Firstly, you want to make sure that you have one of the best wireless routers to ensure you have a good starting signal – you might find that an upgrade here will fix your WiFi woes and you won’t need to spend extra cash on one of the best WiFi boosters. If you’ve decided that you already have decent WiFi in your home and you want a booster to extend the signal, next you need to consider which type of WiFi booster is right for you. Some of the best WiFi boosters are simply wireless signal extenders, whereas others send signals over the powerlines of your home. You also have the option of beating those WiFi dead spots with plug in socket WiFi extenders. Save yourself from the frustration of poor-quality Zoom calls, never-ending internet loading screens, and laggy game connections with one of the best WiFi boosters from this helpful guide. If you want a guaranteed strong internet signal, then the wired best ethernet switches (opens in new tab) would be your best bet, specifically when paired with the best home computers (opens in new tab) and best laptops (opens in new tab).
1. Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000: Best WiFi booster overall
The Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000 (opens in new tab) is a tri-band WiFi booster that simply outperforms nearly every other home-based WiFi booster out there. By that we means it’s super fast, has a long range, is easy to setup and use, looks great, and future-proofs you for a long time to come. As such this is also one of the more expensive WiFi extenders available on this list. This desktop unit comes with features like Netgear’s FastLane3 tech which uses the third of those tri-bands to offer a dedicated channel to move data from the router, ensuring maximum bandwidth before pushing it out further. You also get MU-MIMO and beamforming tech to ensure speeds are high even with lots of devices connected at once. You can use multiple X6S units to create a mesh style network and this will also work with a LAN cable as an access point if you have that option. Setup is speedy and real world speeds hit as much as 526 Mbps. All that means this makes light work of 4K HDR video streams and more, all over even larger properties.
Read our Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000 review (opens in new tab)
2. Linksys RE7000 Max-Stream: Best for budgets
The Linksys RE7000 Max-Stream (opens in new tab) WiFi extender is a great option for anyone that wants an easy setup and a low cost. This budget friendly socket WiFi extender features a useful dead spot finder and LED light to help you find the best spot to plug in this unit. The WPS button means this can be as easy as a button press to have it connected to your network and running right away. MU-MIMO support across four internal antennas amounts to AC1900 802.11ac WiFi which offered up to a massive 450 Mbps in our testing. A truly impressive performance on a unit at this price.
Read our Linksys RE7000 Max-Stream review (opens in new tab)
3. TP-Link RE650 AC2600: Best compact socket extender
The TP-Link RE650 AC2600 (opens in new tab) extender is a WiFi wonder in a very compact package. Yes, for a socket extender this is on the larger end, but that’s thanks to how much power this little AC2600 rated unit offers. The 802.11ac offers a quad stream with MU-MIMO and beamforming tech that are good for a claimed 14,000 square feet of property space. This looks decent for a socket unit, features a LAN port to act as an access point, is backed by a genuinely decent app, comes with a two year warranty and 24/7 customer support. It’s also very easy to setup and use, making this ideal for a WiFi extender beginner who wants big power and range without taking any effort. Expect up to 525 Mbps from this extender which, as you’d imagine, is priced at the higher end of the spectrum.
Read our TP-Link RE650 AC2600 review (opens in new tab)
4. Trendnet WiFi Everywhere Powerline 1200 AV2: Best powerline extender
The Trendnet WiFi Everywhere Powerline 1200 AV2 (opens in new tab) is the only unit on this list which uses your power lines to transmit data. It stands out from the rest as this combines the best of powerline tech with the latest smarts from the WiFi extender world. That means you can get a range of nearly 1,000 feet and without worries about losing speed. This uses dual-band AC1200 Wi-Fi with MIMO beamforming smarts so it works across lots of devices at once, offering high-bandwidth speeds. Want more? This supports up to eight extender units and even offers three LAN ports on each for maximum speeds. All that and this isn’t even that pricey. So if you’ve got a home with wiring that covers the property as a whole, then this is a really great way to extend your broadband range.
Read our Trendnet WiFi Everywhere Powerline 1200 AV2 review (opens in new tab)
5. Amped Wireless Athena-EX RE2600M: Best for raw power range
The Amped Wireless Athena-EX RE2600M WiFi extender is a desktop model packing in super speed quad dual-band 5dBi high-gain antennas. These standout on the design as they’re the showpiece, backed by a whopping 16 amplifiers and 800 mW of pure power. All that equates to AC2600 802.11ac WiFi which can extend up to a whopping 15,000 square feet. It also uses MU-MIMO tech to ensure multiple devices connected at once all get high speeds. The company’s BoostBand tech is essentially a backchannel meaning this gets the maximum amount of data from the router before sending it on. For power users this is the extender that is made to keep up.
Read our Amped Wireless Athena-EX RE2600M review (opens in new tab)
6. D-Link N300 DAP-1325: Best for ease of use
The D-Link N300 DAP-1325 (opens in new tab) WiFi extender is another budget friendly option that’s ridiculously easy to setup and use. Simply tap the WPS button and you’re good to go. Failing that the app has a setup wizard that makes customizing your setup very straight forward too. This extender is rated AC1200 but tops out at 300Mbps. That means this isn’t going to be as fast as any of the others on this list but it is very easy to use. The range is limited but for smaller scale use, where top-end speeds aren’t always needed, this will do the job well.
Read our D-Link N300 DAP-1325 review (opens in new tab)
