Best Gaming Routers: That 100% FTW List
This post is a collection of the best five gaming routers and their worthy alternatives picked among those I’ve reviewed.
There’s no concrete definition of a “gaming router,” but all listed below meet at least two of my qualifying criteria.
While you can generally play online games with any router, one of these mentioned here will give you an edge in getting connected, plus the much-needed placebo effect — you know that you’re already well-equipped, possibly better-geared than the other guy.
Dong’s note: I first published this post on January 29, 2021, and updated it on December 21, 2022, with up-to-date options.
Best gaming routers of 2022: The list
All routers on this list are excellent for general use. On top of that, they collectively check all the gaming boxes.
They are listed here on reviewed orders with the latest on top — the number in front of their name is not for ranking but just numerical.
5. Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000: The ultimate gaming router
In case you didn’t read the intro: This is the latest member of this list. The number is not the ranking.
The Asus GT-AXE16000 is the pinnacle of home networking, and gaming is just the icing on the cake. This is the ultimate router you can safely get if you can afford it.
Asus has the largest selection of gaming routers — not all are listed here, but you can read about them in this post on Asus Wi-Fi broadcasters.
The GT-AXE16000 is currently the best in Asus’s ROG Rapture family. But the following are also worthy alternatives:
Pros
Powerful hardware, Quad-band with Wi-Fi 6E support, three Multi-Gig ports (one 2.5Gbps and two 10Gbps)
Stellar performance throughout
Excellent set of game-related, online protection and monitoring features, full AiMesh 2.0 support
Unmatched port flexibility, including interchangeable WAN, Dual-WAN, and LAN/WAN Link Aggregations
Beautiful ROG Aura lighting
Cons
Expensive, 10Gbps ports’ sustained rates and NAS performance (when hosting a storage device) could be better
Awkward backhaul band design in a wireless AiMesh setup, no UNII4 (5.9GHz) support, no SFP+
Bulky design, not wall-mountable
4. TP-Link Archer GX90: The latest among gaming routers that “look the part”
The GX90 is TP-Link’s latest Wi-Fi 6 approach to gaming routers. It is also somewhat of a pseudo-gaming machine since it doesn’t have any specific game-related novelty — it has a nice look plus a comprehensive QoS feature.
The GX90’s similar alternative: Archer AX11000
Pros
Fast and reliable Wi-Fi performance
Excellent feature set and network settings
Robust full web user interface
Nice design and comparatively affordable
Cons
Single Multi-Gig port; no Dual-WAN or Link Aggregation
USB-based storage performance could be better
3. Asus ROG STRIX GS-AX5400: Representing a new gaming product line
The GS-AX5400 is an excellent new (gaming) router. It represents the new ROG STRIX product line.
Similar alternatives:
Pros
Excellent overall performance
Complete AiMesh 2.0 support, including system-wide Guest network
Robust web interface, well-designed mobile app, no login account required
Lots of useful features, including those for gamers
Cool-looking front-facing AURA Game light
Cons
No Multi-Gig port or Gamer VPN (WTFast)
Performance as a NAS server could be better
The ROG logo doesn’t light up, a bit boring
2. Netgear XR1000: A sophisticated gaming router
The XR1000 is a Wi-Fi 6 upgrade to the Wi-Fi 5 version XR500. It’s the second gaming router based on game-centric DumaOS firmware and has fantastic gaming features, including an improved Geo-Filter with polygon mode and Ping heatmap.
Pros
Sophisticated game-centric firmware
Fast Wi-Fi speeds and reliable performance
Robust web UI, beautiful hardware design
Useful mobile app, wall-mountable
Cons
Expensive but underpowered – items of the web interface can take a long time to fully load
Limited Wi-Fi settings, sluggish user interface
Mobile app can’t manage any gaming features
No multi-gig port, Dual-WAN or Link Aggregation
Online protection and VPN require subscriptions
Buggy — firmware needs some serious updates; no mesh option
1. Asus RT-AX82U: Possibly the coolest-looking gaming router
In case you didn’t read the intro: This is the first member of this list. The number is not the ranking.
The Asus RT-AX82U uniquely has fantastic-looking programmable front lighting that will turn heads! If you’re into bling, this is the gaming router for you.
The RT-AX82U represents a few general routers — not part of the ROG Rapture or ROG Strix families mentioned above — that have built-in gaming features.
Similar alternatives include:
Pros
Beautiful design with tons of helpful networking, game-related features, and settings
Robust web UI, well-designed mobile app
Cons
No support for WTFast Gamer VPN
No multi-gig network port
Network storage performance (when hosting a portable drive) could use some improvement
Best gaming routers of 2022: Hardware specifications and Wi-Fi performance
I tested all of these routers the way I do all Wi-Fi broadcasters. I also tried their gaming features via wired and wireless connections without a retail or mesh extender.
It’s best to use a game console (or PC) via a wired connection. If you have to use Wi-Fi, make sure the device connects directly to the very first broadcaster of your home if you have more than one Wi-Fi hub.
Extra note on gaming and Wi-Fi
For the best online experience — including online gaming or whenever you want to make sure the connection is the most reliable and with the lowest latency — it’s always best to get your home wired.
After that, connect your gaming rig to your network via a network cable. No matter how fast, Wi-Fi is always less ideal and will put a few extra milliseconds, or even a lot, on your broadband’s latency.
In gaming or any real-time communication applications, reliability and low latency are actually more critical than fast speeds. So it’s more a question of wired vs Wi-Fi than Wi-Fi 5 vs Wi-Fi 6.
