8 Best Parental Control Routers in 2023 [Expert Picks]

Do your kids spend much time online, attending classes or studying? Are you concerned about their screen time and internet usage? While everything is digitized, chances are, they may often get into games or watch obscene content.

While you can’t keep an eye on them all day, a good parental control router can monitor that for you. But how do you choose the best one? All you need is to get the hang of the required features. Still confused? Keep reading.

Features like content filtering, time-based WiFi access, and more saves your kids from extreme internet usage and ensure they’re engaged in safe browsing. Most routers today come with the app, providing control at your fingertips. However, different brands offer different control.

Plus, some only offer basic features, while the security-focused routers enable you with comprehensive parental controls. After testing 23 models for two months, I’ve finally qualified the 8 routers with the best parental controls:

1. Best Overall: Synology RT2600AC
2. Best Runner-Up: Gryphon Tower
3. Best Performance: TP-Link AX90
4. Best For Gaming: ASUS RT-AX86U
5. Best with Netgear Armor: Nighthawk RAX54S
6. Best Mesh System: Orbi RBK752
7. Best for Ease of Use: Google Nest WiFi
8. Circle Parental Controls: Netgear R6700

8 Best Parental Control Routers of 2023

The featured models were thoroughly tested for their access controls, functionality, and efficiency. Not only that, but I also ensured they were good at other aspects, like wireless standards, speeds, and coverage, to make sure you have an all-around device.

And to cater to the needs of my diverse readers, I have tried to include models with varied features, budgets, and ability to support top-tier to basic internet plans. This way, you ought to get a parental control WiFi router that suits your needs the best.

1. Best Overall: Synology RT2600AC

Synology RT2600AC is the standout product for home network security. Its fast WiFi, long range, and capability to host more than one bandwidth connection at a time make it a major upgrade over RT1900AC.

But, it topping the list as the best parental control router can be credited to some exceptional features which let you ensure a safe browsing experience for your kids. And the best part is you can do it from anywhere, thanks to its remote control management.

Why is it a suitable choice?

Starting with its content filtering, you can block a specific category of websites (advertising, adult, or social media) or specific domains. In fact, it’s probably the only one that can block secure HTTPs sites like YouTube and Facebook.

The router lets you create separate profiles for respective devices and keep the settings accordingly. For example, blocking social media sites for your kids and advertisements on your computer to enjoy ad-free videos.

Other than that, scheduled access and internet pausing lets you set browsing time limits if your child spends too much time online, which you can check on its internet dashboard feature. All these features being controllable with just the tap of a button on its app makes it more convenient.

Moving on, the device has a lot in its arsenal in terms of security features. Be it advanced ones like threat detection and elimination, weekly scans, firewall management, intrusion blocking, DDoS protection, or basic features like WPA3, VPN, and auto-security update, it has got everything. And the best part is Synology doesn’t charge a penny for these.

Wireless Speeds

Synology router with dual-band WiFi 5 support boasts an aggregated speed of 2600 Mbps, distributed over its bands as follows:

5 GHz: 1800 Mbps

2.4 GHz: 800 Mbps

To test out its practical capacity, I paired an Xfinity 1 Gbps plan and measured respective download and upload speeds over both bands. And the results were fairly satisfactory, as the 5GHz band yields speed at 847 Mbps and 29 Mbps, while respective values over the 2.4GHz band were 431 Mbps and 19 Mbps.

The speed output might not be on par with those high-end wireless routers, but I was impressed by the network stability and consistency. Courtesy of 4×4 MU-MIMO, connection over multiple devices was stable.

WiFi Coverage & Connections Capacity

With its four-antenna setup, the router has a claimed range of 2,000 Sq Ft, and the results weren’t very far from that. My grandfather’s 100-year-old 1,500 Sq Ft house was entirely enveloped by strong signals, and I could connect 50 devices placed in different corners of the house.

And despite running heavy internet activities like 4K streaming, video conferencing, and browsing, I could play online games at 65 FPS, which was impressive.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Synology RT2600 is the best router for security and parental controls. Its performance in other departments was although middling, I can assure you that these are reliable enough not to keep you stranded in between any tasks.

Want to learn more about the features & performance? Check out the Synology RT2600AC review.

2. Best Runner-Up: Gryphon Tower

Next on my list is another top router with parental controls. The Gryphon tower stands out as you get most of its top features for free, but there’s also a premium subscription available for added controls. And with respect to other departments, be it speeds, stability, and, most importantly, coverage stood out from its preceding model.

