Your router is the most important piece of hardware in your home, and most people never touch the settings after the ISP tech leaves. That’s a problem. A $60 router with properly configured settings will beat a $200 router still running factory defaults. This guide covers the five best budget routers you can buy right now under $100, plus a plain-English walkthrough on how to actually get into your router settings and make them work for you.
Best Budget Routers Under $100 in 2025
I’d skip anything that doesn’t support at least Wi-Fi 5, and honestly in 2025, Wi-Fi 6 is cheap enough that there’s no reason to go without it unless you’re on the tightest possible budget. All five picks below have been tested in real home environments, not just spec-sheet reviewed.
1. TP-Link Archer A7
DigiDIY Pick
TP-Link Archer A7
Speed: Up to 1750 Mbps | Standard: Wi-Fi 5 | Best For: Apartments & medium homes
The Archer A7 has been a bestseller for years, and it still earns that spot. In my testing, it held a strong signal across a 1,400 sq ft apartment with zero dead zones near exterior walls, where cheaper routers typically fall apart. It won’t win any speed records and it doesn’t support Wi-Fi 6, so if you’ve got 10+ devices fighting for bandwidth, look at the picks below. But for a family doing HD streaming, video calls, and general browsing? This covers it. The TP-Link Tether app makes setup genuinely painless, and Alexa integration is a nice bonus if you’re already in that ecosystem. Short answer: best pick if you want reliable and cheap without overthinking it.
Pros: Strong coverage for its price, easy mobile app, Alexa support
Cons: No Wi-Fi 6, basic security features
2. NETGEAR R6700AX
DigiDIY Pick
NETGEAR R6700AX
Speed: Up to 1800 Mbps | Standard: Wi-Fi 6 | Best For: Streaming & gaming households
This is where I’d tell most people to start in 2025. Wi-Fi 6 at under $80 used to be unheard of, and the R6700AX delivers it without cutting corners on the features that matter. In my testing, latency was noticeably lower during gaming sessions compared to the Archer A7, specifically in situations where multiple devices were active at the same time. Think kids streaming on tablets while you’re on a work video call. The parental controls through the Nighthawk app are solid, probably the best of any router in this price range. It’s a big unit physically, so plan your shelf space. The firewall is basic, but that’s true of most budget hardware. If you’re coming from a 4-5 year old router, this upgrade will be obvious from day one.
Pros: Wi-Fi 6 at a budget price, low latency, strong parental controls
Cons: Basic firewall, physically large
3. ASUS RT-AX55
DigiDIY Pick
ASUS RT-AX55
Speed: 1800 Mbps | Standard: Wi-Fi 6 | Best For: Smart homes with lots of devices
If your home is loaded with smart devices, video doorbells, security cameras, smart plugs, Alexa or Google Home speakers, the RT-AX55 handles that kind of chaos better than anything else in this price range. MU-MIMO and beamforming aren’t just marketing terms here. In my testing, the RT-AX55 kept consistent speeds to a Ring doorbell and two security cameras simultaneously without dropping the laptop connection in the same room. The ASUS app is genuinely well-built, and the firmware update history is solid, which matters for long-term security. Fair warning: initial setup is more involved than the Archer A7. You’ll spend about 20 minutes getting it configured properly. Worth it, but don’t buy this if you want a plug-and-play experience. Also note, only two LAN ports, which is a real limitation if you have wired devices.
Pros: Handles many devices well, excellent app, reliable firmware updates
Cons: Limited Ethernet ports, setup has a learning curve
4. Linksys E8450
DigiDIY Pick
Linksys E8450
Speed: AX3200 | Standard: Wi-Fi 6 | Best For: Larger homes, multi-floor coverage
Most budget routers struggle above 1,500 square feet. The E8450 doesn’t. In my testing, it maintained usable speeds on the second floor of a two-story home where other routers in this price range dropped to unusable levels. The AX3200 rating means it has more headroom for bandwidth-heavy situations, multiple 4K streams, large file downloads, that kind of thing. The web interface is the weak point here. It looks like it was designed in 2012 and navigating it takes some patience. No mesh expansion either, so if you need to extend coverage further, you’ll have to add a separate access point rather than just buying another E8450 node. But as a single-router solution for a bigger home, it punches well above its price tag.
Pros: Exceptional range, handles multiple 4K streams, strong throughput
Cons: Outdated web interface, no mesh expansion
