6 of the Best Wi-Fi Routers With Parental Controls in 2024

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Evan Shephard
Updated Jun 18, 2024 8:37 PM
best parental control router guide that shows the top best router model

A whopping 75% of electronic and appliance reviews are untrustworthy. That’s why every reviewer gets a Trust Rating so our True Score System filters out the fake reviews. See how we do it.

When choosing the best Wi-Fi routers with parental controls, look for models that offer robust security, ease of use, and reliable performance. Features like user-friendly setup, effective bandwidth management, and comprehensive parental controls are crucial. Out of 37 routers evaluated, 6 stood out due to their exceptional performance in our certification.

We analyzed 193,353 reviews, and many experts failed our trustworthiness standards. Our unique approach uses our proprietary True Score system to filter out fake and low-quality reviews, ensuring the winning routers excel in real-world testing and parental control features. These excellent routers offer the best balance of speed, reliability, and ease of use for families.

How Did We Rank the Best Wi-Fi Routers With Parental Controls?

When it comes to finding the best Wi-Fi routers with parental controls, our guide stands out due to our meticulous research process. We reviewed over 200 websites, analyzing testing methods and reviews from both customers and experts. This comprehensive approach allowed us to identify 2 vital test results, 2 useful features, and 1 crucial specification. Our guide simplifies your decision-making, presenting only the top routers that excel in performance and parental control capabilities.

Our commitment to unbiased reviews is powered by our ‘True Score’ system, targeting low quality and fake reviews. When you shop through our links, you’re backing our mission. Dive deeper to see how.

?️ Minimum Specifications

  • Must have parental controls.

? Test Criteria

  • 2.4 GHz Download Speed: A download speed on the 2.4 GHz band of at least 50 Mbits.
  • 5 GHz Download Speed: A download speed on the 5 GHz band of at least 200 Mbits.

? “Nice To Haves”

  • Router Range: A range of at least 50 feet before the signal from the router begins to become noticeably weaker.
  • Latency: A latency of 30 ms or less.

Latest Updates

  • 06/18/2024: Republished the list to include the best Wi-Fi routers with parental controls based on our True Score system.

Top Wi-Fi Routers With Parental Controls For 2024

Prices accurate at the time of publishing

See how we test the testers

  • Runner Up

    Best Value

    Best Budget

    gr recommended award

    Best Mid-Range

    Asus ROG GT-AXE16000

    • Best For Vpn

    If top-notch parental controls are a priority, consider the Asus ROG GT-AXE16000. Its exceptional speeds ensure reliable internet for efficient monitoring.

    Asus ROG GT-AXE16000 Review →

    True Score

    85
    85
    5

    Experts

    89
    1k

    Customers

    SAVE $251
    $699.99
    $449.00
  • Runner Up

    Best Value

    Best Budget

    gr recommended award

    Best Mid-Range

    Asus RT-AX86S

    • Best For Long Range

    The Asus RT-AX86S is a budget-friendly router with parental controls. Its impressive speeds and versatile features make it a solid choice for any household.

    Asus RT-AX86S Review →

    True Score

    84
    82
    3

    Experts

    89
    1k

    Customers

    SAVE $112
    $249.99
    $137.95
  • Runner Up

    Best Value

    Best Budget

    gr recommended award

    Best Mid-Range

    Asus ROG GT6 Mesh

    • Best For Streaming

    The Asus ROG GT6 Mesh excels in parental controls and performance, making it ideal for households with heavy internet usage and diverse needs.

    Asus ROG GT6 Mesh Review →

    True Score

    83
    83
    6

    Experts

    86
    4k

    Customers

    SAVE $30
    $479.99
    $449.99
  • Runner Up

    Best Value

    Best Budget

    gr recommended award

    Best Mid-Range

    TP-Link Archer AXE75

    • Best For Secure

    The TP-Link Archer AXE75 offers robust parental controls and impressive performance, making it ideal for families and small businesses on a budget.

    TP-Link Archer AXE75 Review →

    True Score

    81
    80
    4

    Experts

    86
    2k

    Customers

    $160.00
  • Runner Up

    Best Value

    Best Budget

    gr recommended award

    Best Mid-Range

    Eero Max 7

    The Eero Max 7 offers exceptional speeds, extensive coverage, and robust parental controls, making it a top-tier choice for high-performance home networks.

