8 Best Router for Gaming And Streaming in 2021 (Reviews and Guide)

Lag is a gamer’s biggest enemy. To eliminate lags, save money, and enjoy the highest internet speeds while gaming or streaming (HD 4K or 8K), you will need one of the routers reviewed below for gaming and streaming.

The world has undergone significant technological changes over the years, and I have been there to witness most of these changes. From my experiences and the tech changes taking place all around, I can tell you that there is no better time to be alive than now. Yes, 2020 might be canceled, thanks to the Rona, but you’ve got to admit that technology is winning. And if you are into heavy gaming or streaming, you can appreciate the power of WiFi 6.

WiFi 6 (802.11ax technology, a sequel to 802.11ac) is one of the most recent tech/ internet advancements on the market, promising incredibly high internet speeds of up to 6Gbps – pretty insane if you ask me. But you need to know that just having access to WiFi 6 is not enough. You need the best router to work with this WiFi system. The best gaming/ streaming router really packs a punch, not only in terms of its performance but also in terms of the long-term financial savings.

But WiFi 6 isn’t all that you need to think about because WiFi 5 (802.11ac) might also be good enough for you. While routers that use the latest technologies are among the best options on the market, you need to look beyond the router’s version and pay more attention to the speed, stability, and reliability of the router’s internet connection. The delivery of greater bandwidth would be a good start, without a doubt.

And you need to consider the number of ports for your wired connections. Multiple ports, for example, would be a good win for gaming and streaming because they offer fast and more efficient connectivity.

So, which are some of the best routers for gaming and streaming?

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Comparison Table: Best Routers for Gaming and Streaming

Best Routers for Gaming and Streaming	Best For	Speed	WiFi Protocol	Price
Asus RT-AX88U	Best Overall Gaming Router	6Gbps	802.11ax	Check Price
NetGear Nighthawk XR700	Best Router for Optimized Network Performance	7.2Gbps	802.11ac/ad	Check Price
TP-Link Archer C9 AC1900 Router	Best Budget-Friendly Streaming Router	1.9Gbps	802.11ac	Check Price
NETGEAR Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR500	Wireless Gaming/ Streaming Router with VPN	2.6Gbps	802.11ac	Check Price
ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000	Best Router for Serious Gamers	11Gbps	802.11ax	Check Price
Netgear Nighthawk AX4	Best WiFi 6 Router on a Budget	3Gbps	802.11ax	Check Price
TP-Link Archer C5400X	The Most Powerful WiFi 5 Router	5.4Gbps	802.11ac	Check Price
Eero mesh WiFi system	Best Mesh Router for Streaming	350Mbps	802.11ac	Check Price

 

8 Best Routers for Gaming and Streaming

1. Asus RT-AX88U – Best Overall Gaming Router

The makeup of a gaming/ streaming router is composed of features that ensure high WiFi speeds, wired Ethernet ports, more than one frequency bands, a large range, and the best security features. This Asus router comes with all these features, hence its place at the top of our list.

Among others, the router features a dual-band WiFi 6 router that delivers super-fast internet speeds of 6Gbps (5333Mbps) broken into the 2.4GHz 4×4 band at 1000Mbps and at 5GHz 4×4 band at 4333Mbps.

Then you have its powerful performance that comes from the high-performance quad-core processor with a maximum processing speed of 1.8GHz, 1GB system memory, and 256GB storage. These features ensure the best gaming experiences and seamless HD streaming in 4k or 8K.

The winning feature, however, has to be the 8 Gigabit LAN Ethernet ports, the 2 USB-A ports, and one Gigabit WAN port, all designed to ensure the most seamless wired connections, and the best internet connection to your gaming laptop, desktop, console or TV.

This Asus router also boasts compatibility with the AiMesh technology, a feature that makes it possible for you to pair the router with any other Asus routers you might have. And with the lifetime AiProtection via Asus’ Trend Micro, it will be easy for you to block all threats to your network.

The router also features an Adaptive QoS, an intuitive function that will prioritize gaming data, preventing lags, and ensuring the smoothest gaming experiences. WTFast is the other feature incorporated into this router, and it enhances the performance of the router by determining the shortest distance between the game servers and your devices, ensuring lower pings.

