Top 8 Small Business Routers With Big Business Features

As we wrote in the past, high-quality VoIP starts right with a suitable, high-quality router (by the way, if you would like to check the bandwidth on your system right now, try out our free VoIP speed test).  When we put our previous router list together, the 7 best VoIP routers, we focused on the business that needs the best of the best to ensure their router will in no way interfere with their VoIP quality. And that list still stands strong as an in-depth guide to the more robust, VoIP focused yet sometimes technically advanced and costly scenario. If the best of the best is what you need, and have an IT staff to tackle implementation, then refer to our VoIP routers list and you will not be disappointed. But if all you need is a powerful small business router, you have come to the right place.

Not every business has the absolute need for a high-end Enterprise, or VoIP specifically focused router. Many of our previous choices from our last list fell back to more specific solutions, such as hardware or even software firewalls, or VPN routers, or sometimes Network Gateways. Some of them did not even include WiFi, as they were really aimed at hosting your business VoIP system.

Yet, for the small to midsize business that just needs a capable router to hook up a few phones, computers and maybe their tablet, there are some more consumer friendly and cost effective options out there. Especially with recent developments in wireless routers, some of the simpler solutions will fit right at home in most offices.

Our Criteria, and Crucial Features

For this listing, we wanted to specifically focus on routers produced within the last few years. Now, router technology is not as fickle as say consumer graphics cards – a replacement card will outdate your previous purchase within 6 months. There are many older, still incredibly capable routers available and almost any router can be configured for VoIP. But since these are for your business, and might have to handle multiple connections at once, we wanted to ensure the latest wireless technology and widest feature sets.

While not the direct focus, for VoIP specifically, there are a number of settings and features we wanted to include to ensure these picks would suffice for any need an SMB might run into – whether that be hosting their local network to share files, connect their worker’s machines to the internet, and take care of their office phone at the same time.

The main features we looked to include are as follows:

• Quality of Service – As the name states, QoS settings will allow routers to prioritize specific types of data traffic in order to ensure the highest level of quality of that service. Generally, these settings will prioritize VoIP traffic over movie streaming, or similar bandwidth draws. This simple setting can be dynamic and act on its own, or require configuration – yet can transform any old basic router into a capable office device.
• Dual Band Wireless Support – Dual band is the capability for a router to transmit on two different frequencies, 5 GHz (not to be confused with 5G data networks) and 2.4 GHz to help separate traffic and keep the air free of signal clutter. Dual band has been around for a while now, yet it’s still an important feature for the office looking to fit all their devices on one router. In fact, some routers on our list even include tri-band support.
• A solid Number of LAN Ports – The number of ports available on your will directly dictate how many devices can be hardwired, so the more ports the merrier. Of course, a Network Switch can always expand this, and wireless connections will be possible – but as we know, Wi-Fi is one of the leading causes of VoIP call issues. Gigabyte LAN ports are always a plus for an extra speed boost and reliability.
• At Least One WAN Port – WAN, a Wide Area Network, simply consists of many LANs (local area networks) to combine different locations, or networks in one building, to one central Wide Area Network. A router will be used to connect a LAN to the WAN, and the addition of at least WAN port on your router makes this possible. Multiple WAN ports allow for extra features, like WAN Backup and Load Balancing, but those are generally reserved for our VoIP specific router choices.
• VLAN Support – A Virtual Local Area Network, a VLAN is “a group of devices on one or more LANs that are configured to communicate as if they were attached to the same wire, when in fact they are located on a number of different LAN segments,” as defined by Cisco. This can help a business separate their devices into different logical network groups – all of HR will be on one VLAN, and all of your agents will be on another. Although, not to be confused with a business VPN.