If your internet habits don’t just involve regular browsing, social networking and visits to YouTube, but heavy-duty streaming as well, there is a huge chance your regular router won’t be powerful enough to fulfill your every need. In other words, you will probably have to purchase another device, the best router for streaming, that would make all that possible.
If you are not that familiar with routers in general and are a bit hesitant towards this whole purchase process, this guide should calm you down and help you find the best streaming router possible, without having a sweat.
All you need to do is to read the following lines carefully and try to find yourself a perfect fit.
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Last update on 2023-10-09 // The links above are affiliate // Images from Amazon
How to Choose the Best Router for Streaming
Finding the best streaming router shouldn’t be a hard task. You need to follow a few guidelines, read a few reviews and the proper device will come up eventually.
Streaming router characteristics that make the biggest difference between the routers and you need to pay your attention to, in order to get yourself the best streaming router possible, are the following:
Data Transfer Speed
Data transfer speed isn’t the only aspect of a router you should be looking for; however, this characteristic plays a major role considering the overall performance. Therefore, if you are looking for an efficient gaming and 4K streaming device, you should always go for the highest possible speeds.
Features
Feature-rich product is always a good option, even if we are talking about some other device and not a router. With more features, you are getting better overall versatility and usability and ultimately a better value.
MU MIMO, Beamforming, VPN support and Guest networking are just some of those features. They are not essential but can drastically increase your router performance and deliver a much better overall user experience. For that reason, choose the router wisely and go for as many features as you can.
Connectivity
Good connectivity and plenty of options in this department are usually a very practical thing for any router. More LAN ports mean that you can make more wired connections and that way make all your Wi-Fi lacking hardware part of your network; devices such as printers, scanners or PCs.
Multiple USB ports allow you to include your external hard drives into the configuration and use them as NAS, or to connect a 3G/4G modem.
In other words, benefits are numerous, and it is up to you to be aware of them and use them.
Best Routers for Streaming
NETGEAR Nighthawk (RAX70) – AX6600
Excellent Performance and Ease of Use in One
NETGEAR Nighthawk (RAX70) – AX6600 is attractive-looking Wi-Fi 6 compatible router that presents the sheer top of offerings among the best routers for streaming thanks to its blazing-fast performance. Its 6.6 Gbps data transfer speed, along with an exceptionally long list of features that include OFDMA, MU-MIMO, QoS, 1024-QAM and many others, make this device nothing less than a true masterpiece in wireless networking, and a device that won’t keep anyone indifferent.
With this router, you are getting ease of setup and use, the ability to manage it through the dedicated Nighthawk app, as well as a pretty good security system provided through the Netgear Armor, WPA2/WPA3 wireless security protocols, Guest Wi-Fi, Firewall and so on. Also, there is nice connectivity that includes one USB3.0 port and four Gigabit Ethernet ports, which isn’t much, but should be more than enough for home use.
NETGEAR Nighthawk (RAX70) – AX6600 is a tri-band router that offers excellent streaming capabilities. It has two 5GHz bands, where one supports 1.2Gbps and the other 4.8Gbps data transfer speeds. In addition, there is one 2.4 GHz band with support for 600Mbps data transfer speeds. Also, this router supports eight-stream connectivity and can cover an area of around 250 square meters, which in total makes this router a pretty versatile and capable device and an altogether excellent option for every sort of engagement.
- 6.6Gbps data transfer speed
- Tri-band
- Wi-Fi 6 compatible
- Feature-rich
- Netgear Armor
- Easy to use
- Pricey
TP-Link Archer A9
A High-Performing Budget-Oriented Wi-Fi Router
TP-Link Archer A9 is an affordable and well-performing router that will satisfy your every need, especially considering online gaming and HD streaming.
Although it looks pretty similar to Archer A7, A9 brings a lot of upgrades and advantages over it, including MU MIMO and Beamforming functionality and better signal coverage. Moreover, this router comes with Smart Connect and VPN Server feature and offers the very handy Amazon Alexa support.
TP-Link Archer A9 has a two-year warranty and supports for a combined data transfer speed of around 1900Mbps (600Mbps in 2.4GHz range and 1300Mbps in 5GHz range). It is equipped with Qualcomm QCN5502 CPU and 128MB of RAM and altogether delivers very good overall performance that puts it in front of the models such as Archer C9 and Tenda AC18.
