The Cheapest Wi-Fi Router. Choosing a Budget Router for Home

I decided to prepare a separate article, and talk about choosing the cheapest router. Let’s consider the most budget options that are on sale. We will consider inexpensive models, with prices up to 15 euros. And despite the fact that in the article on choosing a router for home, I advised not to buy a router without a USB port, and support for 802.11ac (wi-fi 5GHz), there are situations where there is no opportunity to buy an expensive router, and you need to save as much as possible. Yes, and not seldom router is needed to distribute the Internet for a couple of devices in a small room, and without a serious load. In this case, there is no point in overpaying for unnecessary features and technologies. The most budget router will be enough.

In this article, we will not go into detail in all the technical characteristics and subtleties of the choice, I wrote about it in the article, a link to which I gave above. Our task is to choose a router, the price of which will not be more expensive than 15 dollars (+ – -). Most of such routers I have already tested, and they are now in my collection:). But, I’ll be honest, I don’t have a lot of experience in long-term use of an inexpensive router. I just have a lot of devices in my house, a heavy load, and working through such a router is not quite right.

In this price category, I found routers from manufacturers: TP-Link, Tenda, D-Link, Totolink, Netis. These are the most popular. ASUS, or Zyxel, do not have such budget models at all. There you will have to increase the budget for the purchase. If you look in popular online stores, all these budget models are very popular among buyers, judging by the reviews. They collect the most reviews. And this does not mean that there are more problems and breakdowns with them, just because of their price, they are more popular. And the reviews there are no worse than for expensive models. Although, reviews of routers is generally a topic for a separate article.

Budget router for home

In the process of choosing and using an inexpensive router, there are nuances and possible problems. Although, all this is not excluded and when using expensive models, which can not always boast of stable operation and quality.

Let’s highlight the following points:

• The stability of the Wi-Fi network and the router as a whole.
• Wi-Fi network coverage and connection speed. We know that routers like to cut the speed of the Internet. And budget models even more so.
• Limited functionality, lack of different features and technologies. It is clear that buying a budget model, it will not be stuffed with the latest technologies.
• The quality of the router itself, appearance, operating time.

Unstable operation of a cheap router

This is probably the most popular problem of cheap models. The fact is that budget devices are built on weak platforms. Weak processors, a small amount of RAM. All this can affect the stability of the router. Especially at times of load. When watching online videos, downloading files, torrents, online games, when connecting a large number of devices. If you plan to do all of the things I just listed, then you’d better consider more expensive router models.

All this is manifested by a complete freezing of the router, when the Internet starts working only after a reboot, a strong drop in speed and ping, failures of connection on the Wi-Fi network. Therefore, if you have a lot of devices, you plan to simultaneously on several devices to watch video, or even worse, to play online games and download large files, you have a Smart TV, I would not advise you to buy the cheapest model of router. It is better to find another option according to this article.

No one can tell you whether this or that model will work stably. This is almost impossible, since everything depends on a huge number of different factors. And if everything worked cool on the most budget models, then why would they make routers that are 10 or more times more expensive.

Wi-Fi network coverage radius and internet speeds

Wi-Fi network coverage is one of the main questions that interests almost everyone in the process of choosing a router. According to my observations, budget models are not always worse than more expensive ones in terms of wi-fi network coverage. As a rule, all these “babies” come with one or two Wi-Fi antennas, but these antennas are powerful. There may also be internal antennas. But the number of antennas affects the stability of the Wi-Fi network more than the coverage. I think that for a small two-room apartment such a router should be enough. But it’s a stretch. Most likely there will be places where there will be no coverage of Wi-Fi network.

But again, it all depends on the model you choose, on a huge number of external factors, and the location of the router in the house or apartment. Neither I nor anyone else can tell you the specific model that will provide a signal throughout your home. Here are only guesses and assumptions.

A few words about the speed of the Internet via Wi-Fi and cable. If your ISP gives you 100 Mbps, you will most likely see about 90 Mbps on the cable from the router. Maybe even all 100. On wi-fi, of course, the situation will be different. We know that routers cut the speed on wi-fi. This is normal in principle. But how much this speed will be cut depends on many different factors:

• The power of the router itself. And we already know that budget models are underpowered. Therefore, they can cut the speed more than more expensive models.
• From the type of internet connection. It is best when the provider uses Dynamic IP (DHCP) technology. Since PPPoE, L2TP, PPTP create an additional load on the router.
• Also the speed largely depends on the device that you connect to the Internet.
• And on a huge number of other external factors: interference, walls, signal strength, etc.

Almost all models that we will consider today work at a maximum speed of up to 150 Mbps. But, there are several models in this price category, which can give the maximum, theoretically possible speed of 300 Mbps. That can also affect how much the router will cut the speed of wi-fi.

Modest technical specifications and functionality

It’s understandable. The less we pay, the less we get. As I wrote above, the budget model will be deprived of all modern technologies. For example, it will definitely not support the new 802.11ac standard. Well, and of course there will be no support for broadcasting Wi-Fi network at a frequency of 5GHz. There will be no USB port, gigabit LAN and WAN ports, and other chips. For this price category, this is normal.

As for the functionality and settings, even on the cheap models there is almost everything the same as on more expensive ones. For example, there is the ability to run a guest Wi-Fi network, there are different modes of router operation (repeater, adapter, client, access point), there is parental control, and a bunch of different settings. So in terms of functionality there are no strong differences. Of course, everything depends on the specific manufacturer and model. The control panel itself, according to my observations, is no different. Only some settings can be cut out, which cannot be there because of the peculiarities of the hardware.

