent experts mentioned it in their “best routers” rankings.
Expert Consensus
(as of 2 Aug 2023)
The Google Nest WiFi Pro router is highly praised for its speed, performance, range, features, security, ease of use, and compatibility with smart home devices, making it a top choice for streaming, gaming, and providing reliable Wi-Fi coverage in both homes and office spaces.
Critic endorsements:
Digital Trends

The easiest wireless router to use

Easy to set up
Fairly well priced
Wi-Fi 6E
Google Home, Matter support

Ethernet port limited to 1Gbps
Requires Nest Cloud services

Go to ranking

TechRadar

The best mesh router that's more affordable and offers wide coverage

Easy to setup
Appealing design and looks
Good Wi-Fi performance and coverage

Smart speaker functionality has been ditched
Not backwards compatible with old Nest WiFi devices

Go to ranking