Which router should I buy between ASUS AX88U and AX86U?

[vstevenphan]

In my country, the AX88U costs $180, AX86U costs more, $240.Which one should I get? Is the performance the same? Which one better?

 

[L&LD]

If you have the budget for both, the RT-AX86U is the better long-term buy. Buy a handful fewer coffees in July, and get the best router Asus has offered us yet (be sure to run RMerlin firmware too).

 

[vstevenphan]

If you have the budget for both, the RT-AX86U is the better long-term buy. Buy a handful fewer coffees in July, and get the best router Asus has offered us yet (be sure to run RMerlin firmware too).

In my country, the Gundam version of Ax86 is just a little bit higher the standard version. Is the difference only the appearance? Can I install merlin on Ax86u gundam?

 

[L&LD]

I would think it isn't supported (but I may be wrong).

Anything 'gaming' is to be avoided. The 'gaming' tax is real, the benefits aren't.

 

[Kanji-San]

I used to own the RT-AX88U and now I use the RT-AX86U. Both are very similar, just minor differences and both perform very well. I cannot see any difference in performance.
I would go with the cheaper one.

 

[torstein]

Keep in mind though that the AX88U is from 2018 and was built with an early unfinished draft of WiFi6 and with - at-the-time - unknown WPA3-flaws.

The AX86U is from 2020 is 2 years younger, and most likely (but I cant find any verification of this) the fixed WPA3.

Also AX86U has a 2.5gbps port, while the AX88U "only" has 1gpbs port, and in testing here on the forums a slightly higher output than the AX88U.

Fwiw, I'm trying to sell my AX58U so I can upgrade to the AX86U.