    Eero Max 7 Review →

    True Score

    81
    80
    7

    Experts

    86
    224

    Customers

    SAVE $150
    $599.99
    $449.99
  • Runner Up

    Best Value

    Best Budget

    gr recommended award

    Best Mid-Range

    Eero Pro 6E

    The Eero Pro 6E offers impressive speeds and robust parental controls, making it ideal for families seeking seamless connectivity and online safety.

    Eero Pro 6E Review →

    True Score

    79
    78
    12

    Experts

    85
    6k

    Customers

    SAVE $90
    $249.99
    $159.99

Which Criteria Matters for Testing Best Wi-Fi Routers With Parental Controls?

By focusing on these criteria (2 required, 2 nice to have), anyone can quickly and easily compare these routers and how they’ll perform. This helps you make an informed decision and purchase a router that will meet your needs.

CRITERIARANGEREQUIREDDEFINITION
2.4 GHz Download Speed> 50 Mbits/sYesThe maximum speed that the router can reach when downloading on the 2.4 GHz band.
5 GHz Download Speed> 200 Mbits/sYesThe maximum speed that the router can reach when downloading on the 5 GHz band.
Router Range > 50 ftNo (Nice to have)How far a device can be from a router before the signal starts degrading. It is worth noting that 2.4 GHz reaches further than 5 GHz.
Latency< 30 msNo (Nice to have)The delay that is created by a signal being sent by the router and then received.

Our Trusted Data Sources

We looked at 120+ router reviewers and found that 46 are trustworthy (60%+ Trust Rating). The three we have listed below are our most trusted for routers.

  1. James Morris – Kit Guru, LinkedIn
  2. Matt Spencer – TechGearLab, LinkedIn
  3. Brian Nadel – Tom’s Guide, MuckRack

Interested in a comprehensive analysis of our data sources? We’ve got you covered. Below, you’ll find a detailed list of every router review website we’ve identified, organized by their respective Trust Ratings from highest to lowest. But we didn’t stop there. We’ve meticulously reviewed each publication and verified the data by checking whether the authors have bio links to MuckRack or LinkedIn. We’re committed to not only checking the facts but ensuring their veracity.

Router Test Data & Results

Disclaimer:

Evaluating router performance is more than hardware analysis. While hardware tests are straightforward, the challenge lies in contextualizing the results within the limits of real-world usage. Routers operate under conditions that testers cannot fully standardize, including variations in Internet Service Providers (ISPs), network traffic congestion, discrepancies between advertised and actual internet speeds, and the physical layout of homes. These factors introduce a degree of unpredictability, making it hard to draw universal conclusions. As such, our router recommendations aim to provide useful general guidance, accommodating a wide range of home environments and internet setups.

1. 2.4 GHz Download Speed (Mbits/s)

The oldest and slowest of the bands on a router is the 2.4 GHz band, but it sticks around for a reason. Generally speaking, while this band features the slowest available speeds and has the lowest bandwidth, but also reaches out the furthest. It’s not the best band to connect to connect if you need high speeds, but if you just need to be connected for light browsing or anything that’s low bandwidth, it works. Alternatively, if you own a lot of old devices, this band may be the only band they can “see” and therefore, use.

Given the age of the band, top speeds on 2.4 GHz cap out very quickly. We recommend a speed of at least 50 Mbits/s, but if you aren’t really going to be using this band for anything other than checking web pages, you can go lower. It’s worth noting, though, that this might lead to a more frustrating and laggier time on modern sites with lots of scripting and high-quality images.

2.4 GHz Download Speed (Mbits/s; higher is better; 0 = No Data)

2. 5 GHz Download Speed (Mbits/s)

The much faster 5 GHz band offers up much greater bandwidth and is much, much better at meeting high-speed demands. Streaming high-quality video, using streaming services, gaming, downloading large files and games – the 5 GHz band is what makes all of these activities quick and bearable. It reaches a lower range than the 2.4 GHz band, but it’s also much faster, so you’ll use it more, especially on newer devices that actually support the band.

Given how much you’ll be using this band, we recommend a speed of at least 200 Mbits/s to ensure you’re able to enjoy streaming and gaming on at least a few devices simultaneously. Any lower and you start to run into real bottleneck concerns, such as endless buffering, lagging, or drops in connection.

