The best Wi-Fi router for small living spaces

Michael Hession

Joel Santo Domingo

Most internet providers will rent you a Wi-Fi router as part of your internet package. But routers you own outright aren’t overly expensive. If you choose a solid router like the TP-Link Archer A7, our budget pick, you can start enjoying an empty line on your monthly bill in no time.

As we do with cable modems, we advocate owning your own router, rather than renting from your internet provider, seemingly forever. Over time, rental fees can add up to over hundreds of dollars, with nothing to show for it after years of payments. After saving an average of $10 per month on rental fees, it would take a short six months to pay for the Archer A7, which you will then own outright.

The Archer A7 hooks directly up to your cable modem, or to your optical network terminal (ONT), if you have fiber internet. It’ll wirelessly connect your phones, laptops, and streaming boxes to the internet, like most routers, but we really like this one. This router has been a budget pick since 2018—an eternity in internet years.

Slow Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi that disconnects often is more frustrating than Wi-Fi that doesn’t connect at all. Out of the routers we’ve tested over the years, the Archer A7 has built a reputation for keeping connections going, even up against routers that cost twice as much or more.

We’ve tested hundreds of routers and mesh networks over the past 10 years. Although the tech behind routers has improved over that time, the Archer A7 and its predecessor, the Archer C7, have been picks for more than half that time (since 2014 for the C7 and 2018 for the A7). The latest iteration (v5) is mostly identical between the Archer A7 and C7, with the former adding Alexa compatibility for your smart home.

We tell people to think about buying a new router when their last one stops working, or if they start losing connections during Zoom conference calls, FaceTime sessions, or while streaming video. These digital lifelines have become even more important during the ongoing pandemic, otherwise known as the work-from-home era.

I’ve used the Archer A7 as a test router for our Wi-Fi extender guides, and we’ll be evaluating it for our updated USB Wi-Fi adapter testing in a few months. It’s my go-to recommendation for folks with smaller homes and one- to three-bedroom apartments.

Wirecutter staffers have bought the Archer A7 and report above-average satisfaction. And former senior staff writer Andrew Cunnigham uses an Archer A7 and a pair of TP-Link extenders as a transportable and easy-to-set-up Wi-Fi network he can control while renting Airbnb homes for vacations.

Although the TP-Link Archer AX50, our top pick in our router guide, will reach farther and is faster, the Archer A7 is certainly good enough for most households that have laptops, phones, streaming boxes, security cameras, and tablets that need Wi-Fi connections. The Archer AX50 is also at least twice the price of the Archer A7, a significant gap.

TP-Link has improved the Archer A7 since we first tested it in 2018, adding features via frequent firmware updates, such as compatibility with TP-Link’s OneMesh extenders.

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• Those frequent updates help squash security threats like FragAttacks.

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• It’s particularly suited to smaller spaces, such as apartments and compact, single-story homes.

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• Although the top picks in our Wi-Fi router guide outperformed the Archer A7 overall in speed and long range, the Archer A7 held its own and surpassed other routers costing double the price or more.

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Read more in our guide to the best Wi-Fi routers.

Internet security is a moving target, and one of the best ways to keep you and your family safe is to be sure your router’s firmware is up to date. The Archer A7 has the benefit of being updated multiple times per year, since its introduction in 2018. The latest firmware update takes care of security concerns beyond the recent FragAttacks vulnerabilities. But what is really important is that TP-Link quickly responds to issues and releases fixes regularly. That’s not something that can be said about lesser-supported products, even ones we’ve chosen as picks.

The best time to buy a new router is when your current router isn’t sufficient for your needs. If you’re still using a router you bought before 2014, then it’s probably time to upgrade.

Otherwise, the Archer A7 occasionally can be found on Wirecutter’s Deals page for a lower price. We see deals on refurbished models every couple of months, and it’s one of the picks we continually monitor.