Why is it a suitable choice?

Gryphon tower’s parental controls stand out in terms of their efficiency and how simple they are to use. With the compatible app, you can assign devices to individual profiles for each child and limit the time each spends on video games, apps, devices, and website access.

You can also check their web browsing history even if your child deletes it. Aside from that, there’s a content filtering feature that lets you block a category of websites (adult/social media) for individual devices. This lets you ensure that your child is safe from impending online threats.

In terms of security, there’s also a lot on offer. Aside from basic features like VPN, WPA3, guest access, access control, and others, it has a firewall that protects your network and connected devices from unwanted threats and cyber attackers.

Plus, Gryphon Premium protection takes the built-in security and parental controls to the next level. Subscribed to it, you can extend the parental controls and security tools to devices on mobile data outside WiFi. You get alerts when the network is vulnerable to malware, viruses, and intruders.

Wireless Speeds

Build with a tri-band WiFi 5 connectivity, Gryphon Tower has an aggregated speed of 3000 Mbps, distributed over its bands as:

5 GHz (1): 1700 Mbps

5 GHz (2): 866 Mbps

2.4 GHz: 400 Mbps

So, paired with the Xfinity 1 Gbps plan, the additional and the standard 5GHz band clocked download speeds of 916 Mbps and 37 Mbps, respectively. While downloads on the 2.4GHz band fared at 347 Mbps. At the same time, uploads on respective bands played out at 447 Mbps and 24 Mbps. Such speeds were sufficient enough to run any internet-bound tasks without any lags.

WiFi Coverage & Connections Capacity

Coverage of this router exceeds my previous recommendation, quite expectedly from a mesh system. The two-unit pack, courtesy of its powerful antenna setup, can cover an area of up to 3,000 Sq Ft while adding another unit to it extends the coverage by 1,000-1,200 Sq Ft. So, invest mindfully depending on the size of your space.

Furthermore, the mesh excels in terms of the number of devices it can connect to the same bandwidth. Technologies like MU-MIMO and beamforming can extend the number to 40, including devices like smart TVs, laptops, gaming consoles, and computers.

Conclusion

Powerful security tools and parental controls, alongside great throughput and range, makes Gryphon Tower the best-runner-up parental control WiFi router.

Its overall performance level is comparable to my previous recommendation, but the lack of some crucial parental controls makes it take the second position.

For a closer look, please read the complete Gryphon Tower review.

3. Best High-Performance Router: TP-Link Archer AX90

Any list of wireless routers is incomplete without a TP-Link device, and the Archer AX90 with a solid list of features that tops its preceding model, the Archer AX73. Besides, concerning the focal point of this guide, parental controls, the router, with its inbuilt features, lets your children stay online without you having to worry much.

Why is it a suitable choice?

TP-Link AX90 stands out amongst most routers by catering to most of its users with its premium and basic parental control options. Straight out of the box, AX90, with HomeShield Basic, has some handy features like pausing the internet, an internet dashboard featuring the net online time of the users, and manual website blocking.

These may not be top-tier, but they somewhat get the job done. TP-Link charges you $5.99 a month or $54.99 a year to give you access to its advanced features. With such a minimal charge, you get your hands on some advanced features like content filters, time rewards, and bedtime.

The content filter feature lets you block the type of content you don’t want your kid to see, and bedtime allows you to schedule internet pausing so that your kids get to bed on time. At the same time, you can allocate extra online hours if your kids have completed their homework or some chores.

Wireless Speeds

As mentioned earlier, Archer AX90 is an all-rounder with respect to the features it boasts, which is justified by its aggregated speed of 6600 Mbps. Its band-wise speed distribution is as follows:

5 GHz (1): 4804 Mbps

5 GHz (2): 1201 Mbps

2.4 GHz: 574 Mbps

Considering such high throughput capacity, I paired the router with Xfinity 2 Gbps, and the speeds over each band were impressive, particularly the additional 5GHz band. It had a download and upload speed score of 1.79 Gbps and 74 Mbps, respectively.

At the same time, downloads over the other 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands took place at the rate of 1.1 Gbps and 57 Mbps.

That’s the highest I got in my tests, giving me limitless opportunities to explore. Aside from speeds, the device performed exceptionally in terms of stability and consistency, courtesy goes to MU-MIMO. The 4K streams on my devices transpired at a similar level without any buffering.

WiFi Coverage & Connections Capacity

With its eight highly amplified antennas, the maximum Archer AX90 readily becomes one of the best routers to cover 2,000 Sq Ft homes & workspaces. My friend’s small office was filled with strong signals, and with technologies like beamforming and MU-MIMO, he could connect up to 30 devices without weakening the bandwidth.

