It is natural to want the fastest router possible when it comes to our home internet use.
After all, most home networks these days rely heavily on streaming and even the ability to work from home.
When looking at the fastest routers, you should look at the amount of bands that they offer, the amount of coverage they provide, and the features that they are made with.
The best router for Gigabit internet will offer you features to increase your experience as well as the router's overall performance ability.
It is important to also remember that the amount of speed that you get is typically limited by the ISP that you have and the internet package that you already pay for.
You cannot get more speeds than what are available, but you should still aim to get the most out of what you have.
Best Router For Gigabit Internet (2022)
Device | Speeds | Ports | Rating | Check Now |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. Netgear X10 The Fastest Router | 7200 Mbps | 6 Ports | 100% | |
2. Asus ROG AX11000 For Gaming | 11000 Mbps | 4 Ports | 99% | |
3. TP-Link Archer A9 Budget Friendly | 1900 Mbps | 4 Ports | 95% | |
4. Netgear RAX200 WiFi 6 Standard | 11000 Mbps | 4 Ports | 98% | |
5. TP-Link C5400X | 5400 Mbps | 8 Ports | 96% | |
6. Linksys EA9500 | 5400 Mbps | 8 Ports | 97% | |
7. Gryphon AC3000 Extended Coverage | 3000 Mbps | 4 Ports | 97% | |
8. Asus RT-AX56U | 1800 Mbps | 4 Ports | 95% |
1. Netgear Nighthawk R9000 WiFi Router
The Fastest Router (Editor's Choice)
Our choice for the best router for Gigabit Internet is the Netgear Nighthawk R9000. This is a high performance router with plenty of ports and features, making it the perfect choice of nearly everything looking for speed.
Design
The Nighthawk R9000 has four large antennas that stick up from the back. It sits horizontally and does take up a lot of room on your shelf. It has four simplified antennas that will extend the reach of the router.
The router also comes with 6 Ethernet ports, allowing you to connect just about any device that you would like to as well as USB connections. It is designed to support 802.11ad WiFi standard as well.
Performance
The R9000 offers up to 2500 square feet of wireless coverage with high speeds across three WiFi bands. It offers up to 800 + 1733 + 4600 Mbps for up to 45 devices.
The router has a 1.7GHz quad-core processor as well as Beamforming +,QoS, and MU-MIMO technology. The MU-MIMO technology will ensure that your content will be delivered at the speeds that you are looking for, as long as your ISP will allow it.
Remember that while it is important to have high speeds, you are going to limited by the speeds that are included with your internet package.
2. Asus ROG Rapture AX11000 Router
For Gaming
The best choice for gamers is the Asus AX11000. You will not find another router that even comes close to this one. It is impressive to say the least with all of its features.
Design
The AX11000 has a unique design and it is very large. You are not going to be able to hide this router, even if you wanted to. The AX11000 does sit flat on a surface and has 8 high-powered antennas, extending from every side of the router. This makes the reach more impressive.
The router also has a 2.5 G gaming port, for ultimate, high-speed performance. The design of the Gaming Center interface is ROG-themed as well, which provides an easy point-and-click control over everything that you need to set up or do with your router.
Performance
This high performance router is really made for the gamers out there, though it would work for anyone who wants high speeds from their router. It’s called the AX11000, because it gets WiFi speeds up to 11000 Mbps. It offers triple-level game acceleration with game package and game server prioritization.
The triple-level acceleration will boost game traffic while lowering the ping rate and reducing the game latency, for an overall better experience. All of those great gaming features do carry over for reliable and fast connectivity to your TV.
3. TP-Link Archer A9 Wireless Router
Budget Friendly
It might not have all of the features that you can get from other routers, but it still does the job.
Design
The Archer A9 is a horizontal router with a black exterior and three high-gain antennas coming out of the back. It has 1 WAN and 4 LAN Gigabit Ethernet ports to help deliver wired speeds to the devices that need the added security.
