Find a fast, cheap and reliable WiFi router from our list of the best routers for the home office that offer speed and reliability, allowing you to work from home seamlessly.
Best Routers Roundup
Check out our top routers from each category.
NETGEAR Nighthawk AC1900 Smart WiFi Router
Wireless speed up to 1900 Mbps with up to 1800 sq ft coverage. 4 x 1G Ethernet and 1 x 3.0 USB port. Connect 30 Devices.
Fan Favorite
-
Advanced Technology
Dual core 1GHz processor, 3 amplified antennas, Beamforming+, MU MIMO, Dynamic QoS, Smart Connect, Alexa Voice.
Performance
Up to 1800 square feet wireless coverage with dual band up to 600 Mbps + 1300 Mbps.
-
Home Office
NETGEAR Nighthawk Smart WiFi Router 1750 Mbps
-
Gaming
ASUS Tri-Band WiFi Gaming Router
-
Mesh
NETGEAR Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System
-
Portable
RAVPower FileHub Travel Router
No home office setup would be complete without a fast, reliable Internet connection. Don’t forget, it has to be safe too. That’s harder than you might think.
With all this in mind, it’s important to decide on the right router to match the needs of your home and home office. Choosing can be tricky. Do you need WiFi, wired or mesh?
Here’s a quick guide to help you get started.
Choosing a Router
WiFi
- Suitable for home office
- Wireless connections required for mobile devices, such as smartphones
- Usually slower (relative to wired connection)
- Usually lower stability (relative to wired connection)
- Lower range & coverage (relative to mesh systems)
Mesh
- Suitable for whole home and home office
- Wireless connections required for mobile devices, such as smartphones
- Higher stability
- Widespread range and coverage
Wired
- Suitable for home office & gaming
- Physical wire connection – usually via an Ethernet cable
- Fast
- High stability
Portable
- Suitable for mobile office & travel
- Connect multiple devices to any WiFi or wired network
- Convert wired connection to WiFi
Every router included in our top 10 have to be popular (i.e. have sold very well) and extremely well reviewed by the people – home business owners, freelance workers, gamers, and students – who purchased them.
1. TP-Link AC1900 Smart WiFi Router
TP-Link’s AC1900 Smart WiFi Router is a super affordable option that works with Amazon Alexa devices, like the Echo Dot, to offer voice control.
TP-Link was rated highest in customer satisfaction for wireless routers in 2017 and 2019 by J. D. Power.
Features
- Works with Amazon Alexa
- Dual band – 600Mbps on the 2.4GHz band & 1300Mbps on the 5GHz band
- Long range WiFi
- Archer A9 security provides parental control, guest WiFi, access control, WPA3 and a VPN Server
- Smart Connect technology directs clients to less congested bands
- Set up and manage your home network at home or remotely
- 2 year warranty
- 24/7 technical support
One of the nicest features of this router is Airtime Fairness that prevents older, slower devices from affecting the speeds delivered to all other devices. This means that the speed and connection on your currently in-use device is always optimized.
You can expect to stream in 4K and enjoy a smooth gaming experience at the same time. Not bad for a router under $100.
What People Say
Most people start by saying that the setup and configuration of this device is super easy and the documentation is clear and easy to follow – both attributes you’ll be thankful for when trying to get your Internet connection up and running. Overall the blistering speeds and support for a wide range of connected devices (with no problems) are most commonly touted as the best features.
2. NETGEAR Nighthawk Smart WiFi Router 1750 Mbps
NETGEAR’s Nighthawk Smart Wifi Router 1750 Mbps is one of the most popular and well established routers on the market today.
Despite being a relatively cheap router it packs a serious punch in terms of performance and an impressive array of advanced features, making it more than adequate for a home office setup with good WiFi coverage for a small to medium size home.
Features
- Up to 1500 square feet wireless coverage
- Dual band up to 450 Mbps plus 1300 Mbps
- Connect up to 25 devices
- 4 x 1 GB Ethernet ports (wired)
- Parental controls
- NETGEAR Armor security free trial (30 days)
The Nighthawk has WiFi data transfer speeds of up to 1.3 Gbps making it more than sufficient for HD streaming and gaming.
