The Best VPN Routers of 2025: Our Top 3 Picks

1. Aircove by ExpressVPN - The Most User-Friendly VPN Router

SecurityScore:

9.1 /10

View on Amazon Links to Amazon.com

View on Amazon Links to Amazon.com

Router Specifications

Aircove has highs and lows as far as being a router. It’s a dual-band router that offers 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi frequencies; it uses Wi-Fi 6, the latest and supposedly fastest Wi-Fi protocol available; and it has four external antennas that can provide Wi-Fi coverage for an area of up to 1,600 square feet. If we were to find comparisons, we’d say it’s about as good as, if not a little bit better than, the router/modem that comes with our Quantum fiber-optic internet plan.

That said, we’ve had a chance to test out Aircove while rounding up the best Apple TV VPNs, and we noticed that its Wi-Fi range isn’t that good. It can’t penetrate walls that well, and what’s worse, it isn’t mesh-ready, unlike our other top options. It’s also not a performance router if you’re into online gaming or other bandwidth-heavy activities like streaming. It features a 512 MB RAM, which is half the 1 GB minimum RAM of recommended gaming routers.1

>> Read About: The Fastest VPNs for Online Gaming

Ease of Use

Where Aircove really shines, though, is user-friendliness. It’s the first and (so far) only VPN router made by a VPN company, and so the user experience is streamlined.

To give you an example, most VPN routers will require you to go deep into their networking settings to change to a different VPN server; for instance, to unblock a blocked website in your region. With Aircove, you can do so in a snap by simply logging in to your ExpressVPN account dashboard. There, you’ll be able to tinker with the VPN settings to change the VPN protocols or choose a different server location. When we wanted to watch Netflix Australia on our Apple TV, we were able to set up an Australia VPN connection in under two minutes, which is unheard of in VPN routers. Even though ExpressVPN didn’t make our roundup of the best VPNs in Australia, we were still impressed with this router’s flexibility.

>> Learn More: Streaming Netflix With a VPN

About ExpressVPN

Part of what makes the Aircove one of the best VPN routers is the very VPN that comes with it: ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN is a mainstay on our list of best VPNs. It offers connections to its thousands of servers in 105 countries.2 That bodes well for VPN routers, which are often used for changing the IP address location of streaming devices and gaming consoles that don’t have native VPN apps, such as Rokus, Xboxes, and PlayStations.

>> Related: The Best VPNs for Roku

Of course, ExpressVPN is also secure. It uses top-of-the-line encryption (256-bit AES) with its three available VPN protocols for Aircove; namely, Lightway, OpenVPN, and IKEv2. We know that’s a lot of VPN jargon, but the gist of it is that ExpressVPN offers some of the best VPN technology available.

One of Aircove’s greatest assets is the easily customizable VPN connections.

You see, most VPN routers can route your traffic through one VPN server. For example, when we set up a DIY VPN router a couple of years ago, we configured it to connect to a VPN server in New York. That way, we’re almost always guaranteed fast speeds, and we could use the internet like we normally do since our IP addresses were showing a location in our home state. However, that became a problem when we wanted to access BBC iPlayer on our smart TV, since the streaming service requires a U.K. IP address. If we changed the router’s connection to a U.K. server, that would mean all our connected devices will show a U.K. IP address as well.

With Aircove, which wasn’t yet available at that time, it’s possible to create up to five VPN locations. In the predicament above, we could have set up a New York and a U.K. connection and connected just our smart TV to the U.K. VPN while keeping the rest of our devices connected to the New York server. It’s also possible to create a non-VPN connection for devices like internet-connected smart home products such as smart lights or smart thermostats.

To do that:

1. Connect all your devices to Aircove.
2. Sign in to your Aircove dashboard using any browser. (Tip: Use a computer or laptop for a smoother experience.)
3. Select “Add Group” and create a name for the new device group; for example, “U.K. streaming.”
4. The new groups will appear next to the default “Home Group.” To connect a device to the new group, simply drag and drop a device to it from the Home Group.
5. To change a group’s location, tap or click the three-dot menu next to the current location, and select a location from the drop-down server menu.
6. Repeat steps one to five for every new device group. You can create up to five groups total, including the Home Group that connects to the fastest available server by default.

