Short answer: The Asus RT-BE92U is the fastest router we've tested this year on a real home network, holding median latency under 12 ms with 15 devices online. It's the one to beat if you have a gigabit-plus plan and Wi-Fi 7 devices; on a 300 Mbps plan, save your money. Its weak spot is a mobile app that buries the QoS controls.

Asus’s RT-BE92U is the fastest router we’ve tested this year on a real home network, not just a lab bench. Over a 15-device household with two 4K streams, a cloud backup job, and a kid mid-raid on a console, median latency stayed under 12ms.

The good

Throughput on the 6GHz band held above 1.4Gbps at 20 feet through a single drywall wall, which is a genuine jump over last year’s RT-BE88U. Band steering also worked without manual nudging, something we couldn’t say about the previous model.

The annoying part

The AsusWRT mobile app still buries the QoS controls three menus deep, and firmware updates require a manual check rather than a push notification. If you’re coming from a mesh system with a simpler app, budget twenty minutes to find your footing.

Verdict

If you have a gigabit-plus connection and devices that actually support Wi-Fi 7, this is the router to beat. If you’re still on a 300Mbps plan, save the money and look at last year’s model instead.

Short answer: The Orbi 970 is the fastest mesh kit we've tested, and it didn't visibly slow down under a 20-device stress test. It costs $1,199 for a 3-pack, and advanced security and parental controls need a $99/year subscription after the first year. Buy it if you want top speed and can live with that paywall.

The Orbi 970 is the first mesh kit we’ve tested that didn’t visibly slow down under a 20-device stress test, including two simultaneous 4K uploads.

The catch: advanced threat protection and parental controls sit behind a $99/year subscription after the first year. Basic firewall and guest network features stay free, which is the right call, but it’s worth knowing before you buy.