Best ASUS routers in 2023

While ASUS is well-known for its laptops and motherboards, it also makes some of the best Wi-Fi routers and mesh systems you can get. ASUS routers range from basic dual-band models with enough speed for a small house, to the fastest gaming routers with the latest tech. ASUS also makes mesh Wi-Fi easy with mesh support in software for on most of its routers, as well as a line of ZenWiFi kits with clean and compact designs. Through all of it, ASUS allows customers full access to advanced settings, even on ZenWiFi, with an easy-to-use app for those that would rather stick with the basics.

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Upgrade your home Wi-Fi with a fast router from ASUS

Source: ASUS

ASUS RT-AX86S

Best Overall

$170

$250

Save $80

The ASUS RT-AX86S is a dual-band AX5700 router with a 3×3 2.4GHz connection with a total capacity of 861Mbps and a 4×4 5GHz connection with up to 4804Mbps of capacity. This router includes the majority of ASUS’s best features with AiProtection Pro for enhanced security and parental controls and AiMesh allowing for easy coverage expansion.

Pros

• Fast dual-band AX5700 connection
• AiProtection Pro included
• Vertical design makes placement easy

Cons

• Slower CPU on the S model
• No multi-gig WAN on S model

$170 at Amazon $250 at Best Buy $170 at B&H

The ASUS RT-AX86S is an affordable ASUS router designed with the capacity for an entire family with the software needed to keep gaming pings consistent. The AX5700 connection is a bit of an oddball with a typical 4804Mbps on the 5GHz band but a less common 861Mbps at 2.4GHz. This is because the 2.4GHz connection uses a 3×3 MIMO setup which allows this router to effortlessly handle a large number of 2.4GHz devices, such as smart home tech.

One of the things that set this router apart from the rest is the way it stands up tall instead of sitting flat on a shelf. This gives it a shallower base, freeing up space without asking you to put a hole in your drywall. Port access is also easy with five gigabit Ethernet ports in total. One Ethernet port is used for your incoming connection and another is marked as a gaming port, so it’s easy to make sure your gaming PC or console has top priority. Of course, you can also prioritize devices in software.

This router isn’t specifically a gaming router, and it lacks ROG branding, but it still has the power to keep your gaming connection running well even with family members streaming video or browsing social media. You can expand your network’s reach with another ASUS router, including ZenWiFi and ROG models, using AiMesh. You can also add some extra security with AiProtection Pro included for free with its advanced parental controls featuring profiles and time scheduling.

One thing to note is that there are two other models sporting the RT-AX68 name with the RT-AX86U and RT-AX86U Pro. The U model features an upgraded CPU from dual-core to quad-core with twice the RAM and upgrades the WAN Ethernet port to 2.5GbE. The Pro model increases the CPU clock even more, making it a good fit for those looking to take advantage of features like VPN Fusion without giving up too much speed.

Source: Asus

ASUS RT-AX1800S

Best Value

$70

$100

Save $30

The ASUS RT-AX1800S is one of ASUS’s most basic Wi-Fi 6 routers with a simple dual-band AX1800 connection with only 1201Mbps of total capacity at 5GHz. Still, this is plenty for many people with an internet connection under 1Gbps and should have no trouble keeping up with a small family of streamers.

Pros

• Solid AX1800 connection is fast enough for most
• AiMesh expansion supported
• VPN client mode supported

Cons

• Simple parental controls
• Basic QoS only

$70 at Amazon $70 at B&H

The truth is, there are a lot of people that just want a basic router with enough speed for streaming video, browsing the web, and not much more. This has led to routers like Google Wifi and eero becoming quite popular despite their weak hardware and super basic software. The ASUS RT-AX1800S is a great pick for these folks with easy setup and configuration with the ASUS Router app, but it also has more advanced features available in a web browser for those that want them.

This router’s dual-band AX1800 connection breaks down to 1201Mbps at 5GHz and 574Mbps at 2.4GHz. You still get some Wi-Fi 6 features like OFDMA and 1024QAM, which keep your connection fast when you’ve got a lot of neighboring wireless connections around you. 1024QAM, for example, allows for precise modulation to help sidestep interference from other routers when sharing the same 5GHz band. On the back, there are four gigabit Ethernet ports for wired devices and another for your incoming connection.

If you want to expand your coverage, there’s AiMesh for both router and node mode, so you can use this router as the starting point of your mesh or as an extender for any of the other routers on this list. AiProtection Classic is included with some security enhancements, but the parental controls are simple with site blocking and scheduling, but no content filters. If you were looking for better parental controls, you’ll need to step up to the RT-AX56U or RT-AX3000.

