Asus RT-BE88U vs TP-Link Deco BE95

The Asus RT-BE88U is the better value, offering ten wired ports, WireGuard VPN, a command line and a 3-year warranty at a lower price. The TP-Link Deco BE95 costs more but is a far more capable quad-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh system.

The Asus RT-BE88U is a dual-band single router with no 6 GHz band, built for wired connectivity. The TP-Link Deco BE95 is a quad-band mesh system with two 6 GHz radios, a Matter controller and multi-gig ports on every node.

The TP-Link Deco BE95 is far faster on paper, rated for 33 Gbps across quad-band Wi-Fi 7 with two 6 GHz radios. The Asus RT-BE88U is rated at 7.2 Gbps as a dual-band router, trading wireless speed for its port-rich wired layout.

Only the TP-Link Deco BE95 acts as a Matter controller, so it can commission and manage Matter smart-home devices. The Asus RT-BE88U does not offer Matter controller or Thread border router functionality.

Wired-first homes and small businesses on a budget that want many 10G and 2.5G ports, WireGuard VPN, a command line and a 3-year warranty should buy the Asus RT-BE88U.

Large or multi-story households that want flagship whole-home coverage should buy the TP-Link Deco BE95, a quad-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh with 10G ports on each node, a Matter controller and simple app setup.