Conclusion

TP-Link Archer has an excellent performance in most of its departments, be it its speeds, coverage, and, most importantly, parental controls and security tools. But the fact that you must pay for the advanced features, which wasn’t the case with my previous suggestions, it’s ranked in the third position.

Want to learn more about this device? Read its full review.

4. Best Gaming Router: ASUS RT-AX86U

If you or your child is a gaming enthusiast, there’s no better choice than ASUS RT-AX86U. It ingrains some gaming-oriented features to further boost your gameplay, alongside lifetime-free advanced security tools and parental controls to keep your devices and child safe.

Compared to its older model, RT-AX82U, you’ll find several improvements in coverage, speeds, and processing ability, which translates to upgraded performance.

Why is it a suitable choice?

RT-AX86U has AiProtection security suite powered by Tenda Micro to configure parental controls. You can block entertainment content and streaming media, restrict access to social media and adult-oriented sites, and prevent access to file transfer and P2P sites. There are also scheduled access and internet pause features to limit internet usage for kids.

Aside from that, there’s an internet dashboard tab on the Asus app that displays the total online duration of kids and what they see online. The best part is all of these features come for free.

Now, coming to security tools, the antivirus software wards off virus or malware and block access to malicious websites, along with some standard features like WPA3, VPN, and guest access. So, irrespective of the size of your network ecosystem, these make sure your devices are always safe.

Wireless Speeds

Sporting a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 setup, the speed of Asus RT-AX86U maxes out at 5700 Mbps, with speeds for both bands distributed as:

5 GHz: 4804 Mbps

2.4 GHz: 861 Mbps

Testing with the Xfinity 1 Gbps plan, the download and upload speed output was around 924 Mbps and 44 Mbps with the 5GHz band, while for the 2.4GHz band, the values were 787 Mbps and 29 Mbps, respectively.

The output was on par with many top-rated gaming routers and allowed me to play games like Destiny 2 and Fortnite at 75fps and a ping value of 6ms.

Its improved gaming performance over Asus RT-AX82U can be credited to in-built features like 1024-QAM and game boost.

WiFi Coverage & Connections Capacity

This parental control internet router, with its four external antennas, claims to cover an area of 2,000 Sq Ft, which in real-life settings fared out at a maximum of 1,800 Sq Ft. So, any part of your mid-sized apartment or a small workspace should not run out of any bandwidth anytime. Aside from that, in-built technologies like MU-MIMO and OFDMA lets you stream 4K movies on 25 devices simultaneously.

Conclusion

To conclude, Asus RT-AX86U delivers reliable and improved performance courtesy of its advanced processing ability, powerful antennas, and throughput capacity. Its parental controls and security features are much more advanced to keep your child and client devices from harmful exposure.

For more details, you may read the full review.

5. Best with 1-Year Paid Security: Netgear RAX54S

If you are in awe of Netgear routers’ reliability and efficiency, then look at this Nighthawk RAX54S. Aside from features like faster throughput capacity, powerful antennas, and a triple-core processor, it brings along excellent security tools and parental controls in the form of Netgear Armor and Smart parental controls.

Besides, there are a few potential improvements compared to its preceding model, RAX50, which improves overall performance.

Why is it a suitable choice?

Netgear ships RAX54S with a 1-year premium Netgear Armor security and smart parental controls. Here’s how they fare:

The built-in smart parental controls provide the parents with total control of their kids’ internet connection. You can pause the internet at any time and create separate user profiles for each device to manage their online time.

Its premium subscription further comes with additional features like an Internet dashboard, which provides a detailed report about what your kids are doing online and blocks any sites. There’s also an option to create customized filters for your kids and limit their online activities.

Now coming to Netgear Armor, which comes under the same package and offers many advanced security features. Some of it, like sensitive data protection, anomaly detection, DDoS protection, automatic threat detection, and vulnerability scan, ensure your data and network are safe from any external attacks.

Apart from that, the Armor subscription protects the devices outside WiFi with anti-theft protection, VPN, and Bitdefender security features.

Wireless Speeds

Netgear RAX54S boasts a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 connectivity with a maximum throughput capacity of 5400 Mbps distributed over both bands as follows:

5 GHz: 4804 Mbps

2.4 GHz: 574 Mbps

To test its throughput efficiency in real-life settings, I paired an Xfinity 1 Gbps plan and measured respective download and upload speeds over both bands. Over the 5GHz band, the respective speed values stayed at around 874 Mbps and 32 Mbps, while for the 2.4GHz band, it was 489 Mbps and 24 Mbps.