Source: ASUS

Asus RT-AX82U

Best Gaming Value

$172

$230

Save $58

The ASUS RT-AX82U is an affordable, yet capable, Wi-Fi 6 gaming router with RGB lighting and a snappy AX5400 connection. This router comes with ASUS’s QoS software and a dedicated gaming port to keep gaming traffic consistent. AiProtection Pro is also bundled in making it easy for the parents of gamers to keep in control of their kids’ screen time.

Pros

• Fast AX5400 connection
• Stylish design with RGB
• Dedicated gaming port

Cons

• Wired connections are limited to 1Gbps
• Only dual-band Wi-Fi

$172 at Amazon $200 at Best Buy $176 at B&H

When it comes to gaming online, the most important thing is ping. Ping is the measure of time it takes your PC or console to reach the gaming server on the internet. While the lion’s share of your ping happens outside your home on the way to the server, a proper fast router at home can keep your ping times consistent by prioritizing your gaming traffic. That means that if someone is trying to watch a 4K HDR movie while you game, that traffic takes a back seat. It doesn’t really matter if a movie takes a few milliseconds longer to buffer, but that time in a game between getting the headshot or not.

The ASUS RT-AX82U is a fairly simple dual-band AX5400 router with 4804Mbps at 5GHz and 574Mbps at 2.4GHz. On the back, you get five total gigabit Ethernet ports with one for WAN and the other four for LAN. On the front, there’s a large ventilation grill with RGB lighting that can be controlled in the ASUS Router app. Pick a color and pattern to match your gaming setup or just switch it off if RGB isn’t your thing.

The router features QoS software that can automatically optimize your connections so you have all the speed you need for streaming and browsing without getting in the way of your gaming connection. If you’re using an Ethernet for your gaming machine, simply plug it into the port marked for gaming. If you must game on Wi-Fi, you can use Gear Accelerator to prioritize that device.

For the parents of gamers, AiProtection Pro is included with some extra internet security and the parental controls support creating profiles, so you can block inappropriate content. You can also set time schedules to prevent gaming after bedtime or just reduce screen time. If you want mesh coverage, this router supports AiMesh, so you can add other ASUS routers, including ZenWiFi to your network.

Source: Asus

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX6000

Best Gaming

$260

$330

Save $70

The ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 feels like it was designed for gaming from the very start with a raised stance allowing for excellent airflow and dual 2.5Gbps Ethernet. This router is optimized for gaming with QoS software, a gaming port, and support for multi-gig wired connections.

Pros

• Fast AX6000 connection
• OpenNAT game profiles
• Dual 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports

Cons

• Expensive for AX6000
• Large size

$299 at Amazon $260 at B&H $260 at Best Buy

The ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 from ASUS feels like it was designed for gaming from top to bottom with a fast dual-band Wi-Fi 6 connection and a well-ventilated design. The connection breaks down to 4804Mbps at 5GHz and 1148Mbps at 2.4GHz. This gives the router plenty of capacity for smart home tech, streaming, and gaming all at once. Around the back, there are six Ethernet ports with four LAN ports running at gigabit speeds for your wired devices. There are two 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports with one for your incoming connection and one for another wired device. This router is ready for multi-gig internet connections or even a high-speed NAS for streamers and content creators.

This router looks like gaming tech from across the room with red accents on the antennas and an RGB ROG logo in the middle. It’s lifted off the table with plenty of room for airflow to keep the quad-core 64-bit CPU cool, so your software keeps running as it should. This is even more important if you’re using features like VPN Fusion, which allows you to add a VPN to your router for most of your connection while passing through your gaming connections for optimal ping. You can also easily open ports for games using profiles already loaded into the router’s OpenNAT feature.

This router is a strong choice not only for gamers but for streamers with enough speed to stream to Twitch or YouTube while still getting plenty of speed to keep your gamers running well. If you want to save a local VOD, you can even save it to a networked drive by using the 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, which many of the best gaming motherboards support.

Source: Asus

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000

Best Wi-Fi 6E Router

$600

$700

Save $100

The ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 is a quad-band Wi-Fi 6E router with 1148Mbps at 2.4GHz, 4840Mbps at 5GHz-1, 4804Mbps at 5GHz-2, and 4804Mbps at 6GHz. With a quad-band Wi-Fi 6E router, you don’t give up any of the speed of an AX11000 router with the additional capacity of a 6GHz band on top.

Pros

• Ultra-fast quad-band AXE16000 connection
• Dual 10Gbps Ethernet ports
• Attractive RGB design

Cons

• Faster than most people need
• Very large
• Quite expensive

$600 at Amazon $600 at B&H

There’s a lot to love about the ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 with its gaming-optimized software, ultra-fast hardware, and support for the fastest Ethernet connections. This router’s connection breaks down into a single 2.4GHz band with 1148Mbps of capacity, 4840Mbps at 5GHz-1, 4804Mbps at 5GHz-2, and another 4804Mbps at 6GHz. Wi-Fi at 5GHz can have a lot of congestion since so many routers and devices use it, so being able to offload some of your newer tech to 6GHz can not only lead to better speeds on those devices but improve performance at 5GHz due to reduced congestion.