Pros

• It is the fastest wireless router
• Excellent gaming performance
• Advanced/ The best software UIs
• Great security features
• Dual-band system ensures the best internet connections and performance
• QoS reduces lags
• WTFast ensures low pings
• Four antennas and the NitroQAM technologies push its speeds higher
• High 5GHz speeds
• Makes use of Next-Gen 802.11ax tech

Cons

• It is expensive
• You have to invest in advanced hardware for the fastest speeds

View Price on Amazon

2. NetGear Nighthawk XR700 – Best Router for Optimized Network Performance

If you are searching for the gaming router with the best optimizations for OverWatch, CS: Go, Fortnite, PubG, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, or any other online game that calls for the most powerful internet connection system, this Netgear Nighthawk XR700 might be exactly what you need. And you will be happy to know that it comes with a number of advanced features that boost its performance while reducing jitters, jumps, and lag spikes.

We are talking about its ultra-high-speed connectivity from the 7200Mbps AD7200 Quad-stream wave-2 WiFi speed, on its tri-band network. The tri-band network features 4600Mbps on the AD system (5GHz), 1733Mbps on the 5GHz band, and 800Mbps on the 2.4GHz. AD is the best option if you need to lower the latency to the lowest possible levels, especially if you are using AD-compatible devices.

Powering all these is the router’s 1.7GHz quad-core processor that keeps the internet speeds high at all times for a more reliable and consistent connection. The processor also supports multiple devices for 4K streaming, VR gaming, or surfing.

You might also like the AC WiFi system because it ensures a more reliable, dedicated, and the smoothest network connectivity for smoother gaming or streaming experience. It also reduces network congestion.

The performance of this router is further etched to the top by the 7 Gigabit Ethernet ports for wired internet connections and the 10 Gigabit SFP+ port, which ensures lightning-fast backups, as well as the best streaming experience from NAS. You’ll also have access to the 2 aggregate ports for more wired connections.

Lastly, this router boasts excellent security features for the prevention of DDoS attacks.

Pros

• Advanced features for prioritization of gaming
• Eliminates lag through bandwidth allocation
• No more sudden spikes in lag periods
• Geo filter ensures local connections and no lags
• Duma-OS boasts the router’s geo-filter
• Reliable security measures
• Easy to set up and customize
• 10 Gigabit LAN SPF+ Port
• Traffic optimization
• Port Aggregation

Cons

• It’s large and bulky
• It is expensive
• Runs on 802.11ac/ WiFi 5 rather than WiFi 6/ 802.11ax as would be expected of this high-end router

View Price on Amazon

3. TP-Link Archer C9 AC1900 Router – Best Budget-Friendly Streaming Router

You don’t have to break the bank for the best gaming router, and if you live in a small studio apartment or dorm, the TP-Link Archer C9 will be a good choice for you.

This router is designed to provide a lag-free and the smoothest gaming experiences, thanks to its dual-band design, specifically, the 5GHz band which is dedicated to gaming. The 2.4GHz band is ideal for streaming and all other wireless connections. With maximum speeds of 600Mbps on its 2.4GHz 3×3 band and top speeds of up to 1300Mbps on its 5GHz 3×3 band, this router is good enough for gaming.

The small size of the router notwithstanding, this router sports 4 Gigabit Ethernet/ LAN ports, along with a single Gigabit WAN port, and two USB-A ports, one at 5Gbps and the other at a lower speed of 480Mbps. These ensure better connections.

It also supports file/ media sharing and storage, thanks to the integration with media and FTP servers. Its function is further enhanced by the Beamforming technology, as well as the parental controls incorporated into this simple, but elegant router.

Pros

• Best budget option
• Small, compact design saves on space
• It boasts solid and reliable internet speeds
• It features MU-MIMO for optimal performance and simultaneous streams
• Beamforming offers more efficient wireless connections
• Safe and smart controls
• Airtime fairness increases its performance
• Easy to use
• It works with Alexa

Cons

• Its QoS could be better
• The app’s interface isn’t the very best

View Price on Amazon

4. NETGEAR Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR500 – Best Wireless Gaming/ Streaming Router with VPN

If you need a gaming router that offers the best type of protection for your network and devices, then this NetGear XR500 might be a good option for you.

This router is designed to offer the best gaming experience on a wireless network, and as an AC2600 router, it offers high internet speeds of about 2600Mbps. Now, this router is a dual-band device with the 2.4GHz band offering speeds of 800Mbps and the 5GHz band, giving you a high speed of 1733Mbps. All you need to do to enjoy these top speeds is to invest in a device that will support a 4-stream (4×4) connection.

Its performance is powered by the 1.7GHz processor along with 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, which ensure the prioritization of your gaming connections while optimizing the internet connection for low-latency and low-ping gaming for multiple gamers. Then there is the gaming VPN, which ensures an extra layer of security.

