A Virtual Private Network router, is a router that is specifically configured to allow you to send and receive traffic over the internet via an encrypted VPN tunnel. A lot of VPN routers, especially the later models have VPN clients as standard. This is a very easy system to process, usually configured directly through the admin page of the router. However, there are other firmware providers like Tomato or DD-WRT that contain a VPN client as well as some pre-flashed routers offered by providers already configured to their service.
You don't have to waste time setting up your router when you can easily buy a router that's already set up with your favorite VPN!
Advantages of using a VPN router for home
Here are the main advantages of using a VPN router for home.
- With your one internet provider connection, you are able to add a VPN router and you can then connect an unlimited amount of other devices.
- Each device connected through the VPN router will be able to browse the internet or stream movies over a private connection. This includes all devices that are not able to run VPN software directly. Devices such as tablets, smartphones, gaming consoles, Roku boxes, and Smart TVs are protected from geo-spoofing
One of the main issues so far with using A VPN router for home is that a lot of routers can fail under the pressure of handling encryption tasks and VPN data simultaneously, which can burn out the processor resulting in slower internet speeds.
Unfortunately, the mini OpenVPN router boxes that have recently come to the forefront of the market, like the PandaPow WiFi and Anonabox are so underpowered in their hardware that internet speeds can be cut by 90% when using a VPN. Therefore, before you decide on the best VPN router, make sure you take into account the processing speeds of the router.
See the top five Best VPN router options
All the routers we recommend below are easily able to handle the processing speeds needed to run a VPN directly from your home or office router.
1. ExpressVPN Router
- 1,450 Mbps 5 GHz & 450 Mbps 2.4 GHz Transfer Rates
- 256 MB Flash
- 512 MB RAM
- USB 3.0 & USB 2.0 (also eSATA)
- 4 external Antennas
- 6 GHz dual-core CPU
The ExpressVPN Linksys WRT3200ACM comes pre-flashed with ExpressVPN’s custom OpenWRT firmware and is one of the best VPN routers. Setting up this VPN router for home is simple and is also extremely user-friendly. This router will also make sure that WebRTC and DNS leaks are a thing of the past and that split tunneling for multiple devices is a seamless process. Furthermore, if the VPN drops, this firewall will also act as a kill switch.
Although you will always have a small speed lapse with VPN, the 1.8Ghz dual-core processor of the ExpressVPN router is mighty powerful and will not noticeably slow your internet connection speed.
Linksys WRT3200ACM is a great VPN router. You should note that when replacing the factory set firmware by Linksys with custom firmware from ExpressVPN you will lose a few features that were in the factory set version.
2. Asus RT-AC56U Technical
- 867 Mbps 5 GHz & 300 Mbps 2.4 GHz Transfer Rates
- 128 MB Flash
- 256 Mb RAM
- USB 3.0 & USB 2.0
- 3 External Antennas
- 800 MHz ARM CPU
The Asus RT-AC56U has been around for a little while now and is still one of the best routers for dealing with VPN connections without reducing internet speeds. It is also very competitively priced in the market and with the ability to flash with DD-WRT it becomes full of features and a very viable contender.
3. NETGEAR Nighthawk
- 1300 Mbps 5 GHz & 600 Mbps 2.4 GHz Transfer Rates
- 128 MB Flash
- 256 MB RAM
- USB 3.0 & USB 2.0
- 3 External Antennas
- 1 GHz dual-core CPU
NETGEAR Nighthawk R7000 has gained a solid reputation as a reliable VPN Router. This VPN router is using the Sabai OS open source customized firmware. The device is perfect as an OpenVPN router and is also well-known for its high encryption protocol support. As a bonus, the Nighthawk R7000 was developed by Sabai technology; a company well-known for its customer’s services excellence making this router a great choice.
4. PandaPow WiFi – NETGEAR Nighthawk R7000
- 150 Mbps 2.4 GHz Transfer Rate
- 8 MB Flash
- 64 MB RAM
- USB 3.0 & USB 2.0
- 400 MHz CPU Speed
While the Pandapow WiFi is mentioned as a mini box that is underpowered and can reduce internet speed, this clever little mini box is ideal when used as a travel aid for extra security when using public unsecured Wi-Fi. The device is small and compact and can easily be carried in a briefcase, handbag or even a pocket. It has a USB rechargeable battery, which does make it slightly heavier than other mini boxes.
Even though the wireless range is quite poor, there are no detected WebRTC or IPv4 leaks, you are able to stream services such as Netflix, it also comes with split-tunneling, so you can choose which devices to use through VPN. Another great benefit to the PandaPow WiFi box is the year’s subscription to VPN. Over the year the cost of the box will offset against VPN and will make quite a saving and you can use it as an OpenVPN router.
5. Linksys WRT1900ACS DD-WRT
- 1450 Mbps 5GHz & 450 Mbps 2.4GHz Transfer Rates
- 512 MB RAM
- 256 MB Flash
- USB 3.0 & USB 2.0 (also eSATA)
- 4 external Antennas
- 6 GHz dual-core CPU
The Linksys WRT1900ACS is in the middle of the high-end VPN routers, it has a 1.6Ghz dual-core ARM processor and is powerful enough to cope with VPN and loss of internet speeds. This router is open-source ready and is easily flashed with custom DD-WRT models that are designed to enhance most of the inbuilt features. You can also buy pre-flashed routers from Flash Routers. In simple terms, this means that there is no loss of functionality when upgrading to DD-WRT from stock firmware. As standard, this is an OpenVPN router that supports highly encrypted protocols.