This dual-band router has four Gigabit LAN ports and one Gigabit WAN port, and offers one USB2.0 connection, which isn’t much; however, it is good enough for this type of device.
All in all, Archer A9 is a solid-performing, feature-rich Wi-Fi router and one of the best routers for streaming for the price.
- Easy to set up
- Affordable
- Fast
- None
Linksys Dual-Band WiFi Router for Home EA7500-4B
A Reliable and Affordable Streaming Router
If you are looking for a good-quality home router that provides decent and reliable performance, Linksys Dual-Band WiFi Router for Home EA7500-4B is the device for you.
As you may guess, this device won’t give you super-fast speeds and the ability for 4K multi-stream; however, it will give you solid connectivity, decent compatibility and, before anything else, a reasonable price. Its 1.9Gbps (600Mbps in 2.4GHz band and 1300Mbps in 5GHz band) speed will give you enough firepower to stream your 4K adventures, but you will have to do one thing at a time and forget about the multi-streams.
On top of that, you will have the ability to use it along with Windows, Mac and Linux systems, and you’ll get a decent set of connectivity options that include one USB3.0 port, one Gigabit WAN port and four Gigabit Ethernet ports. Also, there is support for Amazon Alexa, as well as a nice set of security features that involve 128-bit encryption, WEP and WPA2 security.
Linksys Dual-Band WiFi Router for Home EA7500-4B is a dual-band router that covers an area of 140 square meters and can simultaneously work with up to 15 devices. It is easy to set up, it comes with a three-year warranty and overall brings everything that a mainstream user might need, making this router a pretty good deal.
- MU-MIMO
- Easy setup
- Beamforming
- Three-year warranty
- Reasonably priced
- Easy-to-use software
- Modest data transfer speeds
TP-Link Archer A20
An Almighty Router in an Affordable Package
TP-Link Archer A20 is a tri-band router with plenty of features and an excellent performance that will satisfy even the most demanding gamers and streamers, or in other words; the best router for 4k streaming and gaming.
As mentioned, this router is feature-rich and offers MU MIMO, Beamforming and Link Aggregation. Also, it comes with VPN Server function, Guest networking, Rangeboost and much more. It is compatible with Mac, Windows and Linux and offers great connectivity that involves: four Gigabit LAN ports, one Gigabit WAN port and one USB2.0 port and one USB3.0 port.
TP-Link Archer A20 is equipped with Broadcom 1.8GHz quad-core and 512MB of RAM and supports for a data transfer speed of 750Mbps in 2.4GHz range and 1625Mbps on each of the two 5GHz bands. Moreover, this device comes with a two-year warranty and altogether delivers fast performance that makes it ideal for gaming. Therefore, if you are searching for the best router for gaming and true value for the money, TP-Link Archer A20 is the one you need.
- Fast
- Easy to install
- Good security features
- Fairly priced
- Average 5GHz performance
D-Link Exo Router (DIR-882-US)
A Blazing-Fast Wi-Fi Router
Good data transfer speed, numerous features and affordable price are the most noticeable characteristics of D-Link Exo AC2600 MU-Mimo (DIR-882-US) Router, a device that can be successfully used for both gaming purposes and 4K streaming.
This router is equipped with numerous features such as MU MIMO, Smartbeam and Beamforming. Also, it is fitted with D-Link’s QoS Engine that allows for device prioritization and deciding which device can use the largest part of the bandwidth.
D-Link Exo has a dual-core 880MHz CPU, 128MB of flash and 512MB of RAM, which is more than enough for super-fast performance and combined data transfer speed of 2600Mbps (800Mbps in 2.4GHz range and 1733Mbps in 5GHz one). This router supports 4×4 data streams and offers solid connectivity that involves one USB2.0 and one USB3.0 port, as well as four Gigabit LAN ports and one WAN Gigabit port.
Overall, D-Link Exo is a device that perfectly fits into any home and delivers both decent coverage and excellent performance. In other words, if you are looking for the best affordable router, with excellent streaming capabilities, D-Link Exo should be your first choice.
- Easy setup
- Blazing fast performance
- Good connectivity
- Changing settings demands for long waiting periods
Linksys WRT3200ACM Router
A Router Designed for Professionals
If you are a professional and searching for the best wireless router for streaming that supports open-source firmware, Linksys WRT3200ACM MU-MIMO Gigabit Wi-Fi Router is the product for you.
