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How to pick
First work out whether the whole house is slow or just one room, because they need different answers. Whole house means the router itself, and replacing the one your internet company supplied is often the single biggest improvement you can make. One bad room means you do not need a new router, you need to get the signal out there, which is the extenders page. On mesh versus a single router: mesh is worth it for two storey homes, thick walls, or anywhere one box has never quite covered, and it is not worth it for a flat or a small house. A note on eero: I am a qualified eero installer, so it is the system I know inside out and fit most often. It is on this list because the app is genuinely the simplest of any mesh system I have set up, and because I am trained on it.
What I recommend
Replacing the one your internet company gave you
First work out whether the whole house is slow or just one room. Whole house means the router itself, and replacing the box your provider supplied is often the single biggest improvement you can make. One bad room means you want the extenders page instead.
TP-Link Archer AX55
The easy upgrade from whatever your internet company handed you. Better range, keeps up with a house full of phones and TVs, and the setup app does not fight you. For a flat or a small house this is enough and you can stop here.
- Big improvement over a provider supplied box
- Straightforward setup
- Handles a lot of devices at once
- Cheap for what it does
- Single router, so it will not cover a large house
- No mesh expansion later
- Plain looking, wants to be out in the open not in a cupboard
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi 6, AX3000
- Bands
- Dual band
- Ports
- 4 gigabit LAN
- Setup
- Phone app or browser
Mesh, for a house one router cannot cover
Mesh is worth it for two storey homes, thick walls, or anywhere one box has never quite covered. It is not worth it for a flat. A note on eero: I am a qualified eero installer, so it is the system I am trained on and fit most often.
TP-Link Deco
Very close to eero in practice and usually cheaper. Setup is about ten minutes and the coverage is good. A sensible choice if the eero subscription upsell puts you off.
- Cheaper than eero for similar coverage
- No account required
- More ethernet ports on most models
- App is busier and less friendly than eero
- Model naming is genuinely confusing
- Firmware updates are less consistent
Amazon eero 6+ mesh system
Two or three units that talk to each other, so the signal follows you around instead of coming from one corner. Consistently rated the best mesh for most people, largely because the app is genuinely simple, which matters more day to day than the specifications do.
- The simplest app of any mesh system
- Around 1,500 sq ft per unit
- Adding another unit later takes two minutes
- Handles 75 or more devices
- Amazon account required to set up
- Some advanced features need a paid subscription
- Fewer ethernet ports than rivals
- Wall plugs are large and can block a second socket
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi 6, AX3000
- Coverage
- About 1,500 sq ft per unit
- Ports
- 2 gigabit per unit
- Setup
- Phone app
eero Pro 6E or eero Max 7
Adds a third band that nothing else in the house is using, which keeps the units talking to each other without stealing bandwidth from your devices. Only worth the money if you pay for several hundred megabits or more.
- Third band keeps the mesh backhaul clear
- Faster ethernet ports
- Better in device dense homes
- Expensive, often double the 6+
- Pointless unless your connection is genuinely fast
- Same subscription upsell as the 6+
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7
- Extra band
- Kept clear for unit to unit traffic
- Worth it if
- You pay for several hundred Mbps or more
- Setup
- Same simple phone app
Related reading
Want it fitted properly?
I am a qualified eero installer and fit mesh systems across Santa Cruz County. If you have replaced the gear and it still drops out, that is usually placement or interference.