5 GHz Download Speed (Mbits/s; higher is better; 0 = No Data)

3. Router Range (ft)

Router range is exactly what the name suggests: how far can you get from the router before you start experiencing issues with your connection? The complicating factor is the simple fact that range depends on the band you’re using. 2.4 GHz is a band that offers greater range, so it gives tests results that show a greater range than tests that use the 5 GHz band. In general, our research found most publications used the 5 GHz band, so our recommendations are based on that.

As such, we recommend your router have a range of at least 50 ft. This gives you a good “bubble” around the router that you can connect to, but it’s important to know that things like the walls in your home can cause issues. Thicker walls block more signal, thinner walls block less. Some materials will also do a better job than others will at stopping signal, so if you see a router with a range of 65 ft, know that it might not reach that far in your home. It could reach further – or not nearly as far. This is also why you get dead zones in your home – it’s a matter of geometry and materials.

Router Range (ft; higher is better; 0 = No Data)

4. Latency (ms)

On a router, latency refers to how long it takes for the router to send out and receive a signal. The longer it takes, the more delay there is between you sending and receiving data, which can introduce lag in video games and also makes video conferencing harder since the person you’re speaking with now has to contend with your delay and vice versa. If you’ve ever spent a call talking over someone because you don’t know they started talking a second ago, that’s latency.

For that reason, we recommend a latency below 30 ms. As low as you can get it is obviously preferable, but latency is another aspect of your internet connection that is hard to manage. Latency differs to every single place you connect to, and every ISP has its own latency they “add” because you have to connect to their service too. Latency creeps in from your ISP, from the site you’re requesting data from, from your router, and from your own onboard Wi-Fi antenna – and that’s just to name a few sources. If you’re gaming, you also have a delay introduced by your connection to game servers and the delay that exists on a hardware level when you input commands.

Latency (ms; lower is better; 0 = No Data)

Best Wi-Fi Routers With Parental Controls: Mistakes To Avoid

  1. Underestimating Coverage Requirements: Not considering the size and layout of your space can result in poor coverage. Evaluate your area and choose a router that provides sufficient range. For larger or more complex spaces, consider a mesh Wi-Fi system.

  2. Disregarding Speed Requirements: Ignoring your speed needs can result in network slowdowns. Ensure the router can handle high speeds, especially if you have many devices or use data-intensive applications like streaming and gaming.

  3. Choosing a Complex Management Interface: Opting for a router with a complicated setup and management process can be frustrating. Look for routers with user-friendly interfaces and parental control apps that simplify configuration and monitoring.

  4. Forgetting to Check for Regular Firmware Updates: Skipping routers that offer regular firmware updates can leave your network vulnerable. Choose routers from reputable brands that provide frequent updates to ensure security and performance.

The Best Wi-Fi Routers With Parental Controls Tests Compared

Product
True Score
2.4 GHz D/L Speed
5 Ghz D/L Speed
6 GHz D/L Speed
Range
Latency
85
  • 112.88 Mbits/s

  • 639.05 Mbits/s

  • 615.19 Mbits/s

  • 0

  • 69 ms

$449.00
$700
$251

Asus RT-AX86S

  • Best for Long Range

84
  • 89 Mbits/s

  • 563 Mbits/s

  • 0

  • 140 ft

  • 15 ms

$137.95
$250
$112

Asus ROG GT6 Mesh

  • Best for Streaming

83
  • 139.35 Mbits/s

  • 701.28 Mbits/s

  • 0

  • 95 ft

  • 21.89 ms

$449.99
$480
$30

TP-Link Archer AXE75

  • Best for Secure

81
  • 65.05 Mbits/s

  • 309.1 Mbits/s

  • 317.9 Mbits/s

  • 60 ft

  • 9 ms

$160.00

Eero Max 7

  • Best for Apple

81
  • 95.9 Mbits/s

  • 1,078.48 Mbits/s

  • 1,222.5 Mbits/s

  • 90 ft

  • 7 ms

$449.99
$600
$150

Eero Pro 6E

  • Best for Google Fiber

79
  • 214.83 Mbits/s

  • 546.99 Mbits/s

  • 777.42 Mbits/s

  • 85 ft

  • 0

$159.99
$250
$90

Wi-Fi Routers with Parental Controls Questions (FAQ)

What features should I look for in the best WiFi router with parental controls?

When choosing the best WiFi router with parental controls, look for features such as robust content filtering, time management, user profiles, and activity monitoring. Advanced features like app-specific controls and age-appropriate settings can also be beneficial for managing internet usage effectively.

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