But we can’t use wires all the time. That said, the rule in Wi-Fi for gaming is to avoid multiple hops.
Specifically, here is the order of best practices when connecting your gaming device to the network via Wi-Fi:
- Use a single broadcaster — just one Wi-Fi router or access point.
- If you must use multiple broadcasters (like a mesh system) then:
- Use a network cable to link them together (wired backhaul).
- If you must use a wireless mesh then:
- Connect the game console directly to the very first broadcaster — the primary router — of your home. Or
- Connect the gaming device to the first mesh satellite node using a network cable. Also, in this case, it’s best to use tri-band mesh hardware.
- Avoid the daisy-chain mesh setup.
- Avoid using extenders. If you must use one, make sure it’s a tri-band.
Again, the idea is that the Wi-Fi signal should not have to hop wirelessly through one extra hub before it gets to your device — you’ll get significantly worse latency after each additional hop.
Wi-Fi performance charts
The charts below include the performance of all gaming routers mentioned above — the top five and their alternatives — sorted alphabetically.
Hardware specifications
Looking to compare these routers side by side? The table of hardware specifications below will help.
Note: This is a wide table. Make sure you scroll horizontally.
| Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 Gaming Router | TP-Link Archer AX6600 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6 Gaming Router |
Asus ROG STRIX GS-AX5400 Dual-band Gaming Router |
Netgear XR1000 Nighthawk Wi-Fi 6 Pro Gaming Router |
Asus RT-AX82U AX5400 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Gaming Router |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | GT-AXE16000 | Archer GX90 | GS-AX5400 | XR1000 | RT-AX82U |
| Wi-Fi Technology | Quad-band AXE16000 | Tri-band AX6600 | Dual-band AX5400 | Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 AX5400 |
Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 AX5400 |
| 1st Band (2.4GHz) |
4×4 Wi-Fi 6 Up to 1148Mbps |
2×2 AX Up to 574Mbps |
2×2 AX Up to 574Mbps |
2×2 AX Up to 574Mbps |
2×2 AX Up to 574Mbps |
| 2nd Band (5GHz) |
4×4 AX Up to 4804Mbps |
5GHz 2×2 AX: Up to 1201Mbps | 5GHz 4×4 AX Up to 4804Mbps |
5GHz 4×4 AX Up to 4804Mbps |
4×4 AX Up to 4804Mbps |
| 3rd Band (6GHz) |
4×4 AXE Up to 4804Mbps |
None | None | None | None |
| 4rth Band (5GHz) |
4×4 AX Up to 4804Mbps |
4×4 AX Up to 4804Mbps |
None | None | None |
| Backward Compatibility | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| AP Mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mesh-ready | Yes (AiMesh 2.0) | Yes (OneMesh) | Yes (AiMesh 2.0) | No | Yes (AiMesh 2.0) |
| Gigabit Port | 4x LAN | 1x LAN/WAN 3x LAN |
4x LAN, 1x WAN | 4x LAN, 1x WAN | 4x LAN, 1x WAN |
| Multi-Gig Port | 1x 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN, 2x 10Gbps LAN/WAN |
1x 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN | None | None | None |
| LAN Link Aggregation | Yes | No | Yes | None | Yes (LAN 1 and LAN 2) |
| WAN Link Aggregation | Yes | No | Yes | None | Yes (WAN + LAN4) |
| Dual-WAN | Yes | No | Yes | None | Yes (WAN + LAN4 or USB) |
| USB | 1× USB 3.0 Port 1× USB 2.0 Port |
1× USB 3.0 Port 1× USB 2.0 Port |
1x USB 3.0 | 1x USB 3.0 | 1x USB 3.0 |
| Mobile App | Asus Router | TP-Link Tether | Asus Router | Netgear Nighthawk | Asus Router |
| Gaming Features | Aura Gaming Light Gaming Port Game Boost Gear Accelerator Mobile Game Mode OpenNAT ROG First VPN Fusion WTF Gamer VPN |
Fancy-looking hardware and web interface QoS |
Aura Gaming Light Gaming Port Game Boost Gear Accelerator Mobile Game Mode OpenNAT ROG First VPN Fusion |
DumaOS 2.0 Geo-Filter Ping Heatmap QoS |
Dedicated Game Port Game Boost Open NAT Mobile Game Mode QoS Aura Lighting |
| Processing Power | 2.0 GHz quad-core CPU, 256MB Flash, 2GB RAM |
1.5 GHz Quad-Core CPU | 1.5 GHz Tri-core CPU, 256 MB Flash, 512 MB RAM |
1.5 GHz tri-core CPU, 256 MB Flash, 512 MB RAM |
1.5 GHz tri-core CPU, 256 MB Flash, 512 MB RAM |
| Dimensions (no antennas) |
10.4 x 10.4 x 2.9 in (26.4 x 26.4x 7.4 cm) |
8.3 × 8.3 × 2.0 in (21.2 × 21.2 × 5.18 cm) |
10.56 x 7.08 x 6.53 in (26.8 x 18 x 16 cm) |
11.61 x 7.87 x 2.51 in (29.5 x 20 x 6.4 cm) |
10.83 x 7.26 x 6.5 in (27.5 x 18.4 x 16.5 cm) |
| Weight | 5.3 lbs (2.4kg) | 2.4 lbs (1.1 kg) | 1.55 lbs (701.3 g) | 1.32 lb (.6 kg) | 1.63 lbs (740 g) |
| Price (at launch) |
$699 | $249.99 | $250 | $300 | $230 |