The Archer A9 also has its own VPN server to help with your network’s privacy as well as a guest WiFi option as well as Alexa voice control, which can help you connect your devices even when you are not right next to it.
Performance
Looking at the router’s performance, the Archer A9 has two simultaneous data streams to help your devices achieve the best performance possible. The 2.4 GHz band gets speeds up to 600 Mbps and the 5 GHz band gets up to 1300 Mbps.
The Archer A9 also has MU-MIMO, which is good for networks that like to stream, but it is not made to handle more than a couple of devises at a time. That means it will not work well for home networks that have a lot of users who want to stream.
4. Netgear Nighthawk RAX200 Router
Another super fast router on the market is the Netgear Nighthawk RAX200. This router is built to perform and it will not disappoint you.
Design
The RAX200 has a bit of an unconventional design. It has fins instead of antennas that contain 8 amplified antennas that help to boost the signal of the router to reach even farther. The design is enormous as well, which makes it difficult to conceal.
The RAX200 comes with a lot of security features, including a built-in firewall, VPN, and guest WiFi access, making it easy to lock down your network. All the same, the router is not easy to set up, even with the setup feature, so prepare yourself.
Performance
The RAX200 comes with a 64 bit, 1.8 GHZ quad-core processor. With its tri-band capabilities of 1.2 + 4.8 + 4.8 Gaps, you are also looking at up to 11 Gbps, which is impressive, so long as you have an internet package with your ISP that supports it.
Some of the features include Beamforming+, MU-MIMO, and dynamic QoS, which is great for streaming. With 12 simultaneous streams, you will not have any interruptions, regardless of what you or your family is doing online at the same time.
It is a good choice for gamers, or even just the average network that streams movies and television shows.
5. TP-Link Archer C5400X Router
This router is interesting to look at and also performs incredibly well.
Design
The design is impossible to conceal, due somewhat to the amount of antennas as well as the bright red colour. The design of the C5400X is different and a little bit fun even, although it is huge. The router is red and black, making it more attractive than the average router.
Inside of the router, you will see that it has a 1.8 GHz 64-bit quad-core CPU to accelerate your load time. It also comes with 8 high-beam antennas to reach every device in your network. You get 8 Gigabit LAN ports as well.
Performance
The C5400X is a high performance router that gives you all the speeds you need. The RangeBoost feature within the router increases the router’s overall range as well as the strength of the reception itself. It also has Beamforming to let you target the signal.
The router also comes with MU-MIMO technology as well as AirTime Fairness to increase the total throughput and response rates. It has dynamic optimization that prioritizes that eliminates latency, making it a great choice for gamers. This will allow you to indicate which devices should have the strongest signal, preventing anything from interfering with your speeds.
6. Linksys Max-Stream EA9500 Router
It is another large router, so it will take up a bit of shelf space, but it is worth it.
Design
Like we said above, the Linksys EA9500 router is big and beefy. It sits horizontally, taking up a lot of room. It has eight adjustable high-gain antennas to provide you with powerful streams of data, across all of your devices.
This router only has one Ethernet port, which will naturally be used to attach it to your modem. That means it is really not a good choice for gamers or networks that have several devices that need to have wired connectivity.
Performance
The speeds on the Max-Stream are impressive to say the least. It has a data transfer rate of 5.3 Gbps, as long as your ISP will allow it. It also is a tri-band router, so you will get a lot more bandwidth to support all of your wireless devices in your network.
Inside of the router is a powerful dual-core processor, so you will not be able to overwhelm the system or worry about it crashing. Any kind of streaming that you do should be stable and lag-free, whether you are videoconferencing, streaming a show, or gaming on the WiFi. It also has Beamforming and MU-MIMO technology on board.
7. Gryphon AC3000 Mesh WiFi Router
Extended Coverage
The last router that we will look at that was made for speed is the Gryphon AC3000. This router is unique in that by itself, as it not only supplies a great range, but it also can act like a mesh system and further extends your coverage.
