Is the R6700AX right for you?

The R6700AX has great speeds and a decently long range for the money. It even has a built-in VPN server and client, so you can stay protected as you surf the internet. But the subscription fees you need to get the most out of this router make it an expensive investment.

R6700AX standout features

There’s not a lot to say about the R6700AX. It’s a budget router, so you won’t find a lot of features at this price. But it includes a built-in VPN server and client and a built-in speed test tool that probably gives you a more accurate reading than a web browser or app.

Compare the R6700AX to the competition

The biggest competitor to the R6700AX we’ve tested so far is the TP-Link Archer AX20. It’s nearly identical in features but adds a USB port and basic free parental controls. It’s a little slower than the R6700AX, but not enough to notice.

The only other comparable router on our list is the TP-Link Archer A10. It’s a Wi-Fi 5 router, so a single device will never reach speeds over 700Mbps. But the big selling point with the A10 is load: it has twice the number of streams as the R6700AX and AX20.

See our full coverage of the best Wi-Fi 6 routers.

Our R6700AX scoring breakdown

* out of 5 points

Are there any additional costs?

This router’s low initial sticker price looks great. The catch? You must pay additional fees to reach the R6700AX’s true potential. There are three subscriptions you can add to the R6700AX to use features that often come at no cost with other routers.

NETGEAR Armor Powered by Bitdefender is a good example: it costs $99.99 annually for antivirus, Bitdefender’s VPN service, anti-theft, and a handful of other services. You don’t necessarily need NETGEAR Armor, but it’s good for devices that can’t block malware.

Another service is NETGEAR Smart Parental Controls (SPC), which costs $7.99 per month or $69.99 per year. Once activated, you can open the Nighthawk app to create profiles, custom bedtimes, filter content, and so on. You can install the My Time by NETGEAR app on your kids’ devices, so they can view their time limits.

Finally, the VPN client supports the PureVPN subscription service only. It costs $10.95 per month, although PureVPN ran a special at the time of this review, discounting the cost to $1.49 per month for five years. Not bad.

But if you want it all? That’s over $300 per year just to use the router you already bought. For that price, you could just get a much more powerful and feature-rich device to start.

Our R6700AX review: The verdict

If you live with someone in an apartment or small home and don’t want to spend gobs of money on a router, the NETGEAR R6700AX is a good candidate. There’s plenty of speed even at long range—it did well pushing signals through several doors, walls, and an air handler unit too.

But the R6700AX is as bare-bones as you can get, so don’t dive in thinking you’ll get multigig internet or cool extras like media and printer sharing. That’s not happening. If anything, it’s good if you want to use VPN services to hide your location and internet activity.

The R6700AX itself is affordable, but you need to pay so much more if you want to get the most out of it. You may want to look elsewhere if you want more value in a router priced under $100.

Get the NETGEAR R6700AX

FAQ about the R6700AX

Methodology

We test router speed by setting up each router in an office and connecting it to a local test server. Then, we transmit test data between our wireless devices and the server, taking numerous measurements to account for fluctuations in Wi-Fi speeds.

The first tests occur close to the router, without obstructions—so the Wi-Fi is as strong and fast as it’s gonna get. We repeat the process straight out at 10, 20, and 30 feet, with only a glass door obstructing our view of the router. The same glass door and an exterior door blocks our path when we test outside at 40 and 50 feet.

We also run tests in a hallway to the left of the TV room and office—where there’s a glass door, three walls, and an air handler unit blocking our view of the router. The dining room, another testing point, sits to the right of the kitchen, TV room, and office—two walls and a glass door block the path in this test.

To test video streaming, we connect a fast storage device to the router and stream a 4K video to six wireless devices simultaneously—two phones, three tablets, and a laptop—connected to the same wireless band.

Client devices used in testing

R6700AX benchmarks (5 GHz only)

Disclaimer

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