ElectronicsNetworkingRouters

What are the best simultaneous dual band router for around $100?

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Jul 24, 2018

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5 Options Considered

Best simultaneous dual band router for around $100	Price	Ports	Network standards
88 TP-LINK Archer C7 V2	$89.99	1x Gigabit Wan, 4x Gigabit LAN	802.11 b/g/n/ac
-- NETGEAR Nighthawk AC2300 (R7000P)	$199.99	1x Gigabit Wan, 4x Gigabit LAN	802.11b, 802.11a/g, 802.11n, 802.11ac
-- Linksys EA6350	$99.99	1x Gigabit Wan, 4x Gigabit LAN	802.11 b/g/n/ac
-- TP-LINK Archer C5	$79.99	1x Gigabit Wan, 4x Gigabit LAN	802.11 b/g/n/ac
-- Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 (R7000)	$179.99	1x Gigabit Wan, 4x Gigabit LAN	802.11b, 802.11a/g, 802.11n, 802.11ac

TP-LINK Archer C7 V2

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Top Con

Is missing some more advanced features found in other routers

It does not have some advanced features such as Quality of Service controls, iTunes server, jumbo frames or VPN server. See More

Top Pro

Good degree of control over the guest network

The Archer C7 allows you to use one guest network per WiFi band. You can choose when these guest networks are activated and you can also configure the maximum amount of bandwidth that guests can use. See More

Specs

Ports:1x Gigabit Wan, 4x Gigabit LAN

Network standards:802.11 b/g/n/ac

Max theoretical throughput:1.75 Gbps (N450 + AC1300)

Security:WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK encryption

Top Con

Parental controls might be somewhat confusing

For those who are less tech-savvy, setting up parental controls may be tricky, since they use the MAC addresses of the network's computers (both those use by adults and children). See More

Top Pro

Best performance for the price for both large and small houses

The TP-Link Archer V2 offers great value for the money for most people who are looking to buy a wireless router. It is faster and covers the same area faster than routers that cost twice or three times as much, While it's not the best performant router under all circumstances, the jump in price to get the best router for a certain scenario would not be proportional to the added performance. At short range (around 11 ft) it provides 200Mbps-160Mbps depending on the line of vision, thickness of walls, etc. While on long range (around 43 ft) it provides 175Mbps-72Mbps depending on the line of vision, thickness of walls, materials the walls are made, etc. See More

Top Con

Overwhelming UI

C7 has a plain text UI with a plethora of settings that can be confusing and easily overwhelming. See More

Top Pro

LED status indicators

Blue lights in front of the panel indicate status of power, wired and wireless connections. See More

Top Pro

Provides a good assortment of basic features

It has four Gigabit ethernet ports, supports USB file sharing and media streaming through two USB 2.0 ports, has parental controls for an increased degree of control, and has support for guest networks. See More

Top Pro

Great for appartments with lots of WiFi interference from neightbours

The Archer C7 allows you to access both 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi bands, which has the benefit of improving performance but also makes it easier to escape any interference from any neighbours' WiFi. See More

NETGEAR Nighthawk AC2300 (R7000P)

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Top Pro

Several custom firmwares readily available

To make greater use of the powerful component hardware, owners can easily flash any of the popular third-party firmwares like TomatoUSB, DD-WRT, AsusWRT and more using the existing upgrade page in the stock web-based control panel. See More

Top Con

Might be a bit problematic to use in crowded dorms or apartment buildings

The R7000P does not have a third band, which is something that's usually available for routers around this price range. This is not a big problem if the router is being used in a suburban home, but it can be a bit problematic if used in a crowded apartment complex or dorm where there are a lot of neighboring networks interfering. See More

Specs

Ports:1x Gigabit Wan, 4x Gigabit LAN

Network standards:802.11b, 802.11a/g, 802.11n, 802.11ac

Security:WEP, WPA/WPA2—PSK

Weight:3.29 pounds

Top Pro

Great performance even for busy networks

The R7000P truly shines under busy network conditions. The load-balancing band steering automatically shifts the devices around to give work to both radios. What this means is that users will have a pleasant experience even when the network is busy. See More

Top Con

You can't block non-HTTP sites

Even though you can block websites by domain name or keyword, you can only do so for websites that don't use HTTPS. See More

