TP-Link routers

Archer vs. Deco

Archer is the standalone-router line, and it's where TP-Link's model numbers get genuinely confusing — AX73, AXE75, BE550, BE800 are all recent routers spanning three Wi-Fi generations. The number after the letters roughly tracks total bandwidth class, not release order, so two Archers a generation apart can have adjacent-looking numbers.

Deco is the mesh line: matched, swappable units sold in 1-to-3-packs, managed entirely from the Deco app. It trades some of Archer's configuration depth (no built-in VPN server on most units) for a setup process that doesn't require opening a browser at all.

Where TP-Link is strong, and where it isn't

TP-Link's actual strategy is volume: cover every price rung with a product, and push each new spec — multi-gig WAN, then Wi-Fi 6E, then Wi-Fi 7 — down into the cheaper tiers faster than brands with narrower lineups bother to. That's a manufacturing and distribution scale advantage more than a technology one, and it shows up as the same new spec appearing on a TP-Link router well before it reaches an equivalent price point elsewhere in this catalog.

The trade-off is software depth. Advanced routing, VPN serving, and scriptability are thinner here than on ASUS or GL.iNet — most Archer and Deco models are built for "plug in and it works," not for a user who wants to run WireGuard or write firewall rules by hand. A handful of Archer models do ship a WireGuard server; check the WireGuard router guide before assuming yours does.

TP-Link's separate Omada line (cloud-managed, business-oriented access points and switches) isn't covered by this catalog, which tracks consumer Archer and Deco hardware only.