Today, we’re going to help you find the best USB Wi-Fi adapter for you. Whether you want an extra boost to your laptop’s pre-existing Wi-Fi capabilities, or you want a powerful Wi-Fi antenna for your desktop PC, we have you covered. Our options are sorted by price, and we’ve selected ten top picks for you to choose from.
If you have trouble understanding any of the jargon or specs mentioned, we’ve included a buying guide below to help you choose the right Wi-Fi adapter for you.
Table of Contents
- 1. EDUP Wi-Fi Adapter
- 2. OURLiNK AC600 Wi-Fi Dongle
- 3. TRENDnet AC1200 Wireless USB Adapter
- 4. QGOO USB Wi-Fi Adapter
- 5. NET-DYN USB Wireless Adapter
- 6. Linksys Dual-Band AC1200 Adapter
- 7. TP-Link Archer T9UH AC1900
- 8. Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 Wi-Fi Adapter
- 9. TRENDnet AC1900 High Power Wireless USB Adapter
- 10. ASUS USB-AC68 AC1900 Wi-Fi Adapter
- Buying The Best USB Wi-Fi Adapter For You
1. EDUP Wi-Fi Adapter
Best cheap USB wireless network adapter
- USB Standard: USB 2.0
- Supported Frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
- Supported Standards: Up to 802.11ac
- Lowest price
- Included antenna
- Only USB 2.0
The EDUP Wi-Fi Adapter is the best cheap USB Wi-Fi adapter we could find. While it may not support USB 3.0, it’s about as cheap as Wi-Fi adapters get and it has the added boon of a discrete antenna.
The addition of a discrete antenna means that this adapter should enjoy fairly strong signal quality, especially if the antenna is pointed in the right direction. This does make the unit a bit larger and more inconvenient than a mini USB Wi-Fi adapter, though.
If all you need is a Wi-Fi connection, respectable range, and decent download speeds this has you covered. We wouldn’t recommend it for gaming, though.
2. OURLiNK AC600 Wi-Fi Dongle
Best cheap mini USB Wi-Fi dongle
- USB Standard: USB 2.0
- Supported Frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
- Supported Standards: Up to 802.11ac
- Low price
- Tiny size
- Only USB 2.0
- No discrete antenna will limit range
The OURLiNK Wi-Fi dongle is a mini USB Wi-Fi dongle that boasts full support for 5 GHz Wi-Fi and 802.11ac. While this small form factor is ideal for those who want to keep their antennas hidden, this will result in reduced speeds if you aren’t close to your router.
This is very much an entry-level Wi-Fi solution: something to be used in small apartments and dorm rooms, not in large homes.
If all you need is the ability to connect to Wi-Fi (and you aren’t picky about things like latency or high download speeds), this will do the job and look good doing it. If you want low latency and high speed, though, we recommend you keep scrolling.
3. TRENDnet AC1200 Wireless USB Adapter
Best Wi-Fi adapter under $30
- USB Standard: USB 3.0
- Supported Frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
- Supported Standards: Up to 802.11ac
- Low price
- Small form factor
- USB 3.0 support
- No discrete antenna
The TRENDnet AC1200 is one of the most popular USB Wi-Fi adapters on the market, despite its humble appearance. There are no discrete antennas, and it isn’t as small and sexy as its competitors, either. So what makes this option so popular?
Simply put… it’s still pretty good. The built-in antennas do a fairly good job, and the USB 3.0 connection keeps latency much lower than on competing USB 2.0 adapters. There’s even the added bonus of a WPS button, which is nice for users who don’t like sharing and remembering Wi-Fi passwords.
This Wi-Fi adapter’s strongest competitor is our #4 pick, thanks to the latter’s dual antenna setup. If you’re strictly gaming, we’d probably recommend that one over this one. In terms of general performance, though, the two should be fairly close- and the WPS button is very enticing for those who want to use it.
4. QGOO USB Wi-Fi Adapter
Best USB wireless adapter for gaming under $20
- USB Standard: USB 3.0
- Supported Frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
- Supported Standards: Up to 802.11ac
- Low price
- Dual antennas!
- USB 3.0 support
- Weird advertising speak; 5.8 GHz isn’t a thing, guys
In our opinion, this is the best USB Wi-Fi adapter under $20. All of the need-to-haves are here: USB 3.0 support for lower latency, dual antennas for better signal strength, and up-to-date support for 5 GHz Wi-Fi.
If you can’t afford to spend more than $20 for a Wi-Fi adapter, the QGOO Wi-Fi adapter is the right choice for you. Aside from the weird advertising for “5.8 GHz Wi-Fi” (NOT. A. THING.) and awkward translations, we’re hard-pressed to find a problem with this product at this price.
If you want a dedicated gaming adapter on the cheap, this is one of our top picks.