Top Pro

Easy to configure

Uses a full-featured Web interface for configuration that's easy to use for both beginners and advanced users alike. See More

Top Pro

You can specify the amount of bandwidth you wish to dedicate to gaming or video

Nighthawk offers two different types of traffic prioritization tools. Traffic that is sent out by the user can be prioritized for gaming, while incoming traffic can be prioritized for improved video streaming. See More

Top Pro

Excellent USB performance

The Nighthawk achieves file transfer rates of 231.2 Mbps over USB 3.0 and 224 Mbps over USB 2.0. This means that you can connect an external hard disk drive to this router and share a 2 GB file over a Wi-Fi network in just over a minute. See More

Linksys EA6350

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Top Pro

Good performance

With its single-core 800MHz CPU it can achieve (theoretical) throughput of total 1.2 Gbps. In real life testing at a close distance this router avarages 430 Mbps. See More

Top Con

Non-removable antenna

If one or both of them breaks, you might need to replace the unit entirely. See More

Specs

Ports:1x Gigabit Wan, 4x Gigabit LAN

Network standards:802.11 b/g/n/ac

Max theoretical throughput:1,2 Gbps (N300 + AC867)

Security:WEP, WPA2, WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup), WPA2-Enterprise

Top Pro

Network can be managed remotely

This router comes with software that allows network managers to access the network remotely, form any device with an internet connection. See More

Top Pro

Allows sharing files using USB Port

A USB 3.0 port allows you to share files with other devices connected to the network. It makes for easier media streaming and data sharing. You can plug an HDD or flash storage drive into the back of your router and share that data with any device on the network. See More

TP-LINK Archer C5

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Top Pro

Good performance

This dual-band router has a combined throughput of up to 1.2 Gbps over its both bands. Realistically, its average throughput at short distance is 315 Mbps. So you’ll have enough throughput to stream HD movies, as well as play online games and browse websites without any problems. See More

Specs

Ports:1x Gigabit Wan, 4x Gigabit LAN

Network standards:802.11 b/g/n/ac

Max theoretical throughput:1.2 Gbps (N300 + AC867)

Antenna:2 dual band detachable antennas (RP-SMA)

Top Pro

Four Gigabit Ethernet ports for faster network

With one Gigabit WAN port and four Gigabit LAN ports, you can connect up to four devices with Ethernet cables for the fastest network speed possible. See More

Top Pro

Two USB 2.0 ports for file sharing and storage

The two USB 2.0 ports makes it easier for you to share printers, files, and media with other devices trough your home network or via the ftp server while away from home. See More

Top Pro

Intuitive mobile interface via its Tether app

Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 (R7000)

Top Pro

Great performance

This AC1900 router tops out at a theoretical 1.9 Gbps of throughput. In real life testing at 5 feet the router’s throughput is 616.8Mbps over the 5 GHz band and 121.6Mbps over the 2.4GHz band. At 140 feet it maintains combined throughput of 252.4 Mbps. To achieve this result, it uses beamforming technology, which means that the router determines where the device is located and focuses a better signal towards that specific device. See More

Top Con

Good only for smaller homes

Does not work for a 2900 sq ft home with Nighthawk on one side of the house and trying to getting a signal on the other side of the house. See More

Specs

Ports:1x Gigabit Wan, 4x Gigabit LAN

Network standards:802.11b, 802.11a/g, 802.11n, 802.11ac

Max theoretical throughput:1.75 Gbps (N600 + AC1300)

Security:WEP, WPA/WPA2—PSK

Top Pro

You can specify the amount of bandwidth you wish to dedicate to gaming or video

Nighthawk offers two different types of traffic prioritization tools. Traffic that is sent out by the user can be prioritized for gaming, while incoming traffic can be prioritized for improved video streaming. See More

Top Pro

Excellent USB performance

The Nighthawk achieves file transfer rates of 231.2 Mbps over USB 3.0 and 224 Mbps over USB 2.0. This means that you can connect an external hard disk drive to this router and share a 2 GB file over a Wi-Fi network in just over a minute. See More

Top Pro

Several custom firmwares readily available

To make greater use of the powerful component hardware, owners can easily flash any of the popular third-party firmwares like TomatoUSB, DD-WRT, AsusWRT and more using the existing upgrade page in the stock web-based control panel. See More

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