9 models compared
Travel routers
Pocket-sized routers built to sit between you and someone else's network. Sorted by total wireless bandwidth — though for this category, VPN support and how it takes power usually matter more.
| Model | Wi-Fi | Fastest band | Weight | Size | Takes internet from | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GL.iNetSlate 7 ProBE10000 | Wi-FiWi-Fi 7Tri-band | Fastest band5,764Mbps | Weight328 g | Size426 cm³130×91×36 mm | Takes internet fromEthernet · USB tethering · Wi-Fi (repeater) | Price$239.99 |
| GL.iNetSlate 7BE3600 | Wi-FiWi-Fi 7Dual-band | Fastest band2,882Mbps | Weight295 g | Size402 cm³130×91×34 mm | Takes internet fromEthernet · USB tethering · Wi-Fi (repeater) | Price$169.99 |
| TP-LinkRoam 7BE3600 | Wi-FiWi-Fi 7Dual-band | Fastest band2,882Mbps | Weight248 g | Size448 cm³126×93.5×38 mm | Takes internet fromEthernet · USB tethering · Wi-Fi (repeater) | Price$139.99 |
| CudyTR3000AX3000 | Wi-FiWi-Fi 6Dual-band | Fastest band2,402Mbps | Weight160 g | Size260 cm³118×80×27.5 mm | Takes internet fromEthernet · Wi-Fi (repeater) | Price$64.99 |
| GL.iNetBeryl AXAX3000 | Wi-FiWi-Fi 6Dual-band | Fastest band2,402Mbps | Weight196 g | Size339 cm³120×83×34 mm | Takes internet fromEthernet · USB tethering · Wi-Fi (repeater) | Price$99.90 |
| GL.iNetSlate AXAX1800 | Wi-FiWi-Fi 6Dual-band | Fastest band1,200Mbps | Weight245 g | Size369 cm³125×82×36 mm | Takes internet fromEthernet · USB tethering · Wi-Fi (repeater) | Price$119.99 |
| GL.iNetSlate Plus | Wi-FiWi-Fi 5Dual-band | Fastest band867Mbps | Weight181 g | Size301 cm³118×85×30 mm | Takes internet fromEthernet · USB tethering · Wi-Fi (repeater) | Price$69.99 |
| GL.iNetOpal | Wi-FiWi-Fi 5Dual-band | Fastest band867Mbps | Weight145 g | Size301 cm³118×85×30 mm | Takes internet fromEthernet · USB tethering · Wi-Fi (repeater) | Price$39.99 |
| UbiquitiUniFi Travel Router | Wi-FiWi-Fi 5Dual-band | Fastest band867Mbps | Weight89 g | Size78 cm³95.95×65×12.5 mm | Takes internet fromEthernet · USB tethering · Wi-Fi (repeater) | Price$79.00 |
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What a travel router is for
The point isn't speed. It's putting a network you control between your devices and a network you don't.
One login covers everything. Hotel and airline captive portals often allow one or two devices. The travel router authenticates once and everything behind it comes along — including devices with no browser to accept the terms on.
Your devices keep their own network. Your laptop, phone, and Chromecast stay on the same SSID and subnet everywhere, so they keep seeing each other. Casting in a hotel room generally doesn't work without this, because guest networks isolate clients from one another.
A VPN covers the whole client side. Run a VPN client on the travel router and everything behind it is tunnelled, with no per-device configuration. This is the real reason to own one, and it's why the WireGuard guide overlaps heavily with this list.
What a travel router is not
It is not an internet connection. Every router here needs something to connect to — hotel Wi-Fi, an Ethernet jack, a tethered phone. If there's no network in the room, a travel router gives you a very tidy LAN and no internet.
The box that solves that problem is a cellular router: it takes a SIM and brings its own uplink, so it works in a field as well as a hotel. Those are a separate category here — see cellular routers and 5G hotspots — because they answer a different question, and mixing them in put a $999 5G hotspot at the top of this list on bandwidth alone. Some of them are pocket-sized and battery-powered, so the two categories look alike on a shelf; they just aren't substitutes.
Specs that matter, in order
- How it takes power. USB-C from a laptop or power bank is what you want. A proprietary barrel jack is one more thing to pack and lose. None of the routers on this list lists a battery capacity, so plan on an outlet or a power bank.
- WAN flexibility. Good travel routers accept an uplink from Ethernet, another Wi-Fi network (repeater mode), or a tethered phone. The more of those, the fewer situations leave you stuck.
- VPN throughput. These have small CPUs, and VPN speed is a CPU spec — see the WireGuard guide for the numbers. A travel router doing 30–80 Mbps over WireGuard is normal and usually fine, because hotel Wi-Fi is slower than that anyway.
- Size and heat. They run warm in a bag. Fanless is the norm here.
Raw wireless throughput is last on this list on purpose. You are almost always limited by the network you're borrowing.