5. NET-DYN USB Wireless Adapter
Best Wi-Fi adapter for PC under $45
- USB Standard: USB 3.0
- Supported Frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
- Supported Standards: Up to 802.11ac
- Decent price
- USB 3.0 support
- Faster than most competing options
- No MIMO
The NET-DYN USB Wireless Adapter is a popular budget USB Wi-Fi adapter solution. While it doesn’t have a discrete antenna or MIMO, its built-in antenna is actually surprisingly fast. At least for most users, this adapter performs admirably on 5 GHz networks, especially when compared to cheaper options.
If you have any issues with this adapter, make sure that it’s updated to the latest drivers-- many issues mentioned in negative reviews have been fixed by the latest driver revisions. As long as your drivers are up to date-- and you don’t mind the awkward English on the product page or product documentation-- then this should be a great adapter for you.
All that being said… if you’re looking for a gaming Wi-Fi adapter, we recommend you keep going until you hit our last three options, starting at #8. (These all have discrete antennas.)
6. Linksys Dual-Band AC1200 Adapter
Best budget USB 3 Wi-Fi adapter
- USB Standard: USB 3.0
- Supported Frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
- Supported Standards: Up to 802.11ac
- Decent price
- MIMO support
- USB 3.0 support
- Faster than competing SFF options
The Linksys Dual-Band AC1200 Adapter is one of the most popular Wi-Fi adapters on the market, and for good reason.
Don’t let the lack of a discrete antenna fool you: this baby is fast. Unlike many other small form factor (SFF) Wi-Fi adapters, this adapter comes packed with MU-MIMO support. This allows it to achieve faster download and upload speeds, so long as the router it’s connected to also supports MU-MIMO technology.
In addition to the MIMO support, you also have the expected features intact here. That means USB 3.0 for lower latency and full 802.11ac network support. As always, we recommend using 5 GHz whenever available, especially for gaming purposes.
7. TP-Link Archer T9UH AC1900
Best wireless adapter for desktop under $50
- USB Standard: USB 3.0
- Supported Frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
- Supported Standards: Up to 802.11ac
- Decent price
- USB 3.0 support
- Design allows for better range and speeds
- No MIMO
The TP-Link Archer T9UH has an odd design…
Don’t get us wrong. It’s priced well, and it’s super fast. And its unconventional design actually allows it to get much better range and speeds than competitors, especially when mounted to its docking station. (Using the docking station will allow you to have more control over the antenna’s placement and direction, which is key for getting an ideal wireless signal.)
Haphazardly plugged into the back of a PC or the side of a laptop on its own, we wouldn’t really recommend this adapter over similar options in its price range.
Using its docking station with a desktop PC, though, this option starts to make a lot of sense. If you want a high-performance desktop Wi-Fi solution without spending too much money, then this is a great pick.
8. Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 Wi-Fi Adapter
Best Wi-Fi adapter for PC with MIMO
- USB Standard: USB 3.0
- Supported Frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
- Supported Standards: Up to 802.11ac
- USB 3.0 support
- Great speeds and range
- MIMO support
- Awkward form factor for desktop PCs (without stand)
- High price
It’s almost like the higher you climb in price, the weirder the designs for these get. You think of a Wi-Fi adapter, and you probably imagine something that looks like our #1 pick. This, on the other hand, is two giant black rectangles with a USB 3.0 jack sticking out at the end.
These two giant black rectangles can also be called the Netgear Nighthawk Wi-Fi adapter, but don’t let that weird design fool you: this is actually a very powerful option. The second black rectangle is actually a MIMO-powered 3x4 antenna array. This allows for superb range, download speeds, and latency-- better than any of the Wi-Fi adapters that we’ve listed so far.
It even has a docking station, which helps alleviate its strange design decisions for desktop use!
The only real issue with the Nighthawk is that it’s starting to get just a little expensive for a Wi-Fi adapter. At the time of writing, it’s on sale for just over $60-- but on most days, it’s usually closer to $80. That’s a lot to ask for a Wi-Fi adapter, we think.
9. TRENDnet AC1900 High Power Wireless USB Adapter
The best Wi-Fi adapter for long range use
- USB Standard: USB 3.0
- Supported Frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
- Supported Standards: Up to 802.11ac
- The best range
- Great speeds and USB 3.0 support
- No MIMO
- High price
Let’s say you want a Wi-Fi adapter, and you live in a big house. You’ve tried other solutions, but you’re always out of range and dealing with dropped connections. What do you do?
You get this bad boy, of course. The TRENDnet AC1900 USB Wireless Adapter doesn’t even look like a wireless adapter. With a whopping array of 4 antennas, it looks more like a miniature router in its own right.
Fortunately, those extra antennas translate to exactly what you’d expect: improved performance and range, especially when compared to cheaper options. In fact, we’re pretty sure that this has the best range out of any Wi-Fi adapter available on the market, thanks to that quad-antenna design.
The lack of MIMO support may result in some lost speed, but if range is your priority this is probably the Wi-Fi adapter for you.
