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Home / Electronics / Wi-Fi Routers & Mesh Systems / Archer AX55
8.0 Tested Aug 23, 2026 by Team RankingRight

Archer AX55 (Single router, Wi-Fi 6) review 2026

Wi-Fi 6 that covers an apartment properly for under $80 — the router most people should buy before spending more

TP-Link Archer AX55
Product image from static.tp-link.com, used to illustrate our review; copyright remains with the manufacturer.
PriceFrom $79 · checked Sep 11, 2026
Far bedroom268 Mbps
Same room892 Mbps

Is the Archer AX55 Worth It?

Best budget router. Most people replacing an ISP box in a flat need exactly this and nothing more. In a two-storey house it will disappoint, and no amount of placement fixes that.

Archer AX55 Pros & Cons

Pros
  • $79 and it saturated our gigabit line in the same room
  • Perfectly adequate through a one or two-bedroom flat
  • Free basic parental controls and QoS
  • Small, quiet and easy to set up
Cons
  • 268 Mbps in the far bedroom — it runs out in a house
  • Gigabit ports only, no 2.5 Gbps
  • Wi-Fi 6, not 7

Archer AX55 at a Glance

8.0 Editor Score
Throughput & rangeMeasured with the same client in the same four positions in the same 2,200 sq ft house, on the same 1 Gbps line, three runs each.
21/30
Reliability under loadThirty devices connected, four 4K streams and a large upload running while we re-tested — and how many drops occurred over a week.
16/20
Features & controlBand steering, mesh backhaul, VLANs, guest networks, parental controls and what sits behind a subscription.
14/20
Setup & appTime from box to working network, app quality, firmware updates.
14/15
ValuePrice for the coverage the house actually needed, plus any subscription for features that should be free.
15/15
Reader ratingNo reader ratings yet — not part of the score
–

Rubric v1: Throughput & range 30 · Reliability under load 20 · Features & control 20 · Setup & app 15 · Value 15. Score = Σ ÷ 10, locked Sep 11, 2026. How we rank.

Where to buy — prices checked Sep 11, 2026

Amazon — $79

Best priceSee Price

Archer AX55 specifications

Wi-Fi standardWi-Fi 6 (AX3000)
MeshOneMesh capable
Wi-Fi 7No
Throughput, same room892 Mbps
Throughput, far bedroom268 Mbps
Rated coverage2,000 sq ft sq ft
LAN ports4 × 1 GbE
Core features without a subscriptionYes — HomeShield basics free

Why it scored 8

Most people replacing an ISP box in a flat need exactly this and nothing more. In a two-storey house it will disappoint, and no amount of placement fixes that.

Where it loses

Range.

Still the right pick for

Apartments and small homes.

What owners say

No reader ratings yet. This block fills in from real submissions only — we never write, buy or generate reader reviews, and none of them touch the editor score.

Changelog: Sep 11 — rank 4 → 5 · all changes

Archer AX558.0 · $79
See Price