GoKawiilI used to tell people to skip Wi-Fi 7 routers because they were much more expensive than Wi-Fi 6 or 6E. But after testing and evaluating 34 routers at our CNET Lab, I’ve changed my mind. I saw just how much more speed you can get for the price of a Wi-Fi 7 router.
A Wi-Fi 7 upgrade is a worthwhile investment for future-proofing your home network, especially when our CNET survey found that 86% of Americans already experience Wi-Fi drops. Your home's Wi-Fi router is the gateway to the internet and to your devices. It affects every aspect of your online life.
"The router is the heart of your home network," said Gianmarco Chumbe, CNET's lab engineer who leads router testing. "Just like the heart pumps oxygen and nutrients everywhere it's needed, your router pumps data to all of your devices. And just as a bad heart can affect your whole health, a bad router can ruin the internet experience in your home."
As always with tech products, there's a lot of jargon to wade through, and it's hard to tell what's marketing and what will actually improve your internet experience.
Over the past year, our engineers at CNET Labs have evaluated more than 30 Wi-Fi routers, connecting them to a laptop and wheeling it around our 15,000-square-foot testing facility to measure speed, responsiveness and signal strength. Here's the performance you really get with a Wi-Fi 5, 6, 6E or 7 router.
The Netgear Nighthawk RS700S was the fastest Wi-Fi 7 router in our lab tests, and the fastest overall. Gianmarco Chumbe/CNET
Key takeaways
Avoid the dual-band trap: If a Wi-Fi 7 router says "dual-band," keep shopping. Our lab data proves that only tri-band models offer the massive performance gains and access to the 6GHz frequency needed to justify an upgrade.
If a Wi-Fi 7 router says "dual-band," keep shopping. Our lab data proves that only tri-band models offer the massive performance gains and access to the 6GHz frequency needed to justify an upgrade. Future-proof your home network: With the average American household's data consumption skyrocketing, investing in a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router is the most reliable way to safeguard your internet speeds for the next decade
With the average American household's data consumption skyrocketing, investing in a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router is the most reliable way to safeguard your internet speeds for the next decade You don't need to spend $600 for top-tier speeds anymore: While high-end models still exist, our tests of over 30 routers reveal that prices have dropped significantly. You can now get a lightning-fast Wi-Fi 7 router for less than $200.
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