The 4 Best Wi-Fi Routers For Large Homes - Fall 2024

The eero Pro 6E is the best Wi-Fi router for large homes that we've tested. This tri-band Wi-Fi 6E mesh system offers great range and impressive speeds, perfect for leveraging a gigabit internet connection throughout your home. Its sleek, compact design means it won't stick out like a sore thumb in your living room, either. Additionally, since it's a mesh system, you can easily expand coverage by adding extra units, making it ideal for large spaces where a standalone router leaves dead zones.

One of its standout features is ease of use. The eero app simplifies setting up and managing your network, showing connected devices and integrating smart home devices via its built-in Zigbee hub. It also supports emerging standards like Thread and Matter, so it has wide compatibility with devices that support those standards. However, all management is app-based, as eero lacks a web interface. Some features, such as parental controls, advanced security, and historical data, are behind a subscription paywall, which is super annoying since your router has to be about the least entertaining subscription service out there.

We recommend this mesh system when it's on sale for $300 or less. However, it has a full MSRP of $400; for that price, you can usually find the TP-Link Deco BE63. It's a Wi-Fi 7 mesh system that's faster overall, especially on the 6GHz band. That said, it's only worth the extra cost if you have Wi-Fi 7 devices that can take advantage of its faster speeds, which are still relatively few and far between.

If you don't want to get a mesh system right away, the TP-Link Archer BE550 is the best standalone router for large homes we've tested. It's a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router with 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands. If you have newer devices compatible with Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7, you'll benefit from its blazing-fast 6GHz band. It delivers speeds suitable for multiple people simultaneously downloading large files like game updates very quickly. Even if you live in a multi-level home, you can take full advantage of a gigabit (or higher) internet connection. It also has an excellent port selection, with all five Ethernet ports rated for 2.5Gbps, so your high-bandwidth wired devices like gaming PCs and NAS can reach their full speeds. If your home has obstacles like concrete masonry walls that leave you with dead zones, don't worry. This router is compatible with TP-Link's EasyMesh functionality, allowing you to create a mesh network with other compatible routers or range extenders for better coverage.

Wi-Fi 7 is a very new standard that makes some serious performance promises, but remember that since it's so new, it'll likely be a while before you upgrade all your other devices to support it. The Wi-Fi Alliance's website has a product finder where you can see if your devices are Wi-Fi 7 certified. With that in mind, this router's biggest downside is its range performance on the 5GHz band. While it still delivers speeds suitable for most high-bandwidth uses like fast downloads at 100 feet away, a mesh solution like the eero Pro 6E, our top pick for large homes, would be a better option.

The TP-Link Deco X5000 is the best router for large home use we've tested at a mid-range price point. It's a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 system with surprisingly small access points, making it easy to place discretely in your living space. It offers impressive range and speed, providing strong coverage throughout multi-story homes with speeds reaching up to 800Mbps, making it great for a house full of devices simultaneously streaming content or taking video calls. Its compatibility with other TP-Link Deco models allows for easy expansion if needed.

Setting up this router using the Deco app is straightforward, which makes managing and monitoring your network simple. The app lets you see connected devices and configure settings, ensuring a user-friendly experience. However, the system has only two networking ports, so you may need an external switch for multiple wired devices. Also, it's only Wi-Fi 6, so your devices capable of Wi-Fi 6E or higher can't take advantage of a 6GHz band, which can have significant performance benefits, especially if you live in a congested wireless environment.

Finding a suitable router or mesh system for a large home on a budget is tricky since delivering a good range ideal for a big space requires more powerful hardware. This is why the TP-Link Archer AX55 is a little more expensive than what we'd typically consider "budget." Still, it's a great dual-band Wi-Fi 6 router with a conventional design and a small footprint that won't take up too much space wherever you decide to place it. This router really shines in its range and speed performance. At close range, it can saturate an internet connection up to 750Mbps and maintain consistently fast speeds up to nearly 100 feet away. With speeds like that, it has no problem handling high-speed downloads and multiple users browsing and watching 4k content simultaneously.

While its range is impressive, it's still just a standalone router. If your home is especially large and you can't place the router centrally because of where your internet cable enters the house, don't worry—it's compatible with both OneMesh and EasyMesh, meaning you can create a mesh network with compatible routers and range extenders. Its biggest drawback is that since it's Wi-Fi 6, it doesn't have a 6GHz band, so if you have cutting-edge Wi-Fi 6E or 7 devices, they can't reach their top speeds.