Best router for a 2500 sq ft 2 story house

[Leeter1]

As someone not versed in networking, this has been a frustrating, but informative path.

Many have suggested an Edgerouter X with two Unifi AP Lites. I can't do that because I'm neither technically inclined to run cable myself (and my wife is adverse to doing that also), nor in position to pay that cost...which has me seeking a very reliable router.

We have a TV in the living room, one upstairs in the den, and one in our bedroom - all can stream Netflix and Sling TV, but only one tends to be in use at a time. We have two cell phones and two work tablets (which gets used in limited capacities at home. We also have a PS4 and a PC upstairs.

1. Having range to go throughout the house is very important. We have a corner house with trees all around.
2. I want to take advantage of some advanced features like QoS and beamforming.
3. I'd like a guest account so I don't have to give out the Wi-Fi password. I'd also like a private VPN

I've looked at a ton of reviews from websites and gotten consumer reviews from Reddit and Amazon and I can't reach a consensus.

Ones I've looked at are:
ASUS RT-AC88U
Linksys WRTAC1900/ACS1900
Netgear Nighthawk (not sure of a model number)
D-Link AC3200/AC5300

I understand MU-MIMO isn't native to most devices - it seems that to get some of the advanced features I DO want, I may have to pay the premium...which I am open to doing.

I took a look at the Router tool, but I don't understand it. And trying to get recommendations has been difficult...some say generically to stay away from Netgear (because they aren't secure), I've heard that about Linksys and D-Link too. So I can't really sift the bias from legitimate criticism.

I'm looking for quality service upstairs and downstairs with some advanced tools. Not trying to skimp, but also not trying to pay for the top tier class and I won't use most of it either. Feel free to reference any other suitable routers as well.

 

[avtella]

I use the R7800 (I've seen it as low as $130 for refurb in Amazon) in a slightly bigger home, it has the best 5Ghz band of all the routers in your list plus it has a pretty good MU-MIMO implementation if that really matters to you. The Synology AC2600 uses the same hardware as the R7800 as well. Asus does have better UI/updates but I feel from a purely hardware standpint the R7800 is better than the AC88U/AC3100, newer WiFi chipset, more powerful CPU ~65% (good for VPN) plus it runs much cooler as it uses a newer gen CPU and manufacturing process. It has a good QoS implementation via Qualcomm Streamboost and Voxel's stock based custom firmware uses updated packages. Alternatively, if you don't mind open source, OpenWRT (LEDE) builds from hnyman utilize SQM QoS which is amazing and is in way the successor to FQ_Codel.

If your willing to splurge for the latest and greatest the Asus GT5300 is probably a better buy then the Nertgear R9000 as I find 802.11ad kinda useless.

 

[Rickyrsx]

As someone not versed in networking, this has been a frustrating, but informative path.

Many have suggested an Edgerouter X with two Unifi AP Lites. I can't do that because I'm neither technically inclined to run cable myself (and my wife is adverse to doing that also), nor in position to pay that cost...which has me seeking a very reliable router.

We have a TV in the living room, one upstairs in the den, and one in our bedroom - all can stream Netflix and Sling TV, but only one tends to be in use at a time. We have two cell phones and two work tablets (which gets used in limited capacities at home. We also have a PS4 and a PC upstairs.

1. Having range to go throughout the house is very important. We have a corner house with trees all around.
2. I want to take advantage of some advanced features like QoS and beamforming.
3. I'd like a guest account so I don't have to give out the Wi-Fi password. I'd also like a private VPN

I've looked at a ton of reviews from websites and gotten consumer reviews from Reddit and Amazon and I can't reach a consensus.

Ones I've looked at are:
ASUS RT-AC88U
Linksys WRTAC1900/ACS1900
Netgear Nighthawk (not sure of a model number)
D-Link AC3200/AC5300

I understand MU-MIMO isn't native to most devices - it seems that to get some of the advanced features I DO want, I may have to pay the premium...which I am open to doing.

I took a look at the Router tool, but I don't understand it. And trying to get recommendations has been difficult...some say generically to stay away from Netgear (because they aren't secure), I've heard that about Linksys and D-Link too. So I can't really sift the bias from legitimate criticism.

I'm looking for quality service upstairs and downstairs with some advanced tools. Not trying to skimp, but also not trying to pay for the top tier class and I won't use most of it either. Feel free to reference any other suitable routers as well.

I've been using an Asus RT-AC3100 for the past 6 months and I can say it's a great router. I have a 4000 sq. ft house and the router is on the main floor. The only weak spot I have is one upstairs room that is at the opposite end of the house but it's the 5GHz that's weak, the 2.4Ghz signal is fine. I think it has all the features you're looking for. I use a VPN on it as well and it can run Merlin's firmware! It's a bit pricier than others but this router has served me well so far. For comparison, I've used an Apple Airport Extreme and a TP-Link AC2600 (Archer C2600) as well.

 

[pege63]

There are no standard solutions to suit everyone, there is so much that affects this.
All situations are completely unique and depend on situations, housing, building matrix, layout, shape, size and so on, so on.