Aircove’s flexibility comes with a hefty price tag, though. That’s one of the downsides you have to keep in mind. The hardware itself costs $189.95 on Amazon. ExpressVPN subscriptions, on the other hand, can cost anywhere from $8.32 to $12.95 per month, depending on the length of subscription. You need an active ExpressVPN plan to use Aircove’s VPN functions; otherwise, it’s just a normal (slightly underpowered) Wi-Fi router.

2. Asus AX86U by FlashRouters - The Best VPN Router Bundled With a VPN Subscription

SecurityScore:

9.7 /10

View on Amazon Links to Amazon.com

View on Amazon Links to Amazon.com

Router Specifications

If Aircove doesn’t meet your network speed and performance requirements, the Asus AX86U surely will. It’s a performance router optimized for gaming, high-resolution streaming, and fast downloads. A friend of ours has this router powering his gaming basement. We’re not saying it’s the only reason we visit him, but it’s a big factor.

In terms of specs, the Asus AX86U features dual-band Wi-Fi 6 with a 4.8 Gbps top speed when on the 5 GHz band. It runs on a quad-core, 1.8 GHz processor with 1 GB of RAM and with AI-driven performance boosting features. For example, you can configure it to prioritize certain tasks like gaming or streaming to boost speeds.

>> Related: The Best VPNs for Gaming

Ease of Use

The Asus AX86U router supports VPN setups. You can certainly set it up on your own, but again, it’s a risky procedure that could end up in you ruining a $300 router. If you have no prior experience setting up a VPN router, we recommend buying a flashed AX86U instead. That’s where FlashRouter comes in.

FlashRouter is neither a VPN nor a router company, but it bridges the gap between the two. It sells routers preconfigured with your selected VPN service, and for the flashed Asus AX86U, you can get a bundle that includes a one-year NordVPN subscription (normally $68.85), the router, and FlashRouter configuration services for $344.99. That’s a slight increase from the $299 MSRP of the router, but again, it’s all set up with the VPN once it gets to you. And when you include the cost of the VPNs, it’s actually a bit less than buying each separately unless you found a really good deal on NordVPN.

Once it’s shipped, you can configure the NordVPN-equipped router like a normal Wi-Fi router. Better still, FlashRouter has apps for its flashed routers where you can customize your NordVPN connection easily (relative to other VPN routers).

About NordVPN

A high-performance router is just half of what you need if you want a smooth gaming or streaming experience; you also need a fast VPN.

NordVPN tops our list of the fastest VPNs because of its consistency and reliability. More than that, NordVPN is a secure VPN with a strict “no-logs” policy, strong encryption, and a privacy-focused server infrastructure. It offers nearly 6,000 servers in 60 countries, all of which run on RAM only. That means in addition to not logging any browsing information, its servers are completely wiped of all data every week or so. VPN servers can’t get any more private than that.

>> Read More: The Best “No-Logs” VPNs

Compared to a DIY VPN router, FlashRouter’s setup makes the AX86U running NordVPN slightly more user-friendly. For example, if you want to connect to a different VPN server, all routers configured by FlashRouters have access to the FlashRouter Privacy App. It’s like your network administrator dashboard, but more focused on VPN settings.

Here’s how to change the server location of a flashed AX86U:

1. Log in to your NordVPN account dashboard, and click Set Up NordVPN Manually. You will receive a username and password. (This is different from your NordVPN account login.)
2. Open the FlashRouter Privacy App on your computer or smartphone’s browser, and enter the NordVPN username and password to log in.
3. In the drop-down menu, select a server to which you want to connect. You can also sort servers based on location, distance to you, or server load.
4. Click the connect button.

Unlike Aircove, however, you can connect to only one server location at a time. For instance, you can’t stream Hulu (which requires a U.S. IP address) on your smart TV while your roommate watches BBC iPlayer (which requires a U.K. IP address) on their Xbox at the same time. The same is true for most VPN routers out there.