What People Say
While easy setup is a big factor, it seems that more people find the convenience of controlling the router from their smartphone via the app to be a big draw-card. Although this particular model has been around for a few years a lot of people are raving about how powerful the WiFi is and how good the signal is at quite a range.
3. Google Nest Wifi Router 2 Pack (2nd Generation)
Google’s Nest mesh WiFi routers are intended to provide continuous, fast and reliable coverage across your entire home. Plug one router into the modem and one or more additional routers in any other area you need connectivity.
Features
- 2 Ethernet ports per device
- Dual band WiFi
- Compatible with Google WiFi
- Automatic updates
- Parental controls
Nest routers offer quite a bit more power than most other home router devices. For example, you can connect up to 200 devices at any one time or stroll around the house on an uninterrupted video call.
What People Say
A huge number of people commented on how upgrading or changing to Google’s Nest system improved the speed and signal they were achieving both close to and far from the primary router point. Worth keeping in mind if you can’t seem to find a system that works nicely at your property.
4. NETGEAR Nighthawk Smart WiFi Router 1900 Mbps
NETGEAR’s Nighthawk Smart WiFi Router 1900 Mbps is a step up from the low end (1700 Mbps) device, offering better connectivity, range and higher transfer speeds for relatively little extra in terms of cost.
Features
- 1800 square foot coverage
- 1.9 Gbps data transfer speed
- Connect up to 30 devices
- NETGEAR Armor security free trial (30 days)
- Parental controls
- 4 x 1 Gb ethernet ports (wired)
- USB 3.0 port
With an incredibly diverse array of features and technologies, the Nighthawk is a great option for homes and offices requiring quick and easy control over a diverse range of connected devices.
What People Say
Speed, speed and more speed. That’s what people love about this most. Well, that and the fact that if your home has more than a few smart devices, you’ll probably benefit from the additional connectivity offered.
5. ASUS Tri-Band WiFi Gaming Router
ASUS’ Tri-Band Wifi Gaming Router is a seriously high powered, high featured router designed to ensure the extremely fast, extremely strong and extremely stable connection sought after by serious gamers.
Dual band Wifi refers to wireless connections on two different frequencies – usually 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Tri-band (in the case of the ASUS) refers to dual 5 GHz plus a single 2.4 GHz allowing for vastly increased throughput – up to 5.3 Gbps.
While this router will set you back more than most, it might be worth it if you intend to do a bit of downtime gaming from your home office.
Features
- Tri band (Dual 5 GHz, single 2; 4 GHz)
- Up to 5.3 Gbps transfer
- Up to 5000 square foot coverage
- Supports every operating system – Windows, Linux, Mac OS
- 4 Gigabit LAN ports
- Prioritize gaming options
- Advanced parental controls
For larger homes and offices with higher bandwidth, speed and coverage requirements, this a great option.
What People Say
A lot of reviews focused on highly technical performance related issues with people trying a host of different tests and comparisons. The general consensus is that connection quality (i.e. number of drops or resets) is extremely high – that’s when compared to other high performance routers. For what it’s worth, non-technical reviewers were simply blown away by the speed and power.
6. TP-Link Deco Whole Home Powerline Hybrid Mesh WiFi System
TP-Link’s Deco Powerline Hybrid Mesh Wifi System offers whole home network coverage without the dead-spots (i.e. behind walls) you find with other router systems.
TP-Link was rated highest in customer satisfaction for wireless routers in 2017 and 2019 by J.D. Power.
The self-healing network means you won’t experience a drop in connection or speed when a disruption occurs – i.e. one of the devices loses power – because the system automatically finds the best connection path for each device.
Features
- Up to 6000 square foot coverage
- Powerline Deco P9 adds a third lane – similar to Tri-band
- Intelligent WiFi mesh network
- Parental controls
- Works with Alexa
- Universal compatibility – works with any ISP
With up to 100 smart devices simultaneously you can say goodbye to lag times and buffering.
What People Say
Most people commented that while this mesh system promises a lot, it also does what it says on the tin. A lot of owners spoke about their own unusual or diverse network requirements – either due to the way their home is laid out, or how many people or connected devices needed connections – and how they were able to get fast reliable connections throughout.