Design
The Gryphon has a more distinctive design since it is white and stands vertically, keeping the router cool while making it easier to blend in with your décor. Since the antennas on this high performance router are all internal, there are no unsightly pieces sticking out of it.
The set up for this router is simple and straightforward; including when you want add on new Gryphon routers to further extend the coverage. It does come with security features as well, including malware detection and filtering.
Performance
The Gryphon is a powerful router that covers up to 3,000 square feet. It does not need more than one Gryphon to reach 3,000 square feet in coverage, however, which should work with the average larger home network all by itself.
The Gryphon is a tri-band router with a 2.4 GHz band and 2 5 GHz bands, which will keep traffic flowing steadily on your network, without interruptions. It also has 4x4 MU-MIMO technology, making it easier for more than one user to stream at the same time without interruption.
8. ASUS RT-AX56U AX1800 WiFi 6 Router
One of the fastest routers that you can get is the ASUS RT-AX56U. This is a WiFi 6 standard router, supporting the latest next generation technology.
Design
The RT-AX56U is a horizontal router with a black casing and two high-gain antennas. The antennas can be positioned to point in the direction that you want to have the strongest WiFi signal. Keep this router in a well-ventilated space as well since horizontal routers tend to run hotter.
Looking at the device’s security features, with the RT-AX56U you will get commercial-grade security, which includes a lifetime of free AiProtection powered by Trend Micro. The only big downside to this is that Trend Micro will collect your data, so if you are doing anything that requires a HIPAA-level of security, this router might not be the right choice for you.
Performance
The performance for the RT-AX56U is great, which makes sense since it is a WiFi 6 standard router. It can support up to 80 MHz bandwidth with a total network speed of 1800 Mbps. You should get 574 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 1201 Mbps on the 5 GHz band. As long as your internet speed package will support these high speeds, the RT-AX56U will give them to you.
Other performance features with this router include MU-MIMO technology, which means that more than one user can be online and streaming at the same time without causing any network slowdowns.
The router is also compatible with the ASUS AiMesh WiFi system, which will provide seamless whole-home coverage if you wanted to expand the reach of the router. It really is made for households that have multiple devices working at the same time.
Features The Best Router For Gigabit Internet Should Have
Latest Wireless Standard
One thing that you should look for in your fast router is that it has the latest wireless standards. There are a couple different types that you should look for. The 802.11ac is popular and supplies speeds up to 1,300 Mbps with only a single-band.
The other to watch for is the 802.11ad, which can get speeds up to 4,600 Mbps. You are more likely to find the 802.11ac, but both are good options.
Powerful CPU
Something that often gets overlooked when it comes to routers is the processor. Processors might be more considered with a computer, but they are also important for other devices, including your router.
The more cores in a processor, the better. A dual-core processor is pretty standard and what you are most likely to find, but there are also quad-core processors out there. Keep in mind that a processor handles anything coming into the device and it matters a lot.
Lots Of Ethernet Ports
Sure, you might only need one Ethernet port to connect your router to your modem, but really, you should get more than that. An Ethernet port allows you to hardwire in any device that you need to, giving you an uninterrupted connection.
So, if you have a gaming console or HDTV, you will want ports to support it. It might work over the wireless, but the only guaranteed connection is through an Ethernet port.
MU-MIMO &QoS Features
Finally, you should check out the types of features that the router comes with, including MU-MIMO and QoS technology.
MU-MIMO allows more than one user to stream at the same time without lags, while the QoS will allow you to indicate which devices should have uninterrupted connectivity.
If you are alone on your network, it might not matter to you, but if you live with others, it can make a huge difference in your experience.
Final Words
The best router for Gigabit Internet that you can get with all of the performance that you are looking for is the Netgear Nighthawk R9000.
Nighthawk routers are excellent in general and this one is just like the others. It allows for a lot of connected devices and covers a large range, making it a great choice.
The Asus ROG AX11000 is a great choice for gamers if you need better ping rates and lower latency. Any of these routers are made for speed, however, so consider more of the features that they offer, like Beamforming and MU-MIMO, more than the speeds specifically.