>> Also See: How to Set Up an Xbox VPN

On the slightly brighter side, Asus AX86U does support Wi-Fi meshing, which the Aircove currently does not. If one router isn’t enough to provide Wi-Fi coverage for your entire home, you can set up other Asus routers that support AiMesh to extend the broadcast range. That being said, you might have to contact FlashRouter if you want your network set up that way, as it might have to change a few configurations to make that possible on a VPN router.

3. InvizBox 2 VPN Router - The Most Affordable VPN Router

SecurityScore:

9.5 /10

Router Specifications

Invizbox 2 is the middle ground between Aircove and Asus AX86U in terms of performance. It’s a dual-band router with Wi-Fi 6 running on a quad-core ARM processor and 1 GB of RAM. With those specs, it can support console gaming and other bandwidth-heavy activities with ease.

One downside, however, is the speed. When connected to a VPN, the top speed of Invizbox 2 is capped at 100 Mbps, so if you have a 1 Gbps internet connection, for example, you won’t be able to take full advantage of your network speed. One hundred Mbps is still plenty fast for gaming and streaming, but if you have to download a game on your PlayStation, for instance, Invizbox 2’s capped speed might become an issue.

>> Read About: How to Set Up a VPN on Your PS4/PS5

Ease of Use

Invizbox used to not be a VPN brand, so its routers still work well with VPNs. And to be honest, it’s still not a VPN brand even though they now sell a VPN service. So, they still allow customers to pair it with one of five third-party VPNs. They charge a bit more for the device when using a third-party VPN, but we think it’s well worth the twenty extra dollars for the device.

As such, Invizbox offers functionalities designed specifically for VPN routers, such as multiple VPN endpoints (different server locations), similar to Aircove. Invizbox 2 also comes with an app where you can configure your VPN connection and change the router’s settings.

That said, you will have to decide on a VPN provider before buying Invizbox 2 so that Invizbox can send you one optimized for the selected VPN. You can’t change providers once the router is set up. That means you’ll also need a VPN subscription, and if it ever expires or if you cancel your VPN, the Invizbox 2 becomes just a regular Wi-Fi router.

About Surfshark VPN

Speaking of buying a subscription, Invizbox 2 works with a number of VPN services, including NordVPN and Surfshark. We think Surfshark is a perfect match. InvizBox 2 is an affordable VPN router at only $129, so with Surfshark prices that start at $2.19 per month for a two-year subscription, you can get yourself a reliable VPN router for less than $200. And that ends up being less overall than if you were to go with Invizbox’s VPN service which costs a minimum of $2.50 per month for a two-year subscription. When it’s all said and done, an Invizbox with a two-year subscription to Surfshark ends up costing $188.13, whereas with a two-year Invizbox subscription, you’ll end up paying $239 without a sale.

Besides being one of the most affordable VPNs, Surf Shark is also one of the most feature-rich. It rivals ExpressVPN in terms of server network, with over 3,000 servers in 100 countries. And when it comes to privacy and security, it can go toe-to-toe with NordVPN, as it also has RAM-only servers. Keep an eye out for Surfshark deals as well to bring your costs down even more.

>> Compare: Surf Shark vs. NordVPN

The InvizBox 2 could rival ExpressVPN’s Aircove in terms of usability because of its app and the fact that it can create multiple VPN connections. As mentioned earlier, you can have up to four connections, each routing your traffic to a different VPN server.

Each VPN connection has a different Wi-Fi SSID (Wi-Fi name) and password. For example, you can have one network that connects you to a U.S. server, another one that connects to a Germany server, and another that connects to a Singapore server. You’ll need to connect to the right network to enjoy VPN tunneling to the corresponding server location.

Of course, changing Wi-Fi networks is easy enough to do on a smartphone or computer, but not as easy on a smart TV, gaming console, TV box, or devices that benefit the most from a VPN router. That’s why we believe Aircove is still a little better. For example, you can change your Fire TV Stick’s location with Aircove without touching your Fire TV remote; all you need is a smartphone, tablet, or computer with a browser. With InvizBox 2, you’ll have to go to the Fire TV’s network settings and switch Wi-Fi networks from there.

>> See Also: The Best VPNs for Fire TV Stick