Best VPN Router for 2021

If you have subscribed to a VPN (virtual private network) or interested in doing so in the future, then buying a good-quality VPN router is a must. With a VPN router, you can browse the internet and stream or play games anonymously and safely.

The main reason why a lot of people consider buying a VPN router is that they want to keep their internet-related activities private. Luckily for them, we have combined some of the best VPN routers of 2021 in this extensive guide. We have detailed the pros and cons of the best-selling products so you can make the most out of your virtual private network connection without going through any hassle.

Quick Picks

Here’s 3 products we picked out that thought you would be interested in depending on your budget…

The Best VPN Router With Reviews 2021

#1 – ASUS AC3100 (RT-AC88U)

Whether you want to stream live in 4K resolution or play online in an intense competition, ASUS (RT-AC88U) can be your ultimate companion for smooth browsing. It comes with MU-MIMO technology that gives this device a personal, dedicated, high-speed Wi-Fi connection. With this feature, you can connect multiple devices to it simultaneously without compromising over the network.

If you want, you can also boost your gaming strength with the Adaptive QoS feature that allows you to prioritize your gaming activities and packages. You can even allocate full-dedicated bandwidth while playing online under solo-gamer mode and enjoy low-latency gaming anywhere in your house.

There are 8 Gigabit Ethernet ports, which is double than what most of the standards routers allow. You can connect up to 8 Ethernet-compatible devices at one time, such as gaming consoles, smart TVs, media players, set-up boxes, and NAS storage devices.

The ASUS (RT-AC88U) comes with an AirProtection Parental Control Feature to improve your online safety and security. With this feature, you can activate malicious site blocking, parental controls, and automatic vulnerability over your smart devices. Advanced parental control options prevent individuals of your house from visiting inappropriate websites and pages.  

The integrated ASUS router app and ASUSWRT user interface are quite strong and intuitive. You can now set up the router, diagnose connectivity issues, and manage network traffic without booting up a personal computer.

Pros

• Lots of ports
• MU-MIMO technology
• Speedy throughput

Cons

• A little expensive

#2 – Linksys AC3200 (WRT3200ACM)

For people who want to have complete control over their network and added features, Linksys WRT AC3200 is worth spending every single penny.

Apart from the sustenance for open-source firmware, this VPN router can also boast MU-MIMO technology. This technology enables simultaneous streaming, gaming on multiple devices, and large file sharing over a wireless AC band. There is a Tri-Stream 160 technology that can double the bandwidth on the networking streams.

The logic behind every feature of Linksys WRT AC3200 is that no matter how loaded your Wi-Fi network is, the VPN router will still deliver fast Wi-Fi AC networking speed.

It comes with a 512MB RAM, 1.8GHz dual-core CPU, and 256MB flash memory. There are 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports with an extra fifth port for connecting the device to the modem. A USB 3.0 is also integrated within the device for sharing printers and large files with your network.

The Linksys WRT AC3200 has an ESATA port for file transfer. This port has a convenient design, so you can also use it as a USB 2.0 when required. 

The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi application helps you manage and configure the router from your smart devices. If you install DDWRT or OpenWRT, you can add some unique and advanced features to the router like the TOR network, advanced network trafficking, secure VPN and network intrusion reports, etc. 

Pros

• Open source firmware support
• Advanced features
• Handles heavy traffic

Cons

• Spotty coverage at times

#3 – ASUS AC5300 (RT-AC5300)

ASUS RT-AC5300 is one of the most powerful and fast routers on the market today that can broadcast Wi-Fi signals to all the corners of your house. However, it is also more focused on gamers as well as intense media streaming.

Since it is a little expensive, be prepared to expect a long list of unique and advanced features from this VPN router. The best thing about this router is that it can seamlessly broadcast 3 different types of wireless bands. It means that you get to use one 2.5GHz band at 1000Mbps for older heritage devices and two 5GHz bands at 2167Mbps 802.11 AC.  The logic behind integrating multiple bands is to free up the space for new devices.