The heavy online games and 4K streams ran fine over multiple devices, courtesy of QoS and MU-MIMO.

WiFi Coverage & Connections Capacity

Coverage is probably more of a hero feature of this router as its four-antenna setup could cover an area of up to 2,300 Sq Ft. You can install this device in any two-bedroom apartment and throw away the worries of network weak or dead zones. Besides, features like QoS make the bandwidth stable over 25 devices simultaneously.

Conclusion

Overall, Nighthawk RAX54S is a top-rated Netgear router with smart parental controls. With its 1-year Armor security access, it’s safe to say that you have a year of full-fledged protection on your devices and network. And after a year, $6.99 is not a huge price if you want to continue with it.

6. Best Mesh WiFi: Orbi RBK752

If you live in a large house and need to establish a mesh network, then Orbi RBK752 is a great choice. It’s one of the best-rated mesh WiFi systems that come at a premium price but instills some handy features like decent throughput capacity, great coverage, decent parental controls, and security tools.

And you should definitely find a lot of upgrades to its preceding model, Orbi RBS750, with respect to the number of bands and coverage.

Why is it a suitable choice?

There’s no denying that the smart parental controls by Netgear are excellent. But the thing is, you must pay for what you use, and it isn’t cheap either. To start with, you can create separate user profiles for respective devices and adjust the settings accordingly.

Regarding settings, you can set up scheduled time limits for your kids to access the internet, and its bedtime feature switches the internet at your set time. Besides, its content filtering and website blocking feature keep your child from the dangers of the cyber world.

However, unlike the previous Netgear model, you must pay for Premium Armor security separately. But I feel free features are enough for most households.

Wireless Speeds

The tri-band WiFi 6 mesh system boasts an aggregated speed of 4200 Mbps, distributed over respective bands as follows:

5 GHz (1): 2400 Mbps

5 GHz (2): 1200 Mbps

2.4 GHz: 600 Mbps

Orbi RBK752 delivers a top-notch performance right away, as the speed tests over the additional 5GHz band with Xfinity 1 Gbps plan had values of 907 Mbps and 37 Mbps for downloads and uploads, respectively.

At the same time, its 5GHz and 2.4GHz scored respective download speeds of 857 Mbps and 28 Mbps, while upload speeds were valued at 357 Mbps and 17 Mbps.

The speeds were enough to stream as many as 32 Netflix UHD streams, which shows your opportunities with this routing device. Barring speeds, the bandwidth consistency of this device was also great, as the streams were lag-free.

WiFi Coverage & Connections Capacity

Being a large home mesh WiFi system, you can expect its signals to travel a distance, and in my tests, the maximum it covers is around 3,000 Sq Ft. So, without giving much thought, install it in your two-story house and get most of your smart devices. The numbers could go as high as 35, courtesy of MU-MIMO and beamforming.

Conclusion

In short, Orbi RBK752 is the best mesh WiFi with parental controls that inculcates handy features to attain decent scores in most of its departments. Its network security tools are, in fact, excellent for getting your mesh network and child safe, but you have to pay for more advanced security.

Alongside, the device is put into the premium price bracket, making it unaffordable for many. Read the complete Orbi RBK752 review to learn more.

7. Best for Ease of Use: Google Nest WiFi

Next on my list is yet another mesh system, but not as costly as my previous recommendation, and inferior features, Google Nest WiFi. However, features like a powerful processor, decent throughput capacity, and ample storage qualify it as a good home router with parental controls.

The Google Nest WiFi is the first of the range and brings a plethora of upgrades over the previous generation device, Google WiFi.

Why is it a suitable choice?

Google Nest WiFi comes with a user-friendly app with quick voice commands that’s a parental superpower to toggle through parental controls with ease. The best amongst the lot is device and website-blocking functionality, which prevents entry of any unknown or unwanted device in the network ecosystem.

Besides, there’s an internet pause and scheduled time limits to offer added opportunities to digital mothers.

Next, security-wise, the device doesn’t offer much besides a few basic yet helpful ones. Features like WPA3, VPN, and auto-firmware update, does a decent job of keeping your transferred data safe from encroachers and external agents. But there aren’t any upgradable premium features available.