Wi-Fi isn’t this router’s only strength. You get four gigabit Ethernet ports for your lower-priority devices, a single 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, and dual 10Gbps Ethernet ports. Whether you have a fast caching server, a NAS, or just the fastest residential internet speeds available, this router is ready to take full advantage of it. This router is more than likely way faster than you need — but so is an RTX 4090.

On the software side, you get all of ASUS’s greatest hits with AiProtection Pro with improved security, AiMesh for easy mesh expansion with most ASUS routers, and of course, parental controls to keep the younger gamers in your house in check. You’ll be able to create profiles for each member of the house and link their devices to it, so you can limit their screen time or filter content without affecting the other members of the house.

Source: ASUS

ASUS ZenWiFi AX XT8

Best Mesh System

$350

$400

Save $50

This tri-band AX6600 mesh Wi-Fi system comes with two nodes capable of up to 5,500 square feet of coverage. The connection breaks down to 574Mbps at 2.4GHz, 1201Mbps at 5GHz-1, and 4804Mbps at 5GHz-2. AiProtection Pro is also included for improved security and parental controls.

Pros

• Strong coverage with two nodes
• Support for multi-gig connection with 2.5Gbps Ethernet
• Easy expansion with AiMesh routers

Cons

• Lower 5GHz band lacks 160MHz support
• Only one 2.5Gbps Ethernet port

$350 at Amazon $350 at B&H

The ASUS ZenWiFi AX XT8 mesh Wi-Fi system has a tri-band AX6600 connection supporting 160MHz. The speed breaks down to 574Mbps at 2.4GHz, 1201Mbps at 5GHz-1, and 4804Mbps at 5GHz-2. This gives this mesh plenty of speed to support a fast 160MHz connection at 5GHz as well as linking the mesh together. The lower 5GHz band is slower, but plenty fast for most connections including streaming boxes and smart TVs.

On the back, there are three gigabit Ethernet ports for LAN devices and a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port for WAN. Unfortunately, that means you can’t have a multi-gig internet connection and a multi-gig wired backhaul, but for most people, that’s not an issue. With ASUS estimating up to 5,500 square feet of coverage with two nodes, this kit should be enough for most homes. Even so, if you want to add more coverage, AiMesh is supported, so you can add other XT8 units or just about any other ASUS router. You could even pair these with an ROG gaming router, so you can get access to gaming features while still providing excellent Wi-Fi coverage to the rest of the house.

Even if you’re running this unit alone, you still get most of ASUS’s software with AiProtection Pro and its advanced parental controls. You also get VPN support including VPN fusion, so you can pick which devices bypass the VPN. It’s all set up and configured using the ASUS Router app, so you can get set up in just a few minutes using your phone. Unlike some other mesh kits, ASUS also allows full access to the software in a web browser which is a nice touch.

Upgrade your home network with the right ASUS router

When it comes to picking the right router, it all comes down to the needs of your home. If you’ve got a large family with an appetite for streaming, getting a router with plenty of capacity, like the ASUS RT-AX86S, means you’ll have the overhead needed to maximize your internet connection. A fast router with modern Wi-Fi 6 tech like OFDMA and 1024QAM can also help when there are a lot of neighboring Wi-Fi signals, such as in an apartment building. To that point, one of the best mesh Wi-Fi systems can also help by allowing your devices to connect to a closer node.

Many of the best Wi-Fi routers will have the capacity to keep up, but where ASUS stands apart the most is in its software. While many of its competitors have stripped advanced settings from their router’s software, ASUS has left it all intact in its standard routers, gaming routers, and even mesh systems. ASUS also has yet to switch to a subscription system for its robust AiProection software meaning you don’t have to sign up for a recurring payment to make the most of your new router. Finally, AiMesh makes it easy to improve coverage, so you can have the best of both worlds with a high-end router at your network’s core, with mesh points adding coverage throughout the house.

Source: ASUS

ASUS RT-AX86S

$170

$250

Save $80

The ASUS RT-AX86S is a dual-band AX5700 router with a 3×3 2.4GHz connection with a total capacity of 861Mbps and a 4×4 5GHz connection with up to 4804Mbps of capacity. This router includes the majority of ASUS’s best features with AiProtection Pro for enhanced security and parental controls and AiMesh allowing for easy coverage expansion.

$170 at Amazon $250 at Best Buy $170 at B&H