You might like this router a little more because of its direction customization function, connection monitoring, not to mention the geo-filtering feature, which makes it possible for you to choose the closest and your favorite servers.

The apps further allow for ping monitoring, as well as real-time network status monitoring for every device.

Pros

• A great option for serious gamers
• It offers excellent wireless gaming connection
• Easy customization
• It works with Alexa
• Network prioritization
• Great MU-MIMO support
• Excellent performance
• Well-optimized for lower pings
• High wireless internet speeds of up to 2.6Gbps
• Good software connection

Cons

• It is expensive
• Only 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports
• It doesn’t have a broadband modem

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5. ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 – Best Router for Serious Gamers

Every serious gamer knows that the ultimate measure of their performance lies in their hardware, and this ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is cutting-edge, class-leading hardware. Its hardware specs are mind-blowing, and the best bit is that this router delivers big time.

Some of the features that make this the most robust piece of hardware include the fact that this router was built upon the previous ASUS ROG GT-AC5300, but then, its design and features were given a boost by the incorporation of the WiFi 6 system that promises nothing but the best.

This router makes use of the dedicated 2.5G Base-T port, which allows for higher bandwidth for the wired connections on the four Gigabit LAN/ Ethernet ports.

However, the feature that really shines from this router has to be its WiFi 6 system offering at least 10Gbps of wireless bandwidth; the DFS band that prevents interference; as well as the VPN Fusion and WTFast technologies, which will segregate the device’s gaming traffic from the VPN networks to ensure that highest possible throughput. There’s also the dynamic QoS, which will prioritize gaming traffic, plus the Games Radar (by Asus), which will make it easy for you to check the device’s ping times on different servers, hence reduced latency. You may also like its AuraRGB feature if you like some color on your router.

The speed of this router puts other routers to shame, with its tri-band system offering speeds of 1148Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 4804Mbps on each of the two 5GHz bands.

Pros

• Super-impressive speeds and performance
• Reduced latency from game server prioritization
• AiMesh for improved performance
• Makes use of the best dynamic QoS systems
• Integrates easily with WTFast
• Cutting-edge throughput
• Triple-level acceleration of game traffic
• Powerful quad-core processor
• 5G Gaming port for elegant gaming performance
• Advanced security features like AiProtection

Cons

• Only 4 Ethernet ports
• It’s bulky
• It is expensive

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6. Netgear Nighthawk AX4 – Best WiFi 6 Router on a Budget

WiFi 6 is the new big thing in the tech and WiFi world, and it’s lauded for its high performance and speeds. Unfortunately, most of the WiFi 6 routers on the market are quite pricey, and most people shy away from them. So, if you have been looking for a WiFi 6 router for gaming but you couldn’t afford one, it is your time to shine with this Netgear Nighthawk AX4 router.

While this router lacks the flashy LEDs and colored stripes, it boasts a horizontal orientation, 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, 2 external antennas, one USB port, and one row of free LED indicator lights. It also boasts an elegant, easy to use app interface, as well as a QoS system which enhances the router’s performance. It lacks granular control, though.

Thanks to the Ethernet ports, you will be able to enjoy the best gaming and video streaming experiences. This experience is further enhanced by the 3000Mbps wireless speeds spread into the 5GHz band at 2400Mbs for gaming and streaming, and the 2.4GHz band running at high speeds of 600Mbps.

It is a 4-stream router that works well in small and medium-sized homes, as well as all your existing WiFi devices, including Galaxy S10 and iPhone 11.

Some of the technological features that would boost the performance of this router include the powerful dual-core processor, Amazon Alexa voice controls, Beamforming +, and OFDMA.

Pros

• Excellent, super-fast throughput
• It offers automatic firmware updates
• Beamforming+ and OFDMA enhance its performance
• It’s easy to use
• It comes with parental controls
• Elegant design
• 4 Ethernet ports
• Powerful dual-core processor
• It is a WiFi 6 router
• USB 3.0 port

Cons

• It lacks granular control needed for the prioritization of gaming/ streaming traffic
• It could be better with more ports

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7. TP-Link Archer C5400X – The Most Powerful WiFi 5 Router

Last on our list is this TP-Link Archer C5400X, a powerful but affordable WiFi router that offers super-high internet speeds, which is perfect for high-end gaming. If you have used previous versions of TP-Link routers, you will be happy to know that this router is a great improvement of the previous versions.

