Similarly, Quality of Service (QoS) is limited to devices only. But it means you cannot block specific apps, which is something parents usually look for. Parental controls are limited to URL filtering and time schedules no other options are available. Once we get into the feature list, it’s clearer to see why the AX10 is a cheaper option. This is about as far as the similarities go. Again, very close performance to the AX50 and still suitable for AT&T plans of 300 Mbps or below. Once we moved to about 25 feet from the router, we were able to get 351.81 Mbps. However, when on sale, it is not uncommon to find the AX10 at half the price of the AX50. That is considerably close in performance to the AX50. That means plenty of bandwidth (as long as your AT&T plan supports it) for streaming movies, gaming, video calls, or heavy browsing without skipping a beat. The TP-Link Archer AX10 measured 651.97 Mbps using the 5 GHz band and Wi-Fi 6. performance proposition of the TP-Link Archer AX50 mentioned above.īut if you have any of the DSL plans (or even the 300 Mbps AT&T fiber plan), you can get away with paying less for the AX10 without sacrificing performance. It’s more than capable of handling all but the fastest AT&T Fiber 5 plans. Overall, the TP-Link Archer A7 is one of the best budget options out there. Meaning you can throttle the speed of specific endpoints, but not by service or application. No application filtering is available, though. It has basic parental controls, allowing you to filter URLs and set time limit schedules for your kids. In this case, you will usually end up better off just purchasing a mesh system. However, that means buying yet another router. So you can pair it up with another compatible TP-Link router and create a seamless mesh network. But it does bring some great functionality that will be enough for most.įor starters, it is compatible with TP-Link’s OneMesh™. So, while it does have a good range, degradation is significant when distance comes into play.īut at the proper distance, the Archer A7 is more than capable of handling HD streaming and regular browsing for a family of 2-4 people without any hiccups.Īs you might expect from its price point, it does not have the latest features in the market. It measured 123.51 Mbps at 25 feet and only 57.31 Mbps at 50 feet. As the Archer A7 did not fair too well at more considerable distances. That would only work for small-sized homes, though. But at 25% of the price, the difference might be negligible. If you are on a tight budget, you can get away with using it even with the 500 Mbps plan. If you have any AT&T internet plan below 500 Mbps, this $60 router might be all you need.Īt 5 feet, the TP-Link Archer A7 came in at a respectable 438.39 Mbps on the 5 GHz band during our tests. Other features like guest networks, security notifications, and more are also present.Īll in all, the TP-Link AX50 is a powerhouse for almost all AT&T plans at an almost unbeatable price point.

HomeCare™ also includes application QoS (Quality of Service), enabling you to direct most of your bandwidth to your favorite applications.īut you also have the option to configure QoS by device using the router’s regular menu. Allowing you to add and customize things like profiles, content filtering, blocking applications, URL filtering, and time limits. It offers TP-Link’s HomeCare™ parental controls. The AX50 does not lack features, especially taking its price into account. Still, it should suffice for most small and medium-sized homes without any problems. But it did degrade significantly past that distance.Īt 50 feet, we were only able to get around 155 Mbps. Placing ourselves a bit farther away, at 25 feet, it still measured a respectable 371.87 Mbps. Again, still more than capable of handling all but the fastest plan. Plenty for all but the most extreme AT&T plans.Įven its Wi-Fi 5 speeds are more than enough, clocking 533.97 Mbps during our tests. But if you’re with AT&T, you are in luck.Ĭonsidering that 8 out of 9 AT&T plans are below 500 Mbps, the TP-Link AX50 is almost a no-brainer.Īt 5 feet on the 5 GHz band, it registered speeds of 690.52 Mbps while on Wi-Fi 6. It’s not every day we can recommend a sub $150 router as the best overall. Let’s start with what was, without a doubt, the most challenging choice of all.

Att modem vs router