Wireless Speeds

Despite inculcating an inferior WiFi 5 support, its theoretical speed capacity maximizes at 2200 Mbps, distributed over different bands as follows:

5 GHz: 1733 Mbps

2.4 GHz: 400 Mbps

Despite a lower cap, I paired the router with Cox 500 Mbps plan, and the results were pretty impressive. Over the 5GHz band, respective download and upload speeds fared at 487 Mbps and 29 Mbps, while the values were around 374 Mbps and 21 Mbps for the 2.4GHz band.

Although its speeds aren’t comparable to the top-tier options, it easily covers most bandwidth-intensive tasks.

WiFi Coverage & Connections Capacity

Google Nest WiFi with powerful internal antennas and a node claims to cover an area of up to 3,800 Sq Ft and a few hundred additional feet by adding an extra unit. The actual values aren’t very far away, as the mesh system could envelop a 3,000 Sq Ft area without breaking a sweat.

With beamforming and MU-MIMO, you can connect up to 55 devices at a stretch.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Nest WiFi is a mesh router with built-in parental controls that lets you ensure your kids aren’t accessing anything unsuitable or explicit. The same is with its security features. Besides, the device instills a decent throughput capacity and enough range to ensure each device receives a similar bandwidth.

But in the age of Wi-Fi 7 is getting inception, a Wi-Fi 5 router might catch many eyes. However, as my dedicated review of the Google Nest WiFi mentioned, Wi-Fi 5 is still relevant and worth it.

8. Best for Circle Parental Controls: Netgear R6700

The final product on my list is probably the best-selling one. Here’s a Netgear router with Circle parental controls. It, courtesy of features like a dual-core processor, decently powerful antennas, and dual bands, works harmoniously with one another to get your job done fairly well.

Why is it a suitable choice?

The Circle smart parental controls instill some handy and effective features to keep the online experience safe for your kids. First, it lets you set content filters, pause the internet, set a bedtime for your family’s devices, and offer some extra online time to reward your kids when they do something good.

Other than that, there’s an internet dashboard tab on the Circle app, which displays how much the devices are online in a day and what they are accessing during the period. In this way, you can check if they are wasting their valuable study time on social media or other inappropriate websites and limit their usage time painlessly.

Aside from standard security tools like VPN, WPA3, and others, there’s nothing at its disposal.

Wireless Speeds

With dual-band Wi-Fi 5 support, the maximum speed R6700 supports is 1750 Mbps, distributed over both bands as follows:

5 GHz: 1300 Mbps

2.4 GHz: 450 Mbps

To test the practical speeds of the router, I paired it with an Xfinity 300 Mbps plan and recorded the values for both bands separately. Over the 5GHz band, downloads were recorded at 289 Mbps, while 19 Mbps was the upload speed. At the same time, respective speeds for the 2.4GHz band clocked at 221 Mbps and 13 Mbps.

Despite its lower throughput capacity, it casually handles most of your heavy or bandwidth-intensive tasks like gaming, streaming, video conferencing, and others. The connectivity is also stable, courtesy of beamforming and MU-MIMO. But it does lack features like OFDMA and QoS, which could have further improved the bandwidth quality.

WiFi Coverage & Connections Capacity

R6700 boasts a theoretical coverage of 1,500 Sq Ft, which in real-life settings fell to 1,200 Sq Ft, the size of a one-bedroom apartment. Its lower range is an indication of its weaker antennas, but trust me on this, its signals are stable and consistent. Besides, its multi-device connectivity allows you to connect 15 devices consecutively.

Conclusion

The R6700 is one of the few Circle-compatible routers that offer a good selection of hardware and technology at a budget-friendly price. Its premium smart parental controls allow you to make the browsing experience safe for your kids. However, its coverage and throughput are not as strong, putting it in a lower-ranking position.

Frequently Asked Questions

Verdict

Parental control wireless routers make it easy for kids to stay safe when connected to the network. But it’s important that you go through the settings and pick one that best fits your needs. I think the provided options should help you make your choice, but if you still can’t decide, here’s a curated list of the best options:

• If you are in for the best WiFi router with parental controls, Synology RT2600AC should be your go-to pick. Some notable features, like content filtering, scheduled time limits, bedtime, and others, make it a standout among all. It’s also the most secure router out there.
• Next, if you want an all-rounder device with great access controls alongside best-in-class throughput capacity, coverage, and others, TP-Link Archer AX90 should be an ideal pick.
• Lastly, if you want a cheaper upgrade to your outdated ISP-rented router, get the Netgear R6700.

With that comes an end to the guide to routers that come with advanced parental control. Let me know in the comments below which options you have gone for.