Quality, appearance, uptime

If you care about such points as the quality of assembly, the quality of the case itself, the appearance of the router, the presence of different buttons, size, etc., then here inexpensive models lose a little.

Most of these routers are made in a very compact case. And I agree that the more expensive variants look better and cooler of course. In all manufacturers. But as for the quality of plastic and assembly, then according to my observations, there are no serious differences. If a company makes expensive models from good materials and assembles them qualitatively, then the budget category does not suffer much here. Everything is at the level.

Of course, the economy is noticeable. And most often it is manifested by non-removable antennas, the lack of separate buttons (for power off, activation of WPS, disabling wi-fi, resetting settings), the lack of rubberized feet and mounting on the wall (but not on all models). Well and sometimes manufacturers make not 4 LAN ports, as we are used to see, but for example 3, 2, or even 1. But again, it’s hard to cram 4 LAN ports and 1 WAN into such a compact case. But there are exceptions.

I haven’t conducted any tests and I can’t say how long a budget router will last and how expensive a model is. But again, according to my observations, cheaper variants break down more often. Here also affects the economy on components, power adapters.

Models of inexpensive Wi-Fi routers for home or apartment

I do not like to advise specific models. This is generally wrong. So, it’s better not to ask me in the comments about it 🙂

Below we will look at the cheapest routers you can find on sale. I think these models will be relevant for a long time to come. Almost all the routers I will write about below, I tested and configured. And all of them fully correspond to their small price.

Netis WF2411 and other affordable models from Netis

I have the Netis WF2411 model. It’s generally one of the very, very cheap routers. But I really liked it. Small, interesting and high-quality body, easy setup. Works well in the mode of a repeater (Wi-Fi network amplifier). You can use it as an adapter to connect your PC to the Internet via wi-fi.

Netis WF2411 setup instructions: /netis/netis-router-setting-up-by-the-example-of-netis-wf2411/

Netis has other budget-friendly options: the Netis WF2411E, Netis WF2411R, Netis WF2419, and Netis WF2419E. The last two models will be a bit more expensive. But they are better in terms of performance. They already have a maximum Wi-Fi speed of up to 300 Mbps. If there is an opportunity, it is better to take them.

The most budget routers from TP-Link

At the moment, three models fall under our budget: TP-Link TL-WR720N (the most affordable), TP-Link TL-WR740N, and TP-Link TL-WR840N. You can see a detailed review of each model at the links.

Many people have probably heard about TP-Link TL-WR740N. It is a very popular and really popular model. It is a very popular router, first of all due to its price and technical characteristics.

TP-Link TL-WR740N configuration instructions: /tp-link/how-to-configure-tp-link-tl-wr740n-wi-fi-setting-and-the-internet/. You can find instructions on how to configure other models from this manufacturer in the TP-Link section.

If you have the opportunity to increase your budget a bit, I recommend considering the TP-LINK TL-WR841N(ND) model. Also a good and popular router.

Inexpensive home router options from Tenda

I currently have the Tenda N301 model. And I’m also familiar with the Tenda N3 (but it’s no longer seen for sale). There is also a Tenda N150 model, the Tenda F3. I can safely recommend these inexpensive routers. Easy control panel. Everything is there, and everything works.

Several models from D-Link

I recently bought a model D-Link DIR-300A. It fits our budget. Very interesting router with an unusual shape. Normal control panel. True, the page with settings on all D-Links I do not like very much. There is also an inexpensive model D-link DIR-300S/A1A, D-Link DIR-615/K.

Budget routers Totolink

Recently got acquainted with routers from the company Totolink. More precisely with one, Totolink N150RT. From this price category there is an even more expensive model Totolink N300RT. The latter model supports Wi-Fi speeds of up to 300 Mbps. This one is clear from the name.

Totolink N150RT is a good device. N300RT is definitely not worse. Everything is very easy to set up and works without problems. Interesting, small body. It has all the necessary buttons and ports. There is a button to turn off the power. Which is rare on routers for this price. And there’s also a cool sliding top cover for additional cooling.

Conclusions

If the task of buying a router is to maximize savings, you can buy one of the cheapest models from one of the manufacturers. Everything will work, the only question is how. If you buy a budget router for a huge house, and plan to connect to it a large number of different devices, load the network to the full program, it is certainly silly. The router will most likely just “hang”, and withdraw after a reboot.

And if you have, for example, a small apartment, or a private home, a few phones, tablets, and computers, you do not play heavy online games, and do not pump torrents at the same time, then even an inexpensive router will cope with these tasks. As you realize, it is impossible to single out the number of devices or tasks with which a budget router can no longer cope.

You should always focus on the tasks that the router will perform. If you, for example, you need to organize a shared access to a USB-drive, then the routers discussed in this article will not suit you. Because there is no USB port. And you need to look for the cheapest router with a USB port (if your budget is limited). If you need an inexpensive router with support for 3G/4G modems, then you need to start from the models that support work with USB modems, and look for the best option among them.

Try to buy a more expensive model, as far as possible based on your budget. Just a router you buy not for a month or two. And you need it to work stably for a long time, and that its power was with a reserve. After all, after some time, you may want to connect some more devices. But the router can no longer cope with them, and you will have to buy a new model. And it will turn out that you wanted to save money, but paid several times more.

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Ramón

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