The 8 Best Routers You Can Find for a Better Streaming Experience

If you’ve ever done research on WiFi routers, you’ve more than likely come across the name Nighthawk… and it was probably associated with a pretty hefty pricetag. Well, that’s because Netgear’s Nighthawk series of routers essentially set the standard for what a quality router should be and the XR500 embodies exactly that.

This tri-band router has everything you could want. Collective speeds (via two 5GHz bands and one 2.4GHz band) of 5400Mbps, Alexa and IFTTT support, built-in TP-Link Antivirus… you’ll be streaming 4K and playing online games without a hiccup just to show off. (And it’s down to

The tagline of this router could very well be “anything you can do, I can do better,” and you’d probably have a hard time arguing with it. The X10 is a powerful router, sporting a 1.7GHz quad-core processor, and the power under its hood is put to good use. The MSRP of $465, it’s a bit of a pill to swallow, but investing in a piece of kit such as the Nighthawk X10 likely won’t yield any complaints on your end (and right now it’s on Amazon for $378, so… yeah). Worth considering.

With all the bells and whistles you’d come to expect for a tri-band router that looks like a spider on its back side, the Max-Stream AC5400 ships with blazing fast WiFi to ensure your streaming experience is unrivaled—and that’s just the beginning of what it can do. Down to $300 right now, too.

Despite lacking some features of the AX11000, the Asus RT-AC88U has sat at the near the top of most “best router” lists for quite a while now, and for good reason. This dual-band router utilizes NitroQAM technology to ensure that your games are latency free and buffering is simply just an idea that was left in the past. Asus also offers up an incredibly easy to use software to manage your network from your computer or via an app. Plus, it’s on sale for $232 at the moment.

Looks can be deceiving, and just because the Linksys WRT AC3200 looks like it was plucked from the bargain bin eight years ago doesn’t mean anything. This is a mini beast of a router that’ll give you an exceptional streaming experience through and through. And while it’s already a reasonable price normally, it’s currently on sale for $200.

This little wonder is a fairly straightforward (and relatively inexpensive) gaming router that provides stellar performance for gaming, streaming, or anything else you throw at it.