10. ASUS USB-AC68 AC1900 Wi-Fi Adapter
The best Wi-Fi adapter for gaming
- USB Standard: USB 3.0
- Supported Frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
- Supported Standards: Up to 802.11ac
- Great range, speeds, and latency
- The best for gaming, hands-down
- MIMO support
- High price
Last but certainly not least is the ASUS AC1900 Wi-Fi Adapter. According to our own tests and critical consensus around the Internet, this is the best Wi-Fi adapter for gaming. (Which is no surprise, really-- it’s from ASUS! They’re a gaming brand, after all.)
This ASUS Wi-Fi Adapter is yet another adapter with a bulky, unconventional design and external docking station. The biggest benefit of this design is that it comes with dual discrete antennas, each of which can be individually adjusted after being folded out. The docking station also allows for more, better positioning options when used with desktop PCs.
(If you’re using a laptop, you can go without the docking station and just slap the adapter right in. It’ll be pretty bulky, though.)
With MIMO support built-in, dual antennas, USB 3.0 support, and a docking station...it probably isn’t a surprise to hear that this is considered the best Wi-Fi adapter on the market. It’s blazing fast and responsive, at least as much as a Wi-Fi adapter can get. The only downside to this package is the price, which is the highest on this list.
But if you’re a serious gamer and you can afford it… go for it. You won’t regret it.
Buying The Best USB Wi-Fi Adapter For You
Now, let’s get into the buying guide. While we feel like we’ve provided a ton of great options for you to choose from, it’d be a shame if you didn’t choose correctly. We’ll use this section to help you make the right pick, and explain any jargon that you aren’t familiar with.
What’s the difference between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz?
2.4 GHz and 5 GHz don’t refer to processing power in this context. Instead, they refer to the wireless network spectrum that Wi-Fi devices operate on.
2.4 GHz is the older standard, and is what most routers and devices are still using. 2.4 GHz is somewhat slow and laggy when compared to 5 GHz, but it has a much greater range and compatibility.
5 GHz is the newer standard, and is mainly used by newer devices. It’s much faster and has lower latency than 2.4 GHz, but has a much shorter range. You may also experience compatibility issues with older devices that are only made to connect to 2.4 GHz. To get around this, most routers and Wi-Fi antennas support both standards.
Even if all devices involved support both standards, use 5 GHz where possible. This is especially important for gamers, since the lower latency of the 5 GHz standard will ensure less lag when playing online. 2.4 GHz generally isn’t suitable for gaming purposes, but can suffice for web browsing and media consumption.
Important to note: no Wi-Fi connection will ever beat a hardwired ethernet connection when it comes to stability, latency, and overall performance. If you’re doing professional work or pro gaming, we recommend an ethernet cable whenever possible.
What’s 802.11ac?
802.11ac is the current Wi-Fi standard, supported by every modern device and router. It also offers higher performance than older 802.11 standards, especially 802.11n and 802.11b. If you’re worried about compatibility, don’t be: 802.11ac is backwards-compatible with routers using these older standards. You will be restricted to the speeds of those older standards if you utilize this feature, though.
802.11ax is also on the horizon, but unfortunately hasn’t come to market yet. When it does, we’ll likely come back to this article to make appropriate edits.
USB 2.0 vs USB 3.0 and newer
In terms of raw download speeds, you typically won’t see a massive difference between a USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 adapter. The max throughput of USB 2.0 is considerably higher than that of the average Wi-Fi connection, and USB 3.0 even more so. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get a 3.0 adapter whenever possible.
First and foremost, a 3.0 adapter will be able to keep up with particularly high-performance Wi-Fi networks. Particularly, connection speeds of over 100 mbps, with routers using 802.11ac and broadcasting at 5 GHz.
But more importantly– even for slower networks– latency. USB 3.0 has much lower latency than USB 2.0, and latency is especially important for gaming. High latency results in a laggier, less responsive online gaming experience. Using Wi-Fi at all already increases latency, but using a USB 2.0 adapter on top of that can result in an unplayable experience for gamers.
If you’re going to game on Wi-Fi, a USB 3.0 adapter is a necessity, not an option.
Antennas, and why more is better
Wi-Fi is a wireless signal.
We aren’t going to dive into the nitty-gritty of wireless networks and how they work, but every wireless device has a built-in antenna, even if it isn’t visually obvious. Your smartphone, for instance, has an antenna; you just can’t see it.
Unfortunately, these invisible antennas do come with some sacrifices. While it’s nice to have an antenna be so small you don’t even know it’s there, this results in reduced reception and performance in most scenarios.
For high-performance Wi-Fi, you want an adapter with large, discrete antennas. This will allow the fastest speeds, lowest latency, and longest ranges to be achieved. Speaking of antennas…
What’s a MIMO?
MIMO stands for Multiple Input (and) Multiple Output. MIMO technology is used by routers and supported devices to operate faster, without fighting each other over who gets to send and receive data first. Many MIMO Wi-Fi adapters will also have extra antennas built in, presumably to take better advantage of this technology.
If your devices support MIMO, you’ll typically experience faster download and upload speeds. Latency generally won’t be affected by this, though.