Saved for later, ty!

Honestly if youre looking at $200 and have a ton of gadgets, you really want something with solid OFDMA and MU-MIMO support to handle the airtime congestion - thats usually where cheap routers fail. I always suggest checking out SmallNetBuilder or Dong Knows Tech for their "charts" section. They do some serious deep-dive testing on throughput under load that most tech sites totally miss. Tbh, within that budget, the ASUS RT-AX86S is a beast for multiple devices. Its got a great processor to handle the traffic overhead, and the community support is top-tier because it supports third-party firmware like Asuswrt-Merlin if you ever want to get nerdy with it. Another solid option thats been getting a lot of praise lately in the forums is the TP-Link Archer AX80. Its basically built for high-capacity environments and stays right under that $200 mark. Just make sure to look at the latency benchmarks on those resource sites, not just the "max speed" stickers on the box!

No way, I literally just dealt with this yesterday. Small world.

Saving this whole thread. So much good info here you guys are awesome.

Building on the earlier suggestion, I am right there with you trying to keep everything running without spending a fortune. I have been super happy with how my network handles things lately, no complaints at all, but the cost of the actual gadgets is what usually gets me. I am always looking for ways to save a few bucks on the tech itself so I am not just throwing money away.

• picked up some refurbished sensors last month
• found a deal on those budget cameras
• skip the name brand stuff whenever I can Honestly tho, I spent way too long yesterday trying to fix a smart sprinkler system I got on clearance. It wouldnt connect and I ended up getting soaked because the timer went off while I was standing right in front of it. At least the grass is happy... My neighbor definitely got a good laugh out of it. Anyway lol sorry I totally went off on a tangent there.

Bump - same question here

Commenting to find later

Building on the earlier suggestion about the ASUS gear, I gotta say the RT-AX86S really is the sweet spot for a crowded house. I was in the same boat last year when my smart home setup hit about 45 devices and everything started lagging out. Swapped to a similar ASUS AX model and honestly, I havent had to reboot it once. Its been working well for over a year now. People forget that the cpu and ram are what actually manage the connections, not just the wifi speed. Here is what I look for when I analyze these specs:

• Processor: Look for a quad-core chip. It handles the packet queueing way better so your zoom calls dont drop when someone else starts a download.
• RAM: You want at least 512MB. More ram means the router can maintain a larger state table for all those concurrent connections.
• Hardware Offloading: This helps move traffic without taxing the main cpu too much. I used a handy holiday tool to track the price on mine and snagged it right around $180. Im totally satisfied with how it handles the load... no complaints here even with three of us gaming at once.

Netgear Nighthawk here! Seriously upgraded my garage streaming. Love it, rock solid for about $180!

Before buying, check if your devices support Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax). Older gadgets might not benefit from a newer, expensive router. A used enterprise-grade access point like Ubiquiti might be a better value.

Netgear's market share is solid. Research router specs vs. your needs; $200 range is competitive.

Hey! $200 is tight, but check out TP-Link Archer A7! It's often on sale for around $60! Maybe use the savings for a faster internet plan? Just a thought!

Before speeds, consider router security! I've had good luck with ASUS for years; their firewalls seem robust. Happy with my RT-AC68U. Never had any intrusions, and it's still working well after 5 years.

DIY'ing router config is awesome! But for max security, consider a pro setup. Netgear Orbi's great though!