With two 5GHz bands, you can spread the incoming traffic and enjoy 4K media streaming and gaming whenever you want. Also, the router comes with a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and 512MB of RAM. Some other noticeable features of ASUS AC5300 includes WAP-2 enterprise encryption, WPA enterprise, Adaptive QoS technology, MU-MIMO technology, and VPN servers.

You can also benefit from other extra features of this device like guest network functionality, link aggression, and 3G and 4G data sharing. There are 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports (where one port is dedicated for connecting to your current modem), one USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0 port as well.

Pros

• Tri-band VPN router
• Revolutionary MU-MIMO technology
• Strong Wi-Fi coverage

Cons

• USB speed is a bit disappointing

#4 – NETGEAR AC2600 (R7800)

With NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S (R7800), you can improve your Wi-Fi coverage and overall browsing experience without facing any lag or interruptions. This device can give you up to 2000 square feet of strong Wi-Fi coverage, thanks to its unique and distinctive features.

The NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S (R7800) is designed and manufactured for serious streaming. It can deliver up to 2300Mbps wireless speed for strenuous activities like online gaming and 4K video streaming. It is a seamless Wi-Fi device that can support up to 35 devices at one time. The router can perceptively select among the dual bands to reduce interference and increase speed for your other smart devices.

With its Armor Advanced Threat Protection feature, you can cancel your expensive anti-virus subscriptions. This security software resides within your router to protect all your connected devices, computers, and smartphones against data theft, viruses, and malware. 

The Circle Smart Parental Control allows you to manage the browsing content access and device screen time. You can also use the application to set the device schedule, usage time limit, filter inappropriate websites, and more for every device in your house.

The Nighthawk App makes it convenient to set up the router. Simply connect the internet Ethernet cable to your router and walk through the guide steps and connect your devices to the network.

Through given Gigabit ports, you can enjoy quick and fast wired connections to your game box and computers. There are two USB ports to share a printer and a storage device across the Wi-Fi network.

Pros

• Easy, five-minute setup
• Parental control feature
• Four 1G wired connections

Cons

• Might fail to hold connections for long

#5 – TP-Link AC1900 (Archer A9)

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Transform your network with this amazing Enhanced Wave 2 AC Wi-Fi performance router. The TP-Link AC1900 Smart Wi-Fi Router has some quality features integrated within its build to make your internet surfing, 4K video streaming, and online games a silky smooth experience. 

It has extreme 11AC Wi-Fi speed and advanced MU-MIMO technology, which is quite ideal for streaming and routine gaming. The router also features Airtime fairness and QoS technology to level up your gaming and web browsing experience even if you are away from the device.

Wave 2 MU-MIMO, as well as its dual-band Wi-Fi, let you connect multiple devices to the router at once. This feature makes it easy for you to handle the networking requirements of all your smart home devices. There are 3 external high-gain antennas and beamforming feature to focus Wi-Fi signals directly to your connected devices.

With the Smart Connect feature, you can also optimize the connection of your devices by switching them to the fastest Wi-Fi band available at the moment. Airtime fairness doesn’t let older devices slow down your internet connection, thus making sure a smooth and lag-free network for your daily use. 

The TP-Link AC1900 Smart Wi-Fi Router provides great security features like access control, parental control, and a VPN server. You can also turn on/off the guest Wi-Fi through Alexa’s smart voice control. The overall setup and management is very easy.  You can set the device through free tether application available on both android and iOS.

Pros

• Works with Alexa
• Connect more devices
• Strong Wi-Fi coverage

Cons

• The user interface could be better

#6 – Syfer VPN Router

With an integrated next-generation firewall, this router is among the best products in the market that you can use to stay protected while using the internet from home.

This VPN router comes with a one-year subscription to the SyferOne service. Once you have consumed that, you have to start using their paid subscription, which is quite minimal for such a high-quality VPN router.