7. TP-Link AC4000 Smart WiFi Router
TP-Link’s AC4000 Smart Wireless Router is a tri-band router that sports three co-processors and a not inconsequential 512 MB RAM to ensure that no matter what your network requirements might be – streaming, video conferencing, simultaneous use by multiple users – things will run smoothly.
Features
- Tri band with 1625 Mbps on both 5 GHz bands and 750 Mbps on 2. 4 GHz band
- MU-MIMO technology allows for more simultaneous connections
- 1 WAN & 4 LAN Gb ports
- Parental controls
- 2 year warranty
- 24/7 support
- USB 3.0 & USB 2.0 port
Perhaps one feature you’d be interested in is the link aggregation that allows for wired connection speeds up to 2 Gbps. Definitely useful if you’re doing a lot of work on external storage drives.
What People Say
While trying to nail down the range of a single router in the real world can be a bit of a challenge, a lot of people commented that this particular device was more than enough in terms of both speed and range across a wide range of devices used in the house (and even some in the yard). Smaller homes can expect maximum speeds from pretty much anywhere.
8. Amazon eero Mesh WiFi – 3 Pack
Amazon eero’s Mesh Wifi is (at the time of writing) the number one best selling mesh WiFi system on Amazon.
Features
- Up to 5000 square foot coverage
- WiFi speeds up to 350 Mbps
- Dual band
- Intelligent traffic routing to avoid buffering and dropoffs
- Automatic software updates
- Voice control with Alexa
- 6 ethernet ports (2 per device)
The router app gives you a sophisticated and easy to use interface to both monitor and control what happens in your home business network.
The devices create network coverage that allows for seamless connectivity and avoid dead spots in coverage no matter where you are in the home. Super useful if you need to move around during the course of a day’s work.
What People Say
A lot of people comment on the great value for money this system offers in terms of being able to manage and operate a home and office full of smart devices with ease. With plenty of people praising the ease of setup, you’re only about 20 minutes away from never having to deal with spotty network coverage in your home.
9. RAVPower FileHub Travel Router
RAVPower’s Filehub Travel Router allows you to convert any type of connection into a small network for your own devices (and even for your friends) no matter where you are. Perfect for anyone who works from home, with occasional travel.
Basic Specs
- Dual band – 300Mbps on 2.4GHz band and up to 433 Mbps on 5GHz
- Connect SD cards, portable hard drive, SSD wirelessly to your devices
- Convert wired network to WiFi
- Backup SD card to your hard disk or flash drive with 12-18 MBps
- Connect up to 5 devices simultaneously
- Connect USB to your smart devices
One of the nicest features of this lightweight, portable router is that it can convert a single WiFi connection into a hotspot that can be accessed by any devices on your network. A great time saver because everyone (colleagues and/or family) only need to log into a single device.
What People Say
By far and away most people seem to use this device as a fast and convenient way to offload photos and videos taken with their Apple devices – since there is no need to download and install iTunes. It’s also really useful for expanding the number of simultaneous connections in places (i.e. hotels) where the number is restricted. A must-have if work occasionally takes you away from home.
10. NETGEAR Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System
NETGEAR’s Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System is an ultra fast, ultra powerful mesh system for large homes of up to 5000 square feet and large offices with heavy Internet usage requirements.
The system can be extended by up to 2500 square foot by each additional mesh device you add (additional satellite devices sold separately).
Basic Specs
- Up to 5000 square foot coverage
- Connect up to 60+ devices
- Wifi 6 produces up to 6 Gbps transfer speed
- Compatible with ANY internet Service Provider (ISP)
- Tri-band
- 5 Gigabit ethernet ports in router PLUS 4 Gigabit ethernet ports in the satellite device
- Advanced security features
Video conferencing on a regular basis? Giving visual online tours or demonstrations? This is the type of power and speed you’ll need from your router. Just make sure your fiber connection is fast enough and can keep up.
What People Say
Again, because this is quite a serious device, a lot of the comments tend to be technical in nature. However, a lot of reviewers demonstrated how Orbi’s mesh system tended to keep a stronger signal over long distances and through challenges materials (i.e. concrete walls) than similar offerings. Many owners also commented on how ridiculously easy to setup and configure it is.
So that’s our round up of the best routers for small and home based businesses. Hopefully it’s helped you decide on the right type of router with the right specs to suit your budget while delivering the reliability, speed and coverage your network needs to make working from home seamless.
