Here’s how I compare Wi-Fi routers and decide which one to buy

I’ve owned almost every Wi-Fi generation of wireless routers, but buying one hasn’t gotten any easier with how fast technology is moving. To get past the buzzwords, I narrow down to these technologies when comparing Wi-Fi routers.

Standard Wi-Fi

The first thing I look for in a wireless router is obvious: raw speed. Multiple factors can affect the actual speeds you actually get, but the maximum potential a router can send to a single device depends on what generation of Wi-Fi it was built with.

Common Wi-Fi standards used to be advertised to consumers with confusing technical names, but thankfully they’ve switched to simplified naming. According to this scheme, a higher version simply means newer and faster. For example:

• WiFi 5
• WiFi 6
• Wi-Fi 6E
• WiFi 7

I would say there is a significant difference between Wi-Fi 5 vs. Wi-Fi 6 vs. Wi-Fi 6E – and it’s not just about raw output. Newer standards also use advanced technologies to correct common causes of slowness in the past.

If you’re getting a new router today, I recommend getting one with at least Wi-Fi 6E, but if it’s within your budget, go with Wi-Fi 7. Don’t forget that your smart TV and other devices must also be equipped with at least the same Wi-Fi standard -Fi (or higher) to take advantage of all the capabilities of your router.

Overall bandwidth rating

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Another spec I look for in relation to speed is the total bandwidth of the router. Bandwidth is a measure of how much data can be sent simultaneously to all of your wireless devices. This is especially important if you have multiple people in your household who need to use Wi-Fi to play games or stream Netflix.

Think of your network as a highway and your wireless devices as cars. The Wi-Fi standard represents the speed limit for a single device, while the total bandwidth represents the number of lanes available to all devices. Higher bandwidth means more devices can run at maximum speed at the same time.

When shopping for a router, you’ll often find the bandwidth in the model name. For example, the ASUS RT-AXE7800 advertises a total bandwidth of 7800 Mbps.

If you’re tired of guessing how much bandwidth you need, this is a good reason to upgrade your router to Wi-Fi 7. Wi-Fi 7 routers generally have a much higher bandwidth rating compared to older devices.

Scope of coverage

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Let’s move on to a less obvious factor that affects connection quality: router coverage. Fixing an unstable Wi-Fi connection can be as simple as getting a router with a larger coverage area.

For example, a router may advertise that it can cover an area of ​​2,000 square feet. Advertised coverage depends, but I’m taking this number with a grain of salt. Manufacturers use different ideal test conditions, so they provide a theoretical range that will not match what you will experience at home.

Signal interference from other devices—and how many walls the signal has to penetrate to reach your device—can all drastically affect the quality of your connection over various distances.

A better way to compare apples to apples is to look at how many antennas the router has and their transmit power. Unfortunately, these specs aren’t always listed, so it’s often easier to look for routers with more advertised coverage.

Wi-Fi bands

To ensure the quality of your Wi-Fi connection, the router’s range is not the only factor to consider. You’ll also want a router that handles interference well. This is because the more wireless devices on your network and the more neighbors broadcasting their own wireless networks, the more signal degradation you will experience.

Modern Wi-Fi routers solve this problem by allowing you to broadcast on newer FCC-approved frequency bands. Here’s what the terms “bands” used in marketing mean when it comes to the radio frequencies a router can use:

• Single-band: 2.4 GHz band only.
• Dual-band: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
• Tri-band: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands.

The traditional 2.4GHz band is more crowded, but still useful for reaching slower IoT devices over longer distances. The 5GHz and 6GHz bands have shorter ranges, but are the preferred choice for your smartphone or laptop if you want the fastest connection.

I recommend tri-band routers as they are more likely to provide a higher quality connection. The 5GHz and 6GHz bands are less crowded and also offer more Wi-Fi router channels to choose from to reduce interference.

Processor and memory

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One of the easiest ways to improve the speed of your Wi-Fi router is to buy a router with better hardware. After comparing the speed and quality of the connection, I will then proceed to check the router’s processor and memory.

A router with more CPU cores can give you faster routing, while more RAM can help you cache larger routing tables – in other words, faster responses.

A router’s CPU and RAM can be considered a proxy for the number of wireless devices it can handle. If you only have your phone and Nintendo Switch connected, it probably won’t be too much of a problem. But with family members with multiple devices and even washers and dryers now connecting via Wi-Fi, you may not realize that you already have more than 10 or even more than 20 devices on your home network.

This number will only grow in the coming years. To make sure my router is up to the task, these days I’m looking for a router equipped with at least a quad-core CPU and 512MB of RAM.

Maximum number of clients

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CPU and memory specifications can be difficult for consumers, so router manufacturers often directly advertise how many devices their routers can handle. If your devices are randomly dropping connections, it may be a sign that you need to upgrade your router to one that can handle more clients.

For room to grow, I prefer a router that can handle at least 32 clients. But as technology improves, I’m more inclined to get one that is sure to handle 50+ devices. Not that I need that much (yet), but it’s a sign that the router is meant for a heavier load.

To ensure the smooth operation of many simultaneous connections, these routers often advertise special wireless technologies such as:

These advances are huge quality-of-life improvements that customers often sleep on. Fortunately, they are slowly becoming the standard for all new designs.

That’s probably the end of it. When I compare Wi-Fi routers, I look at their maximum speeds, range capabilities, and the number of clients they can handle. If you’re looking for a new router, be sure to check out our list of the best Wi-Fi routers as a starting point. Hopefully, with this knowledge, you can find a quality wireless router that will carry you into our IoT future.