The best Wi-Fi 6 routers can give your home network a major upgrade, especially if you’re still using an older Wi-Fi router or one from your Internet Service Provider. Besides providing you with excellent speeds and a strong Wi-Fi signal, Wi-Fi 6 routers come in two varieties: Wi-Fi 6 routers and Wi-Fi 6E routers.

While a Wi-Fi 6 router will improve the performance and speed of your home network, a Wi-Fi 6E router gives you access to the new 6 GHz band along with the 2.5 and 5 GHz bands. Not only does this prevent network congestion as your most important devices can use this newer band, but the 6 GHz band is dramatically faster, albeit at a much shorter range. We’ve rounded up the best Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E routers for apartments as well as both small and large homes with all of the features you need to completely upgrade your home network.

1.Asus GT-AXE11000

The best Wi-Fi 6E router for gamres

The Asus GT-AXE11000 is a Wi-Fi 6E gaming router that delivers excellent speeds, killer gaming features and awesome customization options. This tri-band gaming router also uses seven high-performance 160MHz data channels in the 6Hz band to help distribute a lot of data to nearby devices.

At the back of the GT-AXE11000 you'll find a 10G and a 2.5G WAN port, four gigabit LAN ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 x 1 port and a USB 2.0 port to connect all of your wired devices and even to transfer data from a hard drive across your home network. There's also Asus' built-in AiProtection security software to keep everyone and everything on your home network safe online.

In our testing, the GT-AXE11000 was able to reach a maximum speed of 2.96 Gbps at 15 feet with an overall range of 85 feet. It's dedicated gaming features are nothing to slouch at either. If you want a powerful gaming router that's futureproof thanks to its multi-gig ports, the GT-AXE11000 should be your first choice.

2.Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500

A Wi-Fi 6e speed demon

The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 was the first Wi-Fi 6e router to hit the market, and the results are mind-blowing. By adding a 6-GHz band to the already impressive capabilities of Wi-Fi 6, the Nighthawk RAXE500 delivers category-leading performance.

With an AXE11000 rating, the tri-band device more than lives up to the hype by delivering nearly 2.5 Gbps of real-world data. Add this to the slick design and highly customizable configuration options, and the Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 becomes one of the best routers we've ever reviewed, and possibly the fastest.

By adding access to a slew of new data-delivering channels in the 6-GHz spectrum, the tri-band Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 takes the lead as the first high-performance Wi-Fi 6e router. While it’s best at close quarters and is quite expensive, the RAXE500 is worth every penny if you have the need for speed.

3.Asus RT-AX86U

The best Wi-Fi 6 router overall

The Asus RT-AX86U is a Wi-Fi 6 powerhouse that delivers great speeds and killer gaming features, as well as awesome customization options, all for under $300. With high-end performance and lifetime protection against intrusions and malware, it's also a great option for securing your entire home network, providing long term protection without a subscription fee, and carrying a two-year warranty.

But the real draw of the Asus RT-AX86U is the performance, which approaches the the magical 1-Gbps mark to provide speedy and effortless connectivity for all of your devices.

With excellent range and great performance — even through walls and between floors — the RT-AX86U is equal parts general-use router and elite gaming router, and the collection of features and ports it offers are a steal compared to some of the top-performing gaming gear. If you want the best Wi-Fi 6 router for the whole household, the Asus RT-AX86U is it.