Best Router Under $300: Top 4 Best Routers Under $300 in 2022

Searching for the best router under $300?
In today’s world, everything is accessible via the internet. A growing number of people are streaming 4k Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other content. Some even play online games like Fortnite, Pubg, and Call of Duty, which require a high-speed connection.

Investing in the best router will not only improve your internet performance but also provide you with useful features.
As the majority of people in the world stay indoors and work from home. Everyone has a need for the best wireless router available on the market. But how do we choose the best router under $300?

300 dollars is a large budget, and you can easily find a router that meets your needs and meets your business requirements for under 300 dollars. If you’re looking for the best router under $300, there are a few options available online.

As a result, I’ve spent a much amount of time searching for the best router under $300 on the basis of performance, reviews, speed, and rating. In this article, I will review the top 4 best wireless routers available on the market for under $300.

The List of Top 4 Best Routers Under $300 in  2022 [Reviewed]

The fastest and smoothest wireless mobile gaming experience on the market is provided by the ASUS RT-AX82U Dual Band WiFi 6 Gaming Router, which has ultrafast speeds of 5400Mbps. WiFi 6 (802.11ax) and 160MHz channels allow this router to deliver blazingly fast speeds for next-generation hardware while maintaining compatibility with all of your current WiFi devices.

The ASUS Router app’s Mobile Game Mode button automatically optimizes the connection to reduce lag and latency when you’re gaming. In addition, one of the four LAN ports is dedicated to gaming, prioritizing whatever wired device is connected to it. Additionally, you can manage traffic, network diagnostics, and guest Wi-Fi from the mobile app.

Using ASUS AiMesh Technology, you can create a flexible and seamless whole-home mesh network, eliminating dead zones. AiProtection Pro, the latest WPA3 security protocol, and advanced Parental Controls are included in this ASUS router so that you can be sure that every device is protected.

1. New-generation WiFi 6 router: 5400 Mbps speeds with the latest 802.11ax technology and 160MHz channels; Works seamlessly with all of your existing WiFi devices.
2. Mobile Game Mode: The ASUS Router app has a “Mobile Game Mode” that reduces lag and latency for mobile gaming.
3. Dedicated gaming port: Any wired device connected to the dedicated gaming port automatically receives precedence over other devices.
4. Connect more devices: Up to four times more network capacity and an 80 percent increase in WiFi range are provided by the new WiFi 6 router.
5. Unmatched coverage: This allows you to create a flexible, seamless whole-home mesh network with ASUS AiMesh-compliant routers.
6. Peace of mind: ASUS AiProtection Pro provides an additional layer of security so that you never have to worry about your home network being hacked.

As one of the first Wi-Fi 6 routers to hit our labs, we were pleased to find that the TP-Link Archer AX6000 ($349.99) has eight gigabit LAN ports as well as a multi-gig port for connecting to the internet and two USB ports. If you don’t have access to a computer, the TP-Link Tether mobile app can be used to manage the device.

In terms of throughput and file transfer, the Archer AX6000 is competitive with the Netgear Nighthawk RAX120, but it falls short of Wi-Fi 6 certification due to its lack of support for WPA3 encryption.

One of the largest routers we’ve encountered, the Archer AX6000 measures 2.4 by 10.3 by 10.3 inches. An LED indicator on the top of the device glows solid blue when everything is running normally, pulses blue during startup and firmware upgrades, glistens solid orange when it is connected to the internet but wireless is disabled, and glistens solid red when there is no connection to the Internet.

There are a lot of ports to connect to. On the back of the device, you’ll find an Ethernet jack and power button, as well as two USB 3.0 ports, as well as a reset button. There are USB 3.0 Type A and Type C ports on the left side of the router, as well as WPS and LED On/Off buttons on the front edge. Quad-core processors, 1GB of RAM, and flash memory are all included in the Archer AX6000.

For maximum theoretical data rates of up to 1,148Mbps in the 2.4Ghz band and 4,804Mbps in the 5Ghz band, the router uses the latest 802.11ax technology with 1024 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation). WPA3 encryption is required for Wi-Fi 6 certification, but the new 160MHz channel width supports automatic band-steering and direct-to-client signal beamforming, as well as MU-MIMO data streaming.

1. Blazing Speed: With 1024QAM, the AX6000’s dual-band Wi-Fi speed is boosted to 5952Mbps, with 4804Mbps (5GHz) and 1148Mbps (6GHz) (2.4 GHz)
2. Ultra Connectivity: USB 3.0 Type A and Type C ports are included in this model’s 8-port Gigabit LAN.
3. Highly Efficient: When compared to a standard 802.11ac router, OFDMA boosts average throughput by four times. In both uplink and downlink MU-MIMO, the technology is supported.
4. Powerful Processing: Quad-Core processors and two coprocessors eliminate latency and ensure stable performance.
5. Intelligent Connection: Using Band Steering and Airtime Fairness, customers are directed to the less congested band.
6. Security System Built-In: Antivirus, Parental Controls, and Quality of Service (QoS) are all included in the TP-Link HomeCareTM service, which is powered by Trend MicroTM.
7. Easy Setup: The Tether app makes it easy to connect to your router via Bluetooth and get it up and running in just a few minutes.

It has a 1.8GHz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, and 256MB flash memory. It’s a 4×4 AX6000 router with 2.4GHz and 5GHz data rates of 1,148Mbps and 4,804Mbps when connected to Wi-Fi 6 clients. MU-MIMO simultaneous data streaming, direct to client signal beamforming, and Smart Connect, where the router automatically chooses the best radio band for optimal throughput are all supported.

