While your average wireless router is fine for scrolling the web and streaming shows or movies, they're potentially death traps for online gaming. Enduring slow speeds and additional lag of a less-than-capable router when gaming can be unbearably frustrating. Those issues might be linked to your ISP, but oftentimes, the culprit is the router. If you’re serious about gaming, a great router is an absolute necessity.
TL;DR – These Are the Best Routers for Gaming:
In addition to offering the latest Wi-Fi standards like Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, or even Wi-Fi 7 for faster speeds, reduced latency, and more stable connections, the best gaming routers can prioritize gaming traffic. That means you get the lion’s share of bandwidth for smoother action with less rage-inducing lag. Some higher-end models are even packed with advanced features like multi-gig LAN ports that deliver lightning-fast wired connections and mesh network support for better coverage, helping eliminate dead zones or weak signal areas.
If you’re ready to ditch your old router and its slow speeds, congestion, and signal dropouts, our experts have carefully selected five of the best gaming routers to keep your games and streams running smoothly. Whether you’re after a budget option that still gets the job done or something feature-rich and fast, one of our picks should work perfectly with your gaming setup.
The Best Overall Gaming Router
Best Budget Gaming Router
Best Tri-Band Gaming Router
Best Wi-Fi Mesh System for Gaming
Best Wi-Fi 6E Gaming Router
Be aware, just having a gaming router doesn't mean you're going to automatically get the best home network instantly. You still should follow a number of best practices for optimizing your home network. Don't try tucking your router out of the way in a closet at the bottom of a shelf, as that's the quickest way to ensure you won't get the full performance out of it.
Your router should be placed in a central location in your living space, ideally high up, and without many obstacles in the way (i.e., don't put it behind your TV). Everything in the path from your router to your connected devices will impact the signal and thus the quality of your connection.
You can also help out your wireless devices by using a wired ethernet connection wherever possible. (If you need one, consider our best pick: DbillionDa Cat8 Ethernet Cable). Limiting the number of devices connected to your Wi-Fi at a time can help ensure each device gets better performance.
Securing your wireless router is also important not just for security but also for your performance. Sure, you don't want potentially malicious users accessing your home network, but you also don't want your neighbors piggybacking onto your network, as they'll eat into your bandwidth and potentially drag down your network performance. Use a strong password and consider disabling any guest networks. You might even consider not broadcasting your network ID, which makes it far less likely someone will access your network with the tradeoff that setting up new devices can be a little more time-consuming.
While you're shopping for a gaming router, you should be on the lookout for which version of Wi-Fi it supports. The main options you'll want to look out for are Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) – with Wi-Fi 6E expanding Wi-Fi 6 to include a 6GHz band, as they deliver the fast wireless speeds. Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) is here too, with newer devices beginning to offer support. Luckily, the newer routers are backward compatible for older devices. During your search for a gaming router, you'll undoubtedly come across units designed for Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) that look very attractive thanks to their low prices, but you should avoid this siren's call. Wi-Fi 4 is an outdated standard that provides fairly slow speeds compared to more modern renditions. Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) is also on the outs, so we'd stay away from those routers, too.
You'll also want to find a gaming router that is at least dual-band. Single-band routers only support the 2.4GHz band, which is fine enough for web browsing and downloading most files, but dual-band routers add a second 5GHz channel that provides much faster wireless speeds. You'll also find tri- or quad-band routers – and we've featured them as well – that offer an additional 5GHz or 6GHz band you can completely dedicate to gaming.
What’s the difference between a normal router and a gaming router?
Routers are the standard gateways that allow providers to set up internet access in your home. Gaming routers come with enhanced features for, you guessed it, gaming. They enable users to customize how bandwidth is prioritized across devices on a network and can determine which is the best server for a given application. Many gaming routers also come with additional ports.
As mentioned above, upgrading your router doesn’t suddenly mean your ping will drop to 0. Bandwidth is ultimately determined by your internet provider, and if coverage is bad in certain areas of your house, a gaming router won’t prevent you from encountering lag. To avoid bottlenecks, make sure any router you get is well-suited to your specific internet plan.
Do you need a gaming router?
Gaming routers are specialized and more expensive than their “normal” counterparts, so it’s worth asking whether the additional cost is worth it for the average gamer.
In general, wired connections are always best for gaming. Gaming routers can be useful for dorms or other locations where you otherwise may not be able to set up a secure ethernet cable.
Gamers who mostly enjoy offline RPGs or cozy simulation games are unlikely to see any benefit from a gaming router. However, with customized QoS, serious online MOBA and FPS players may be able to get the latency edge they need to set off an ability or secure a winning headshot before their opponent.
How to extend your WiFi range for gaming
The further you get away from your router, the weaker the signal is going to get. If your gaming setup isn't close enough to your router, consider picking up a Wi-Fi range extender to get a bit more reach.
For more WiFi help, see the best USB WiFi adapters. If security matters most to you, also see our list for the best gaming VPNs for 2025.
Danielle is a Tech freelance writer based in Los Angeles who spends her free time creating videos and geeking out over music history.
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