The 6 Best Asus Routers of 2023

Lifewire / Jeremy Laukkonen

Best Value

Asus RT-AX55 AX1800 Dual Band Wi-Fi 6 Router

Asus

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What We Like

• Affordable Wi-Fi 6 technology

• AiMesh support

• Smaller footprint

What We Don’t Like

• Lacks USB ports

• Middling 2.4GHz performance

Asus’ RT-AX55 is a great way to dip your foot into Wi-Fi 6 technology without breaking the bank. It’s an especially great choice for users in medium-sized homes with few devices making demands on internet bandwidth and isn’t looking for advanced features. 

That doesn’t mean it can’t handle a busy household, of course, since OFDMA and MU-MIMO support still makes sure that every one of your devices gets its fair share of bandwidth without slowing each other down. However, its AX1800 rating means you will only have about 1.8Gbps to share around your home—574Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1.2Gbps on the 5GHz side. That’s still enough for a couple of devices to enjoy 4K streaming and online gaming.

While the RT-AX55 supports all of Asus’ standard AiProtection and AiMesh features, it’s a reasonably spartan router by Asus’ usual standards. Instead, Asus has gotten down to the core basics here to provide an affordable Wi-Fi 6 router for users who don’t need advanced features like USB ports, wider 160MHz channel support, or game traffic optimization. On the upside, however, it does support Asus’ AiMesh technology, making it a great companion to a more powerful Asus router for those looking to expand their network coverage. 

Best Splurge

Asus RT-AX89X 12-stream AX6000 Dual Band Wi-Fi 6 Router

Asus

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What We Like

• Dual 10Gbps Network Ports

• Unique Design

• Excellent Wi-Fi performance

What We Don’t Like

• Bulky design

• Internal fan

If you’re looking for a Wi-Fi router that pulls out all the stops, then Asus’ RT-AX89X is the one to get. While it doesn’t come cheap, the higher price tag is easily justified if you need a router that can handle the busiest homes and fastest internet plans without skipping a beat.

The RT-AX89X is a beast of a router, even by Asus’ usual standards, and the design may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s hard to argue that it will make its presence known. The RT-AX89X is one of the most capable Wi-Fi 6 routers today, with eight powerful antennas delivering ultra-fast wireless speeds that can easily reach gigabit levels at close range. 

The RT-AX89X also packs in a staggering collection of ports around the edges. There’s a pair of 10Gbps Ethernet and SFP+ ports—a rare inclusion on home routers that will have you more than ready for the fastest internet plans. Eight Gigabit Ethernet ports and no less than two 5Gbps USB 3.2 ports join. That said, the RT-AX89U is a dual-band router, not a tri-band, so even though it supports Asus’ AiMesh technology, we wouldn’t recommend it for a wireless mesh system. You can, however, use the 10Gbps ports to link two or more of them around your home in a wired configuration to create an insanely high-performance Wi-Fi network. 

Best Mesh

Asus ZenWiFi XT8 AX6600 Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System

4.2

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What We Like

• Tri-band Wi-Fi 6

• Excellent coverage

• Very versatile

What We Don’t Like

• Advanced settings can be confusing

ASUS ZenWiFi XT8 AX6600 Review

Even though almost all Asus routers support its AiMesh technology, the ZenWifi XT8 represents the router maker’s more holistic approach to mesh networking. It’s a system expressly designed with units that work together to become more significant than the sum of its parts. 

While many mesh Wi-Fi systems focus on dumbing down the user experience, the ZenWifi XT8 is one of the most advanced and highly configurable solutions we’ve yet seen. It’s a move that’s not surprising for Asus, with its reputation for versatility, but it’s still not common among mesh systems. That doesn’t mean the XT8 is hard to set up, but power users will love the ability to dig down beneath the configuration wizards and tweak this system to their heart’s content. 

The system supports tri-band Wi-Fi 6, each delivering 2,750 square feet of coverage. This means that you could cover an 8,000-square-foot home with three units. Plus, the system still supports Asus’ AiMesh technology, so you can add just about any other Asus router into the mix. Best of all, Asus’ penchant for reconfigurability means you get to decide how to use your Wi-Fi bands rather than forcing the router to do it for you. 

Lifewire / Rebecca Isaacs

Best for Gaming

Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Wi-Fi 6 Router

4.6

Amazon

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What We Like

• Advanced Wi-Fi 6 support

• Extremely fast performance

• Cutting-edge gaming features

What We Don’t Like

• Large footprint

• Expensive

• User interface can be a bit daunting

Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Router Review

Asus’ GT-AX11000 is the most-powerful gaming router on the market right now, packing in the latest Wi-Fi 6 technologies with combined wireless throughput of up to 10Gbps thanks to its tri-band wireless.

Each of the two 5GHz bands offers 4.8Gbps of bandwidth, with advanced band steering features that let you keep your gaming PC on a separate channel to avoid being dragged down by other 5GHz devices on your network. The eight beamforming antennas can also push a strong enough signal to cover a 5,000-square-foot home. A special 2.5Gbps gaming port joins four Gigabit Ethernet ports around the back, so you can also hardwire your rig for maximum performance. 

Where the GT-AX11000 shines, however, is in the high-performance quad-core CPU that powers its gaming optimization features. There’s full VPN support, including Asus’ VPN Fusion feature to keep your VPN up while gaming without slowing things down, and dynamic game-focused QoS to prioritize your gaming traffic and the WTFast Gamers Private Network (GPN) to make sure it always goes to the fastest game servers. The ROG Game Dashboard adds other gamer-centric features like Game Boost, Game IPS security, and route-optimized low latency servers on the GPN, so you’ll enjoy lag-free gaming.

Lifewire / Jeremy Laukkonen

The 9 Best Wireless Routers of 2023

Best Design

Asus Blue Cave Dual-Band Wireless Router

Asus

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What We Like

• Nice, unique aesthetic

• Smart home features

• Highly configurable

What We Don’t Like

• Slow storage speeds

• Design isn’t for everyone

If you’re looking for something eclectic in a Wi-Fi router, then Asus’ Blue Cave is an intriguing pick. Unlike most Asus routers, which generally look like something out of a Syd Mead exhibit, the Blue Cave is designed to be a conversation piece that could fit right into your home decor. The big hole in the middle creates a unique look, and as a bonus, it can glow different shades of blue as the router does.

Don’t let its aesthetics fool you, though, as this little box is a surprisingly capable router in its class. It offers up pretty impressive performance and range when it doesn’t have a single antenna protruding in any direction. It also delivers powerful AC2600 dual-band Wi-Fi, reaching up to 1,733Mbps on the 5GHz channel, plus the typical set of four Gigabit Ethernet ports around the back of a single USB 3.0 port for sharing a hard drive or printer.

It’s also a cinch to set up, thanks to an Asus smartphone app. It also includes integration with Amazon Alexa and Asus’ AiProtection security suite to protect your home network from malware and your kids from darker corners of the internet. Not only that, but it also supports the same AiMesh technology as other Asus routers. This makes it a great way to extend your network from one of Asus’ bigger and bolder routers tucked away in your basement or home office.