It also supports Asus AiMesh technology, allowing you to use multiple Asus routers to create a seamless home Wi-Fi network with one network ID.

This router can be controlled via a mobile app or web console, just like the Asus RT-AC86U. An interactive network map shows all connected clients, internet and security status, USB device information, and Wi-Fi information for both radio bands. The left side of the screen has menus for General and Advanced settings. Settings for AiCloud and Guest networking are included.

The GameBoost settings give you access to WTFast routing technology and the Gamers Private Network. In addition to blocking adult-oriented websites, restricting access to social media, and blocking streaming media and entertainment content, this router uses Trend Micro’s AiProtection software to detect viruses.

ADVANCED WIRELESS SETTINGS EDIT WIRELESS SECURITY, CHANGE Professional settings include Beacon Intervals, RADIUS, Airtime Fairness, and Tx Power. You can also toggle MU-MIMO and beamforming here. These include LAN, WAN, and Firewall controls, VPN Server and VPN Client settings, Alexa settings (to enable guest networking and pause internet with voice commands), and web service settings (to interact with other IFTTT devices).

Update the firmware and configure the RT-AX88U as a router, media bridge, access point, or repeater from the Administration menu. Installation is quick and easy. I used the included Ethernet cable to connect the router to my desktop PC and cable modem. I turned on the router and typed http://router.asus.com into my browser’s address bar and then I used advanced Setup to assign SSIDs and security passwords for both bands. I named and passworded the router and updated the firmware.

Due to the lack of 802.11ax clients on the market, I couldn’t fully test the RT capabilities. AX88U’s I did test its 160MHz channel bandwidth on the 5GHz band using an 802.11ac laptop with Intel’s Wireless AC-9260 chipset. The RT-AX88U delivered 943Mbps on the 5GHz close-proximity (same-room) test, slightly faster than Netgear’s AX router, the Nighthawk RAX80. It’s 36% faster than the Asus Rapture GT-AC5300 and 37% faster than the TP-Link Archer C5400X.

An average of 461Mbps over 30 feet, beating the Nighthawk RAX80 by 45Mbps and the Archer C5400X by over 130Mbps. Notably, these speeds are due to 160MHz channel bandwidth, not 802.11ax technology. I expect even faster throughput when I test this router with a Wi-Fi 6 system.

It worked fine with our 802.11ac Wave 2 laptop, which supports 20/40/80MHz channels but not 160MHz. Its 90Mbps close-proximity score beat the Netgear Nighthawk RAX80, but not the Asus Rapture GT-AC5300. The Archer C5400X got 113Mbps. From 30 feet, the RT-AX88U outperformed not only the Nighthawk RAX80 but also the Rapture GT-AC5300.

The RT-AX88U scored 527Mbps on the 5GHz band, which is decent but not as fast as the other routers. The Asus Rapture GT-AC5300 has 601Mbps. At 30 feet, the RT-AX88U scored 384Mbps.

The RT-AX88U performed well in our file-transfer tests, which use a portable USB 3.0 drive and a 1.5GB folder containing photo, video, music, and office document files. Its 80MBps write speed beat the Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 and the TP-Link Archer C5400X, as well as the Asus Rapture GT-AC5300. The RT-85MBps AX88U’s read speed was slower than the Nighthawk RAX80 but faster than the Archer C5400X and Rapture GT-AC5300.

Netgear’s Nighthawk Pro Gaming line of routers and accessories is available. The XR1000 is at the top of the product stack, with DumaOS 3.0. We test it to see if the $349 price tag for premium networking hardware is justified, or if most gamers should look elsewhere.

The XR1000 has four external antennas that can be positioned and no internal antennas. Although it has tasteful red accents, it does not have to flash RGB lights, which can turn off some adult gamers (or adult gamers will just turn off). On the device’s top are some white LED indicator lights arranged in a “V”.

The XR1000 is powered by a 1.5 GHz triple-core processor, 512 MB RAM, and 256 MB flash storage. These are solid specs, but not class-leading for high-end gaming routers. The router’s rear has a single USB port, a WAN port, and four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports. But there are no 2.5 Gig LAN ports, which would be nice given the price. On/off toggle switch and a recessed reset button.

The XR1000 has Wi-Fi 6 with 5.4 Gbps throughput. Dual-band Wi-Fi has 2.4 GHz speeds up to 600 Mbps and 5 GHz speeds up to 4.8 Gbps. On both bands, Beamforming is available to optimize client reception.

One of the XR1000’s highlights is DumaOS 3.0. You may recall that this was the OS that debuted in the NetDuma R1 from the UK, which claimed to “dominate lag,” but the original hardware severely hampered it. Netgear has updated its hardware to take advantage of the software.

In terms of gaming, there are two levels of control over DumaOS and the QoS that can prioritize gaming traffic. The first is ‘Congestion Control’, which can be set to Always, Never, or Auto-Enable in DumaOS. This allows the router to prioritize time-sensitive data packets like gaming and streaming content over other content for a better experience.

Another level of control called ‘Bandwidth Allocation’ allows traffic types such as gaming, file sharing, VoIP, and web to be allocated a specific amount of bandwidth. This allows for fine-grained control of each activity’s bandwidth requirements, both on the upload and download sides of the equation.