Although it is an 802.11ac or a WiFi 5 router, it boats high internet speeds of 5400Mbps, powered by 1.8GHz 64-bit quad-core processor, as well as 8 Gigabit Ethernet/ LAN ports for wired connections, and even higher streaming and gaming speeds. Its performance and speed are enhanced by high-tech features such as the QoS system, which ensures advanced internet management. The other features that enhance the gaming and the streaming capabilities of this router include MU-MIMO plus AirTime Fairness for maximum throughput and higher response rates, link aggregation, game first priority, 16GB storage, and 8 flexible antennas.

Its RangeBoost enhances internet reception, while Beamforming ensures sending of targeted WiFi to specific devices, hence improved performance.

It also boasts advanced security features, such as Trend Micro, which allows for the inclusion of advanced network security for your network.

 Pros

• It boasts advanced security features
• High-end tech features for its high-performance
• 8 Antennas boost its signal
• Beamforming, AirTime Fairness, and MU-MIMO technologies featured
• Advanced security features
• Ease of use
• It boasts dynamic traffic prioritization that eliminates latency
• Great dual-band system

Cons

• The 2.4GHz speeds could be better; it is middling
• No tech for decreasing latency

View Price on Amazon

8. Eero mesh WiFi system – Best Mesh Router for Streaming

The best routers for streaming are designed to ensure the best internet connection in the entire house, but none works better than this Eero mesh WiFi system 3-pack, which offers excellent whole-home coverage of up to 5,000sq.ft.

It works with Alexa seamlessly, as well as all ISP, and it boasts a very easy setup. To ensure that you enjoy excellent streaming speeds at all times, this router will not slow you down, whether you are streaming or gaming, thanks to its TrueMesh technology, which will intelligently route traffic, to avoid buffering and congestion, allowing you to work comfortably from anywhere in your house. And since this router is cross-compatible with several hardware, you can expand the wireless system easily, if you need to.

For reliable internet connectivity, this router is a dual-band router that runs on two channels simultaneously, the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz channels. It boasts 2×2 MU MIMO plus Beamforming technologies, and it is a WiFi 5 (IEEE 802.11ac) system. Its wired connectivity is enhanced by the one auto-sensing Gigabit Ethernet ports for WAN and/or LAN. Its highest internet speed is 350Mbps.

Pros

• No buffering
• Large home coverage up to 5,000 sq.ft
• It boasts support for Apple HomeKit.
• Easy to use
• It works with Alexa
• It comes with reliable security systems.

Cons

• Its speed is relatively low.
• It has no support for WiFi 6 systems.

View Price on Amazon

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Buying Guide for the Best Wireless Router for Gaming and Streaming

If you are shopping for a gaming/ streaming router, there are important considerations that you need to bear in mind. We’ll look at these factors very briefly below:

• WiFi Versions Supported

There are several options on the market, but the best routers are either WiFi 6/ 802.11ax or WiFi 5/ 802.11ac. These versions deliver the fastest wireless internet speeds. Avoid the lower versions.

• Number of bands

Opt for a router with either dual-band or a tri-band system. Avoid single-band routers because these only run on the 2.4GHz band, which only supports file downloads and browsing. The dual-band routers have a 5GHz band for dedicated streaming and gaming because it runs at higher speeds, while the tri-band router will have two 5GHz channels for higher internet speeds.

• Speed

Check the router’s maximum speed before you make the purchase. WiFi 6 routers are the fastest options on the market, and they boast very high speeds. WiFi 5 is also a good option. Both WiFi 5 and 6 work great because then their bottleneck capping on maximum speeds doesn’t come from the router. The only limit would be the package you are subscribed to from your ISP.

• Coverage area

Make sure that the router’s internet connection will reach every part of your home.

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FAQs

What are the additional ports on the gaming routers for?

Most often, you’d use these ports for dedicated wired connections to your devices – computers or gaming console because it delivers higher speeds. The router might also have WAN and USB ports.

Why Buy a Gaming/ Streaming router?

These routers are expensive, and you might not be certain about making the decision to buy the device. But remember that you are buying this router for prioritized traffic, extra ports, dual/ tri-band network system, a beefier processor, improved security, smartphone apps, and advanced software systems.

What are 5GHz and 2.4GHz?

These are the two distinct bands or frequencies that your devices would connect to. 5GHz band is faster than the 2.4GHz band, but the catch is that the 5GHz band doesn’t travel as far as the 2.4GHz band.

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Conclusion

There are many options for gaming and streaming routers on the market, but the ones we’ve reviewed above are among the best, and any of them would help you attain your goals.