The 3 Best Mesh Wi-Fi Systems - Fall 2024

The best mesh Wi-Fi system we've tested is the eero Pro 6E. It's a tri-band Wi-Fi 6E router with a slick design and a nice, small footprint, so you can place it wherever you want. It has great range and is easily expandable, making it a great option for enormous homes. It also delivers impressive speeds that can take advantage of a gigabit internet connection anywhere in your home. That makes it a great pick if you're downloading many large files far from where your internet cable comes into your house.

The eero app makes it easy to set up your mesh system. You can configure and monitor your network, see how many devices are connected, and manage smart home devices since it has a built-in Zigbee hub and support for Thread and Matter. However, the app is limited in what settings you can change and has many features like parental controls and historical data behind an annoying monthly paywall.

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.

The TP-Link Deco X5000 is the best mesh router 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, and its intuitive UI 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 only has two networking ports, so you may need an external switch for multiple wired devices. Finally, as it's only Wi-Fi 6, 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.

The eero 6 is our recommendation if you're looking for the best budget mesh Wi-Fi system. It features dual-band Wi-Fi 6 technology and delivers solid coverage and speeds suitable for an internet connection of up to ~700Mbps. It can easily handle high-bandwidth activities, like 4k video streaming and high-speed downloads. Like our top pick, the eero Pro 6E, it has a compact and sleek design and is easily expandable, allowing you to add more units to cover larger homes. Despite its budget price, it still includes smart home integration with built-in Zigbee support and Amazon Alexa compatibility.

Setting up this router is straightforward using the eero app, which provides a user-friendly interface for managing and monitoring your network. The app lets you see connected devices and configure basic settings, although advanced features like ad blocking and content filters require a subscription. One drawback of this budget solution is this router's range isn't as good as our other picks, so you may see some dips in internet speed if you're connected to a satellite unit far away from the router.