The device itself is very compact. At one side of the device, there is an Ethernet port that you can use to connect with your modem. The opposite side of the unit has another Ethernet port that is to connect with the router. The installation process is simple. You just have to scan the QR code over the Syfer machine to connect with the smartphone application and start using the network.

There is a very strong set of parental controls over the device. It includes all the necessary options such as category-based filters, inappropriate site blocking, and white/blacklist that the user can create to identify the sites individually that are allowed or disallowed.

Moreover, the Syfer Unlimited Smart VPN Router has several security level features that you can shuffle between and choose the one that fits your needs. An added firewall system creates presets and regulations to prevent malware and viruses from taking root over your devices.

Pros

• Parental controls
• Ad or tracker blocker
• Simple design and smart home protection

Cons

• Unable to torrent using this VPN router

#7 – Linksys LRT214 Gigabit VPN Router

If you own a small or medium-sized business and wish to have a secure, reliable computer network for daily use, look no further then Linksys LRT214 Gigabit VPN Router.

This VPN router comes with 4 Ethernet ports and uses remote access VPN skills within a single unit. This device enables you to connect the networks easily and deliver networking access to people even in different locations. It provides up to 50 IPsec tunnels and 5 Open VPN tunnels for users on both iOS and Android phones.

To ensure the protection of your network, the Linksys LRT214 Gigabit VPN Router has an integrated firewall system and provides features like access rules and URL filtering. You can manage the regulation of traffic within the network, depending upon the destination IP address or source.

The Linksys LRT214 Gigabit VPN Router has 802.1q VLAN tagging abilities. It allows data traffic to navigate between multiple local area networks i.e., VLAN with inter-VLAN routing. This feature can provide you with more flexibility by working in large establishments and companies where the employees are present on different floors of the building.

There is a web-faced interface which makes this device simple and easy to install. Many small business owners can easily manage and deploy the routers themselves without needing any help from their professional IT members.

Pros

• Supports transition technologies
• Secure and reliable
• Firewall for more protection and security

Cons

• It is a hardwired unit only

VPN Router Buying Guide

Now that you know about the best products in the market let’s talk about some important factors to consider when buying the best VPN router.

Network Speed

When it comes to choosing a VPN router for your daily use, one of the most important factors to consider is network speed.

You must go for a product that comes with the right level of speed as well as range according to your needs. The Ethernet speed should be fast enough so you can gain maximum benefit from your network connection.

Security

For people looking for a good quality VPN router, considering security is paramount. Creating a VPN should allow you to share and send information as if your device is connected directly to a private network system. It should make your device less vulnerable to virus and malware attacks and should keep your data encrypted while still hiding your identity.

Wireless Bands

A good Wi-Fi router is always a dual-band mode product. These routers are usually available with two antennas so easy to spot from the standard models.  Such units have one antenna dedicated to 2.4GHz and one for 5GHz bands, so there is no need to choose one or another.

If you could get your hands on tri-band routers, that is even better. You can have an extra 5GHz band and improve the amount of available bandwidth if you are doing demanding and high-resolution tasks.

Cost

The cost can be a huge barrier for some people, depending upon the model they decide to purchase. Even with a quality service, there are still options for you that you can use to protect multiple home devices. Buying an already-configured router can cost you somewhere between 150 dollars to 300 dollars plus the subscription fees.

If you want to configure the router by yourself, it will surely not be that expensive. You can easily buy a decent working VPN router under 100 dollars with free and open-source firmware.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

This is the list of our best VPN routers out there. We hope that this article was of help to you and that by now, you are ready to make a well-informed and educated investment from your hard-earned money.

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Sources:

• VPN for Wi-Fi router
• How to install a VPN on your router
• Linksys, What is a VPN Router?
• Setting Up a VPN Router: The Ultimate Guide
• You need to set up VPN on your router | NordVPN
• Netgear, Insight Instant VPN Routers