With this router, you will get solid coverage, extremely fast combined data transfer speed of 3.2Gbps (600Mbps in 2.4GHz and 1300Mbps in each of the 5GHz bands), Windows and Mac compatibility, and plenty of features.
Although officially Linksys WRT3200ACM is a dual-band router equipped with a special Tri-Stream 160 technology that doubles the bandwidth of the 5GHz band, the fact is that it is actually a tri-band one. It comes with one band in 2.4GHz frequency and two bands in 5GHz one, which is the characteristic of tri-band routers in general.
Linksys WRT3200ACM is supplied with 1.8GHz dual-core CPU, 512MB RAM and 256MB flash and in general offers an exceptional lag-free performance suitable for both professional and home use. It is very flexible; it offers full open-source firmware support and great connectivity that includes four Gigabit LAN ports, one Gigabit WAN port, one USB3.0 port and one USB2.0/eSATA port.
All in all, if you are after a reliable solution for your streaming needs, Linksys WRT3200ACM is the router to choose.
- Super-fast performance
- Good connectivity
- It supports open-source firmware
- Easy setup
- Average 2.4GHz performance
TP-Link AX6000 (Archer AX6000)
A High-Performing Gaming Router
TP-Link AX6000 (Archer AX6000) is a fair-priced gaming router that offers plenty of features and, excellent performance that positions it among the best streaming routers available on the market.
To begin with, this device comes packed with features, such as Beamforming, AX MU-MIMO, 1024 QAM, as well as OFDMA, 160MHz Channel Support, and many more. More importantly, this router supports 5952Mbps data transfer speeds (4804Mbps in 5GHz band and 1148Mbps in 2.4GHz band) and offers a nice set of security options included in the TP-Link HomeCare feature that involves antivirus protection, Parental Controls, QoS, and others.
When talking about connectivity options, you should know that this device has one 2.5Gbps WAN port, eight Gigabit LAN ports, as well as one USB3.0 Type-A port and one USB3.0 Type C port, which should be more than enough even for the high demanding users.
TP-Link AX6000 (Archer AX6000) is run by Broadcom’s BCM43684 Wi-Fi chipset, it offers ease of use and other than the Wi-Fi 6 compatibility, it is also able to work with Amazon Alexa, which ultimately makes it a pretty well-packed device and a router that would certainly be beneficial to most users.
- Wi-Fi 6 compatible
- Good security features
- Good connectivity
- 5952Mbps data transfer speed
- Compatible with Amazon Alexa
- Easy to use
- Fair-priced
- Not the best app
- No power-saving mode
eero Pro mesh WiFi system
A Practical Wi-Fi Streaming Solution for Wide Area Coverage
A fast performance followed by an unlimited list of features isn’t always the first thing people expect from their routers. Sometimes it is the reliability of its connection, and more importantly, a large area of signal coverage.
One of such devices that allows you to have a reliable network in a large space or, to be precise, at up to area of 450 square meters, is eero Pro mesh WiFi system. The system consists of three eero Pro devices that can individually cover up to 150 square meters and together, the already mentioned impressive 450 square meters.
This system offers 2×2 MU MIMO, Beamforming and VPN functionality and networking in three bands 2.4GHz, 5.2GHz and 5.8GHz range.
Each of the eero Pro devices is fitted with 700MHz quad-core CPU, 4GB of flash memory and 512MB of RAM. Moreover, they are equipped with two Gigabit Ethernet ports that can be used as either LAN or WAN ports and one USB Type-C connection.
eero Pro mesh devices are compatible with iOS and Android systems and come with a one-year warranty. The devices themselves are very practical and can be used as Wi-Fi extender, routers, or signal booster.
Altogether, if you are looking for the best long-range Wi-Fi router, eero Pro mesh WiFi system should without a doubt be among your top picks.
- Easy setup
- Excellent coverage
- Fast
- Expensive
- Not the best Amazon Alexa integration
- Not as fast as other mesh systems
Conclusion
Whether you are a professional or you are just thinking of trying streaming, we are sure that there is a device in our list that can fulfill your needs. So, read it again carefully, consider your needs in general, and get going! Good luck!
